The Flowers Along the Way: A Memoir

Claudia Castro Luna presents *The Flowers Along the Way: A Memoir*, a nonfiction account of political violence, migration, trauma, and the possibility of redemption. The memoir follows Castro Luna from her childhood in El Salvador, where she fled unrest and civil war with her family at age fourteen in 1981, to her life in Oakland, California.

Two decades after arriving in the United States, Castro Luna survives a public shooting while pregnant with her second child and caring for her two-year-old. The incident reawakens traumatic memories and leads her to confront PTSD, recover family stories, and reckon with the effects of war and emigration. The book explores memory, language, family, fear, beauty, love, self-determination, and the search for home.

The event is presented in partnership with the Salvadoran Cultural Institute. Castro Luna is a 2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, former Washington State Poet Laureate, and Seattle’s inaugural Civic Poet. She is also the author of several poetry collections, including *Green, the World*, *Cipota Under the Moon*, *Killing Marías*, *One River, A Thousand Voices*, and *This City*. Born in El Salvador, she writes and lives in both English and Spanish.

When: Friday, October 23, 2026

Showtime: 7:00 p.m.

Tickets: Free

Seating: First come, first served.

Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Presented with: Salvadoran Cultural Institute

Accessibility: To request accommodations or ask about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com, ideally at least one week before the event. The venue will make an effort to accommodate requests submitted up to the event.

Related book: *The Flowers Along the Way: A Memoir* by Claudia Castro Luna is available as a $28 paperback. The listed ISBN is 9798899480928, with a publication date of September 15, 2026.