They were small, simple choices. Seemingly insignificant yes-or-no decisions. Each one leading her one small step further from where she was supposed to be, from where she truly wanted to be. Step by simple step. Piled together, the choices were one huge mountain of chaos and noise. But one at a time, who could tell any difference from the moment just before she made the choice, to the quiet moment just after? Simple choices.
"There's a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again-it leads straight to hell." - Proverbs 14:12
"In Kimberly Collins' gripping debut novel, Simple Choices, the lives of two best friends, Darlene and Mickey, become irrevocably intertwined as they try to cope with a world of grim horizons in the hollows of southern West Virginia. Their descent into a world of partying, drugs, sex, and crime-centered on Ray, a man and manipulator they both love, and his drug-dealing pizza place-will keep you on the edge of your seat. Most shocking of all: the stunning act that brings this bad trip to its desperate conclusion really happened." - Dean King, nationally bestselling author of Skeletons on the Zahara and The Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story"

This comprehensive survey systematically explores the dynamic historic and contemporary interface between Mexico and the United States along the shared 1,954-mile international land boundary. Now fully updated and revised, the book provides an overview of the history of the region and traces the economic cycles and social movements from the 1880s through the second decade of the twenty-first century. The border region shares characteristics of both nations while maintaining an internal social and economic coherence that transcends its divisive international boundary. The authors conclude with an in-depth analysis of key contemporary issues. These include industrial development and manufacturing, bilateral trade, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, rapid urbanization, border culture, population and migration issues, environmental crisis and climate change, Native Americans, cooperation and conflict at the border, drug trafficking and violence, the border wall and security, populist national leaders and the border, and the Covid-19 pandemic at the border. They also place the border in its global context, examining it as a region caught between the developed and developing world and highlighting the continued importance of borders in a rapidly globalizing world. Richly illustrated with photographs, maps, charts, and up-to-date statistical tables, this book is an invaluable resource for all those interested in borderlands and U.S.-Mexican relations.

This comprehensive survey systematically explores the dynamic historic and contemporary interface between Mexico and the United States along the shared 1,954-mile international land boundary. Now fully updated and revised, the book provides an overview of the history of the region and traces the economic cycles and social movements from the 1880s through the second decade of the twenty-first century. The border region shares characteristics of both nations while maintaining an internal social and economic coherence that transcends its divisive international boundary. The authors conclude with an in-depth analysis of key contemporary issues. These include industrial development and manufacturing, bilateral trade, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, rapid urbanization, border culture, population and migration issues, environmental crisis and climate change, Native Americans, cooperation and conflict at the border, drug trafficking and violence, the border wall and security, populist national leaders and the border, and the Covid-19 pandemic at the border. They also place the border in its global context, examining it as a region caught between the developed and developing world and highlighting the continued importance of borders in a rapidly globalizing world. Richly illustrated with photographs, maps, charts, and up-to-date statistical tables, this book is an invaluable resource for all those interested in borderlands and U.S.-Mexican relations.