At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied Survived and Fought for Freedom

Anna and Elena Balbusso’s illustration and Sylvie Le Floc’h’s cover design for At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom absolutely blew me away. It encapsulates every element of Joey’s story, down to the slightest detail. I’m constantly in awe of artists and designers. They think of things that would never occur to me and are able to tell so much through a single design or piece of art. It’s a true talent.

Josefina “Joey” Guerrero was an incredible, formidable, brave, and humble woman who deserves to be recognized and celebrated. She faced hardships her entire life—being orphaned, getting diagnosed with Hansen’s Disease, watching her home country fall into the chaos and destruction of war, living under forced quarantine in Louisiana, facing racism and discrimination in the United States. But she always believed that she was here for a greater purpose, and her faith never wavered. Rather than wallow in illness, she took advantage of her diagnosis to spy for the Allies. Rather than wither away in leprosariums, she shined a light on the disease to advocate for better care and treatment for others. Rather than let her life drift away, she held it with both hands; she went to college in her 40s, got a master’s degree, joined the Peace Corps. She was truly an astonishing woman. View Less