[self-published 2014] Between 2012 and 2014 I lost my wallet many times, mostly while traveling. The Art of Losing was an attempt to break the spell and regain control by recounting each of these times in order to demystify the mythos of unencumbered travel, reconstructing travel narratives around moments of failure, and centering the “boring” bureaucratic foundations that allowed me to “travel freely” in the first place.
Note: “Losing” does not adequately account for the actual everyday impact of living undocumented. Having an ID to lose and gain back in the first place is a huge privilege, one that my family and I went through a lot to obtain. Long-term illegibility is actually a huge material obstacle that limits access to employment, housing, mobility, and other basic rights. “Losing” is based on personal experience and tongue-in-cheek in tone but I aim to address the gravity of those other experiences in a future edition or in other work.