So for me, it was this joyous adventure that I was embarking on.

I wasn't aware of the horror or how close to death I was.

- Javier Zamora was nine years old when he migrated to the United States alone without his parents.

(Javier speaking Spanish) In his memoir, "Solito," Zamora chronicles his more than 2,000 mile journey to reunite with his parents who had fled violence and a civil war in El Salvador.

- I wasn't the only kid in my town that didn't have at least one parent or two.

- Instead, his grandparents cared for him.

Was it difficult not having them there?

- Absolutely.

One of the scenes in the book, early scenes, is Mother's Day celebrations and Father's Day celebrations.

A lot of the children in my small rural town, we didn't have a mother's name to write on like a handkerchief to give to them.

- [Michelle] Zamora couldn't get a visa to the US and so his parents hired the coyote, or smuggler, who had brought his mom to the US four years earlier.

- I was a a smart kid in a lot of ways, but a very shy kid who didn't know how to tie his shoes.

- [Michelle] The coyote was supposed to be Zamora's protector, but then he abandoned the group to other smugglers.

- You take a 20, 22-hour boat ride to somewhere in Oaxaca.

It is cold.

You can't see any lights.

I was a kid who was afraid of the dark, who didn't know how to swim.

- [Michelle] And arriving only brought more perils.

- [Zamora] People in uniform back then were our biggest enemies.

The first time that I have a gun pointed at me, it is by a uniformed federal, who is pretty much like an Army Mexican person.

The cops would rob us all the time.

- [Michelle] After numerous checkpoints, they finally arrived on the border.

Zamora and three others crossed posing as a family.

- So that's Patricia, a mom, and her 12-year-old daughter, Carla.

And this 20 19-year-old young man named Chino.

- [Michelle] On their first crossing, they were caught by Border Control.

On their second, they face dehydration, which regularly takes the lives of many migrants.

- We were part of a much larger group, and during this try we were followed by a helicopter.

Their point is to scatter people and then trucks come and find them with horses, with dogs, with ATVs.

And so I suspect that because we were followed by a helicopter, that the coyote got lost out of the close to, I wanna say 60 people, a lot of 'em are probably still in the desert.

And so that could have happened to me.

And for 20 years, that was the little voice in my brain.

"Why didn't it happen to you?"

We almost ran outta water.

And I suspect that a lot of people that were with me died.

- [Michelle] Today he credits his closest companions for helping him survive.

- Chino became my protector.

When we get to the desert, he carries our water and he carries me on top of his back when I get tired.

He carries Carla when she gets tired.

He pulls Patricia by the hand when she's stumbling over.

And Patricia, as well, making sure that we're drinking water.

They were literally risking their lives for a stranger.

- Carla, Patricia, Chino, do you know where they are today?

- No, they still haven't reached out.

We stayed in contact for two months and then they changed their number and they never called back.

I've gotten so many offers by headhunters and journalists to be like, "I can look for them" and I will say "No," because I just remember that if Chino would've written a book or if Carla would've written a book and then reached out to me, that would've retraumatized me.

In my mind, I just envision them seeing the cover and opening page five and seeing the dedication to them.

That's it.

That's all I expect.

And because I'm deeply, deeply thankful that they were there and that they helped me to arrive.

- What do you consider the biggest changes between your experience in 1999 and today, about 25 years later?

- Cartels weren't into the business of smuggling people, now they are.

- [Michelle] And in turn, enforcement has changed.

- In 2024, the border has moved south to the Mexico-Guatemala border.

- [Michelle] And instability has brought migrants from across the globe to the Southern border.

- Where are they coming from?

- All over the world.

Central America, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, China, India.

- [Michelle] The influx includes children.

- The surge in unaccompanied migrant children.

- [Michelle] In 2023, over 100,000 unaccompanied child migrants were taken into custody by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Zamora's similar experience was inspiration for the title of his book, "Solito."

- The Word means alone.

And I have felt different levels of loneliness throughout my life.

I felt alone when my dad left.

I felt alone when my mom left.

And then I embarked on this 10 week trip.

And it was the first time of my life that I didn't know any family members.

But then there was this second family that sort of like adopts me and helps me survive.

When I got here, I never see these three individuals again.

And so the real loneliness I think happens after the book ends.

(Zamora speaking Spanish) - [Michelle] Today, 25 years since the ending of his journey, Zamora tours across the country, speaking about his book.

At signings, he's found he's not alone in feeling solito.

- 15 children, immigrants, who were in the desert in 1999 from El Salvador have come to my readings.

One of them was actually in the same patch of desert in she successfully crossed in June 8th.

I successfully crossed June 10th.

So we were there.

And what she told me is that she always felt like she was the only one.

I felt like I was the only one.

That's why it's also called "Solito" because we carry this trauma by ourselves.

If there's something that the book is doing it's showing people that we don't suffer inside and we don't suffer on our own.

(light music) - Well, the chilly weather here in Rhode Island belies