MY BELOVED WORLD by Sonia Sotomayor

I picked up Sonia Sotomayor's memoir MY BELOVED WORLD expecting to find within its pages a measuredly guarded Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, because, really, how much would an active representative of our country's highest court be willing to disclose?  I'll tell you that her unexpected candor surprised and delighted me.

Sotomayor's Advocacy Skills Apparent Early

The reader gets a glimpse into the strong-minded woman she will mature into when at a tender age she is diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, a serious life-long illness. Rather than look to her parents for strength and support, she advocates for herself and assumes responsibility for monitoring her condition and insulin injections. She does this knowing that it will relieve tension between her parents in the home.

"Does it seem strange that a child should be so conscious of the workings of her own mind?"

I read about her family's dynamics: her somewhat strained relationship with her mother, conflicted relationship with her father, and authoritative relationship with her younger brother. She was in a sense, Puerto Rican in the home and with extended family members, as they came together as a family often to eat, sing and dance. She'd soon learn, however, at Princeton and Yale Law School that as she's part of a minuscule minority of students, who are mostly White, she learns that being Puerto Rican comes in varying degrees of authenticity. It's not until she becomes active within Latino groups at  both schools that she questions herself.

Reading Sotomayor's writing and following her logic as she addresses the challenges facing this country's English Language Learners (ELLs), the masses of college readiness resources and tools available to the "haves" and scarcity of the same for students who have access to little to nothing, gives me great hope to know that a person of her caliber represents the people. Her worldview is not one of privilege. She understands the challenges facing underserved youth and immigrants in this country.
Having said that, though, the lens through which she views social conditions serves as just that -- a lens -- that informs her decisions, not one that directs them.

"I would warn any minority student today against the temptations of self-segregation: take support and comfort from your own group as you can, but don't hide within it."

Four IMPORTANT Lessons From MY BELOVED WORLD

1. Do not self-segregate in communities that remove themselves from the mainstream. Power is diluted by doing so.
2. Punch the self-esteem monster in the face every time it tries to block you from going after what's in your heart and mind. It shocked me to learn that Sotomayor has questioned her intelligence and "belongingness" so many times in her career. Sotomayor. The first Latina Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Even she's plagued by mind monsters.
3. "Bigotry is not a value."  
4. View issues from all perspectives, not just the one you champion. Right is usually somewhere in the middle.

I have nothing but the greatest respect for writers who speak their truth. Sonia Sotomayor is an inspiration to young women everywhere. We might have all benefited from watching a little Perry Mason in our youth.

THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY by Maria E. Andreu

ARC of The Secret Side of Empty by Maria E. Andreu

Thanks to mí amiga Ruby, I had the chance to read an advance reader's copy of Maria E. Andreu's debut novel The Secret Side of Empty. All I knew before starting it was that the story revolved around an undocumented high school senior.

In many ways, M.T. is a typical teenage girl. She worries about school, is in love with a boy and enjoys spending time with her classmates. Yet, while her friends are applying to colleges and learning to drive, all M.T. can do is watch. Because of her parents' undocumented status and her having been brought into the U.S. as a small child, she has no Social Security Number, no birth certificate, none of the documentation needed to apply for a driver's license or for college. Because of her circumstances, she's forced to be a spectator. M.T.'s experience is not unique, except for the fact that she's able to hide her undocumented status because of her fair features.

"A little chunk of me will always be a stranger everywhere, different chunks of stranger in different situations."

As she nears graduation, M.T. finds herself in an increasingly desperate situation as her home life spins out of control. She's trapped at home and at school with little to look forward to in the only country she knows. With the threat of being deported to Argentina in her shadow, she becomes despondent and nearly gives up on life.

"For a split second I feel like I've forgotten my stuff, but then I realize I'm just an observer. Someone who can look but can't touch."

This novel is loosely based on the author's life and is one that will touch many readers for the simple fact that we may have watched friends, family members, or neighbors suffer in silence, or give up on their hopes and dreams altogether. I'm confident The Secret Side of Empty will soften the most hardened of hearts and give readers a glimpse into what it feels like to be the victim of circumstances.

Hop on over to GUB Life to read my friend Ruby's review!

Gracias Amiga and thank you Maria for the ARC.

TED Talk: The Danger of A Single Story By Chimamanda Adichie

This TEDTalk by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie has surfaced three times since I started school. The first time I came across it was while doing research, the second time it was shared by the administrators at my internship and the third it was shown in my Multicultural Counseling class. That it's surfaced three times in as many years is a sign that I should share it with you, too.

The Story of Solomon Northrop, TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

Solomon Northrop's memoir TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE is heartbreaking. The fact that his story is based on real life events makes it all the more difficult to read. The abuse he endures in the South after being kidnapped from the North is dehumanizing and will shock any rational reader's sense of justice.

Anyone who's read Emma Donohue's ROOM will know what I mean when I say that the last act of the book evokes similar feelings of desperation. The reader knows that he's rescued from the beginning, but it's the unpredictable and cruel nature of his last owner, Epps, that stresses the reader. Anything could happen.

I saw the Steve McQueen's film adaptation over the weekend. It's unlike any other movie I've ever seen about slavery in that it doesn't "make-nice" on the topic to make it more palatable for the mainstream. It's unflinchingly honest and well-done, albeit, tough to watch at times and is true to the memoir in its depiction of events and description characters

There's nothing romantic about the institution of slavery as some of our citizens would have us think. It's not something to be "gotten over," either.

Are You Too Optimistic For Your Own Good?

THE OPTIMISM BIAS: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain by neuroscientist Tali Sharot is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I read last year. She got me thinking a little more about how our minds work.

Are you too optimistic for your own good? Or are one of those glass-is-half-empty type of individuals who has difficulty being positive about anything? Personally, I've always viewed life through a lens of optimism, even when circumstances didn't warrant it.

The good news is that we benefit in several different ways from having an optimistic outlook on our lives. The bad news is that not having at least one foot firmly set in reality can leave us exposed to all types of ruin: financial, health, emotional, etc.

Did you know that 80% of the population has an optimism bias and the other 20% who don't are mildly depressed?

Interesting Findings:

• We tend to underestimate the negative and overestimate the positive?
• Although we're optimistic about ourselves, we're pessimistic about others (surprise, surprise).
• We overestimate everything about ourselves (from how interesting we are to how modest).

Do you see a beautiful, young woman or old lady?

Not So Surprising:

• The higher our expectations, the happier we are!
• We're happiest when in anticipation of something -- anticipation enhances our well-being.
• Optimism makes us want to try harder. Yes.
• People who are mildly depressed have been found to have a pessimistic outlook; they don't expect much from the future.

Moving forward, I'll continue to be my optimistic self. My health, happiness and dreams for the future expect it of me. What I won't do is ignore cues to change course when needed. It's the wise thing to do.

How would you describe your outlook on life?

Do you wish you could change it?

"The idea behind the self-fulfilling prophecy is that it is not a forecast of a future, but a cause of the event." - Tali Sharot

What Books Will You Read In 2014?

Have you set a reading goal for 2014? In previous years, I've attempted to read a book a week, something that would probably be more achievable if I weren't in school. I'm not complaining, though. Although I've never met my reading goal, except for a book or two, I've been pleased with my choices.

If you follow me on Goodreads, you've probably noticed that most of my ratings are 4 or 5 stars. I know some might be annoyed by that. What can I say? I enjoy most of what I read. If a book touches me personally, teaches me something, or makes me laugh, it's almost certain I'll give it a high rating.

So, rather than set a number goal for 2014, I'm picking several titles from those scattered about my home. These are books that have traveled from room-to-room without being read, for no good reason. I need to read them!

Aside from these, we'll see what piques my interest.

Here's my short list. 

Non-Fiction

A History of Women in America
The Particle at the End of the Universe
The Brain That Changes Itself
Across the Wire
In Her Wake

Fiction

Dr. Zhivago
Les Miserables
The Satanic Verses
The House of Spirits
Wench

What's on your list?

I Visited the "Oldest All Poetry Book Shop in America"

Harvard Square in Cambridge is one of the places I love to visit most around Boston. I didn't realize how lucky I was when I first moved here and secured a position at a firm in the office building attached to The Charles Hotel. I had an office that overlooked The Kennedy School of Government and would sit at my desk chewing away at a pen watching suits pass through the revered building's doors. It made me happy to be in the midst of so many interesting people. The crowded news stands, savory smells wafting out of the myriad of diverse restaurants, hustle and bustle of the T stop, and eclectic bookstores ruined me. Imagine my sadness when a couple years later I had to move forty minutes outside of Boston, where the deer and the antelope play.

The point of this post is that after years of visiting Harvard Square, and never finding the Grolier Poetry Book Shop open, two weeks ago I finally did. I'd dropped into the Harvard Bookstore to check out the Remainders table and on the way out noticed a sandwich board (see above) pointing around the corner. With only fifteen minutes to spare before an appointment, I scrambled to finally see the inside of the "oldest all poetry book store in America."

It was hot that day, like fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk-hot. I remember stopping abruptly in front of the poetry bookshop and hesitating for a minute. In all my wierdness, I felt my self-conscious self stirring inside, because I don't know about you, but being around these uber intellectual people can be intimidating. My mind invented all kinds of scenarios and none of them were reassuring. Then I tried to open the door. I immediately thought the bookshop was closed when the really, really old (some might call antique) door knob wouldn't open. It wasn't one you turn, but the kind that opens when you press down on a lever with your thumb. Hard. The heavy door finally opened after a few tries, when the slight woman working inside opened it for me. Apparently, the door knob "sometimes" gets stuck, she told me, when she stepped aside to let me through. Maybe you should think about getting that fixed, I thought, more out of embarrassment than frustration.

Any anxious feelings I had completely dissolved the minute I stepped inside the shoe-box size bookshop. Its breath was of dusty, worn pages and its interior was mildly cool and hazy with sunlight spilling in through its dusty, old window. I fell in love. The shelves were organized by geographic region and displayed titles and authors completely unknown to me.

I gravitated to the shelf lined with Latino writers and brought home three titles: a collection of poems by Cordelia Candelaria, OJO DE LA CUEVA, another by Américo Paredes, BETWEEN TWO WORLDS, and INFINITE DIVISIONS: An Anthology of Chicana Literature. I'm happy with my selections and am learning about the arduous lives Spanish-Mexican-indigenous women endured around the time of the Mexican-American War. 

I'm due back in Harvard Square this afternoon for another appointment. This time I'll be dropping into another bookstore I've never visited, only because I've been too lazy to walk the extra five minutes up Mass Ave. Revolution Books it's called.

Let's see what I find inside. :-)

Have missed blogging and chatting with you all. Life's settled down a bit now that summer school's over. Easing back in to normalcy, whatever that means. It felt good to take a time-out.

Have a great week, my friends!

2011 Favorite Reads and Looking Ahead

Planned for 2012

2011 was a great year for reading. Between cave men, the French Revolution, lots of vampires, women and their cycles, gangs, the death penalty, children killing for game, zombies and identity issues, it felt, at times, as though I was zipping along on a roller coaster. The plan was to read 52 books (one-a-week), 25 of them by culturally diverse authors. Well. That was the plan. I didn't quite make the goal. School threw me a bit off course. Even so, I managed to finish the year having read 43, with 17 of them by culturally diverse authors. I'm very happy with that.

I've decided to renew the challenge because the truth is, I'm my happiest clutching a book. Except, this year's count will see non-fiction reads from school (to be fair. : ) and a few spilling over from 2011, that are at various stages of reading.

Following are a handful of my faves from 2011 ...

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

" ... in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something ..."

A collection of vignettes that reveals the author's soul with an economy of words. Cisneros took me home.

Burro Genius by Victor Villaseñor

"Who were these schoolteachers who had helped me?

And what was it in my life that had given me the heart ... the guts ... 

to go on and on and never give up, no matter what!"

My first exposure to the discrimination and segregation experienced by Mexicans in Southern California. Villaseñor is an inspiration for his tenacity to succeed, in spite of his dyslexia. This book made me cry.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Nook)

"Why had no one told me that my body would become a battlefield, a sacrifice, a test? Why did I not know that birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers? But of course, there is no way to tell this or to hear it. Until you are the woman on the bricks, you have no idea how death stands in the corner, ready to play his part."

Beautiful and lyrical, Diamant's depiction of the Old Testament's Dinah angered me (I wouldn't have done well in a polygamist society). Even though women are claiming what's theirs, today, not much has changed.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

"It is not violence that best overcomes hate --

nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury."

This flawed but strong heroine endures an abusive childhood and fights to survive. The story enthralled me with its gothic texture and seductive prose. I LOVE Jane Eyre.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

"It is a fact that we historians are interested in what is partly a reflection of ourselves, perhaps a part of ourselves we would rather not examine except through the medium of scholarship; it is also true that as we steep ourselves in our interests, they become more and more a part of us."

The vampire non-vampire book. Dracula hovers in the periphery in this dark tale. Question: If your passion were scholarly, would you exchange your soul for an eternity of research and cataloguing of history? A tempting proposition?

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

"Spirit of Cave Lion, the girl Ayla, is delivered into your protection."

This book came recommended by a friend who has read all the books in this series. I was skeptical, at first, but ended up not being able to put it down. It brought out the geek in me. Auel's interpretation of what life between primitive Neanderthals and more advanced Cro-Magnuns might've been like during the Ice Age made me want to run off to examine fossils and study herbs. Ayla, the main character, is a Cro-Magnun who is adopted as a five-year-old, by Neanderthals, sparking "racial" intolerance reminiscent of that which we see today. A thought-provoking and at times enraging read.

Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle

"If there is a fundamental challenge within these stories,

it is simply to change our lurking suspicion that some lives matter less than others."

This one was a gift from a friend back home. Father Boyle raises the question of where compassion originates and what it means to truly have empathy. It's an inspiring tale of one man's dogged pursuit of salvation for a segment of the society deemed disposable. Let's not judge simply by what's visible at the surface. I highly recommend it for anybody working in the social services with at-risk youths, or with an interest in social justice.

Esperanza Renace [Esperanza Rising] by Pam Muñoz Ryan

This is a tender story of a young girl who loses her father and material possessions but who discovers that the most valuable gifts in life are those that money cannot buy. It's a retelling of the real-life struggles of Mexican migrant farm-workers in the San Joaquin Valley of California, during the 1920s and of the prejudice experienced by them at the hands of the locals. As my first Spanish read, Esperanza Renace will always be special to me. Wrap-up to follow! ... Y mil gracias a mi buena amiga, Tara, for following along.

______

Looking forward to 2012 and will let my curiosity lead me to the next read. You'd probably laugh at the hodge-podge of fiction and non-fiction stacked up against a wall in my office begging to be read. I'd like to make a priority reading Jane Eyre, again, an anthology of Mexican essays and more YA Spanish.

We'll see what the year brings. Let's stay loose, until rigor counts. : D


Anything you'd like to recommend?