American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures - Hardcover

Ferrera, America

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1501180916 ISBN 13: 9781501180910

Publisher: Gallery Books, 2018

Synopsis

From award-winning actress and political activist America Ferrera comes a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures.

America Ferrera has always felt wholly American, and yet, her identity is inextricably linked to her parents’ homeland and Honduran culture. Speaking Spanish at home, having Saturday-morning-salsa-dance-parties in the kitchen, and eating tamales alongside apple pie at Christmas never seemed at odds with her American identity.

Still, she yearned to see that identity reflected in the larger American narrative.

Now, in American Like Me, America invites thirty-one of her friends, peers, and heroes to share their stories about life between cultures. We know them as actors, comedians, athletes, politicians, artists, and writers. However, they are also immigrants, children or grandchildren of immigrants, indigenous people, or people who otherwise grew up with deep and personal connections to more than one culture. Each of them struggled to establish a sense of self, find belonging, and feel seen. And they call themselves American enthusiastically, reluctantly, or not at all.

Ranging from the heartfelt to the hilarious, their stories shine a light on a quintessentially American experience and will appeal to anyone with a complicated relationship to family, culture, and growing up.

About this title

About the Author

America Ferrera is an award-winning actress, producer, director and activist. Ferrera is best known for her breakthrough role as Betty Suarez on ABC’s hit comedy, Ugly Betty, for which she won Golden Globe, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, ALMA, and Imagen Awards. She produces and stars in the acclaimed NBC workplace comedy, Superstore, currently in its fourth season. In 2016 Ferrera cofounded HARNESS, an organization connecting storytellers and activists to amplify the cultural narrative around social justice. She speaks throughout the country as an advocate for human and civil rights and was the opening speaker at the monumental Women’s March on Washington in January 2017. Ferrera resides in New York and Los Angeles with her husband Ryan, their son Sebastian, and their two golden retrievers.

Reviews

An anthology of short, personal essays by first- and second-generation immigrants or members of marginalized communities, most of whom are celebrated actors, activists, authors, and athletes. Ferrera (of Ugly Betty and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) starts the collection with a breezy entry on the origins of her name and the microagressions, and even overt racism, that it has inspired over the years. Most of these pieces discuss the awkward and difficult in-between spaces the contributors have often occupied, mostly involuntarily, because of their family's country of origin or place in the majority white United States. The selections range in length and topic, touching on first crushes, holiday celebrations, intergenerational clashes, financial struggle, religious observance, and more. What unites these short works is the inherent pride in being part of "America," but also the acknowledgement that this nation often fails to live up to the promise of its founders. Teens will find lots to connect with, as many of the entries focus on childhood, coming of age, and the growing pains that accompany adolescence and identity formation. VERDICT A strong selection where anthologies and personal essay collections have a readership; a good choice for supplementing civics courses.-Shelley M. Diaz, School Library Journalα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1501180916
• ISBN 13: 9781501180910
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336