Hijas Americanas - A real self-help book

I can't believe how long I've been reading Hijas Americanas. But to be easy on myself, I did read 1-2 other books while reading this and submitted two grant applications. *shrug* This isn't my official book review, but merely my brain fart since I just finished the book today.

The conclusion made me realize how much this book is a self-help book for Latinas. For all of us who have and continue to struggle with what it means to be Latina and how many of us don't live up to that standard we hold. There weren't any exercises to do or journals to keep. Just stories of a rainbow of Latinas, personal anecdotes from the author, and some stats thrown in for fun.

I've reviewed a few self-help books over the past few years and while I think the essence of them were good and worthy, the exercises were always what made the book fall flat to me. This book could had been written as a self-help book with exercises at the end of each chapter...instead, I think Rosie Molinary allows us that time you have in your head when you flip the page at the end of a chapter. That quietness that overtakes you and you start to reflect.

This was a reflection book. In far more ways than one for me.


Technorati tags: books, Latina, Rosie Molinary