Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15-October 15. This month is specifically designated to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, here are some great memoirs written by authors with Hispanic heritage.
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Children of the land
by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo An award-winning poet chronicles his experiences of growing up undocumented in the United States, describing how his family and his attempt to establish an adult life were heartbreakingly complicated by racist policies. |
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Crying in the bathroom : a memoir
by Erika L. Sâanchez The New York Times best-selling author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter returns with an and honest and often hilarious memoir-in-essays that looks back on her wild youth and journey to becoming an award-winning novelist, poet and essayist. |
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The death of my father the pope : a memoir
by Obed Silva The author, in this wrenching, dazzling, revelatory debut, chronicles his father's lifelong battle with alcoholism and the havoc it wreaked on his family, channeling the heartbreak of mourning while wrestling with the resentment and frustration caused by addiction. |
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Hola papi! : how to come out in a Walmart parking lot and other life lessons
by John Paul Brammer The popular LGBTQ columnist and writer presents a memoir though a series of essays that chronicle his life growing up as queer, mixed race kid and offers advice for young people facing the same journey. |
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Illegally yours : a memoir
by Rafael Agustin This heartwarming and comical memoir looks at how a successful TV writer accidentally discovered that he was an undocumented immigrant in his teenage years and how it turned his entire world upside down. |
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In the Dream House : A Memoir
by Carmen Maria Machado The award-winning author of Her Body and Other Parties shares the story of her relationship with an abusive partner and how it was shaped by her religious upbringing, her sexual orientation and inaccurate cultural beliefs about psychological trauma. |
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In the country we love : my family divided
by Diane Guerrero The star of Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin presents her personal story of the real plight of undocumented immigrants in this country. |
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The man who could move clouds : a memoir
by Ingrid Rojas Contreras Interweaving spellbinding family stories, resurrected Colombian history and her own deeply personal reckonings with the bounds of reality, the author shares her inheritance of the secrets--the power to talk to the dead, tell the future, treat the sick and move the clouds. |
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My broken language : a memoir
by Quiara Alegría Hudes A Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright shares her lyrical coming-of-age story against a backdrop of her devastated barrio home and the idiosyncratic, troubled and fiercely loving Puerto Rican family that inspired her literary voice. |
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Ordinary girls : a memoir
by Jaquira Díaz A biographical debut by a Pushcart Prize-winning writer traces her upbringing in the housing projects of Puerto Rico, her mother’s battle with schizophrenia, her personal struggles with sexual assault and her efforts to pursue a literary career. |
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Trejo : my life of crime, redemption, and Hollywood
by Danny Trejo Redemptive and painful, poignant and real, this memoir from one of the most recognizable, prolific and beloved character actors traces his journey from crime, prison, addiction and loss to unexpected fame as Hollywood's favorite bad guy with a heart of gold. |
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Solito : a memoir
by Javier Zamora A young poet reflects on his 3,000-mile journey from El Salvador to the United States when he was nine years old, during which he was faced with perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions during two life-altering months alongside a group of strangers who became an unexpected family. |