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 15 great memoirs written by authors with Hispanic heritage.
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Brown enough : true stories about love, violence, the student loan crisis, Hollywood, race, familia, and making it in America
by Christopher Rivas At a time when disinformation, hate crimes, inequality, racial injustice, and white supremacy are on the rise, Brown Enough, part memoir and part social commentary, emerges, asking readers to proudly put their bodies, their identities, into the conversations of race. Brown Enough is a roller coaster of finding one's true self while simultaneously having a racial awakening amidst the struggle to be "perfectly" Latinx, woke, and as Brown as possible to make it in today's America. |
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The boy who reached for the stars : a memoir
by Elio Morillo In this cosmic and intimate memoir, the scientist known as the“space mechanic,” who overcame a history of systemic adversity and inequality in public education to realize his galactic dreams, shares his journey from Ecuador to NASA and beyond. |
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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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First gen : a memoir
by Alejandra Campoverdi A trailblazing women's health advocate and former Obama aide discusses her experiences as Mexican American woman raised by an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles and the challenges of navigating social mobility as a first-generation Latina. |
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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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I'm not broken : a memoir
by Jesse Leon In this unflinching and inspiring memoir, Jesus Leon tells an extraordinary story of resilience and survival, shining a light on a childhood spent devastated by sex trafficking, gang life, and substance abuse. I'm Not Broken is the heartbreaking and remarkable story of the journey Leon takes to win back his life, leading him to the steps of Harvard University. From being the lone young person of color in Narcotics Anonymous meetings to coming to terms with his own queer identity, to becoming an engaged mentor for incarcerated youth, Leon finds the will to live with the love and support of his family, friends, and mentors. Recounting the extraordinary circumstances of his life, Leon offers a powerful, raw testament to the possibilities of self-transformation and self-acceptance. |
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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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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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Once I was you : a memoir of love and hate in a torn America
by Maria Hinojosa The Emmy Award-winning journalist and anchor of NPRs Latino USA documents the story of immigration in America through the human lens of her familys experiences and her decades in the media. |
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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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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. |
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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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Upper Bohemia : a memoir of an American childhood
by Hayden Herrera Set against a backdrop of 1950s New York, Cape Cod and Mexico, this poignant coming-of-age memoir follows the author, the daughter of artistic, bohemian parents, as she recounts an idyllic and surreal childhood at the hands of two narcissists who treated her like an afterthought. |
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The undocumented Americans
by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio One of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard reveals the hidden lives of her fellow undocumented Americans in this deeply personal and groundbreaking portrait of a nation. |