I was emotional from the Author’s Note alone. Where does that happen? First off, this is a book I’d recommend to every Latina out there, whether your family has been in the US for years or if you’ve been here for less than 24 hours. This book gave me the language to legitimize my experiences growing up and helped quell the anxiety I always had about being different or disrespected. After every chapter, I would debrief with my partner about 1) how amazing the chapter was; but also 2) discussing how the contents of that chapter had impacted my life on ways I didn’t understand.

Aside from the deep personal connection I felt, this is an amazing book for new readers or even those who typically shy away from non-fiction because the author just made it so damn accessible. She made this book digestible and easy to understand for everyone and that in itself is love, especially considering who the target audience is.

Today, some of personal favorite chapters of mine are Voluntourism, Colorism, Myth of Meritocracy, and White Fragility (but I’m sure this will change with my mood.) I think the first two hit me especially hard because there’s a focus on Indigeneity that I haven’t seen in literature before and it’s honestly beautiful.