Memoirs are one of my favorite genres and nothing beats a memoir that explores family dynamics. This book is a love letter to Ramirez’s family and captures Yasmin’s life from her childhood to her twenties. Growing up, her mother was working, which led to Yasmin spending a lot of quality time with her grandmother, Ita. Ita became an important figure to Yasmin and this book memorializes her role in Yasmin’s life.
Ita made sure that Yasmin learned important life skills, such as how to fight and stand up for herself without hurting herself. Yasmin shares many vulnerable and special moments she had with her grandmother and how language was a huge component of their relationship. For instance, Spanish words developed a whole new meaning that captured Ita’s love for Yasmin. Yasmin had multiple nicknames such as “la chavala” and “Prieta,” which translate to “the girl” and “the dark one.” It’s easy to find these terms derogatory but they stem from love and capture Ita’s and Yasmin’s ties to their Mexican heritage.
Ita has an incredible life story that is beautifully captured by Yasmin's writing. Yasmin emphasizes the limitation of English. Simply stating that “life was hard for my grandma” in English is not sufficient. Spanish is able to capture the feelings of hardship. Ita experienced a lot of grief and loss. She survived multiple miscarriages and breast cancer. She also had a rocky relationship with Yasmin’s mother. This impacted Yasmin as she often felt in the middle, which is a position I can relate to. I loved how Yasmin connected a lot of her life decisions to her grandmother. For instance, her retail job could be seen as a job to make ends meet but Yasmin was able to memorialize her grandmother by helping breast cancer survivors find bras that fit appropriately with their new implants.
As a half-Mexican reader, there were so many components I relate to. She talks about her fear about losing her grandmother. Yasmin perfectly highlights the difficulty of even discussing this because talking out loud made it feel like a real possibility. She also explains how lost she felt in her twenties and how being home seemed to be the cure to her loneliness. However, so much had changed in her home. Her mother had remarried and moved to another house, her grandmother was no longer around, and Yasmin felt that she was beginning to lose her foundation. Worst of all, Yasmin felt that her mother didn’t understand her struggles and couldn’t find the words to describe the difficult and complex feelings she was experiencing. During this time, Yasmin was questioning the next steps in her life. She always imagined herself going to grad school until she realized she didn’t know why. This was a beautiful opportunity for her mother to step in and be there for Yasmin by confirming that she would not be disappointed if she did not go to grad school. Mother and daughter relationships can be complex but beautiful; it was heartbreaking to see Yasmin unable to explain her feelings, but heartwarming to see her mother step in when she needed the support.
I highly recommend this memoir if you’re looking for an incredible life story that is written beautifully.
Yasmín Ramírez is a 2021 Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing Author Fellow as well as a 2020 recipient of the Woody and Gayle Hunt-Aspen Institute Fellowship Award. Her fiction and creative nonfiction works have appeared in Cream City Review and Huizache among others. She is an Assistant Professor of English, Creative Writing, and Chicanx Literature at El Paso Community College. She stays active in the Borderplex arts community and serves on the advisory board of BorderSenses, a literary non-profit. ¡Ándale, Prieta! is her first book. For more information about Yasmín, visit her website at yasminramirez.com.
Mariana Felix-Kim (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C. with her lovely cat, Leo. When she is not working in the environmental science field, Mariana is constantly reading. Her favorite genres include non-fiction, thrillers, and contemporary romances. Mariana is half Mexican and half Korean. You can find her on Instagram: @mariana.reads.books
