Photo credit: Quinn Kampschroer

Fiction can be a rich go-to venue for walking in someone else’s shoes, to transport yourself to another place or time or mindset through the power of expert wordsmithing. Most often, what you read in novels is based on real-life stories. And when these stories are rendered in works of memoir, historiography, biography, journalistic exposés, or even poetry, we feel the same narrative power as we do in fiction. This is especially important when reading about the diverse and complex lives of Latinx communities. In a time when their voices are more crucial than ever, we can’t thank our authors enough for taking the time to wield their prose to share these experiences with us. Because in their stories, you can learn, or find a piece of yourself there along with a feeling of recognition and kinship. Such is the power of masterful writing. To that end, here’s a list of recommendations from our catalog to stoke the conversations we need to have.

How Does It Feel to Be Unwanted?: True Stories of Mexicans Living in the United States
Eileen Truax

“When immigrant voices are being silenced, when immigrant families are being torn apart, when immigrant youth are being denied their right to dream of a better future, this book inspires us to see, to listen, and to understand.”
—Reyna Grande, author of The Distance Between Us 

An African American and Latinx History of the United States
Paul Ortiz

“A challenging and necessary approach to understanding our history. A must-read for those who want a deeper perspective than is offered in the traditional history textbook.”
—Library Journal 

The Weight of Shadows: A Memoir of Immigration and Displacement
José Orduña

“Orduña’s book probes the underside of the American dream while offering a fierce vision of the way race and class continue to shape government policy in a country that still bills itself as the land of opportunity for all. Sharp-eyed and unsparing.”
—Kirkus Reviews 

A Cup of Water Under My Bed: A Memoir
Daisy Hernández

“A striking and illuminating memoir of stark beauty that challenges our notions of identity and feminine power; absolutely riveting and unforgettable.”
—Patricia Engel, author of It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris 

Hunting Season: Immigration and Murder in an All-American Town
Mirta Ojito

“Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Ojito achieves another award-worthy feat, this time for her treatment of the minefield issue of immigration.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

The Lost Apple: Operation Pedro Pan, Cuban Children in the US, and the Promise of a Better Future
María de los Angeles Torres

“Torres manages to keep a healthy historical balance in a tricky political landscape, never losing her footing along the way . . . The Lost Apple moves along like a good novel [and] Torres even makes politics come alive.”
—Miami Herald 

How to Love a Country: Poems
Richard Blanco

“Blanco’s power as a poet lies in the singular intimacy, structural craft, intoxicating imagery, and inner rhythms of his verse.”
—New York Journal of Books