Summary

The memoir begins with a brief preface titled “Condemned” (xi). The author, Daisy Hernández, who is Latina, recalls a white town official coming to her home when she was 12 years old. Her father was seeking to expand on their house and he needed permits to be approved before doing so. The white man mumbled to himself, “This house should be condemned” (xi). Hernández explains that she began writing this memoir in 2000 when she was given a column by feminist magazine Ms. She expresses the belief that words are very powerful.

In Chapter 1, “Before Love, Memory” (3), Hernández lives in Union City, New Jersey where she begins attending kindergarten. This is her first exposure to an entirely English-speaking environment, as her family speaks Spanish at home. Hernández's mother, Alicia, and aunts (Tía Dora, Tía Rosa...