My Beloved World : a Memoir

Locations
Call Number: Adult BOCD / Nonfiction / Biography / Sotomayor, Sonia
On Shelf At: Pittsfield Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Pittsfield Adult A/V 4-week checkout	Adult BOCD / Nonfiction / Biography / Sotomayor, Sonia	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Compact discs.
Unabridged.
Read by Rita Moreno.
"An instant American icon--the first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court--tells the story of her life before becoming a judge in an inspiring, surprisingly personal memoir. With startling candor and intimacy, Sonia Sotomayor recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a progress that is testament to her extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself. She writes of her precarious childhood and the refuge she took with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. She describes her resolve as a young girl to become a lawyer, and how she made this dream become reality: valedictorian of her high school class, summa cum laude at Princeton, Yale Law, prosecutor in the Manhattan D.A.'s office, private practice, federal district judge before the age of forty. She writes about her deeply valued mentors, about her failed marriage, about her cherished family of friends" -- from publisher's web site.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Interesting woman who has made remarkable achievements submitted by 21621031390949 on July 18, 2015, 3:05pm I listened to this autobiography by SCOTUS judge Sonia Sotomayor, which was read by actress Rita Moreno. While the narrator was clear and easy to understand, with an appropriate hint of a Puerto Rican accent, she was only moderately expressive. It's sometimes hard to know how this influences the reader's experience.

That said, in the early stages, I really enjoyed this book. Sotomayor is clearly a remarkable woman who has worked tremendously hard to achieve the American rags-to-riches dream of success. Just under 3/4 of the way through, however, I found myself looking ahead to how much farther I had to go, wanting the book to end. This happens to me a lot with autobiographies. I love most memoirs, so I got to pondering what makes the two genres different and why I end up disliking most autobiographies.

My conclusions? Autobiographies tell a full timeline; they cover the subject's life from birth to the present. In this genre, it seems the author - usually a famous or remarkable person - feels compelled to tell us exactly how she became the fabulous/famous/accomplished person she is. Although there may be (as there is in "My Beloved World") some self-deprecating comments or humor, this usually comes off as false modesty, e.g. "yes, I am a brilliant, driven, hard-working woman who has achieved amazing heights, but I have terrible fashion sense." Really? That's like answering the question in a job interview, "My biggest weakness? I work too hard." Oh please.

Memoirs, on the other hand, reflect on a certain time period in the subject's life. They are rarely so single-mindedly focused on the person. More likely, memoirs tell about certain experiences and the subject's reflections about them. Less "these are the things that made me great/I accomplished," and more "what a noteworthy time this was and these are my thoughts about my experiences."

By the end of autobiographies, I'm usually tired of the person and have even grown to dislike them. Well-written memoirs on the other hand, leave me wanting more and happy to have learned about an era, event, or time period.

So, if you like autobiographies, you'll like this one which is interesting and informative. Even if you don't love the genre, you'll learn something about an important person in the life of our nation. If you want to read something that is more likely to change you or how you view the world, read a memoir.

Ree! submitted by mgillis on June 15, 2019, 3:33pm Ree Babee