American Like Me, America Ferrera
American Like Me, America Ferrera
7 Rating(s)
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

Synopsis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From Academy Award–nominated actress and 2023 SeeHer award recipient America Ferrera comes a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures.

America Ferrera has always felt wholly American, and yet, her identity is inextricably linked to her parents’ homeland and Honduran culture. Speaking Spanish at home, having Saturday-morning-salsa-dance-parties in the kitchen, and eating tamales alongside apple pie at Christmas never seemed at odds with her American identity.

Still, she yearned to see that identity reflected in the larger American narrative.

Now, in American Like Me, America invites thirty-one of her friends, peers, and heroes to share their stories about life between cultures. We know them as actors, comedians, athletes, politicians, artists, and writers. However, they are also immigrants, children or grandchildren of immigrants, indigenous people, or people who otherwise grew up with deep and personal connections to more than one culture. Each of them struggled to establish a sense of self, find belonging, and feel seen. And they call themselves American enthusiastically, reluctantly, or not at all.

Ranging from the heartfelt to the hilarious, their stories shine a light on a quintessentially American experience and will appeal to anyone with a complicated relationship to family, culture, and growing up.

About America Ferrera

America Ferrera is an Academy Award–nominated actress, producer, director and activist. Ferrera is best known for her breakthrough role as Betty Suarez on ABC’s hit comedy, Ugly Betty, for which she won Golden Globe, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, ALMA, and Imagen Awards. She produces and stars in the acclaimed NBC workplace comedy, Superstore, currently in its fourth season. In 2016 Ferrera cofounded HARNESS, an organization connecting storytellers and activists to amplify the cultural narrative around social justice. She speaks throughout the country as an advocate for human and civil rights and was the opening speaker at the monumental Women’s March on Washington in January 2017. Ferrera resides in New York and Los Angeles with her husband Ryan, their son Sebastian, and their two golden retrievers.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sachi

Please stop whatever you’re doing and buy this book! I knew it would be right up my alley, but this book greatly exceeded my expectations. I was blown away by most of the essays, and was able to relate so closely to their themes. As person of mixed race who was raised by a Japanese immigrant, I was......more

Goodreads review by Charity

One of the most effective small things we cis white people in the United States can do is to read other people's stories with curiosity, veracity, love, and gratitude. And do it over and over, for as long as we can read or listen.......more

I actually started this book yesterday and finished it earlier today. I loved the stories and the backgrounds and the families of all the different people that were included in this book. I didnt rate each story Individually because I feel like every person has a story and even though I enjoyed some......more

Goodreads review by Amanda

“But what ARE you?!” As someone who’s grown up, especially as a child, not knowing exactly what to tell people when they ask where I’m from after I say, “Here?” or “My family is from Texas, they’ve always been from Texas..” I’m just American, right? “But you look Mexican!” Do I? This book showcases pr......more

Goodreads review by Bajidc

Phenomenal collection of vignettes from children of immigrants that are at turns familiar and fresh, rib-tickling and eye-opening. Highly recommend. America: yes, denied sleepovers (but justly so)! Reshma: yes, denied custom name keychains! Glad she didn’t change her name when she entered politics. H......more