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First gen : a memoir / Alejandra Campoverdi.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Grand Central Publishing, 2023Edition: First editionDescription: 273 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781538757185
  • 1538757184
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Fast car -- Born on the bayou -- Amor eterno -- Keep their heads ringin' -- Crash into me -- On the bound -- How to save a life -- Everlong -- La trenza -- It's only love that gets you through.
Summary: "From former White House aide to President Obama and Harvard graduate, Alejandra Campoverdi, comes a riveting and unflinching memoir on navigating social mobility as a first gen Latina, offering a broad examination of the unacknowledged emotional tolls of being a trailblazer. To be a First and Only in America is a delicate balancing act of surviving where you come from while acting like you belong where you're going. Alejandra Campoverdi has been a child on welfare, a White House aide to President Obama, a gang member's girlfriend, and a candidate for U.S. Congress. She's ridden on Air Force One and in G-rides. She's modeled on the pages of Maxim and had a double mastectomy. Living a life of contradictory extremes often comes with the territory when you're a "First and Only." It also comes at a price. With candor and heart, Alejandra retraces her trajectory as a Mexican American woman raised by an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles, foregoing the tidy bullet points of her resume and shining a light on the spaces between them instead. What emerges is a moving testimony of personal struggle and triumph that shatters the one-dimensional glossy narrative we are often sold of what it takes to achieve the American Dream. Alejandra uses her own experiences to illustrate the emotional tolls First and Onlys often face that are widespread yet rarely acknowledged, providing a road to truth and healing in the process. It is a timely and revealing reflection, as social class continues to be a key determinant of career success. Part memoir, part manifesto, FIRST GEN is a story of generational inheritance, aspiration, and belonging - a poignant journey to "reclaim the parts of ourselves we sacrificed in order to survive.""-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography CAMPOVER A. C198 Available 33111011323918
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An unflinching memoir and "invaluable resource" (Kirkus) about navigating social mobility as a first gen Latina--offering both a riveting personal story and an examination of the unacknowledged emotional tolls of being a trailblazer.



Alejandra Campoverdi has been a child on welfare, a White House aide to President Obama, a Harvard graduate, a gang member's girlfriend, and a candidate for U.S. Congress. She's ridden on Air Force One and in G-rides. She's been featured in Maxim magazine and had a double mastectomy. Living a life of contradictory extremes often comes with the territory when you're a "First and Only." It also comes at a price.



With candor and heart, Alejandra retraces her trajectory as a Mexican American woman raised by an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles. Foregoing the tidy bullet points of her resume and instead shining a light on the spaces between them, what emerges is a powerful testimony that shatters the one-dimensional glossy narrative we are often sold of what it takes to achieve the American Dream. In this timely and revealing reflection, Alejandra draws from her own experiences to name and frame the challenges First and Onlys often face, illuminating a road to truth, healing, and change in the process.



Part memoir, part manifesto, FIRST GEN is a story of generational inheritance, aspiration, and the true meaning of belonging--a gripping journey to "reclaim the parts of ourselves we sacrificed in order to survive."



*A NATIONAL BESTSELLER*

Winner of the Martin Cruz Smith Award (CALIBA)

2024 Council for Opportunity in Education National Book Club Selection

Longlisted for the Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award for First Year Experience

"From former White House aide to President Obama and Harvard graduate, Alejandra Campoverdi, comes a riveting and unflinching memoir on navigating social mobility as a first gen Latina, offering a broad examination of the unacknowledged emotional tolls of being a trailblazer. To be a First and Only in America is a delicate balancing act of surviving where you come from while acting like you belong where you're going. Alejandra Campoverdi has been a child on welfare, a White House aide to President Obama, a gang member's girlfriend, and a candidate for U.S. Congress. She's ridden on Air Force One and in G-rides. She's modeled on the pages of Maxim and had a double mastectomy. Living a life of contradictory extremes often comes with the territory when you're a "First and Only." It also comes at a price. With candor and heart, Alejandra retraces her trajectory as a Mexican American woman raised by an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles, foregoing the tidy bullet points of her resume and shining a light on the spaces between them instead. What emerges is a moving testimony of personal struggle and triumph that shatters the one-dimensional glossy narrative we are often sold of what it takes to achieve the American Dream. Alejandra uses her own experiences to illustrate the emotional tolls First and Onlys often face that are widespread yet rarely acknowledged, providing a road to truth and healing in the process. It is a timely and revealing reflection, as social class continues to be a key determinant of career success. Part memoir, part manifesto, FIRST GEN is a story of generational inheritance, aspiration, and belonging - a poignant journey to "reclaim the parts of ourselves we sacrificed in order to survive.""-- Provided by publisher.

Fast car -- Born on the bayou -- Amor eterno -- Keep their heads ringin' -- Crash into me -- On the bound -- How to save a life -- Everlong -- La trenza -- It's only love that gets you through.

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