Stewing in the Melting Pot: The Memoir of a Real American

Rating:
Summary: "Stewing" is an important memoir about loss and discovery
Review: "Stewing in the Melting Pot: The Memoir of a Real American" by Robert Sanabria, a sculptor and retired military officer, details the author's experience growing up in a Methodist-run orphanage for Latino children in Southern California during the Depression. It is an absorbing and at times aching account of the process by which the author, his siblings, and other
orphans at "The Home" are stripped of their Latino heritage to assimilate into America of the 30s and early 40s. The author deftly intertwines themes of struggle: to uncover truths about his past; and to accept the identity confusion he still bears. His is an experience to which many "Americans" can relate.
Jessica Kasten

Rating:
Summary: "Stewing" is an important memoir about loss and discovery
Review: "Stewing in the Melting Pot: The Memoir of a Real American" by Robert Sanabria, a sculptor and retired military officer, details the author's experience growing up in a Methodist-run orphanage for Latino children in Southern California during the Depression. It is an absorbing and at times aching account of the process by which the author, his siblings, and other
orphans at "The Home" are stripped of their Latino heritage to assimilate into America of the 30s and early 40s. The author deftly intertwines themes of struggle: to uncover truths about his past; and to accept the identity confusion he still bears. His is an experience to which many "Americans" can relate.
Jessica Kasten

Rating:
Summary: Stewing in the Melting Pot: The Memoir of A Real American
Review: A heartfelt auto-biography about the author's childhood years growing up in an American-cultured orphanage as a Mexican with no chance to explore his Mexican heritage; causing self-loathing and anger to get in the way of finding who he really is as a person. Sharing his experiences with the reader on growing up at the orphanage must have taken enormous courage: tactfully and fairly telling the reader how other people's bias in his life effected him. He invites the reader into his childhood with candor and grace, providing poignant accountings of his years at the orphanage interspersed with moments of humor.

I was very impressed with the author's ability to look back at his youth, expressing his feelings so candidly and with such honesty. This is a book that most Depression-era children having little or nothing and with their own personal struggles, can relate to. I found the book to be thouroughly enjoyable and hard to put down at times.