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barbaraalfond's review against another edition
4.0
I am not worthy of commenting on this memoir. Sonia Sotomayor's journey—a journey of the heart and mind over distances both physical and metaphoric—speaks for itself. What a life. What a person.
betterthanhamlet's review against another edition
5.0
Readable, insightful, inspiring. Catching a glimpse inside this woman's head makes me admire her even more.
merthelibrarian's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
dinahfay's review against another edition
5.0
Highly recommend the Rita Moreno-narrated audiobook, aka national treasure reading a national treasure. I want to read this book with my kids next year. Firmly in the "feel good" category (which we all sorely need lately), but never saccharine, nor does the story play into any simple bootstrap narrative. Sotomayor is honest in her appraisal of her upbringing, her family, her own strengths and flaws. It was also a nice history lesson for me about a raft of topics - affirmative action, first generation New York Puerto Ricans, intellectual property practice in defense of luxury goods... All in all, highly enjoyable listen.
leighgoodmark's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I liked this, but I didn't love it, and I can't quite put my finger on why.
rosalindpoet's review against another edition
3.0
13032021: beautiful and poignant musings on human connection accompanied by an aggravating depiction of the formation of a flatly deranged liberal ideology. read with feeling by rita moreno, which is why it’s getting four stars instead of three.
NOOOOO I WROTE THIS AND THEN IN THE LAST 10 MINS SHE WAS LIKE LOL I SIMPLY MUST DENOUNCE MARXISTS....... DR-PHIL-HUGE-L.JPG
NOOOOO I WROTE THIS AND THEN IN THE LAST 10 MINS SHE WAS LIKE LOL I SIMPLY MUST DENOUNCE MARXISTS....... DR-PHIL-HUGE-L.JPG
andreareyes's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful memoir
Though not read by Sotomayor, her spirit and personality shined through this book. I felt inspired by her recall of what higher education was like for her. She made sure we knew that it wasn’t because she had fancy schooling or lots of resources. Rather, her places at Princeton and Yale were a result of her dedication to scholarship, willingness to listen to the advice of others and drive towards her dream of sitting on the bench. I loved the section where she went through her early career. I enjoyed listening to the strategies she used to win different cases. I even don’t mind that the novel ended when she took the bench on the Court of Appeals. I needed to hear about a woman of color dreaming and becoming a lawyer and this was exactly that.
I’m proud of her speaking so respectfully and carefully about her failed marriage. I think that must have been very hard during the time. She gave more detail to us, strangers, than I would’ve expected. After experiencing a failed relationship, hearing her story comforted me.
Though not read by Sotomayor, her spirit and personality shined through this book. I felt inspired by her recall of what higher education was like for her. She made sure we knew that it wasn’t because she had fancy schooling or lots of resources. Rather, her places at Princeton and Yale were a result of her dedication to scholarship, willingness to listen to the advice of others and drive towards her dream of sitting on the bench. I loved the section where she went through her early career. I enjoyed listening to the strategies she used to win different cases. I even don’t mind that the novel ended when she took the bench on the Court of Appeals. I needed to hear about a woman of color dreaming and becoming a lawyer and this was exactly that.
I’m proud of her speaking so respectfully and carefully about her failed marriage. I think that must have been very hard during the time. She gave more detail to us, strangers, than I would’ve expected. After experiencing a failed relationship, hearing her story comforted me.
mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition
3.0
Here's the thing. I'm such a Sotomayor fangirl. Being Puerto Rican and her rulings thus far at the Supreme Court has been left and so on point. However, this book? Snoozefest. She did say it was going to stop at when she became a judge, which makes sense. But I can't help that reading this it was censored by her own want of self-preservation to be so down the middle to where I just don't understand anything about her. She was raised by a very close knit family in NY and talked a lot about the hardships, without real conviction though. Like, understanding how it influenced the rest of her life is not something she thinks about. She is always moving forward, which is great, but in a book this is finally a time to look back and reflect.
I got no passion from this book. The idea that she wanted to be a judge since she was a little girl was so pushed by the wayside it was only brought up at the end to just make it clear, her dream came true. Several times she says "That is not what this book is for" and I had a hard time figuring out what it was instead besides an extremely nilla wafer about how she is always right down the middle all the time to better reflect on her ascendancy, perhaps to shut up naysayers saying she is too far left. It was, just so boring. And her as far as she has been on the national stage, has been anything but. I don't get it. Bummer.
I got no passion from this book. The idea that she wanted to be a judge since she was a little girl was so pushed by the wayside it was only brought up at the end to just make it clear, her dream came true. Several times she says "That is not what this book is for" and I had a hard time figuring out what it was instead besides an extremely nilla wafer about how she is always right down the middle all the time to better reflect on her ascendancy, perhaps to shut up naysayers saying she is too far left. It was, just so boring. And her as far as she has been on the national stage, has been anything but. I don't get it. Bummer.