carlysgrowingtbr's review against another edition
4.0
A Place To Stand is equally heart wrenching and hopeful. Baca holds no punches as he describes a tumultuous childhood full of rejection and abandonment all the way up to an adulthood of petty crimes and drug dealing. He details of life of love and loss, friendship, and betrayal, and ultimately finding a place to stand on your own.
Abandoned by his parents as a child, and eventually placed in a orphanage by his grandparents, Jimmy, Santiago Baca starts off life feeling a lot of rejection and abandonment. He moves through the orphanage and into a group home. He has haphazard attendance at school, and never really becomes a fully literate person. Since he cannot read or write, he is thrown into a life of poverty and drugs as the only way to make ends meet. No matter his struggles to dig his way out of the life he has, something always seems to push him back down into a life of crime and poverty. until one day as an adult, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, lands him in jail for five years, even though he is innocent of all charges. His time in prison is not easy, as he's forced to fight to protect himself, and subsequently continues to be pushed further into the system by various injustices. Through all the struggles, Jimmy Santiago Baca has one goal throughout prison time, and that's to get his GED and become a literate person. Through lots of perseverance, he ends up becoming educated and a world renowned poet.
this was written, so masterfully that you could actually feel the emotion on the page. Baca absolutely holds nothing back, which leaves you feeling like you got punched in the gut numerous times. It perfectly details the struggles that Mexican Americans have faced throughout the decades in the United States. Blatant racism and oppression are at the forefront of this man's whole journey through life. This is an absolutely stunning memoir that you will not to forget.
Abandoned by his parents as a child, and eventually placed in a orphanage by his grandparents, Jimmy, Santiago Baca starts off life feeling a lot of rejection and abandonment. He moves through the orphanage and into a group home. He has haphazard attendance at school, and never really becomes a fully literate person. Since he cannot read or write, he is thrown into a life of poverty and drugs as the only way to make ends meet. No matter his struggles to dig his way out of the life he has, something always seems to push him back down into a life of crime and poverty. until one day as an adult, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, lands him in jail for five years, even though he is innocent of all charges. His time in prison is not easy, as he's forced to fight to protect himself, and subsequently continues to be pushed further into the system by various injustices. Through all the struggles, Jimmy Santiago Baca has one goal throughout prison time, and that's to get his GED and become a literate person. Through lots of perseverance, he ends up becoming educated and a world renowned poet.
this was written, so masterfully that you could actually feel the emotion on the page. Baca absolutely holds nothing back, which leaves you feeling like you got punched in the gut numerous times. It perfectly details the struggles that Mexican Americans have faced throughout the decades in the United States. Blatant racism and oppression are at the forefront of this man's whole journey through life. This is an absolutely stunning memoir that you will not to forget.
ghostorys's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
heytheredilara's review against another edition
4.0
This book convinced me that the justice system is in place to create criminals and the overseers themselves are the only real criminals. I'm touched by Jimmy Baca not letting the prison crush his soul and how he fashioned poetry and forgiveness out of his experience.
unseasonedsoy's review against another edition
5.0
Refreshing read. Enticing. Amazing. Brilliant. Everyone should read!
the_readingraven's review against another edition
4.0
Very good book. It's a great memoir but at some parts it seems to drag on.
dallasknierman's review against another edition
5.0
Raw. Brutally honest. Breathtaking. No way I could have given less than 5 stars.