Book 1, Post 2 Final Review

 American Like Me by America Ferrera

I chose to read American Like Me by America Ferrera as I am the child of immigrants and wanted to hear more perspective stories. Like Reshma in the second chapter of the book, I myself was born with a traditionally Polish name chosen by my mother, a Polish immigrant. I grew up under the nickname Anya, something more easily digestible for others, and only until I got older did I understand the significane of my parents decisions. I then chose to embrace my name and parents struggle to make a better life for themselves and family, I began going by Anastazja. 

By reading this book, I am hoping to gain some more perspective on my own families decisions, as well as hearing other experiences living as an “outsider” in the United States. I also feel I do not get the opportunity to read more “casual” styles of writing and personal stories, so I am hoping to learn about different ways to voice stories and write with my own voice. 

Post Book Review;

I really enjoyed reading this book. Not only did I get to hear from many different individuals, some of whom I already know and follow their work, but it felt really personal. I appreciated being able to hear more initimate stories as these people who have large platforms and lives are just like everyday people, having stories, trauma and perspectives we never would normally know. 

As the daughter of an immigrant myself, hearing immigrant stories from an outside perspective forced me to reflect and reconsider my own experience as well, having a better understanding of the depth and challenges my own mother experienced. A lot of the stories and experiences shared were ones that I could relate to, and upon reading began to realize how much of an effect these experiences have had on myself. For example, one of the authors discussed Sizzlers steakhouse as a symbol of american freedom and american food lifestyle, and I realized that my father had shared his closeness with Sizzler’s in the same way. Our family adopted outback as our own special occasion place since my father had moved out of California to be with my mother. 

Overall I think this book is really successful, the ultimate goal is sharing different stories and voices. I appreciated being able to hear different voices, different writing styles, and experiences, which I feel you often cannot find in a book. I would reccomend this to everyone honestly, espeically because we live in the United States which is full of diveristy and extremely unique backgrounds. We often do not know our copeers, friends, or families full stories, and reading books such as this really gives perspective on the american lifestyle; following the sacrifice and dreams of chasing a better life. The main takeaway is that everyones experience is so personal individual, you never know how someones story came to be and what makes them the person they are. Everything from religous practices, our names, the journey our parents took, our jobs, and even the food we eat has a story and makes each of us so idividual, it is important to remember and appreciate each aspect.