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My Beloved World
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Memoir & Autobiography (2013)The first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor has become an instant American icon. Now, with a candor and intimacy never undertaken by a sitting Justice, she recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a journey that offers an inspiring testament to her own extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.
Here is the story of a precarious childhood, with an alcoholic father (who would die when she was nine) and a devoted but overburdened mother, and of the refuge a little girl took from the turmoil at home with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. But it was when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes that the precocious Sonia recognized she must ultimately depend on herself. She would learn to give herself the insulin shots she needed to survive and soon imagined a path to a different life. With only television characters for her professional role models, and little understanding of what was involved, she determined to become a lawyer, a dream that would sustain her on an unlikely course, from valedictorian of her high school class to the highest honors at Princeton, Yale Law School, the New York County District Attorney’s office, private practice, and appointment to the Federal District Court before the age of forty. Along the way we see how she was shaped by her invaluable mentors, a failed marriage, and the modern version of extended family she has created from cherished friends and their children. Through her still-astonished eyes, America’s infinite possibilities are envisioned anew in this warm and honest book, destined to become a classic of self-invention and self-discovery.
302 pages, Hardcover
First published January 15, 2013
About the author
Sonia Sotomayor
25 books250 followersSonia Sotomayor, J.D. (Yale Law School, 1979; B.A., Princeton University, 1976), is the 99th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the seat of the retiring Justice David Souter and taking office August 8, 2009.
Previously, she served as editor of the Yale Law Review, and as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office from 1979–1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partner, 1984–1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998. She served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998–2009.
Previously, she served as editor of the Yale Law Review, and as Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office from 1979–1984. She then litigated international commercial matters in New York City at Pavia & Harcourt, where she served as an associate and then partner, 1984–1992. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and she served in that role from 1992–1998. She served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998–2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,922 reviews
April 6, 2018
ABSOLUTAMENT EXCELENTE! MUCHAS GRACIAS to the U.S. Supreme Court's third female Associate Justice and very first Hispanic A.J., for sharing her triumphant story. CINCO ESTRELLAS BRILLANTES, especially for including a glossary of Spanish words, Jose Gautier Benitez's poem "A PUERTO RICO (REGRESO)" and an English translation, AND the Spanish translation of the "Hail Mary" prayer. All this and stepping forward to face her juvenile diabetes and dare it to defeat or define her.
"'You'll get sick; you can't eat it raw!' Oh yes I can. I inherited adventurous taste buds from Papi and Abuelita, and I'll still happily eat many things more timid palates won't venture." (p. 20)
"The good-bye tour on which I accompanied Gilmar that day was a snapshot of our life in the projects." (p. 27)
"It was over on Watson Avenue on the second floor--much better than the seventh floor if you'd rather not see what happens in the stairwells." (p. 44)
"Sitting in the waiting room at the clinic, I wondered, did it never occur to anyone at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine that kids who might not have long to live shouldn't have to wait endless hours with nothing to read but stacks of old HIGHLIGHTS?...But when my turn came, they gave me something else to read--a pamphlet about choosing a profession. .... The list of possibilities for a diabetic didn't seem very long. And then, more darkly, there was a list of professions that were out-of bounds. ....And you couldn't be a police officer...uh-oh. That one stopped me like a slap in the face." (p. 79)
"Hosting a party came naturally to me. I loved it when the apartment was full of talk and laughter, music and cooking smells. It reminded me of Abuelita's parties, even if it was just a bunch of middle-school kids. I tried to remember how Abuelita had made it happen and translate that for seventh graders. No rum but plenty of Coke and heaps of rice and beans and Mami's pork chops." (p. 84)
"...for a tiny school with very limited resources, in a poor neighborhood where many young lives were fatally seduced by drugs and alcohol or cut short by violence, Blessed Sacrament launched so many of my classmates toward a productive and meaningful existence....There is no denying that credit is due to the Sisters of Charity and the discipline they instilled, however roughly." ...but... "I recently returned to Blessed Sacrament for a visit. It has many fewer students and much smaller classes than when I attended. ... the teachers...subscribe to a more nurturing approach since abandonment of the rod. Every generation has its own way of showing it cares." (p. 88)
"If you happened to visit on a weekend, the cafeteria food in the commons was a crapshoot. ... My mother was aghast at what was on her plate, afraid that I might starve to death, a very bland death, before I could graduate." (p. 138)
"If he hasn't yet saved the world, he's not done trying." .... "on the streets of Chicago so close to hell that its fires burnished his accounts of that time with a sometimes unbelievable glow..." (new college friends, p. 174)
"...it did furnish me with the basis for an eventual judicial temperament in ways that could not. It also gave me the confidence that came of recognizing my personal background as something better than a disadvantage to be overcome." (p. 212)
"'Stop censoring yourself. You look great.' No, I don't. Maybe not quite as bad as I did then, but great I don't look." (p. 226)
"Once I was so groggy that I managed to take an exam without being fully conscious and even make it back to bed, only to wake up later in a panic that I had missed the test. I still haven't figured out how I could have aced it." (p. 276)
Read this and believe in America again! Meanwhile, believe in yourselves, be well, and be blessed.
Thanks for reading!
"'You'll get sick; you can't eat it raw!' Oh yes I can. I inherited adventurous taste buds from Papi and Abuelita, and I'll still happily eat many things more timid palates won't venture." (p. 20)
"The good-bye tour on which I accompanied Gilmar that day was a snapshot of our life in the projects." (p. 27)
"It was over on Watson Avenue on the second floor--much better than the seventh floor if you'd rather not see what happens in the stairwells." (p. 44)
"Sitting in the waiting room at the clinic, I wondered, did it never occur to anyone at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine that kids who might not have long to live shouldn't have to wait endless hours with nothing to read but stacks of old HIGHLIGHTS?...But when my turn came, they gave me something else to read--a pamphlet about choosing a profession. .... The list of possibilities for a diabetic didn't seem very long. And then, more darkly, there was a list of professions that were out-of bounds. ....And you couldn't be a police officer...uh-oh. That one stopped me like a slap in the face." (p. 79)
"Hosting a party came naturally to me. I loved it when the apartment was full of talk and laughter, music and cooking smells. It reminded me of Abuelita's parties, even if it was just a bunch of middle-school kids. I tried to remember how Abuelita had made it happen and translate that for seventh graders. No rum but plenty of Coke and heaps of rice and beans and Mami's pork chops." (p. 84)
"...for a tiny school with very limited resources, in a poor neighborhood where many young lives were fatally seduced by drugs and alcohol or cut short by violence, Blessed Sacrament launched so many of my classmates toward a productive and meaningful existence....There is no denying that credit is due to the Sisters of Charity and the discipline they instilled, however roughly." ...but... "I recently returned to Blessed Sacrament for a visit. It has many fewer students and much smaller classes than when I attended. ... the teachers...subscribe to a more nurturing approach since abandonment of the rod. Every generation has its own way of showing it cares." (p. 88)
"If you happened to visit on a weekend, the cafeteria food in the commons was a crapshoot. ... My mother was aghast at what was on her plate, afraid that I might starve to death, a very bland death, before I could graduate." (p. 138)
"If he hasn't yet saved the world, he's not done trying." .... "on the streets of Chicago so close to hell that its fires burnished his accounts of that time with a sometimes unbelievable glow..." (new college friends, p. 174)
"...it did furnish me with the basis for an eventual judicial temperament in ways that could not. It also gave me the confidence that came of recognizing my personal background as something better than a disadvantage to be overcome." (p. 212)
"'Stop censoring yourself. You look great.' No, I don't. Maybe not quite as bad as I did then, but great I don't look." (p. 226)
"Once I was so groggy that I managed to take an exam without being fully conscious and even make it back to bed, only to wake up later in a panic that I had missed the test. I still haven't figured out how I could have aced it." (p. 276)
Read this and believe in America again! Meanwhile, believe in yourselves, be well, and be blessed.
Thanks for reading!
April 20, 2017
As the biography journey begins its final days, I returned to yet another female Justice of the US Supreme Court. I sought not only to learn about a strong woman, but also one who will lay out a strong memoir to shape her rise to judicial prominence. While some will remember my reviews of pieces by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg during this biography binge, they proved highly informative, but lacked a true chronological build-up and left me wanting more. Justice Sonia Sotomayor has written a strong historical piece that does what I have been seeking all along, tapping into her youth and the hurdles she faced growing up, both proving to be highly useful for the reader to better understand the woman who currently sits on the Court. With a strong pre-judicial focus, the biography presents her arguments in a clear fashion that the curious reader may find useful to better understand Sonia Sotomayor as a woman and a legal heavyweight alike.
Born in the South Bronx, Sotomayor opens by tackling two major struggles she faced as a young girl, a diagnosis of Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes and a less that calm home life. Her close-knit family showered her with love, even when money was scarce, but an alcoholic father added strain to an already troublesome home. Her Catholic school upbringing brought the fear of God and the nuns into the early narrative, peppered with Sotomayor's passion to learn, an obvious escape from the fighting at home. It was only when she reached high school that Sotomayor found her niche through a teacher that took an academic interest in her. This scholastic passion grew as Sotomayor gained admission into Princeton and eventually Yale Law School, where she continued to excel. These were the early 1970s and affirmative action was being bandied around Admission Offices across universities. Sotomayor addresses this, but makes a strong argument that her grades propelled her, even if certain doors may have been left open a crack. Of particular interest, Sotomayor seems never too have forgotten her roots, even during her Ivy League education. Her continued success baffled her at times, though she never forgot from whence she came, reminding the reader of her extended family and treks back to the Bronx whenever she could. Sotomayor also talks about a Hispanic Civil Rights Movement and how universities were a hotbed to begin cultivating new and exciting opportunities to foster respect for her cultural roots, first within academic circles and then at a government level. After graduation, Sotomayor began a new round of struggles and adventures as she had to make a career out of her extensive education. She turned to life as a trial lawyer, where she was able to prosecute criminals of all types, but also had epiphanies about the disparities of the legal system as a whole. Sotomayor used this as another building block in her creation of a legal and judicial foundation, striving to bring balance to a jaded and money-fuelled system. Tackling many cases, Sotomayor had a larger goal, to reach the bench and chose to enrich her life in private practice, where she might be able to hone some of her strong civil law skills. Many saw great possibilities for Sotomayor, pushing her towards applying for consideration of the Senate's Judiciary Committee for a Federal District Court post. In the waning chapters, Sotomayor offers the reader some of the process involved therein and quickly ties up her narrative soon after her appointment. A strong first piece in a well-grounded memoir, Sotomayor is sure to garner much interest by any who take the time to read what she has to offer.
Sotomayor provides a strong foundation for the reader in this memoir, by pulling on her upbringing, education, and personal struggles. The narrative is not only clear and concise, but flavoured with the power of hindsight and recollection, synthesising events and ideas that might have been lost at the time of their emergence. Presenting herself humbly, Sotomayor allows the reader to judge for themselves as to what they think about this most accomplished woman. While I would have liked a section dedicated to her ongoing judicial work, Sotomayor admits in the forward that this would not be included. One can speculate that she wanted to remain impartial while sitting on the bench, but leaving the reader to wonder what might be in store in the second half of this telling memoir. Honest and told from the heart without turning into a tell-all, Sotomayor invites the reader into some of her most personal struggles, while staying true to all those who have helped her along the way. Truly a woman of much power who has seen much in her life, Sonia Sotomayor is a role model for many who know the power of determination.
Kudos, Justice Sotomayor for sharing so much about yourself. I came into this with such little knowledge about you and the life you led, but leave with much respect and a list of questions.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Born in the South Bronx, Sotomayor opens by tackling two major struggles she faced as a young girl, a diagnosis of Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes and a less that calm home life. Her close-knit family showered her with love, even when money was scarce, but an alcoholic father added strain to an already troublesome home. Her Catholic school upbringing brought the fear of God and the nuns into the early narrative, peppered with Sotomayor's passion to learn, an obvious escape from the fighting at home. It was only when she reached high school that Sotomayor found her niche through a teacher that took an academic interest in her. This scholastic passion grew as Sotomayor gained admission into Princeton and eventually Yale Law School, where she continued to excel. These were the early 1970s and affirmative action was being bandied around Admission Offices across universities. Sotomayor addresses this, but makes a strong argument that her grades propelled her, even if certain doors may have been left open a crack. Of particular interest, Sotomayor seems never too have forgotten her roots, even during her Ivy League education. Her continued success baffled her at times, though she never forgot from whence she came, reminding the reader of her extended family and treks back to the Bronx whenever she could. Sotomayor also talks about a Hispanic Civil Rights Movement and how universities were a hotbed to begin cultivating new and exciting opportunities to foster respect for her cultural roots, first within academic circles and then at a government level. After graduation, Sotomayor began a new round of struggles and adventures as she had to make a career out of her extensive education. She turned to life as a trial lawyer, where she was able to prosecute criminals of all types, but also had epiphanies about the disparities of the legal system as a whole. Sotomayor used this as another building block in her creation of a legal and judicial foundation, striving to bring balance to a jaded and money-fuelled system. Tackling many cases, Sotomayor had a larger goal, to reach the bench and chose to enrich her life in private practice, where she might be able to hone some of her strong civil law skills. Many saw great possibilities for Sotomayor, pushing her towards applying for consideration of the Senate's Judiciary Committee for a Federal District Court post. In the waning chapters, Sotomayor offers the reader some of the process involved therein and quickly ties up her narrative soon after her appointment. A strong first piece in a well-grounded memoir, Sotomayor is sure to garner much interest by any who take the time to read what she has to offer.
Sotomayor provides a strong foundation for the reader in this memoir, by pulling on her upbringing, education, and personal struggles. The narrative is not only clear and concise, but flavoured with the power of hindsight and recollection, synthesising events and ideas that might have been lost at the time of their emergence. Presenting herself humbly, Sotomayor allows the reader to judge for themselves as to what they think about this most accomplished woman. While I would have liked a section dedicated to her ongoing judicial work, Sotomayor admits in the forward that this would not be included. One can speculate that she wanted to remain impartial while sitting on the bench, but leaving the reader to wonder what might be in store in the second half of this telling memoir. Honest and told from the heart without turning into a tell-all, Sotomayor invites the reader into some of her most personal struggles, while staying true to all those who have helped her along the way. Truly a woman of much power who has seen much in her life, Sonia Sotomayor is a role model for many who know the power of determination.
Kudos, Justice Sotomayor for sharing so much about yourself. I came into this with such little knowledge about you and the life you led, but leave with much respect and a list of questions.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
February 7, 2013
I picked this up because I had heard Justice Sotomayor on NPR and found her so charming and so brilliant that I was curious about her biography. The woman knows how to tell a story! I was captured on the first page. From the moment when she teaches herself how to administer her own insulin shots at the age of 7, she reveals herself to be brave, determined and strong. Sonia's father was an alcoholic and her mother, while devoted to her children, was overburdened and overworked. As a young girl, Sonia escaped her tumultuous household by spending time with her paternal grandmother, who dispensed wise advise and provided peace. Called Aji - hot pepper - by her parents, Sonia's rise to valedictorian of her high school, honors at Princeton and then Yale Law really is inspiring. While the stories from her years in the New York County District Attorney office are fascinating, I'm sorry the story ends just as she is appointed to the Federal District Court. I hope there is another book in her future.
February 4, 2013
By far the best political memoir I've read since Condoleezza Rice's Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family. It doesn't diminish these political women's careers that they write so intimately about their families or refuse to mythologize their minority rags-to-riches stories.
Sotomayor is immediately likable and increasingly admirable in this genuine working class hero's tale. It's about time women of accomplishment wrote classics about self-invention in the American landscape.
From an eight-year old diagnosed with juvenile diabetes who had to teach herself about non-disposable syringes and daily injections of insulin, to the "wise Latina" valedictorian at Princeton and effective Supreme Court justice, Sotomayor retains a wonderful scrappiness.
Highly recommended!
Sotomayor is immediately likable and increasingly admirable in this genuine working class hero's tale. It's about time women of accomplishment wrote classics about self-invention in the American landscape.
From an eight-year old diagnosed with juvenile diabetes who had to teach herself about non-disposable syringes and daily injections of insulin, to the "wise Latina" valedictorian at Princeton and effective Supreme Court justice, Sotomayor retains a wonderful scrappiness.
Highly recommended!
July 20, 2016
I admire Sonia Sotomayor, born in 1954 of Puerto Rican lineage, she grew up in the Bronx. She shared the poverty and squalor off many of her Hispanic compatriots. Today she is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the first Hispanic Supreme Court Judge. She studied at Princeton, followed by graduate studies at Yale. Valedictorian of her high school class, she graduated summa cum laude at Princeton. This is a rag to riches story - except that she has never sought financial gain and has instead chosen to work for the good of the Hispanic Community and other minority groups rather than earning huge salaries at private law firms. To top it all off she has had type one diabetes since 1962, the very same year it was discovered I too have diabetes. I went to Brown, she to Princeton. So, we shared quite a bit, but in some ways we followed very different paths and are very different people. Of course the book spoke to me.
But why did the author write this book? Clearly the point of the book is to inspire others from minority groups who feel that success is not possible. Her story proves the opposite. Determination and willpower - that is what is needed! The book concludes prior to her becoming a federal judge, so do not look to this book to better understand her Supreme Court decisions. The book shows her interest in helping those who have less. Financial gain is never her goal, and I admire this tremendously.
Most often legal terms are sufficiently explained making the book easy to read for a lay person.
Do you sense my lack of enthusiasm for the book? I didn't love the book even if I have difficulty pinpointing what it lacks. Sonia is methodical and also the book is methodical. It covers family relationships - she has a large, but also close Hispanic family. It covers her career choices and explanations are given for why she made the choices she did. It covers her diabetes too. The problem for me was that she isn't a person comfortable about "revealing her soul". She states that she has difficulty “sharing” personal thoughts, and this shows. She holds back. She does give an honest, albeit "cleaned up" version. I felt often there is / must be more here, something is not being said. She is not one to want pity, so she guards personal emotions. What she says about diabetes.....well, either her diabetes is easy to control or something is missing. I similarly reacted to the emotional tumult one feels as a freshman at an Ivy League College. Again something was missing.
Spanish is often not translated and that was difficult for me. There are not large untranslated sections, but I want to understand everything!
The audiobook narration by Rita Moreno was spot-on! I kept thinking this IS the author herself speaking!
I felt the author wanted this book to be an inspiration rather than a revelation of who she was.
But why did the author write this book? Clearly the point of the book is to inspire others from minority groups who feel that success is not possible. Her story proves the opposite. Determination and willpower - that is what is needed! The book concludes prior to her becoming a federal judge, so do not look to this book to better understand her Supreme Court decisions. The book shows her interest in helping those who have less. Financial gain is never her goal, and I admire this tremendously.
Most often legal terms are sufficiently explained making the book easy to read for a lay person.
Do you sense my lack of enthusiasm for the book? I didn't love the book even if I have difficulty pinpointing what it lacks. Sonia is methodical and also the book is methodical. It covers family relationships - she has a large, but also close Hispanic family. It covers her career choices and explanations are given for why she made the choices she did. It covers her diabetes too. The problem for me was that she isn't a person comfortable about "revealing her soul". She states that she has difficulty “sharing” personal thoughts, and this shows. She holds back. She does give an honest, albeit "cleaned up" version. I felt often there is / must be more here, something is not being said. She is not one to want pity, so she guards personal emotions. What she says about diabetes.....well, either her diabetes is easy to control or something is missing. I similarly reacted to the emotional tumult one feels as a freshman at an Ivy League College. Again something was missing.
Spanish is often not translated and that was difficult for me. There are not large untranslated sections, but I want to understand everything!
The audiobook narration by Rita Moreno was spot-on! I kept thinking this IS the author herself speaking!
I felt the author wanted this book to be an inspiration rather than a revelation of who she was.
July 12, 2022
I was thrilled to be able to attend: A Conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the 2019 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference & Exhibition in Washington, DC. May 9, 2019 and put her book on my To Read list. Here we are, only 3 years later! I know I am going to enjoy listening to her tell me the story of her life.
From the introduction, "experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire."
Favorite quotes that reveal Sonia Sotomayor's wisdom and depth of character:
"Without acknowledgment and communication forgiveness was out of reach."
"Look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls."
I felt nostalgic for my own first home away from home when I read this: "Home was a living room with a built in storage chest that doubled as a couch. There was a real bedroom separate from the living room and a tiny cubbyhole of a kitchen. We loved that place." Further, "It never lost the glow of a first home, the sweet mix of nesting and independence."
"Ultimately, I accept that there is no perfect substitute for the claim that a parent and child have on each other's heart. But families can be made in other ways and I marvel at the support and inspiration I've derived from the ones I've built of interlocking circles of friends and in their constant embrace I have never felt alone."
Finally, Sotomayor is a life long learner: "I have been a happy sponge soaking up whatever lessons I could learn from mentors generous with time and spirit."
From the introduction, "experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire."
Favorite quotes that reveal Sonia Sotomayor's wisdom and depth of character:
"Without acknowledgment and communication forgiveness was out of reach."
"Look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls."
I felt nostalgic for my own first home away from home when I read this: "Home was a living room with a built in storage chest that doubled as a couch. There was a real bedroom separate from the living room and a tiny cubbyhole of a kitchen. We loved that place." Further, "It never lost the glow of a first home, the sweet mix of nesting and independence."
"Ultimately, I accept that there is no perfect substitute for the claim that a parent and child have on each other's heart. But families can be made in other ways and I marvel at the support and inspiration I've derived from the ones I've built of interlocking circles of friends and in their constant embrace I have never felt alone."
Finally, Sotomayor is a life long learner: "I have been a happy sponge soaking up whatever lessons I could learn from mentors generous with time and spirit."
February 26, 2015
The Hook - Fourth Tuesday Book Group
The Line – ”I wouldn’t get to see California until my second summer at law school. I remember driving the freeways with palm trees in view and thinking of Gilmar, among other friends I’ve lost touch with who may never know what memories they’ve left behind in my keeping.” Sonia Sotomayor
The Sinker – One thing I love about our library’s non-fiction group is that it encourages me to read books I would never pick up on my own. There are times when I am reluctant to read their choice but in the spirit of participation I do. My initial thoughts regarding My Beloved World were that it would be “Boring!” Nothing could have been farther from the truth nor as good as this turned out to be. The group knows best.
Who knows what I was expecting? What I got was a memoir that read like a conversation with an old friend over a cup of tea. Sonia Sotomayor seems a sincere, caring, humble, intelligent woman, as you’d ever want to meet. She explains right from the beginning that she chose memoir vs. biography so she could capture her own reality of events in her life, her memories, not how others might have perceived them. She covers her early years up to her confirmation as District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming the first Hispanic Federal Judge to serve in that role.
”I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that candor comes a measure of vulnerability.”
She explains that the impetus for her memoir came from a question she was asked:
”How much did I owe to having had a happy childhood?”
This was difficult to answer as she really never saw her childhood in that light, yet could understand how anyone seeing her today surrounded by her loving family would think this. It took her many years, many conversations, many accomplishments to get to this place. This is not to say that there were not happy memories mixed in with the darker experiences.
You immediately get a sense of the strength of Ms. Sotomayor, even as young as seven. It is at this time that she is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. The very first day she is home she awakes to hearing her parents arguing about who will administer her insulin. The fighting between them is nothing new but this time it is about her, something she cannot bear. She is determined to inject herself after learning to sterilize her own needles. One less thing to cause strife in her home.
Ms. Sotomayor shares so much with us, her readers. She takes us on a journey of her neighborhoods, her family, including her beloved Mami, Papi, Abuelita and brother Junior, grade school, her struggles, the love and losses, the challenges, and triumphs. Everything did not come easily but she acknowledges that she had some breaks that she was able to use to her own best interests. She speaks to the issue of affirmative action and feels without it she might not have attended such a prestigious college as Princeton. It was one thing to be admitted to Princeton but this did not allow her to rest on her laurels. She worked hard for all her achievements.
One question raised at our group seems quite obvious and yet was not one I considered. Would Sonia Sotomayor be where she today if she had not graduated from Princeton or Yale? The men in our group were adamant that she would not. The women were more confident that Ms. Sotomayor had the persistence to go where she would.
Sonia Sotomayor is a woman to admire. Her memoir is a must for anyone who counts books with strong women at its core as an addition to their reading list.
“But experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire. That will, wherever it finally leads, does at least move you forward. And after a time you may recognize that the proper measure of success is not how much you've closed the distance to some far-off goal but the quality of what you've done today.”
― Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World
Addendum - something I forgot to mention but want this to be part of my comments>
It is my belief that Sonia Sotomayor made an effort to understand her own perception of her childhood by taking the risk of having honest conversations with her mother, Celina. The mother/daughter relationship seems one of the most complicated. By allowing herself to hear stories of her mother's life she was able to see her mother in new light. I feel this only made Sotomayor a stronger woman; one who could move forward with healing, love and understanding.
The Line – ”I wouldn’t get to see California until my second summer at law school. I remember driving the freeways with palm trees in view and thinking of Gilmar, among other friends I’ve lost touch with who may never know what memories they’ve left behind in my keeping.” Sonia Sotomayor
The Sinker – One thing I love about our library’s non-fiction group is that it encourages me to read books I would never pick up on my own. There are times when I am reluctant to read their choice but in the spirit of participation I do. My initial thoughts regarding My Beloved World were that it would be “Boring!” Nothing could have been farther from the truth nor as good as this turned out to be. The group knows best.
Who knows what I was expecting? What I got was a memoir that read like a conversation with an old friend over a cup of tea. Sonia Sotomayor seems a sincere, caring, humble, intelligent woman, as you’d ever want to meet. She explains right from the beginning that she chose memoir vs. biography so she could capture her own reality of events in her life, her memories, not how others might have perceived them. She covers her early years up to her confirmation as District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming the first Hispanic Federal Judge to serve in that role.
”I have ventured to write more intimately about my personal life than is customary for a member of the Supreme Court, and with that candor comes a measure of vulnerability.”
She explains that the impetus for her memoir came from a question she was asked:
”How much did I owe to having had a happy childhood?”
This was difficult to answer as she really never saw her childhood in that light, yet could understand how anyone seeing her today surrounded by her loving family would think this. It took her many years, many conversations, many accomplishments to get to this place. This is not to say that there were not happy memories mixed in with the darker experiences.
You immediately get a sense of the strength of Ms. Sotomayor, even as young as seven. It is at this time that she is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. The very first day she is home she awakes to hearing her parents arguing about who will administer her insulin. The fighting between them is nothing new but this time it is about her, something she cannot bear. She is determined to inject herself after learning to sterilize her own needles. One less thing to cause strife in her home.
Ms. Sotomayor shares so much with us, her readers. She takes us on a journey of her neighborhoods, her family, including her beloved Mami, Papi, Abuelita and brother Junior, grade school, her struggles, the love and losses, the challenges, and triumphs. Everything did not come easily but she acknowledges that she had some breaks that she was able to use to her own best interests. She speaks to the issue of affirmative action and feels without it she might not have attended such a prestigious college as Princeton. It was one thing to be admitted to Princeton but this did not allow her to rest on her laurels. She worked hard for all her achievements.
One question raised at our group seems quite obvious and yet was not one I considered. Would Sonia Sotomayor be where she today if she had not graduated from Princeton or Yale? The men in our group were adamant that she would not. The women were more confident that Ms. Sotomayor had the persistence to go where she would.
Sonia Sotomayor is a woman to admire. Her memoir is a must for anyone who counts books with strong women at its core as an addition to their reading list.
“But experience has taught me that you cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true. Their real value is in stirring within us the will to aspire. That will, wherever it finally leads, does at least move you forward. And after a time you may recognize that the proper measure of success is not how much you've closed the distance to some far-off goal but the quality of what you've done today.”
― Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World
Addendum - something I forgot to mention but want this to be part of my comments>
It is my belief that Sonia Sotomayor made an effort to understand her own perception of her childhood by taking the risk of having honest conversations with her mother, Celina. The mother/daughter relationship seems one of the most complicated. By allowing herself to hear stories of her mother's life she was able to see her mother in new light. I feel this only made Sotomayor a stronger woman; one who could move forward with healing, love and understanding.
June 7, 2013
This was a great book. Sonia Sotomayor is a fascinating woman and I enjoyed reading about her life. There are several things that stood out for me. First and foremost is that she always found the smartest person she could and asked for help. How many women (and men) are too competetive, too shy, or too intimidated to do that? Second, she isn't acquisitive (i.e., she doesn't have a lot of stuff). And because of that she never seemed to be that interested in making a lot of money, therefore she took jobs where she could learn and make a difference rather than make a big salary. Third, she got involved. Throughout her life she has always tried to make things better for individuals and communities, not just sitting around complaining that the government should do something. And fourth, she's a lady. Not once in the entire book did she dish dirt on anyone, she never indulged in self-pity, and she ALWAYS credited the people in her life (personally and professionally) for all their help and support. I admire that. No, I do not think she's a saint, but I am glad we have her on the Supreme Court. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
July 24, 2016
Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic appointed to the United States Supreme Court, has written a candid memoir about her life leading up to that appointment in 2009. Her young life began in a Bronx housing project with an alcoholic father who died young, and a mother who worked long hours as a nurse. Sotomayer had a warm extended family who gathered at her paternal grandmother's home. She was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at age 7, and learned to give herself the insulin shots. She was self-reliant, even at that early age, because she could not depend on anyone else being available to help her manage her diabetes.
School was challenging since she came from a home where Spanish was spoken, but she was intellectually curious and a hard worker. Trips with her family to Puerto Rico developed a strong attachment in Sotomayer to the island and its people. She tells about her work in volunteer organizations helping other Hispanics while a student at Princeton and Yale Law School. She appreciated the help of an important group of mentors along the way to becoming a lawyer, and eventually a judge. She worked fifteen hour days in a New York County District Attorney's office, private practice, and as a judge. But she always cultivated a large group of friends that acted much like family, people who were especially important to her after her divorce.
This entertaining memoir is upbeat, humorous, and compassionate. It's filled with local color, especially in the chapters about her Hispanic heritage. Sotomayer is an inspiration to others that dreams can come true.
School was challenging since she came from a home where Spanish was spoken, but she was intellectually curious and a hard worker. Trips with her family to Puerto Rico developed a strong attachment in Sotomayer to the island and its people. She tells about her work in volunteer organizations helping other Hispanics while a student at Princeton and Yale Law School. She appreciated the help of an important group of mentors along the way to becoming a lawyer, and eventually a judge. She worked fifteen hour days in a New York County District Attorney's office, private practice, and as a judge. But she always cultivated a large group of friends that acted much like family, people who were especially important to her after her divorce.
This entertaining memoir is upbeat, humorous, and compassionate. It's filled with local color, especially in the chapters about her Hispanic heritage. Sotomayer is an inspiration to others that dreams can come true.
September 30, 2019
I wish my younger self had read this book. I believe it may had changed my life. It was mostly written for the young generation for the first half of the book, then it got into more technical writing. I amended my stars from 5 to 4 because I believe it did have flaws in the writing. I didn’t feel that I really got to know her. She left out a lot of her self, like it was highly edited. No, you can’t say “that” kind of stuff. She truly is a judge, and didn’t share many opinions of her own. All in all, I did enjoy it.
September 28, 2016
This book just never caught fire for me. Way too much time spent on her childhood and catholic school upbringing. There were some interesting philosophical discussions, such as the value of Affirmative Action, but not enough to keep my interest. I think the problem is that the writing was very dry and lacked any sense of warmth.
July 1, 2019
Sonia Sotomayor is a remarkable woman: brilliant, determined, ambitious, with a high sense of morality, integrity, wanting to help improve people’s lives and do them justice.
She writes with candor about her upbringing in a poor but tight-knit Puerto Rican community in the Bronx; her father’s alcoholism, her mother’s hard work and integrity bringing the children up after her father died. Her memories of her childhood, and the stories of her mother’s upbringing in Puerto Rico, were my favorite parts of the book. She talks with passion about her roots, the love for her family, especially her beloved abuelita (grandmother).
Sonia was hardworking and headstrong since childhood, and this trait earned her honors from high school to Princeton and Yale Law School. I am very impressed by her achievements, and find her an amazing role model. Her years in law practice, however, kinda flagged for me - I did not find it nearly as exciting as her childhood. Possibly because I just find law or descriptions of office work boring in general. I do appreciate her passion for doing right and upholding the law, however. We need more people like her.
She writes with candor about her upbringing in a poor but tight-knit Puerto Rican community in the Bronx; her father’s alcoholism, her mother’s hard work and integrity bringing the children up after her father died. Her memories of her childhood, and the stories of her mother’s upbringing in Puerto Rico, were my favorite parts of the book. She talks with passion about her roots, the love for her family, especially her beloved abuelita (grandmother).
Sonia was hardworking and headstrong since childhood, and this trait earned her honors from high school to Princeton and Yale Law School. I am very impressed by her achievements, and find her an amazing role model. Her years in law practice, however, kinda flagged for me - I did not find it nearly as exciting as her childhood. Possibly because I just find law or descriptions of office work boring in general. I do appreciate her passion for doing right and upholding the law, however. We need more people like her.
October 23, 2018
Who is Sonia Sotomayor? She is a girl from the NY projects. She is a girl who grew up in a loving home led by a tough mother and an alcoholic father. How did this NYrican make it to the highest court in the land? Well, Sonia tells a story of a girl with a unique intellect, a mom who modeled hard work and good ethics and lastly many people along the way who supported a young talent. I love Justice Sotomayor's story. It is the story of America, of people who came from where ever and worked hard. Sonia is a lovely writer but even better than that she is an insightful human observer. She talks about how as a child she could read people and understand their pain, even her own mother's. I had an epiphany moment when Sonia reflects on the burden children of immigrants carry for their mother's sadness and failures. Gosh, my mother has been gone for just over 4 years and in reading this book I realize the burden I carry. My mother's sadness as an immigrant, as a woman born in a different land where life and rules were different is a big weight on a person but more so for her children. I am so glad I read her memoir and this is a book that everyone should read. It is not about making it and being successful. It is about the people along the way that guide you. I am absolutely changed after reading Sonia's biography.
July 10, 2013
I really liked this biography, not because it tells us how to grow up to be a Supreme Court justice but rather, what it is like to start out poor in the South Bronx, speaking only Spanish, and make the transition to the power elite. Sotomayor descibes the journey from the lowest socio-economic class to the upper echelons of academia and the law; not that she always knew where she was heading. We talk about America as the land of opportunity, but so many of us are unaware that the opportunity exists and what questions to ask to find it. She ponders what made the difference with humility and humor.
February 24, 2014
I LOVED this book. As a Latina, I was certainly proud to have Sotomayor as a member of the Supreme Court, but admittedly knew nothing about her as a person or her life. She has a wonderful story, and is so very human in describing her struggles, her triumphs and insecurities. There were many times in reading her story that i wished I could sit down with her and a cup of coffee, and hear her tell her story in person. Sotomayor's honesty and sincerity have turned me into an ardent admirer.
January 23, 2023
Just about every morning, when I first go out the front door, I proclaim:
Hello, My Beloved World.
I loved every page of this inspiring memoir from one of my favorite ever Supreme Court justices.
Early in the book I woke up a bit more as a reader; I began to pay close attention. You see, Goodreaders, I could tell that this Wise Latina was going to become a teacher to me.
Although, inwardly, I always feel eager to learn and to grow, not every author or memoirist has much to teach me about what I seek most to know: how to be stronger, better, wiser, braver.
But early in this book, I could tell that Sotomayor would be that magnificent kind of teacher to me.
COURAGE UNDER PRESSURE. ALSO, GRACE.
How and why, as a little girl, Sonia learned to inject her own insulin.... Was she five then? At first I was shocked; then the inspiration of this memoir began. Afterward, it never stopped flowing for me.
How surprised and saddened I was to learn how Sonia Sotomayor was given the opportunity to receive an Ivy League education, yet was given so little support for actually succeeding. I was rooting for her every step of the way, overcoming every obstacle.
Learning this part of Justice Sotomayor's story added to my ongoing pursuit of social justice, beyond some merely theoretical kind of equality under the law.
IN CONCLUSION
I recommend this memoir to all of us readers who aim to make something of our lives, and to all of us who seek to truly help others.
If, like me, every single day you seek to do that better.... I have a hunch you will not be disappointed. I hope that you, too, will relish every single page of that uniquely ennobling memoir, "My Beloved World."
Hello, My Beloved World.
I loved every page of this inspiring memoir from one of my favorite ever Supreme Court justices.
Early in the book I woke up a bit more as a reader; I began to pay close attention. You see, Goodreaders, I could tell that this Wise Latina was going to become a teacher to me.
Although, inwardly, I always feel eager to learn and to grow, not every author or memoirist has much to teach me about what I seek most to know: how to be stronger, better, wiser, braver.
But early in this book, I could tell that Sotomayor would be that magnificent kind of teacher to me.
COURAGE UNDER PRESSURE. ALSO, GRACE.
How and why, as a little girl, Sonia learned to inject her own insulin.... Was she five then? At first I was shocked; then the inspiration of this memoir began. Afterward, it never stopped flowing for me.
How surprised and saddened I was to learn how Sonia Sotomayor was given the opportunity to receive an Ivy League education, yet was given so little support for actually succeeding. I was rooting for her every step of the way, overcoming every obstacle.
Learning this part of Justice Sotomayor's story added to my ongoing pursuit of social justice, beyond some merely theoretical kind of equality under the law.
IN CONCLUSION
I recommend this memoir to all of us readers who aim to make something of our lives, and to all of us who seek to truly help others.
If, like me, every single day you seek to do that better.... I have a hunch you will not be disappointed. I hope that you, too, will relish every single page of that uniquely ennobling memoir, "My Beloved World."
March 11, 2014
edited to add -- Justice Sotomayor came to Seattle Town Hall tonight to two standing ovations. I jotted down a few things she said (or approximately said) tonight:
“Failure is such a wonderful teacher . . . I feel the same way about trauma.”
“It shocks me when I hear people say ‘I did it alone.’ No one does it alone.”
“I have spent my entire life not being afraid of admitting that I don’t know.. . . there is no shame in not knowing something. There should be shame in not asking.”
“I am very very competitive. The point when I know I’ve gone too far is when I start completing with someone else.”
“I get letters from all over the world telling me how their life is similar to mine.”
“Affirmative Action was a way of letting minority kids know that there is a race they have to run.”
“Laws don’t spring up sua sponte. Someone planted that seed. . . someone cared. To the extent you don’t like it, it’s your job to rip the weed out.”
“Unfortunately, we have a system where we fund schools very differently, so some kids have more of an adventure than others. . . . If I had a magic wand, I’d give every child the same great education.” [I got that quote wrong because I got distracted by the second standing ovation, but the sentiment is correct.]
--- original review --
There are parts of this Supreme Court Justice’s story I identify with. Finding mythology at a young age; being bereft of cultural knowledge shared by those around us; being the recipient of childhood kindness and childhood cruelty – right there with her.
There are other parts this Supreme Court Justice’s story that are simply out of my world. Her large, tightly knit family; her childhood poverty; her membership in an insular and discrete minority; her delight in driving one of the original Ferrari Testarossas – for better or for worst, not my world.
This book chronicles her life from childhood to taking the bench. It is an epic, warming story, and it makes me like our president better that he nominated her. Justice Sotomayor frankly acknowledges that she got where she is no small part through affirmative action; that doors that would have been closed to her were opened. And that’s a very good thing. The older I get, the more respect I have for LBJ.
It begins as a very emotionally intimate tale. The intimacy fades as the story goes on, though there are flashes right until the end. She does not overtly hint at her governing legal theories, but there are flashes of that too. I am not surprised she regularly votes differently from Justice Thomas.
This is what a Supreme Court Justice looks like. A little like me, a little not. It's a good thing.
“Failure is such a wonderful teacher . . . I feel the same way about trauma.”
“It shocks me when I hear people say ‘I did it alone.’ No one does it alone.”
“I have spent my entire life not being afraid of admitting that I don’t know.. . . there is no shame in not knowing something. There should be shame in not asking.”
“I am very very competitive. The point when I know I’ve gone too far is when I start completing with someone else.”
“I get letters from all over the world telling me how their life is similar to mine.”
“Affirmative Action was a way of letting minority kids know that there is a race they have to run.”
“Laws don’t spring up sua sponte. Someone planted that seed. . . someone cared. To the extent you don’t like it, it’s your job to rip the weed out.”
“Unfortunately, we have a system where we fund schools very differently, so some kids have more of an adventure than others. . . . If I had a magic wand, I’d give every child the same great education.” [I got that quote wrong because I got distracted by the second standing ovation, but the sentiment is correct.]
--- original review --
There are parts of this Supreme Court Justice’s story I identify with. Finding mythology at a young age; being bereft of cultural knowledge shared by those around us; being the recipient of childhood kindness and childhood cruelty – right there with her.
There are other parts this Supreme Court Justice’s story that are simply out of my world. Her large, tightly knit family; her childhood poverty; her membership in an insular and discrete minority; her delight in driving one of the original Ferrari Testarossas – for better or for worst, not my world.
This book chronicles her life from childhood to taking the bench. It is an epic, warming story, and it makes me like our president better that he nominated her. Justice Sotomayor frankly acknowledges that she got where she is no small part through affirmative action; that doors that would have been closed to her were opened. And that’s a very good thing. The older I get, the more respect I have for LBJ.
It begins as a very emotionally intimate tale. The intimacy fades as the story goes on, though there are flashes right until the end. She does not overtly hint at her governing legal theories, but there are flashes of that too. I am not surprised she regularly votes differently from Justice Thomas.
This is what a Supreme Court Justice looks like. A little like me, a little not. It's a good thing.
February 11, 2014
I had the good fortune to hear Sonia Sotomayor speak last week, and within hours I had downloaded her book. A warm and articulate speaker, she made me want to know where she came from. She is a remarkable woman, focused and driven from an early age.
As a sitting justice, she must steer clear of comments that can be construed as bearing on any case she may have to consider. This memoir is simply a reflection on her early life, influences, and experiences. It begins when she was soon to turn eight years old (learning she has diabetes) and ends about 30 years later with her first appointment to a federal court.
Her personal journey has been one in which she has sought to retain and embrace her Nuyorican community at the same time that she has learned to traverse a widening landscape of people and institutions. She would surely tell any of us that this is life’s purpose: to honor one’s roots and to move with sympathy and intelligence among those whose roots are different.
I am struck by her devotion to the law. She was a tough-as-nails prosecutor and an effective partner in a New York firm. But her eye was always on the federal bench as the place where one would best deal with the full scope of the law. Even while a student in the turbulent early 70s, she never wanted to demonstrate or practice civil disobedience. Her route was always discourse, the approach of rational argument.
There is no mistaking that she was an exceptional child, independent and curious from the beginning. She had a father whose alcohol-related death impacted the whole family, but she also had a warm grandmother, a savvy and determined mother, and a coterie of loving cousins. Her drive to succeed never waivered, and it may have put a nail into her young marriage, which took a back seat to the burgeoning law career.
She is candid about the doors that opened because of affirmative action, whether stated as a policy or not. Such a policy was surely at work when she was admitted to Princeton, and she may have been slightly behind her classmates upon entry, but she graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the top university prize for a senior. This was a life pattern; if she could not do something, she found out what she was doing wrong. She had the highest standards for herself – and others. I’m told that attorneys who appeared before her bench could quake in their boots if inadequately prepared.
Let’s just say I am in awe of this story. Sotomayor is not primarily a writer, and I think she did too much explanation and interpretation when the story itself was enough. The book bogged a bit at these moments. The takeaway: she is a powerful personality, a profound inspiration, someone to cherish as a special American.
As a sitting justice, she must steer clear of comments that can be construed as bearing on any case she may have to consider. This memoir is simply a reflection on her early life, influences, and experiences. It begins when she was soon to turn eight years old (learning she has diabetes) and ends about 30 years later with her first appointment to a federal court.
Her personal journey has been one in which she has sought to retain and embrace her Nuyorican community at the same time that she has learned to traverse a widening landscape of people and institutions. She would surely tell any of us that this is life’s purpose: to honor one’s roots and to move with sympathy and intelligence among those whose roots are different.
I am struck by her devotion to the law. She was a tough-as-nails prosecutor and an effective partner in a New York firm. But her eye was always on the federal bench as the place where one would best deal with the full scope of the law. Even while a student in the turbulent early 70s, she never wanted to demonstrate or practice civil disobedience. Her route was always discourse, the approach of rational argument.
There is no mistaking that she was an exceptional child, independent and curious from the beginning. She had a father whose alcohol-related death impacted the whole family, but she also had a warm grandmother, a savvy and determined mother, and a coterie of loving cousins. Her drive to succeed never waivered, and it may have put a nail into her young marriage, which took a back seat to the burgeoning law career.
She is candid about the doors that opened because of affirmative action, whether stated as a policy or not. Such a policy was surely at work when she was admitted to Princeton, and she may have been slightly behind her classmates upon entry, but she graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the top university prize for a senior. This was a life pattern; if she could not do something, she found out what she was doing wrong. She had the highest standards for herself – and others. I’m told that attorneys who appeared before her bench could quake in their boots if inadequately prepared.
Let’s just say I am in awe of this story. Sotomayor is not primarily a writer, and I think she did too much explanation and interpretation when the story itself was enough. The book bogged a bit at these moments. The takeaway: she is a powerful personality, a profound inspiration, someone to cherish as a special American.
December 26, 2014
This tightly controlled and endlessly fascinating memoir reveals how Sonia Sotomayor wants us to see her world. She is caught between the desire to show us all where she came from and how she developed into the person who has earned a position as a Supreme Court justice. And it is clear that no one just accidentally ends up becoming a Supreme Court justice. At the same time readers just can’t help admiring the eight year-old girl who learns to take control of her own life and destiny by learning to inject herself with the insulin treatment she needs to control her childhood diabetes. She realizes she cannot rely on others to take care of her, even her own loving but flawed parents are not fully trustworthy. But she is ever willing to include those others in her life even as she is fully alone as she chooses her path She is an intellectually gifted child whose family is proud of her great achievements and supports her, even as they do not understand the world she seeks to join. Yet they take what steps they can, moving to a better neighborhood and assisting her as she chooses her next step. She attends Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, not exactly a feeder school for the ivies but the best of what is in the neighborhood. She moves from there to Princeton University, a world well beyond what her childhood friends know. And she moves to the top of her class at Princeton and gains admission to Yale Law School, arguably the best in the country. She is fully aware of how far she has moved from the loving embrace of her old neighborhood, yet she makes right choice after right choice. The way she tells it, she may not have always known she would end up on the Supreme Court, yet every step she took prepared her through knowledge, experiences, and connections to be ready for the appointment when it came.
It is always interesting to read the stories (and Sotomayor is very conscious as a writer to make sure she shapes her memoir as an exciting story) of those of us who travel far from their humble roots into the upper reaches of power and intellect. Sotomayor’s story is particularly interesting as she remains in love with her “beloved world” as she travels so far beyond it. And she is determined to keep her attachment even as she adds many others. Each step she takes is both considered and planned for, even as she is sometimes amazed at where she has managed to take herself. An appealing story by someone who simultaneously maintains her distance and hugs us close.
It is always interesting to read the stories (and Sotomayor is very conscious as a writer to make sure she shapes her memoir as an exciting story) of those of us who travel far from their humble roots into the upper reaches of power and intellect. Sotomayor’s story is particularly interesting as she remains in love with her “beloved world” as she travels so far beyond it. And she is determined to keep her attachment even as she adds many others. Each step she takes is both considered and planned for, even as she is sometimes amazed at where she has managed to take herself. An appealing story by someone who simultaneously maintains her distance and hugs us close.
July 6, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't the most fabulous memoir I've ever read, and there were some parts that felt a bit fragmented (especially toward the end, I felt like there was a section that was 'hey here were some other facts/stories I wanted to include but didn't know where to put them'), but I actually really liked it. I both encountered some experiences that were very unfamiliar to me and encountered some ways of living, feeling, and thinking about life that I really identified with. Her brief discussion about having children (or not) as a working woman was especially interesting to me (on and around pg. 234), as was her discussion about (what others have called) imposter syndrome at various points in the book. For example, I really liked and identified with this quote (pg. 296) "My first month as a judge I was terrified, in keeping with the usual pattern of self-doubt and compensatory effort that has always attended any major transition in my life." All in all, it was an inspiring look at an inspiring person. (Also, sounds like she and her then-husband lived in Butler ("graduate student housing that had been built during and after WWII to shelter the families of returning soldiers") at Princeton (pg. 198)... I wonder if I ever visited their place. :))
December 31, 2020
A very cool look into Sotomayor’s childhood, and everything that led her to the Supreme Court. She’s wise and gives good weight to her own faults and strengths. Her memoir reads like a good story, and the intricacies of law school, courtrooms, and cases are fascinating.
She doesn’t shy away from talking about her personal demons, from an alcoholic father and absent mother, to her imposter syndrome made worse by her minority status, and she shows true growth through her years. Her dedication to be always progressing, always improving, is inspiring. Even if you’re not interested in law, it’s a good read just in terms of reading about strong character.
She doesn’t shy away from talking about her personal demons, from an alcoholic father and absent mother, to her imposter syndrome made worse by her minority status, and she shows true growth through her years. Her dedication to be always progressing, always improving, is inspiring. Even if you’re not interested in law, it’s a good read just in terms of reading about strong character.
October 28, 2019
Coming off my Michelle Obama biography, this one felt a bit very familiar: non-white girl from an impoverished family in an American inner city goes to Princeton, then an Ivy League law school, and struggles against bigoted expectations to rise to the very top of American politics.
Obviously they've had different routes to power, and that power manifests itself in different ways. And as an attorney, a SCOTUS justice is naturally going to manifest hers in ways that is more germane to my career than a First Lady would. Sotomayor I think lives in RBG's shadow a bit but her jurisprudence is no less progressive (and indeed, in some cases she will be the lone holdout), and she brings a type of compassion to her legal analysis that is decidedly absent from the terse and cerebral writings of RBG. But I think the mantle is hers when, in some decade hopefully far removed from now, RBG leaves the Court. She is a remarkable woman and a true empath.
Obviously they've had different routes to power, and that power manifests itself in different ways. And as an attorney, a SCOTUS justice is naturally going to manifest hers in ways that is more germane to my career than a First Lady would. Sotomayor I think lives in RBG's shadow a bit but her jurisprudence is no less progressive (and indeed, in some cases she will be the lone holdout), and she brings a type of compassion to her legal analysis that is decidedly absent from the terse and cerebral writings of RBG. But I think the mantle is hers when, in some decade hopefully far removed from now, RBG leaves the Court. She is a remarkable woman and a true empath.
July 22, 2013
What a great read. So inspiring. She offers much practical advice for everyday living. The country is fortunate to have her on the Supreme Court.
August 17, 2022
An informative look at Sotomayor's journey to being a judge, but this doesn't focus on her work with the Supreme Court (that's where the book ends). I found her upbringing insightful and how the elements of her culture shaped her life. The writing isn't terribly exciting, but it is engaging.
January 28, 2013
Sonia Sotomayor's new memoir, MY BELOVED WORLD, is absolutely fabulous, just outstanding. I started it late Saturday afternoon (26 Jan 2013) and finished it this morning, scarcely 36 hours later. It is heartwarming, gritty, tender, inspiring, authentic, eloquent--a celebration of family, work, and love in a world of despair, drugs, and disappointment. From an impoverished childhood in the South Bronx, she wrangled her way to a full scholarship at Princeton, from which she graduated at the top of her class, and then to Yale Law School, where she won a prestigious spot on the law review. But as a diabetic woman of Puerto Rican heritage, she couldn't get a judicial clerkship or even a job at a law firm, and she eventually became a tough assistant district attorney in Manhattan. Always a quick study, Sotomayor soon learned the alchemy of criminal prosecution: you must appeal to juries through their eyes, emotionally as well as rationally. From that point on, she never again lost a case. Today she is the first Latina to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. I cannot recommend this book enthusiastically enough. Do, do, do read it. (P.S. I just learned it will break onto The New York Times Bestseller List next Sunday (3 Feb 2013) as No. 1, and that doesn't surprise me in the least.)
Read
December 31, 2016The first half of the books is a wonderful and frank portrait of a large, complicated Puerto Rican family living in a very tough neighborhood in the Bronx in the 60s. You can smell the food and hear the music. The description of the years at Princeton and Yale are a very thoughtful and unapologetic defense of 'affirmative action' as policy and on the challenges and opportunities it offered the author. I found the decription of her life as a DA and corporate lawyer less interesting. She is a good writer and can quickly draw strikingly funny or poignant scenes. I ended up admiring SS greatly - she shows you both the promise and the price of 'living the American dream' without sentimentality or bitterness. I also like the fact that the effect of the book is to make those who opposed her nomination to the Supreme Court look like the first class idiots they are.
March 5, 2014
The face of Justice Sonia Sotomayor has been beckoning me from the library shelves for a while now, but what finally prompted me to read her book was Random Family, an in-depth study of the lives of another Latino family in the South Bronx. Nobody in that book even made it out of the middle class, much less to national prominence, so I wanted to know the secret of the Justice’s success. Apparently, she wrote the book to share it – not to boast, of course, but to educate and inspire.
For the writing of a Supreme Court Justice, the book is surprisingly open. She doesn’t just tell you about her education and career; she delves into personal issues, like her divorce and her struggle with diabetes. The result is that you end up not just admiring Justice Sotomayor, but liking her as a person, too.
So what is the secret of her success? Why didn’t she end up like the women in Random Family? First, unlike them, her family life was more stable. Her mother did not set the poor example of having children with multiple fathers. Also, she was able to turn the disadvantages in her life into advantages, a phenomenon described in David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Her father’s death when she was nine (a specific theme in David and Goliath ) forced her into early self-reliance, as did her diabetes. Because she did not consider herself pretty, she didn’t make the mistake of Jessica in Random Family: “Love is the most interesting place to go, and beauty is the ticket.” Believing herself to be lacking the ticket, she concentrated on her schoolwork instead, and that earned her a ticket to Princeton. But perhaps most admirable of all is that of all the lucrative doors Princeton could have opened for her, she chose the pursuit of justice over wealth, never forgetting where she came from and how she might make this world a better place for others. What an awesome woman! May G-d bless her with continued success.
For the writing of a Supreme Court Justice, the book is surprisingly open. She doesn’t just tell you about her education and career; she delves into personal issues, like her divorce and her struggle with diabetes. The result is that you end up not just admiring Justice Sotomayor, but liking her as a person, too.
So what is the secret of her success? Why didn’t she end up like the women in Random Family? First, unlike them, her family life was more stable. Her mother did not set the poor example of having children with multiple fathers. Also, she was able to turn the disadvantages in her life into advantages, a phenomenon described in David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Her father’s death when she was nine (a specific theme in David and Goliath ) forced her into early self-reliance, as did her diabetes. Because she did not consider herself pretty, she didn’t make the mistake of Jessica in Random Family: “Love is the most interesting place to go, and beauty is the ticket.” Believing herself to be lacking the ticket, she concentrated on her schoolwork instead, and that earned her a ticket to Princeton. But perhaps most admirable of all is that of all the lucrative doors Princeton could have opened for her, she chose the pursuit of justice over wealth, never forgetting where she came from and how she might make this world a better place for others. What an awesome woman! May G-d bless her with continued success.
March 19, 2013
Most books take me some place outside my own life, but occasionally I'll read one that seems to spark only personal reactions. Sotomayor's memoir falls in that latter category. I had two main reactions to this book: (1) how much her professional education & legal experiences mirrored my own; and (2) how happy and positive a person she is, especially as compared to Justice Clarence Thomas.
It was hard not to think about Thomas while reading about Sotomayor. Both are members of minority groups who experienced difficult childhoods & inadequate parenting. Both enjoyed the benefits of affirmative action, including both of them being admitted to Yale Law School. Both ended up successes in their professional careers, ultimately getting appointed & confirmed to the Supreme Court after serving on the lower federal bench. But boy did they end up with different mindsets about their experiences. Thomas is dour & negative, totally down on affirmative action that he personally benefited from. Sotomayor is upbeat and positive, sees the bright side of practically everything, and is grateful that affirmative action gave her a chance to overcome the inadequacies of her education up to & through high school, and thereby prove her real abilities.
Interesting book. Last thoughts: I think Sotomayor is a great addition to the Supreme Court, but am concerned about her longevity. I knew about her diabetes before reading the book, but upon reading that she was a 3 1/2 pack a day smoker for 30 years, am worried that she's got a lot of health issues that could shorten her life & productivity as a Justice.
It was hard not to think about Thomas while reading about Sotomayor. Both are members of minority groups who experienced difficult childhoods & inadequate parenting. Both enjoyed the benefits of affirmative action, including both of them being admitted to Yale Law School. Both ended up successes in their professional careers, ultimately getting appointed & confirmed to the Supreme Court after serving on the lower federal bench. But boy did they end up with different mindsets about their experiences. Thomas is dour & negative, totally down on affirmative action that he personally benefited from. Sotomayor is upbeat and positive, sees the bright side of practically everything, and is grateful that affirmative action gave her a chance to overcome the inadequacies of her education up to & through high school, and thereby prove her real abilities.
Interesting book. Last thoughts: I think Sotomayor is a great addition to the Supreme Court, but am concerned about her longevity. I knew about her diabetes before reading the book, but upon reading that she was a 3 1/2 pack a day smoker for 30 years, am worried that she's got a lot of health issues that could shorten her life & productivity as a Justice.
June 17, 2019
I am blessed. In this life I am truly blessed. These are the sentiments of Sonia Sotomayor as she reflects on her life. The daughter of an alcoholic, a type 1 diabetic, Puerto Rican, and raised in an extremely dangerous neighborhood, she is an unlikely candidate for unbelievably impressive success. But despite terrible odds, her grit, intelligence and a wee bit of luck land her in the highest court in the nation. A truly inspiring and entertaining read. Be sure to invest in two copies...one for you and one for that little girl in your life who needs a little encouragement to dream big.
“There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unsuspected strengths. It doesn’t always, of course: I’ve seen life beat people down until they can’t get up. But I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.”
― Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World
“There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unsuspected strengths. It doesn’t always, of course: I’ve seen life beat people down until they can’t get up. But I have never had to face anything that could overwhelm the native optimism and stubborn perseverance I was blessed with.”
― Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World
March 11, 2018
orgullo boricua!! 🇵🇷
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