A Path to the World
Becoming You
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A chorus of essays from a variety of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, exploring what it means to be human and true to yourself.
What does it mean to be yourself? To be born here or somewhere else? To be from one family instead of another? What does it mean to be human? Collected by Lori Carlson-Hijuelos, A Path to the World showcases essays by a vast variety of luminaries—from Gary Soto to Nawal Nasrallah to Ying Ying Yu, from chefs to artists to teens to philosophers to politicians (keep your eyes peeled for a surprise appearance by George Washington)—all of which speak to the common thread of humanity, the desire to be your truest self, and to belong.
Contributors include: Lori Marie Carlson-Hijuelos, Joseph Bruchac, Jacinto Jesús Cardona, William Sloane Coffin, Pat Conroy, Mario Cuomo, Timothy Egan, Alan Ehrenhalt, Shadi Feddin, Ralph Fletcher, Valerie Gribben, Alexandre Hollan, Molly Ivins, Geeta Kothari, Jeremy Lee, Yuyi Li, Emily Lisker, Kamaal Majeed, Madge McKeithen, Nawal Nasrallah, Scott Pitoniak, Anna Quindlen, Michael J. Sandel, Raquel Sentíes, David E. Skaggs, Gary Soto, Alexandra Stoddard, KellyNoel Waldorf, George Washington, and Ying Ying Yu.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Carlson-Hijuelos (Voices in First Person) ambitiously brings together 30 creators—including poet Jacinto Jesús Cardona, humanitarian Kamaal Majeed, and philosopher Alexandra Stoddard, among others—to detail their experiences navigating the "difficult choices along life's way" in this succinct grouping of essays. Joseph Bruchac's "Notes from a Translator's Son" opens the book with the author reflecting on his Abenaki heritage; he admits to having "a face I did not used to love," but now claims "you're ugly and I like you." In "Practicing Medicine Can Be Grimm Work," pediatric professor Valerie Gribben suggests that "both fairy tales and medical charts chronicle the bizarre, the unfair, the tragic," and posits that "fairy tales teach us to show kindness wherever we can," lending credence to Gribben's belief that both physical and mental healing begin with compassion. The contributors—whose lived experiences vary across ethnicity, gender, occupation, and sexuality—discuss themes of financial precarity, race, prejudice, and privilege, providing myriad personal perspectives. While the essays are often too short to impart ample advice, these intriguing and offbeat stories sufficiently blend serious and spirited observations about the world. Ages 14–up.
