Summary of American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures: Conversation Starters

By Paul Mani

American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures by America Ferrera: Conversation Starters 

Liza Koshy liked being racially ambiguous. Forever the ethnically mysterious little brown girl. She describes her culturally assorted friends "not as a melting pot but a salad bowl who were "tossed haphazardly together" and created a delicious dish with each culture contributing a "special flavor or texture." Actress Issa Rae tells her story about growing up in Los Angeles and spending her childhood summers in Senegal. Rae describes herself as a nerdy girl who was "berated for ‘acting white' " in her American school but had confidence whenever she went home to Senegal. Chicago Sun Times says "Ferrera's essay collection is filled with gems... funny, touching and complicated reminders that the word "American" is wonderfully and endlessly undefinable." The other authors include Issa Rae, Lin Manuel Miranda, Randall Park, Roxanne Gay, Michelle Kwan, and many more.
American Like Me is written and edited by Ferrera, an award-winning actress, director, and activist. She is the winner of Golden Globe and Emmy awards for the ABC comedy Ugly Betty.

A Brief Look Inside:

EVERY GOOD BOOK CONTAINS A WORLD FAR DEEPER

than the surface of its pages. The characters and their world come alive,

and the characters and its world still live on.

Conversation Starters is peppered with questions designed to

bring us beneath the surface of the page

and invite us into the world that lives on.

These questions can be used to create hours of conversation:

Foster a deeper understanding of the book

Promote an atmosphere of discussion for groups

Assist in the study of the book, either individually or corporately

Explore unseen realms of the book as never seen before

Disclaimer: This book you are about to enjoy is an independent companion resource of the original book, enhancing your experience. If you have not yet purchased a copy of the original book, please do before purchasing these unofficial Conversation Starters.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BH
• Release date: Apr 2, 2019

Book preview

Introducing American Like Me

A

merican Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures is a book written and edited by America Ferrera. Award-winning actress Ferrera shares her personal experience about growing up in America as a Honduran immigrant. She relates how as a young girl, she would be asked by her teachers what her real name is and how hard it was for her to find her identity as she was surrounded by white-skinned and blue-eyed classmates. The book features other stories from fellow immigrants and children of immigrants, many of them fellow entertainers, athletes, filmmakers, musicians, activists, writers, artists, and politicians. These are people who grew up in more than one culture and call themselves Americans. Their stories reveal their complicated relationships to their families and cultures and show what their identity as Americans mean to them. They tell stories of struggle to find a sense of belonging, define their identity, and be recognized for who they are. Hilarious and heartfelt, the book is a collection of stories that represent the sentiments and experiences of millions of Americans.

Ferrera opens the book with her own story as she tries to fit in a culture that made her feel she is not American enough nor did she feel Latina enough. Some of the authors include Issa Rae, Lin Manuel Miranda, Randall Park, Roxanne Gay, and Michelle Kwan. Ferrera says she wanted to see her identity as told in American narratives but nothing like this book has been written yet. It is shocking to her to not find an existing book like this one. Using a conversational tone, American-born Ferrera writes honestly about her growing up experience as a child of immigrant parents. Her childhood was filled with conflicting messages. This theme is repeated in the stories of her fellow multi-cultural Americans. Stories about parents