"An invaluable resource for first-generation immigrant children striving for success in America."—Kirkus
“This powerful and down-to-earth memoir is a vital glimpse into a set of experiences common to many Americans, and it's a celebration of the strength found in owning every part of a multifaceted identity.” —Shelf Awareness
“Campoverdi’s dedication and affection for young women in difficult circumstances is evident…she provides a rich harvest of encouragement and a solid list of resources.” —Booklist
“FIRST GEN is a gift to all of us—the children of immigrants who have longed to read a story like ours in books. With vulnerability and transparency, Campoverdi gives us special access to so many setbacks, triumphs, and hard-won lessons as a First and Only. Every Latina hoping to end cycles of generational trauma must read this immediately.” —Erika L. Sanchez, New York Times bestselling author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“FIRST GEN is a luminous achievement, one of the most moving debuts in memory… Campoverdi transforms the furies, hypocrisies and disappointments of the American dream into a survivor’s song of surpassing poignancy… this is literary love medicine, a book you will not soon forget.”—Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of New York Times bestsellers The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and This is How You Lose Her
“Alejandra Campoverdi, with piercing insight and unflinching candor, has written a book for our times––capturing the American dream as experienced by immigrants and their children who are remaking America. Her story may be one-of-a-kind, but the lessons she learned and imparts are universal.”—Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of national bestseller Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen
"I wish this book existed when I was a first generation student navigating the alienating world of academia and the mostly white workplaces thereafter. Campoverdi’s writing is honest, healing, and empowering. First Gen has made me feel seen and less alone." —Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito
"Intimate and unflinching, First Gen reveals the very real human and emotional costs to living the "American Dream." Alejandra Campoverdi shines a guiding light for fellow "First and Onlys" who struggle to overcome systemic barriers while detangling generational trauma. No discussion of America's supposed meritocracy is complete without consideration of this powerful book." —Qian Julie Wang, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Country: A Memoir of An Undocumented Childhood
"Alejandra is the definitive voice for first generation young people who maintain their heritage while achieving their ambitions."—Norma Kamali, Fashion Icon and Designer
“FIRST GEN captures the emotional and physical agility required to break generational glass ceilings. Alejandra’s captivating memoir reminds us to be bold and brave on race relations be it in the boardroom or the Oval Office.”—Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments
"This is a beautiful and powerful book. But, more than anything, it is a truthful one. Campoverdi's life is, in a way, a reflection of everybody's dream in America. She could have told us about all she has achieved—and then suggest that, if she did it, you can too. Instead, courageously, she tells us how difficult it was: that there is a price to be paid when you are the 'First and Only'.”—Jorge Ramos, Emmy award-winning Senior Anchor of Univision News and bestselling author of The Latino Wave
"A profoundly moving story of how one woman grew to appreciate that the painful challenges and self doubt inherent in being the first and only, were also the source of her extraordinary superpowers. First Gen will inspire countless readers to follow in the path she blazed."—Valerie Jarrett, former Senior Adviser to President Barack Obama and New York Times bestselling author of Finding My Voice
"I felt like I found home when I read Alejandra Campoverdi's book. First Gen was written for the person who is looking for connection, understanding and inspiration. I laughed, I cried and I felt understood. Being a "First and Only" can often be isolating but reading this book affirmed that we are not alone on this journey. Let this book be a calling to all of us who have been the one and only in the room, at the table, in the class and at the podium to come together to form the community that we are often missing but so badly need."—Monica Ramirez, Activist and Founder of Justice for Migrant Women
“So much resonates in FIRST GEN—from the conflict of achieving the impossible as a ‘first’ in your family while constantly being pulled back into the drama of dysfunction, to the paradox of having magical breakthroughs on the worst days of your life. Every young person should read this book to understand how to fulfill their dreams while cleaning up generational baggage, to ultimately heal and finally find their true selves.”—Nely Galan, New York Times Bestselling Author of Self Made, Becoming Empowered, Self - Reliant and Rich in Every Way
“FIRST GEN lays out the challenges and contradictions of being a 'first and only’—may others walking a similar path find hope and inspiration in her story." —Cecilia Munoz, former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and author of More Than Ready
First Gen: A Memoir
Narrated by Alejandra Campoverdi
Alejandra CampoverdiUnabridged — 8 hours, 24 minutes
First Gen: A Memoir
Narrated by Alejandra Campoverdi
Alejandra CampoverdiUnabridged — 8 hours, 24 minutes
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Overview
Alejandra Campoverdi has been a child on welfare, a White House aide to President Obama, a Harvard graduate, a gang member's girlfriend, and a candidate for U.S. Congress. She's ridden on Air Force One and in G-rides. She's been featured in Maxim magazine and had a double mastectomy. Living a life of contradictory extremes often comes with the territory when you're a “First and Only.” It also comes at a price. **
With candor and heart, Alejandra retraces her trajectory as a Mexican American woman raised by an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles. Foregoing the tidy bullet points of her resume and instead shining a light on the spaces between them, what emerges is a powerful testimony that shatters the one-dimensional glossy narrative we are often sold of what it takes to achieve the American Dream. In this timely and revealing reflection, Alejandra draws from her own experiences to name and frame the challenges First and Onlys often face, illuminating a road to truth, healing, and change in the process. **
Part memoir, part manifesto, FIRST GEN is a story of generational inheritance, aspiration, and the true meaning of belonging-a gripping journey to “reclaim the parts of ourselves we sacrificed in order to survive.” *
*A NATIONAL BESTSELLER*
Winner of the Martin Cruz Smith Award (CALIBA)
2024 Council for Opportunity in Education National Book Club Selection
Longlisted for the Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award for First Year Experience
Editorial Reviews
Alejandra Campoverdi, with piercing insight and unflinching candor, has written a book for our times––capturing the American dream as experienced by immigrants and their children who are remaking America. Her story may be one-of-a-kind, but the lessons she learned and imparts are universal.
So much resonates in FIRST GEN—from the conflict of achieving the impossible as a ‘first’ in your family while constantly being pulled back into the drama of dysfunction, to the paradox of having magical breakthroughs on the worst days of your life. Every young person should read this book to understand how to fulfill their dreams while cleaning up generational baggage, to ultimately heal and finally find their true selves.
FIRST GEN captures the emotional and physical agility required to break generational glass ceilings. Alejandra’s captivating memoir reminds us to be bold and brave on race relations be it in the boardroom or the Oval Office.
FIRST GEN is a luminous achievement, one of the most moving debuts in memory… Campoverdi transforms the furies, hypocrisies and disappointments of the American dream into a survivor’s song of surpassing poignancy… this is literary love medicine, a book you will not soon forget.
FIRST GEN lays out the challenges and contradictions of being a 'first and only
Alejandra is the definitive voice for first generation young people who maintain their heritage while achieving their ambitions.
A profoundly moving story of how one woman grew to appreciate that the painful challenges and self doubt inherent in being the first and only, were also the source of her extraordinary superpowers. First Gen will inspire countless readers to follow in the path she blazed.
This is a beautiful and powerful book. But, more than anything, it is a truthful one. Campoverdi's life is, in a way, a reflection of everybody's dream in America. She could have told us about all she has achieved—and then suggest that, if she did it, you can too. Instead, courageously, she tells us how difficult it was: that there is a price to be paid when you are the 'First and Only'.
I felt like I found home when I read Alejandra Campoverdi's book. First Gen was written for the person who is looking for connection, understanding and inspiration. I laughed, I cried and I felt understood. Being a "First and Only" can often be isolating but reading this book affirmed that we are not alone on this journey. Let this book be a calling to all of us who have been the one and only in the room, at the table, in the class and at the podium to come together to form the community that we are often missing but so badly need.
2023-06-15
The White House deputy director of Hispanic media for the Obama administration shares her story.
For Campoverdi, a women’s health care advocate and policy adviser, breaking a multigenerational cycle of poverty, domestic abuse, and limited education was “a radical act of healing.” In this memoir, she aims to correct the “sugar-coated, stereotypical narrative about social mobility and the American Dream.” After years of therapy for trauma-induced anxiety, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts, the author has learned to recognize symptoms and syndromes that she could not identify when she was growing up. Campoverdi maps out some of the emotional relationships in her family, especially the experiences of the women. “Three generations of women in my family had primarily been single mothers,” she writes. “Three generations of women in my family struggled to make ends meet….Three generations of women in my family had been in emotionally tumultuous relationships with chaotic men.” When she was younger, the author was drawn to rough, charismatic gang members, and she also bore significant emotional burdens for other family members, becoming “Parentified”—i.e., “enlisted into the role of family caretaker.” However, “acknowledging my own experience as a Parentified Child was never about pointing fingers or assigning blame,” she writes. “Parentification is rarely done with malicious intent, and in my case, I truly believe that everyone was doing the best they could with what they knew and had.” Campoverdi was a high achiever, and she earned degrees at USC and Harvard’s Kennedy School. Despite enormous debt, she was sure that her big-name education was “the single most powerful professional ‘validator’ I could earn.” Ultimately, the “breakaway guilt” of succeeding where her family did not humbled her, and she went on to great success in politics, health care activism, and documentary production. In this psychologically astute work, the author calls out her difficult childhood experiences in order to demonstrate how to overcome stigma and trauma.
An inspiring story and an invaluable resource for first-generation immigrant children striving for success in America.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940178332443 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Hachette Audio |
| Publication date: | 09/12/2023 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 1,006,585 |
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