Book of the Month
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER
Author: Miles Borrero
Publisher: Regalo Press
ISBN: 979-8-88845-000-0
SUMMARY:
A breathtaking, exquisitely crafted memoir about a trans person’s singular journey through breaching the boundaries of gender—across generations, cultures and borders—to become his truest, most authentic self.
Nearing the age of forty, with an entire life already lived as a woman—half in Colombia, half in the US—Miles Borrero comes face to face with his father’s impending death. Suddenly realizing that he has been stalling his transition for fear of losing his family’s love, this moment catalyzes Miles’s determination to be fully known as his father’s son before it is too late.
In Beautiful Monster, Miles chronicles his unusual childhood, by turns riveting and hilarious, in ’80s and ’90s Colombia during the Pablo Escobar years, as well as his move to Salt Lake City to pursue acting and the winding trajectory that eventually lands him in the New York City yoga scene. Within these very different cultures, the realities of being queer and trans echo poignantly through the triumphs, heartbreaks, family dynamics, spiritual pursuits, and relationships that propel Miles along his path.
Sublimely nuanced and written in ravishing prose that is as unique and irresistible as its subject, Beautiful Monster is one person’s story of navigating the pressures to perform femininity while becoming a gender outlaw. Brimming with wonder, humor, and mythos, entertaining and enlightening in equal measure, this book offers a compelling case for embracing one’s true nature.
About the Author:
Throughout his many lives, Miles Borrero has survived fronting a Latin rock band, riding horses competitively, acting on various stages across the US, and nannying a six-year-old. He has been Catholic, Jewish, and a frequent guest at Krishna’s house, and has lived life as a boy, a girl, a woman, a man, and something in between. Now a senior yoga teacher who leads retreats all over the world, Miles is passionate about dismantling the systems within ourselves that keep us small. He lives in New York with his sweetheart and their two adorable dogs.
Website: https://www.milesyoga.com/beautiful-monster
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monkimiles/
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/milesyoga
Conversations Book
ALOHA COMPADRE: LATINXS IN HAWAI’I
Author: Dr. Rudy P. Guevarra Jr.
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813565650 / ISBN-13: 978-0813565651
SUMMARY:
Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi is the first book to examine the collective history and contemporary experiences of the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi. This study reveals that contrary to popular discourse, Latinx migration to Hawaiʻi is not a recent event. In the national memory of the United States, for example, the Latinx population of Hawaiʻi is often portrayed as recent arrivals and not as long-term historical communities with a presence that precedes the formation of statehood itself. Historically speaking, Latinxs have been voyaging to the Hawaiian Islands for over one hundred and ninety years. From the early 1830s to the present, they continue to help shape Hawaiʻi’s history, yet their contributions are often overlooked. Latinxs have been a part of the cultural landscape of Hawaiʻi prior to annexation, territorial status, and statehood in 1959. Aloha Compadre also explores the expanding boundaries of Latinx migration beyond the western hemisphere and into Oceania.
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About the Author:
Dr. Rudy P. Guevarra, Jr. is Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Born and raised in San Diego, Dr. Guevarra is the author of Becoming Mexipino: Multiethnic Identities and Communities in San Diego (Rutgers University Press), and most recently, Aloha Compadre: Latinxs in Hawaiʻi (Rutgers University Press). He is a former Ford Foundation Senior Fellow and UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Guevarra’s work has also appeared in the Journal of Asian American Studies, the Journal of San Diego History, and Remezcla Online, among others.
Website: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/aloha-compadre/9780813565651/
