"Abuela in Shadow, Abuela in Light is medicine for readers who, like Rigoberto González, have come out of backgrounds froth with intergenerational poverty, domestic violence, and unspoken sexual abuse. Now ‘middle-aged,’ González shows in his latest memoir that recovery is possible when one is willing to confront the past, present, and even what may come with honesty, compassion, and without assigning blame, especially to oneself.”—Ana Castillo, author of Black Dove
“A poignant homage to the author’s Indigenous grandmother as well as an exploration of deep-seated family abuse. . . . The narrative moves in thematic segments, gradually revealing a tender kinship between the hard-shelled abuela and the empathetic author—a precious connection amid a family scarred by domestic violence and intergenerational poverty. An alternately touching and shocking narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A moving and lyrical tribute. . . . No real reconciliation is given in González’s elegiac narrative, but there’s much wisdom to be found in his story of intergenerational silence and the ‘unresolved’ pasts one inherits. Pain begets beauty in this poignant family reckoning.”—Publishers Weekly