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Discussion Name 2022 Book Club Discussions
Topic Name My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes
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My Broken Language


A Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright tells her lyrical coming of age story in a ...
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Discuss My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes

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If your family's story is not represented on library shelves or in the cultural zeitgeist, do you believe you carry an extra responsibility to pass it on? Is sharing family stories freeing or daunting?

13

Feb. 21, 2022
by Gabi

Quiara’s mother tells her, "If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist." What do you think she meant? Do you agree?

12

Feb. 13, 2022
by juliaa

My Broken Language is nonfiction, but Quiara relies on many techniques important to fiction writing. What sort of narrative voice has she chosen to use?

5

Feb. 13, 2022
by juliaa

Overall, what do you think of "My Broken Language."

24

Feb. 13, 2022
by joannej

One story that Hudes discusses in her memoir is the small scratch her mother saw on Abuela's belly. Did anyone find this incident and its explanation provocative?

0

Feb. 11, 2022
by joannej

What Quiara sees and hears on the news does not always reflect her lived experience. What are your memories of the 80s and 90s?

8

Feb. 07, 2022
by caroln

Quiara talks about being a "god-shopper." What’s your experience of religion been like? Can you relate to her quest to feel like she belongs?

13

Feb. 04, 2022
by caroln

How do you think the reaction of other students influenced Quiara throughout her academic career? Were you bullied as a child? If so, how did it shape the person you became?

9

Feb. 03, 2022
by gaylamath

What aspects of the author's story could you most relate to? What lessons or insights did you find in it?

7

Feb. 03, 2022
by gaylamath

Were you surprised at how easily Quiara adapted to a more rural setting?

11

Feb. 03, 2022
by gaylamath

Quiara reveres her mother. What is or was your relationship like with your mother?

13

Feb. 03, 2022
by gaylamath

Do you agree that non-white citizens face more hurdles than their white counterparts?

18

Feb. 03, 2022
by caroln

How does the title, My Broken Language, speak to the entire memoir?

10

Jan. 30, 2022
by juliaa

Quiana's relationships with her cousins and their role in her life.

11

Jan. 25, 2022
by poniesnpearls

Spanish words and phonetic spellings are laced throughout. What do you think Quiara achieves by mixing language in this way? What does it say about the ability of language to bridge—or not—cultural gaps?

13

Jan. 23, 2022
by juliaa

The family elders in My Broken Language are predominantly female. Are the challenges these women faced still relevant today?

8

Jan. 23, 2022
by juliaa

How do you feel the Philadelphia setting functions as a character and how do you think the author relates to it?

5

Jan. 21, 2022
by susannak

Quiara says, "My Perez women were messy derelict squalor. My English dad was manicured Americana." Do you think this is a fair assessment of her parents?

11

Jan. 21, 2022
by susannak

What kind of faith and spiritual practice is Quiara developing as she enters womanhood? Do you think the faiths she inherits and encounters are at odds with each other? Do you think they can coexist?

3

Jan. 20, 2022
by kimk

The author writes that she felt that she’d mastered English and music, only to realize later in life that she wasn’t as accomplished as she’d believed. Have you ever experienced a similar awakening?

8

Jan. 19, 2022
by acstrine

Quiara felt that her father and his wife forced her to decide to "be white or be Puerto Rican," and the requirement to decide still bothers her. Have you had a similar turning point in your life?

6

Jan. 19, 2022
by melissa c.

How do you think "home" evolves for Quiara as the memoir progresses?

7

Jan. 16, 2022
by christinec

Quiara steeps herself in many genres of music. How do these distinct music styles serve different purposes in her life? What different kinds of music do you listen to and what spaces and memories do they conjure?

4

Jan. 09, 2022
by djcminor

Quiara provides many descriptions of the female bodies she grew up around. How would you describe the bodies you grew up around? What was the body language of your family spaces?

4

Jan. 07, 2022
by melanieb

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