PAGES OF INSPIRATION: My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

I finished My Beloved World over a week ago when I was on a plane ride to Aruba, but I have been putting off writing a review because, frankly, I am not quite sure where to begin. Nothing that I write will do this book justice.

My Beloved World is a memoir by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. It begins with Sotomayor’s childhood, but follows her through her high school years and her college and graduate school years, up to her when she reached the bench as a federal district judge in New York.

For starters, I loved Sotomayor’s conversational tone throughout the memoir. Her natural, almost casual language made me gravitate towards her story and feel a strong personal connection. It didn’t feel like I was reading Sotomayor’s memoir; it felt like I was having a conversation with her, and she was telling me her story.

But Sotomayor’s story itself, not her effectiveness in sharing her story, without a doubt takes the spotlight. Sotomayor grew up in a Bronx housing project in a household that spoke minimal English. She details the Puerto Rican culture that surrounded her, calling on memories of her family from a young age. As her high school career came to an end, Sotomayor earned her spot as an undergraduate Princeton University, then as a graduate student at Yale Law School. During her years at university, Sotomayor often felt outcast due to her Hispanic identity, but channeled these sentiments into creating a society that recruited minority students and faculty. Having gained the foundational knowledge to become successful in law, she was able to catapult her career and propel herself forward.

The NY Times puts it well when it says My Beloved World is “an eloquent and affecting testament to the triumph of brains and hard work over circumstance, of a childhood dream realized through extraordinary will and dedication.” I am lucky enough to be privileged, and I know that because of that, I will never fully know Sotomayor’s story. But I am still able to learn from her story, for the message that it conveys is universal and quite simple: hard work, with a hefty dose of perseverance, heart, and courage, pays off.