Books › A cup of water under my bed
A cup of water under my bed
185 pages
An intimate, rebellious memoir about translating the lessons of an immigrant childhood into a fiercely authentic queer adulthood.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like sitting at a kitchen table listening to a deeply personal cuento that spans decades of growth, rebellion, and self-discovery. The narrative unfolds at a steady, reflective pace, immersing the reader in the warm but complicated atmosphere of a Colombian-Cuban household in New Jersey. It carries an intimate, earnest tone as it navigates the heavy intersections of race, class, and sexuality, balancing the nostalgic weight of family expectations with the liberating spark of a queer awakening. The prose is candid and grounded, capturing the friction between the world of immigrant mothers and the rigid structures of American assimilation. It will deeply resonate with anyone who loves coming-of-age stories about daughters forging their own paths while honoring the women who raised them.
- Mood
- nostalgic
- searching
- warm
- grounded
- Tone
- intimate
- reflective
- rebellious
- earnest
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- cultural assimilation · queer awakening · intergenerational bonds · navigating class and race · forging a new identity
- The writing
- Candid and culturally resonant, blending personal reflection with the storytelling traditions of the women who raised her.
- The arc
- Moves from the confusing pressures of childhood assimilation to a confident, self-defined queer adulthood.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave intersectional memoirs about daughters finding their own voices while honoring their immigrant roots.
Content notes
- assimilation pressures
- family conflict
About the book
It's 1980. Ronald Reagan has been elected president, John Lennon has been shot, and a little girl in New Jersey has been hauled off to English classes. Her teachers and parents and tias are expecting her to become white--like the Italians.
This is the opening to A cup of water under my bed, the memoir of one Colombian-Cuban daughter's rebellions and negotiations with the women who raised her and the world that wanted to fit her into a cubbyhole. From language acquisition to coming out as bisexual to arriving as a reporting intern at the New York Times as the paper is rocked by its biggest plagiarism scandal, Daisy Hernandez chronicles what the women in her community taught her about race, sex, money, and love.
This is a memoir about the private nexus of sexuality, immigration, race and class issues, but it is ultimately a daughter's cuento of how to take the lessons from home and shape them into a new, queer life.
Description from Open Library.
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