Optimism, Determination, and Adversity
My Beloved World follows the life of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor from her impoverished childhood in housing projects in the Bronx; through college at Princeton and law school at Yale; and ultimately, to her appointment to a federal judgeship at 38 years old. Throughout her memoir, Sotomayor attributes her remarkable achievements to her enduring sense of optimism and her unwavering willingness to work hard in the face of adversity. While she…
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Family and Friendship
Growing up, Sotomayor’s family situation was difficult and anxiety inducing, but she nevertheless goes to great lengths in her memoir to acknowledge all the ways in which her family supported her along her journey. As she gets older, marries, and ultimately divorces, Sotomayor extends this idea of a loving, supportive family to the friends she meets in college, law school, and in her jobs that follow. Alongside her optimism and tenacity, Sotomayor positions the…
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Education and Learning
Focusing more than half of its length on Sotomayor’s younger, formative years, much of the memoir is naturally taken up with Sotomayor’s educational pursuits. However, Sotomayor makes it very clear that her life as a student doesn’t end when she receives her JD degree from Yale Law—a degree doesn’t automatically make her a lawyer, and what she learns in the classroom only makes up a fraction of what she considers her education. Through this…
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Puerto Rican Identity and Culture
Sotomayor’s Puerto Rican upbringing is a huge part of her identity, both in her personal life and in her work as a lawyer and, eventually, a judge. Both her parents and parts of their respective families immigrated to New York City (separately, but within weeks of each other) during World War II, and Sotomayor is thus raised in a tight-knit Puerto Rican extended family. Especially as Sotomayor recounts her childhood experiences, she remains acutely…
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Morality, Justice, and Giving Back
Given that Sonia Sotomayor is an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, her memoir is naturally concerned with questions of morality, justice, and how to create a just and equitable society through legal means. However, Sotomayor doesn’t stop at simply articulating how justice works on a grander scale or how it plays out in the life of a lawyer in private practice or at the local DA’s office. Rather, Sotomayor makes…
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