Eye for an I : growing up with blindness, bigotry, and family mental illness / James Francisco Bonilla.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bonilla, James Francisco, author.

Contributor:

JSTOR (Online Service)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bonilla, James Francisco.

Blind--Biography.

Blind.

Puerto Ricans--Biography.

Puerto Ricans.

Puerto Rican families--Biography.

Puerto Rican families.

Children of mentally ill mothers--Biography.

Children of mentally ill mothers.

New York (N.Y.)--Biography.

New York (N.Y.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 204 pages) : illustrations.

Other Title:

Growing up with blindness, bigotry, and family mental illness

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2025]

Notes:

"A memoir"--Cover.

Includes bibliographic references (201-204).

""Jovencito, it's going to be lonely being different and yet strong in this world," James Francisco Bonilla's grandmother told him when he was ten. He had come home after defending himself against a bully who had threatened him with violence, making it clear that he didn't care that James was blind. But despite the isolation James felt in childhood, he would come to commit his life to leveraging his differences and strengths toward a collective fight for justice. James's memoir, An Eye for an I, is an inspiring account of how he found a path through his own suffering to make a difference for others. Born with congenital cataracts, James had limited vision in his right eye and none in his left. At age nine, after a classmate hurled a horseshoe at his face in a racially motivated assault, James's right eye was injured and he became legally blind. At home, too, he feared physical violence, experiencing the unpredictable outbursts of a single mother suffering from severe mental illness. Throughout his youth as a Puerto Rican New Yorker, James was continually failed by educational systems that exposed him to one abuse after another. Searching for relief and inspiration, he discovered an unexpected solace in the natural world, spiritual encounters with Mother Earth that led him toward both personal healing and advocacy. At nineteen, a breakthrough in medical technology restored the sight in his right eye, and James recognized his unique perspective on the struggles of the disabled and marginalized in American life--and his intense will to make a difference. He seeks to understand generational trauma, and in documenting his growth--physically, mentally, and spiritually--his memoir exemplifies the introspection necessary to participate in truly equitable and effective movement building. An Eye for an I presents both James and his aggressors with refreshing nuance and humility, inviting readers to empathize, be inspired, and consider their own potential to be of service in a broken, yet beautiful, world." --Publisher website.

Electronic reproduction. New York Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781452973937 (electronic bk.)

1452973938 (electronic bk.)

Publisher Number:

40033007635

CIPO000296770

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.