My Broken Language

Quiara Alegría Hudes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, presents a lyrical memoir about growing up caught between distinct worlds and languages in West Philadelphia. Born to a white Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother, Hudes navigates the vibrant, often chaotic, life of her extended maternal family in the barrio and the quieter, more assimilated existence with her father. This dual heritage sparks a quest to find a language that can truly capture the complexities of her identity and the stories of the powerful women who shaped her.

The memoir explores themes of belonging, cultural identity, and the search for an authentic voice amidst the spoken and unspoken narratives of her family, steeped in both English and Spanish, Western art and spiritual traditions. Hudes invites readers into her coming-of-age journey as she grapples with inequality and discovers the profound importance of storytelling, ultimately forging her path as an artist to honor the world she loves in its wild and delicate beauty.