LatinX in Social Work: Stories That Heal, Inspire, and Connect Communities, by Erica Priscilla Sandoval, ISBN 9781952779763, Fig Factor Media Publishing, 2021, 270 pages, $19.97 paperback, $9.99 Kindle.
To truly understand a person, we must know one’s experience, impacted by their intersecting identities, within their socio-political history, from their individual and unique lens. Latinx in Social Work: Stories That Heal, Inspire, and Connect Communities by Erica Priscilla Sandoval does this. Sandoval brings together a montage of the varied life events, stories, and truths that highlight the diversity of Latinx people.
Sandoval assembled 22 Latinx authors representing a myriad of life experiences. Heritages represented, to name a few, include Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Columbia, and Paraguay. Social identities include Black Latina, Queer, Jewish, Catholic, Afro Latina, cisgender, Garifuna American, and more.
In a time when much of mainstream society attempts to define Latinx people with a myopic lens, constraining a diverse community to a predefined box, Sandoval’s text is a resounding counter-response. Each chapter walks you through the unique journeys experienced by the author as a person who is Latinx and a Latinx social worker. No two chapters are alike, yet there are common threads: pride in one’s heritage, resilience, navigating micro aggressions to macro assaults, traversing oppressive systems, challenging colonization, standing together, and self-care. Authors share challenges experienced in life from their unique Latinx lens while highlighting the resilience and power of Latinx people.
Dr. Lausell Bryant (Chapter 7) reminds us that “our ancestors did what they needed to do to survive the hostilities they faced, so that we would have the opportunities we did” (p. 93). Each author implores us to not lose sight of who we are or where we came from. To paraphrase Madeline Maldonado (Chapter 4), hold on to your “secret sauce.”
As a Latinx, cisgender, Nicaraguan American social worker, born and raised in the South, I did not find my story in these chapters. Nor should I expect to find “my” story, as all Latinx people are unique. I did find pieces of different stories that resonated with my story and in turn helped validate my experiences. When you are one of a handful of Latinx people, discrimination and oppression can be internalized: it must be me. However, a more critical look reveals that this internalized feeling is really racism and discrimination. (Read Dr. Collazo’s discussion about “imposter phenomenon” in Chapter 9.)
Sandoval shares that her goal with Latinx in Social Work was to create “a movement that is committed to owning our own narratives, naming common but unspoken struggles and challenges, and driving our own healing from the past, while highlighting our successes and creating a space for hope for the future” (p. 10). This text, these varied voices, and the reflective questions posed ignite the movement. The willingness of the authors to be vulnerable and share their journeys is a reminder to all Latinx social workers (and others) that we are not alone, and our stories are always evolving. We must hear and see one another as we stand together working for a more just society. “Si se puede—pero nunca a solas, siempre con apoyo. Yes, we can, but not alone, always with support” (p. 94).
Reviewed by Laura E. Escobar-Ratliff, DSW, DSW Program Director and Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky.