I don't think anything that I say would be enough to truly cover how amazing this book was. Definitely outside of my typical genre that I gravitate towards, but I enjoyed it

“Change starts within knowledge."

Once I was you is an impactful, engaging and powerful memoir. Hinojosa shares real stories of Immigration in America through her own experience and the struggles as a journalist. Maria Hinojosa is passionate about her work and her life.

love this memoir!! as someone who has been a fan of the author’s work for quite some time I loved hearing about her journey to get to where she is now. i work in immigration so these stories are not only relevant to me and my work but also needed in society.

Really enjoyed this memoir, particularly striking as an audiobook (author narrated) Enjoyed the discussions around career just as much as the substantive stories investigated as a journalist.

Maria Hinojosa should always be lauded but from the start her position on this book seems to want to put herself on the same level as the people that she's discussing. I don't think that was a good take, her focus on Central American narrative also seems to want to put herself on the same level and that's just not it. I don't want to just focus on critiques on this book but I was a little put off by that voice.

Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America
by Maria Hinojosa

The author of this book is a world-renowned journalist who has helped reshape the journalistic community by not standing in the shadows or the places she was directed to stay. Maria Hinojosa is fierce, hard-headed and determined to say what she thinks and to shine light on uncomfortable topics. Real happenings many would like to ignore. Not think about. Not care about. By seeking out the unheard voices, untold stories, unseen inequity she has changed how we think over the years through her journalism. By writing this book, she has given me, a reader, the chance to see things I didn’t know had been hidden from me. She has opened a new door, changing how I think about immigration. Once I Was You pulls no punches. Maria Hinojosa says her truth fiercely and with an edge that cuts. Yet, as part memoir, this book also presents tender considerations, confessed fallibility, hard-won victories and fails that become opportunities for change.

Owning her right to speak / sing / shout with the voice of and advocate on behalf of all immigrants, she also carries forward and shares with passion and persistent petition all the outrageous ways, substandard practice and cruel methods America has employed in their interactions with brown immigrants specifically, and all immigrants generally. She has witnessed these over her long career and life in America firsthand, often so close and personal that scars remain. Immigrants – tossed and tumbled - in these United States, are weary with the pain and suffering of centuries. I will re-read this book. There is much to digest, consider and compare. Some changes happen slowly, and while others are lightening fast. In some ways we gain ground for restoring respect and real civil rights, and in others we go back to medieval practices of war. Of course one book doesn’t do it. The only way to get to what’s truth, what’s real, is to hear as many voices as possible. I highly recommend this book as one such voice. A voice that urgently needs to be heard.


A Sincere Thanks to Maria Hinojosa, Atria Books, and NetGalley
#OnceIWasYou #NetGalley,

Maria Hinojosa does not disappoint with Once I Was You. It is an extremely well researched and well written memoir. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand our broken immigration system better.

It had some good insights. It’s hard growing up in the Spanish community and not know who she was so it was interesting to be able to read this.

Once I Was You is a strong memoir from an icon in the journalism world. In this book Maria Hinojosa mixes in history, memories, and her experiences as a journalist to provide a work that is super important to read. Hinojosa provides the history of the systemic racism that has been imposed on immigrants to show that what we are dealing with today is not nothing new. I enjoyed reading this book and I will recommend it any day to those who want to further their knowledge on the topic of immigration.

This was a wonderful book, and I learned so much about Maria's life and experiences. She is inspiring, and I think everyone should read this book.

Maria Hinojosa tells her story as a Mexican immigrant growing in Chicago as a child and then living in New York City as an adult. As she recounts her story of becoming an award winning journalist, she shows vulnerability sharing details of her personal life. That vulnerability Maria shows through her writing helps the reader connect with her on a deeper level. The book is very easy to follow given all the historical events and political statistics. She is very descriptive with the details of the events she witnessed, you feel like you are experiencing it with her. The most heartbreaking of details is what happens to undocumented families who are being detained at Detention Camps. If you want to learn more about U.S. immigration policies, politics, and get out of your comfort zone, this is one I would definitely recommend.

I have prioritized a lot of reading around immigration this year and Once I was You is a standout! Everyone needs to read this immediately. Maria is remarkable and sure to raise awareness in empathy for any reader that picks this up.

Wow. The new novel by author#Maria Hinojosa is just so wonderful. #'Once I Was You' is a memoir of love and hate in torn America. It shares her intimate experiences of growing up Mexican American on the South side of Chicago.
For a full review head over to Instagram at Maddie_approves_book_reviews!!🐾🐾

An emotional read that really took me through the whole range of emotions: anger, sadness, hope. Highly recommend this one.

This book was phenomenal. Thanks to the recommendation of @lupita.reads, I requested this book from @netgalley @atriabooks. Maria shares her intimate experience growing up Mexican American on the South Side of Chicago and offers a personal and illuminating account of how the rhetoric around immigration has not only long informed American attitudes toward outsiders, but also sanctioned willful negligence and profiteering at the expense of our country’s most vulnerable populations—charging us with the broken system we have today. It’s very wide-reaching and gives a plethora of statistics, policy explanations, and political critiques which made it an all-encompassing read for me. But it is is intimate at the same time because she talks passionately and kindly about her own imposter syndrome, Latinx guilt tied to productivity and success, and her sexual trauma and how it intertwines with her personal desire and relationships. I seriously loved this book. If you don’t believe me, take a look at all the incredible blurbs.

Wow wow wow. This book is simply stunning.

Completely immersive writing that draws the reader in. Written in essays, it could be easy to exhaust the reader, but Hinojosa writes with such a captivating voice that the book is hard to put down.

I will recommend this book to all, it is a very needed read in this day.

wow wow wow!!! read this book! I absoutely love Maria Hinojosa, so when I heard she was writing a book I had to get ahold of it. Her journalist background makes this book such a engrossing story. Its one of my favorites of the year!

An honest & graphic, unflinching memoir. This follows Hinojosa's family history & her career path story, & also gives a lot of US History, & past & current immigration policy, sheds light on detention centers & border crossings. She does a real good job of making this a page turner, even though it's not a mystery! She's led quite an eventful career/life! A life making a positive difference in other people's lives. This is a real compelling book, very interesting & probably should be on everyone's 'to read' list! Very interesting! It's a good read.
I received this e-ARC from Atria Books via NetGalley, in return for reading it & offering my own fair & honest review.

Maria Hinojosa is my new role model. Her tenacity and perspective shines in her memoir, Once I was You. I got chills throughout hearing about how she grew her career in radio then TV journalism, her time on the border, the bias she faced every day, and more. Highly recommend this one to literally anyone, but especially my fellow journalists out there!

This book was fantastic! In this memoir, María Hinojosa talks about growing up as a Mexican American in Chicago in the early 1960s. Woven seamlessly throughout, she educates the reader on the history of immigration in the United States. She paints a picture of the sad reality that history has a way of repeating itself. There are so many parts of this book that mimic what we see in the news on a daily basis (scary thought, right?!).

As a woman, I applaud her for paving her own way, standing up for what is right and exhibiting such humanity. She is an extremely accomplished journalist - if you don't know her, please look her up! There is so much packed into this powerful book and gems are being dropped left and right! This book is definitely required reading!

"Not all of us allow ourselves to fulfill our dreams of freedom. This struggle, the restless determination, the feeling of urgency comes with working to make things better - it never really goes away."
-- María Hinojosa

Thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of #OnceIWasYou.