Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez's Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us is a powerful and evocative exploration of familial bonds and cultural heritage. Narrated by the author herself, the audiobook offers an intimate and deeply personal touch that enhances the reading experience.

Rodríguez's storytelling weaves together her own experiences with the rich tapestry of Latina family dynamics, focusing on the pivotal roles of aunts and female relatives. Her narration is heartfelt and engaging, making the listener feel as though they are having a personal conversation with her. The audiobook's emotional resonance is heightened by Rodríguez’s authentic voice, which brings each anecdote and reflection to life.

As a Black woman, I found that many of the archetypes Rodríguez describes are strikingly familiar. The themes of support, resilience, and nurturing that she highlights resonate across cultural boundaries, speaking to a larger collective human experience. This book is not only a celebration of Latina familial roles but also a reflection on universal experiences of womanhood and feminism.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this insightful and beautifully narrated book. For anyone interested in exploring the intersection of personal and cultural identity, Tías and Primas is a compelling listen that offers both poignant reflections and uplifting celebrations of the women who shape our lives.

A great look into the multifaceted dynamics of a latina/x family. Loved getting a greater insight upon the different archetypes of tias y primas. Made me look upon my own family and see everyone in that light.

Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I have been highly anticipating Tías and Primas after reading For Brown Girls with Tender Hearts and Sharp Edges. These two books can be read in any order, but what originally stood out to me about For Brown Girls was how deeply it made me feel seen. Just as For Brown Girls was a love letter to Latinas, Tías and Primas is a love letter to the women who raised us, the women we looked up to, and the women who loved us in the only way they knew how.

The book is divided into several essays in which Rodriguez explores specific archetypes found in Latinx communities while weaving in personal anecdotes.

The two archetypes that resonated the most with me were:

The Book-Smart Prima: Rodriguez delves into how we can disconnect from our culture the deeper we immerse ourselves in higher education.
The "Te Estás Engordando" Tía: This essay particularly struck a chord with me as I am still learning to develop a healthy relationship with food and view my body in a neutral way.
Other essays reminded me how much I miss my dysfunctional family now that I live in a different state.

Notes on the Audiobook: I listened to the book via audio, which is narrated by the author herself. This was an excellent choice. Rodriguez’s narration feels like you’re sitting down with your cousins—or in my case, with the imaginary older sister I never had—chatting about taboo family topics.

In both her previous book and this one, Rodriguez emphasizes that she aims to disseminate information to our community that is often restricted due to limited access and privilege. As a result, the writing style is very casual. My only critique is that I wish there were more intersectional conversations between the different archetypes. While it’s clear that the author didn’t intend to oversimplify the lived experiences of Latinas, the essays sometimes felt reductive, with certain archetypes bordering on stereotypes.

That said, many of these essays will resonate with women, especially Latinas. This is a book I would recommend to my older tías who might be hesitant to engage in these types of conversations due to cultural expectations.

Tías and Primas will be published on September 10.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Seal Press for providing an advance reader’s copy of Tías and Primas.

I loved this less than I expected as a follow-up to For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts. I still found myself relating to so many of these archetypes — both able to see myself in some of them, but mostly identifying my mom, my tias, my abuelitas, and the women who have surrounded me throughout my life in my Xicane community. Many aspects of naming these archetypes and unpacking how some of the harmful aspects of our relationships with them felt therapeutic — in some ways I'm stepping away from this feeling like I understand them better and am able to give them some grace for the first time in a long time.

But overall, I think this book wasn't quite what I needed or wanted and it left me a bit dissatisfied. It left me feeling that while it names the effort to resist against the stereotypes and boxes that society puts Latinas in, it kind of fed into those stereotypes and then went further to create it’s own.

Tías and Primas was such an emotional and at times a heartbreaking and painful rollercoaster. I received an audiobook, and listening to it felt so personal, I was discovering parts of family members and myself. The author herself narrated it so it makes sense that she would know how to read this book in the best way to convey all the emotions correctly. Her voice was so calming, but also grounding at times when one of the archetypes hit close to home. There were times listening to her read this was like having a conversation with my friends, while at other moments it was as if she had dug into my brain. Going through each archetype and connecting some of them to a family member was eye opening. As she spoke of them and brought to light another side of the coin to the conversation I stumbled alongside her. As much as some of these tías did hurt me though their words and that will never go away, I learned that those words thrown at me were learned thoughts for them. I still hold the scars and memory, but those tias have those as well. Hearing Prisca speak of what may have brought that Tía to become like that made me view her in a different light, one not so harsh. There were moments where she conveyed such emotion that I felt so invested in it. This book brought out so many good points. Going through each archetype and giving it dimension in a way that broke me and made me question what I have been doing and how I have interacted with them and if it was because of how others viewed them rather than how I viewed and felt about them. This was such an eye opening journey, and did make me think what kind of tía or prima am and if that’s truly how I want to be viewed. Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for allowing me to have an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.