Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa [Paperback]

Winner of the American Book Award

Winner of the American Book Award

“González’s elegant, wrenching, and poetic memoir recounts his childhood among poor Mexican farmworkers, losing his mother at twelve, whippings for youthful cross-dressing, being abandoned by his father, and coming out and finding peace with his identity amid a culture where machismo is prized.”—Out

“Wrenching, angry, passionate, ironic, and always eloquent about conflicts of family, class, and sexuality. The son and grandson of farmworkers, constantly moving between Mexico and the U.S., then and now, González weaves together three narrative threads: his angry present journey across the border with his estranged father; childhood memories of growing up a fat, bookish ‘sissy-boy’; and his urgent longing for his sexy, abusive older lover. . . . An unforgettable story of leaving home today.”—Booklist(Starred review)

“This moving memoir of a young Chicano boy’s maturing into a self-accepting gay adult is a beautifully executed portrait of the experience of being gay, Chicano and poor in the United States. . . . González writes in a poetic yet straightforward style that heightens the power of his story.”—Publishers Weekly

“A poignant, heartfelt memoir of a gay Latino . . . coming-of-age, played out against a relentless backdrop of abuse and neglect.”—Kirkus Reviews

Acknowledgments

Part 1: Smarting Points, Starting Points

Summer's Passage, Southern California, 1990

Welcome to Indio, California, Pop. 36,793

Ghost Whisper to My Lover

Now Leaving Mexicali, Baja California, Norte

Ghost Whisper to My Lover

Part 2: Childhood and Other Language Lessons

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