"Happiness is a dandelion wisp floating through the air that I can’t catch. No matter how hard I try, no matter how fast I run, I just can’t reach it. Even when I think I grasp it, I open my hand and it’s empty."
— I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
By Erika L. Sánchez
Adaptation and Direction: Ana Maria Jomolca
Performed by Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez
Appropriate for: high school, college, and community audiences. Please note: this title contains mature content and language.
Available for: live performances
An award-winning bestseller about a young woman coming to terms with the death of her sister while struggling to find herself amid the pressures of growing up “perfect” in a Mexican family.
The Story
Julia Reyes is a South Side Chicago high school student who dreams of becoming a writer. She learns to navigate familial expectations and cultural standards while investigating the death of her sister, Olga —who might not have been quite as perfect as she seemed.
In Performance
Hispanic actor Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez vibrantly portrays Julia and other characters in her world—particularly her mother “Ama”—as their relationship breaks apart after the loss of her sister. This adaptation explores identity, trauma, and grief, allowing audiences to see both raw emotion and humor through the eyes of this budding young writer.
This title is co-produced in partnership with Freedom Reads, the only organization in the nation transforming the experience of incarceration by opening libraries in prison housing facilities, founded by Reginald Dwayne Betts in 2020.