This bilingual story follows a young boy navigating gang life, highlighting how his uncle's love and respect guide him toward a better path. The book is richly illustrated in full color.
Luis Rodrìguez Book order
Luis J. Rodríguez is a distinguished author whose work centers on urban communities and the experiences of Mexican immigrants in the United States. His writing, spanning poetry, journalism, and memoir, establishes him as a pivotal voice in Chicano literature. Rodríguez delves deeply into themes of identity, violence, and redemption, employing a potent, raw style to depict the realities faced by many. His output serves as a testament to resilience and the search for meaning amidst challenging environments.
- 2013
- 2004
By age twelve, Luis Rodriguez was a veteran of East L.A. gang warfare. Lured by a seemingly invincible gang culture, he witnessed countless shootings, beatings, and arrests, then watched with increasing fear as drugs, murder, suicide, and senseless acts of street crime claimed friends and family members.Before long, Rodriguez saw a way out of the barrio through education and the power of words and successfully broke free from years of violence and desperation. Achieving success as an award-winning Chicano poet, he was sure the streets would haunt him no more -- until his son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in Always Running, a vivid memoir that explores the motivations of gang life and cautions against the death and destruction that inevitably claim its participants. At times heartbreakingly sad and brutal, Always Running is ultimately an uplifting true story, filled with hope, insight, and a hard-learned lesson for the next generation.