Facing Whiteness in Multicultural Families - An Interview and Discussion
A Room of One's Own is thrilled to welcome Sara Alvarado and ananda mirilli for a conversation and reading of Sara's memoir Dreaming In Spanish: An Unexpected Love Story in Puerto Vallarta. Alex Alvarado, Sara's son and one of the main characters in her memoir, will also be joining to add to the multiple layers of the discussion.
This is an in person even at A Room of One's Own.
About the book
At age twenty-four, Sara Alvarado bought a one-way ticket from the midwest to Mexico determined to heal from years of hard partying and sexual trauma. In this raw and inspiring memoir, Sara takes readers on a journey as she struggles with being newly sober, unexpectedly in love - and then suddenly, terrifyingly pregnant. Guided from afar by her wise and loving mother and her emerging spiritual connection, Sara confidently (yet full of self-doubt) faces the complexity of a multicultural marriage and motherhood in a foreign country. In vivid, storytelling prose, Sara shares the messy dance between cultures, classes, languages, traditions, white privilege, and a desire to belong. This epic love story confronts tough topics and uncertainty in an honest voice that is refreshing and witty.
Sara Alvarado is a white woman married to a native Mexican man with two multicultural, bilingual children. She is a writer, speaker, and fierce advocate for racial equity in real estate. Sara published her first book, Dreaming In Spanish in 2023, the Racial Justice Toolkit for Real Estate Professionals, a Guide for Change Agents, and numerous articles and essays. Sara and her husband, Carlos, own Alvarado Real Estate Group and feel most at home in Madison, Wisconsin, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Learn more at: www.SaraAlvarado.com
ananda mirilli is the nINA Collective Member Director. ananda is unafraid and unapologetic in our commitment to, and centering of, racial justice from a global & intersectional space, that evokes creativity and innovation in tackling deep seated inequities. They are native of Brazil and have a long history of working with communities in the U.S. and abroad. In Madison, Wisconsin, ananda is a former member of the Board of Education of the Madison Metropolitan School District, Nuestro Mundo Bilingual School and Unidos Against Domestic Violence. They are also the President for the Latino Education Council and Communities United. ananda is a proud and dedicated mother to their 1 daughter Breana.
