The Effects of Alcoholism

Alcoholism is one of two issues Sotomayor mentions in the Prologue, which indicates it impacted her life on an important level. Alcoholism is a very real problem for many families and Sotomayor describes a very typical set of events. Sonia's father was an alcoholic who put his family through a great deal of misery with his constant drinking. There is no doubt the family faced serious hardships caused by the language barrier and their financial situation. While Juli may have been looking at alcohol as an escape from his daily cares, it created an intolerable situation for the family, especially for Sonia.

A prime example of this is seen in the reactions of other people to Juli and his drinking.

When Juli passed out, Sonia's uncles came to help transport him to the hospital. They were talking about the state of the house within Sonia's...