COMMUNITY READ
2024-2025 Selection:
FIRST GEN: A MEMOIR
by Alejandra Campoverdi
First Gen: A Memoir
Alejandra Campoverdi has been a child on welfare, a White House aide to President Obama, a Harvard graduate, a gang member’s girlfriend, and a candidate for U.S. Congress. She’s ridden on Air Force One and in G-rides. She’s been featured in Maxim magazine and had a double mastectomy. Living a life of contradictory extremes often comes with the territory when you’re a “First and Only.” It also comes at a price.
With candor and heart, Alejandra retraces her trajectory as a Mexican American woman raised by an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles. Foregoing the tidy bullet points of her resume and instead shining a light on the spaces between them, what emerges is a powerful testimony that shatters the one-dimensional glossy narrative we are often sold of what it takes to achieve the American Dream. In this timely and revealing reflection, Alejandra draws from her own experiences to name and frame the challenges First and Onlys often face, illuminating a road to truth, healing, and change in the process.
Part memoir, part manifesto, FIRST GEN is a story of generational inheritance, aspiration, and the true meaning of belonging—a gripping journey to “reclaim the parts of ourselves we sacrificed in order to survive.”
Get the Book
Book Honors:
2024 Winner of the Martin Cruz Smith Award (CALIBA)
2024 Council for Opportunity in Education National Book Club Selection
2024 Opportunity Matters Book Club selection for the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE)
Longlisted for the Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award for First Year Experience
“It’s also a powerful resource for first-generation students who are navigating college during this period of political and economic uncertainty.”-LA Times
“Campoverdi’s dedication and affection for young women in difficult circumstances is evident…she provides a rich harvest of encouragement and a solid list of resources.” ―Booklist
"I wish this book existed when I was a first generation student navigating the alienating world of academia and the mostly white workplaces thereafter. Campoverdi’s writing is honest, healing, and empowering. First Gen has made me feel seen and less alone."―Javier Zamora, New York Times bestselling author of Solito
About Community Read
Community Read, sponsored by Mississippi University for Women, is a community-wide shared reading experience that:
- draws on the university and community’s rich literary heritage and The W's commitment to liberal arts education
- develops connections between students, faculty, staff, and community members
- fosters intellectual curiosity and broadens our understanding of our world, our community, and our neighbors
- promotes gatherings of readers to explore and talk about issues raised in selected books
Book cover used with permission of Hachette Book Group.
Community Read Partners
If you would like your business, church, or group to be a part of Community Read, let's talk.