Jaquira Díaz

Jaquira Díaz was born in Puerto Rico. Her work has been published in Rolling Stone, the Guardian, Longreads, The Fader, and The New York Times Style Magazine, and included in The Best American Essays 2016. In her searing memoir Ordinary Girls (Algonquin Books), Díaz writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age. She grew up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, as her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia. Díaz writes with raw and refreshing honesty about her struggles, from depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism. Finally, her story is about triumphantly mapping a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be. O: The Oprah Magazine said Ordinary Girls “belongs on your must-read lists. Díaz is a masterful writer […] she talks about despair, depression, love, and hope with such vibrancy that her vivid portrayal will stay with you long after the final page.”