Memoir Excerpts

• Picking Cotton
  At Age 3, Ramon Resa Becomes A Farmworker Boy
• Ramon Resa’s Best Friend’s House Has Hot Water And Full Refrigerator -
  He Lives Without Either At His Grandparents
• Two Worlds At School: “No Spanish Allowed,”
  So Ramon Resa Struggles To Learn English…
  While His Family Only Speaks Spanish At Home...
• Ramon Resa’s Classmates Bully Him Because He Stutters…
  He Experiences Intense Shame When Called On...
• Ramon Resa Feels Inferior To His Anglo Classmates Even Though He’s A Better Student…
  He Notices All TV Characters Are White
• Ramon Resa’s 4th-Grade Teacher, Mrs. Tobin Terrifies Him –
  Then Changes His Life By Inspiring Him To Live Up To His Potential…
• Ramon Resa Not Allowed To Be Valedictorian Because He Stutters…
  He Has The Highest Grade Point Average In Class....
• Ramon Resa Experiences Racism...
  Defies A High-School Counselor Twice His Size Who Tries To Bully Ramon Out Of Taking College Prep Courses…
• Ramon Resa Plays Tennis With The Rich Kids High School, He Suffers From Low Self Esteem
• Ramon Resa Is Accepted At UC Santa Cruz, But He Fears There May Have Been A Mistake.
• Ramon Resa Loses His Favorite Aunt To Breast Cancer; He Makes The Decision To Become A Doctor.
• Ramon Resa Refuses To Tell Med School Interviewers What They Want To Hear,
  Knows He Has Blown His Chance.
• Ramon Resa Discovers Pediatrics, Knows He Has Found His Calling.