Book Review - Something Fierce

This nonfiction was the winner of Canada Reads 2012! After a week of heavy debate among the Canada Reads panelists, Something Fierce came out on top and I felt that this had to be the next book I shared with all of you!
Carmen Aguirre is the daughter to a revolutionary family. Her family is constantly moving from place to place and she never has any friends for very long. It is a lonely life for a child. Her mother and Bob are in the Chilean resistance. For weeks at a time, Carmen and her younger sister Ale are left with other families. When they grow older, they are left to fend for themselves while their parents are away. How does a child live when every day they fear they will never see their parents again? That the secret police could come barging in at any moment and take you away? Rather than face neglect and loneliness at home, both Carmen and Ale seek solace in boys and spend as much time away from home as possible. As she grows older Carmen joins the underground herself. But after years and years of continuous revolution, will there ever be an end in sight? With an ever widening gap within her family, Carmen continues to fight. For her rights. For her freedom. For Chile.
Carmen Aguirre tells the story of her life down to every detail and every fear that she had to overcome. I found her story very intriguing. Not only does it give great insight into the world of a revolutionary, but it shows you the lesser known side of a revolutionary that loses the fight and what happens afterwards. It makes you realize how different our countries really are. Compare your childhood to hers and they will be nothing alike. I think it's always good to gain a new perspective, and why people see the world the way they do. Carmen Aguirre was a revolutionary, and now she passes her story on to you. She has survived Something Fierce.

Author Bio - Carmen Aguirre

Born in Chile, Aguirre and her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada as political refugees after the infamous Pinochet coup of 1973. Returning to South America in 1979, the family was not allowed back into Chile and Aguirre subsequently became active in the Chilean resistance. She spent much of her younger life living in fear. "Fear that my political convictions would not be strong enough to keep myself committed to a cause that I believed in but which clashed with my other desires: to live a “normal” life, to sleep a full night’s sleep, to dance and laugh and talk nonsense without my radar up, without having to watch every word, every choice I make." Now she is a multi-faceted actress, writer and playwright and has an extensive background in the film and television industry. She not only shares an interest in these areas but also has exceptional talent. She has written and co-written 18 plays and has been nominated for the Siminovitch Prize, the biggest award in Canadian theater. Although Carmen found her calling as an actor and storyteller at the age of three, when her parents took her to the circus in the south of Chile, she did not decide to dedicate her life to her artistic calling until the age of 22. Her newest book, Something Fierce, is a memoir on her childhood living as a revolutionary daughter. It is a very intimate account of her life with an eye-opening perspective on the life of a revolutionary. I hope you're all looking forward to the review next week!