Editorial Review: Resilient by Jeremy Bracamontes

Jeremy Bracamontes finds his life changing forever at a precariously young age when he loses his father to cancer and his mother to addiction and incarceration. Jeremy Bracamontes was only five years old when his father passed away from cancer, and he was left alone with his mother, who tried to drown her grief in substance abuse. This ended with the unfortunate consequence of Jeremy ending up as a ward in the Southern California court system. Resilient is written in first person by Jeremy with an unflinching look at the merciless world he found himself thrust into. However, while he doesn’t shy away from the traumatic events that shaped his life, Resilient contains a message of hope from someone who had every reason to be bitter about his experiences. Jeremy’s tale is set in Southern California of the eighties and nineties, written in such an engaging manner that it’s impossible not to get caught up in the story. Resilient is not just the story of how hard life can be for children who end up in shelter homes, foster care, and orphanages, but also the goodness that can be encountered along the way. It chronicles a twelve-year-long journey with plenty of ups and downs that effortlessly tug on the heartstrings on many occasions. For all the moments of heartbreak, there are also plenty of heartwarming ones where Jeremy encounters people who change his outlook on life for the better. Jeremy’s love and appreciation for these people are very clear in the way he writes about them, and the book is also full of photographs of himself and these people. Jeremy’s hopes of reuniting with his mother are dashed when she is incarcerated for robbery, but the book contains a lot of scans of the handwritten letters she wrote to him. Resilient can be a very difficult book to read at times because of the horrible things Jeremy had to endure. From disappointments, hardships, and loss to bullying and beatings, his journey through life was not an easy one. However, Jeremy never wallows in his situation or feels sorry for himself. Instead, his indomitable spirit and unwavering optimism get him through hardships where many others would have given up. It is impossible not to root for Jeremy while reading his story and to feel every joy and heartbreak along with him.Jeremy’s story had a happy ending, but many children who end up in the system are not as fortunate. Resilient does an excellent job of portraying what the reality is like for many of these children and what a massive impact the help and kindness of others can have on their lives. His aim with this novel was to help his family understand the hardships he endured but also to help other good kids who have struggled. This is something the book undoubtedly succeeds at as it is impossible to read without gaining more empathy and understanding for those who have been dealt a harsh hand by life. Even if memoirs are not your preferred reading material, Resilient comes highly recommended.