Intellectual Life Rafts: Navigating the U.S. Education System in Crying in the Bathroom (2022), A Cup of Water Under My Bed (2014), and Ordinary Girls (2019)

Abstract

This paper examines the role of intellectual life rafts in helping first-generation Latina students to persevere and succeed in challenging school environments. Through the memoirs Crying in the Bathroom (2022) by Erika Sánchez, A Cup of Water Under My Bed (2014) by Daisy Hernández, and Ordinary Girls (2019) by Jaquira Díaz, evidence is presented about the variety of intellectual life rafts that these women used in their childhoods and how they work to provide them for others in their careers.