A Cup of Water Under My Bed

Hernández recalls a time in her childhood when a city official arrived at her family’s ramshackle home because her father sought a permit for an addition to the house. Her mother, who did not understand the man’s insult that the home should be condemned, asked Hernández to explain what the official said. She did not. The words were hurtful because he suggested that their home, the essence of their family, “should not only be thrown away but bulldozed” (xi).

Hernández began writing this memoir 14 years before it was published. Her work represents her struggle to understand the complexities of her family, free from the judgment of individuals like the man mentioned above. Hernández’s story begins in 1980, the year that John Lennon is assassinated and Ronald Reagan is elected President of the United States. Her story and those of her family members do not stand alone but are part of a broader history that stands at the intersection of gender, race, and class.

Hernández recalls being sent to Holy Family Catholic School for kindergarten, where she was taught by white educators and understood little English. She was soon put into an ESL (English as a Second Language) class.