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A review by fancy_reads
I'm Not Broken by Jesse Leon
5.0
I was told I would cry, and it was true. I couldn’t get past the introduction without feeling my eyes fill with tears.
Jesse takes us back to San Diego, “America’s Finest City”, back in the 80s and early 90s. He exposes the ugly underbelly of drugs and prostitution that the tourists and those living in the “nice” neighborhoods didn’t see. He brings us into his world to show us what it was like growing up as a Mexican-American in a poor neighborhood: the lack of resources, gang violence, and drugs. But also in that same neighborhood we find camaraderie, family, and a community that is rich in giving and helping one another. Jesse shows us the struggle of questioning one’s sexuality in the 80s with a machista father. He doesn’t hold back how his innocence is brutally stripped from him by a sex predator who forces the young sweet boy into a world of drugs and sex trafficking.
Jesse Leon’s story will punch you in the gut, make you cry, and mourn for all he lost. But you will also laugh, rejoice, and feel inspired by his strength, resilience, and love.
Jesse takes us back to San Diego, “America’s Finest City”, back in the 80s and early 90s. He exposes the ugly underbelly of drugs and prostitution that the tourists and those living in the “nice” neighborhoods didn’t see. He brings us into his world to show us what it was like growing up as a Mexican-American in a poor neighborhood: the lack of resources, gang violence, and drugs. But also in that same neighborhood we find camaraderie, family, and a community that is rich in giving and helping one another. Jesse shows us the struggle of questioning one’s sexuality in the 80s with a machista father. He doesn’t hold back how his innocence is brutally stripped from him by a sex predator who forces the young sweet boy into a world of drugs and sex trafficking.
Jesse Leon’s story will punch you in the gut, make you cry, and mourn for all he lost. But you will also laugh, rejoice, and feel inspired by his strength, resilience, and love.