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As a sequel to My Bloody Life,
Sanchez's memoir of sex, drugs and violence in the Chicago street gang
the Latin Kings, the author recounts the hardships of postgang life. He
vividly describes the struggle to separate himself from his previous
"drunken, drug-crazed, violent" persona. Initially, the temptations of
his "past glory" prove irresistible, and while he does not rejoin the
gang, he moves back to the 'hood, gets involved with drugs and
eventually goes to prison for possession. Incarceration, however,
becomes a "blessing in disguise"; Sanchez spends most days "reading the
Bible, sketching, and writing poetry." His rosy view of prison is a
product of his past as a King, because their network in jail gives him
protection and respect. Once released, he finds himself alone and
tormented by horrifying memories of physical and sexual abuse and a
deep sense of worthlessness, but he manages to get a job and learns to
feel "the peacefulness of his freedom." Eventually, Sanchez finds his
"soul mate" in Marilyn, an educated Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx
whom he idolizes but later abuses, projecting onto her his resentment
against his unloving mother.
Sanchez's story of survival in the face of
great odds rings true.
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