"Esta es la increíble y verdadera historia de una chica sumida en un mundo completamente inesperado. Es una historia de sueños, algunos de pesadilla, otros de amor y de fuga. Es un relato de una familia amorosa y problemática, y de la chica que creció y se convirtió en una estrella de televisión. Son las memorias de los primeros años de la actriz y escritora Sonia Manzano, ganadora del premio Emmy y quien realizara el papel de María en la aclamada serie de televisión Sesame Street"--Page 4 of cover.

Set in the 1950s in the Bronx, this is the story of a girl with a dream. Emmy award-winning actress and writer Sonia Manzano plunges us into the daily lives of a Latino family that is loving--and troubled. She is a child living amidst the squalor of a boisterous home that is filled with noisy relatives and neighbors. Each day she is glued to the TV screen that blots out the painful realities of her existence and also illuminates the possibilities that lie ahead. But--click!--when the TV goes off, Sonia is taken back to real-life--the cramped, colorful world of her neighborhood and an alcoholic father. This memoir paints a lasting portrait of a girl's resilience as she grows up to become an inspiration to millions.