My sister Laura was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico when I was six years old. I was very happy going to school in San Juan, and I loved Puerto Rico. Laura told me to read this book about a Puerto Rican girl in New York City who rises to the Supreme Court of the United States through hard work, generosity, skill with people, and good luck.

The best chapters are at the end when she talks about how she distinguished herself, and the role diabetes type 1 played in her life. She connected deeply with people, and more than cared about what happened to them — she took action. But she was not a protestor. Even as a teenager, she believed in figuring out the problem and negotiating a solution that worked for all parties.

She was very good a recognizing opportunities and taking good advice when it was offered. This is how she got into Princeton on a full ride, much to the astonishment of others at her Catholic Bronx high school.

The book is written in simple sentences and small words, making it clear that she very clearly adjusts her speech to her audience. We get a glimpse of her legal writing and the complex sentence structure that reveals her prodigious mind.

In the back of the book, on page 255, she talks about the role of luck in her life. Her grandmother (Abuelita) played a pivotal role in her life, providing protection from her domineering mother and the providing unconditional love that would sustain her even after Abuelita’s death.

Sonia feels that, after her death, Abuelita’s protection increased, manifesting in

fortuitous interventions that would save my life in diabetic crises, to strange alignments of circumstances that have favored me unreasonably. Things that might easily have happened to me somehow did not; things that were not likely to happen for me somehow did. This seemed like luck with a purpose.

This made me think of Tich Nat Han’s devotion to his ancestors, and I started to wonder if our departed ancestors are part of the collective unconscious. Are they part of our unconscious desires that bubble up enexpectedly, sometimes wreaking havoc in our lives as we try to sort out unexpected needs?

Sonia doesn’t really talk about her friction with her mother until almost the end of the book, page 279. The chaos at home, and her mother’s over-protectiveness “drove her nuts.” She describes how her brother got her mother off her back by saying

Sonia’s never going to tell you anything, Mami, because you always overreact.

Sonia distinguished herself by seeing the gray area rather than taking a position and fighting for it. Evaluating each case individually. Watching people for the small “tells” that reveal unreliable statements. Relentless preparation so that the jury could reach the best answer.

A remarkable woman and a very interesting book. Recommended