So this year I got to meet both Sherman Alexie and Sandra Cisneros, two of my favorite authors, and I can say that I was not the least bit disappointed with either of my heroes. I was introduced to Cisneros as a kid and I was introduced to Alexie as a teenager and I remember having an immediate reaction to both authors. Because of my heritage, I felt an immediate reaction to her stories and the language she used; I could see shadows and reflections of my own Mexican family within her stories and even though I am a guy, I had the same kind of visceral memories of toys and going to thrift stores and owning second hand things. I was a wealthy kid though, because I only remember going to those places with my grandfather who was a bit eccentric. Alexie's stories though, resonate with me because of the strained relationship I have with my own father. My father was a drunk, and though my parents are still married after all this time, there were really bad times. The times right after my older brother died after driving drunk was really hard and stressful for our family, as it sent my father on a self hating path for showing my brother the drink, and he blamed himself for a long time afterwords. Because of Alexie's and Cisneros' influence on me inspired me to write, meeting them was a dream come true. I am not sure I agree with Alexie's pessimistic view that our generation of writers are "fuc**d" but I appreciate that pessimistic attitude. I hope they continue writing stories for a while to come.
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