Sana, Sana: Latinx Pain and Radical Visions for Healing and Justice

by David Luis Glisch-Sánchez (Editor)

A bridge that interrupts a legacy of pain with the honest sharing of stories. Sana, Sana is a witness to the multiple wounds etched into the landscape of Latinx experience and a testimonial to community efforts to heal them. A multi-genre anthology rooted in the deep desire to not only acknowledge and name the various forms of pain and trauma Latinx people experience regularly, but to do so in the service of imagining new futures and ways of being that prioritize healing and justice not just for Latinx people, but for Queer BIPOC communities and, ultimately, for all people.  The book’s vision and understanding of Latinidad is broad and expansive. It centers Black, Indigenous, Queer, Trans, and Feminist Latinidades. By advancing an unapologetically radical antiracist, anticapitalist, feminist, and queer politic Sana, Sana holds creative and defiant space for identifying economic, social, political, emotional, and spiritual strategies to forge individual and collective healing and justice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Latinx

168 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2023

Reviews

[colleen avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe like a 3.75, there were some essays that were powerful but for me the poetry missed heavily. im also just a tough critic for poetry though and tbh i didnt expect to be astounded im just a bit tired of diaspora poetry that feels a bit too cliche. but that doesnt mean it doesnt present a truth —at the very least everything in this book is deeply earnest

[caro · Rating 5 out of 5]

the works in this book revolved around topics that are NOT talked about enough in latine communities (especially acknowledging the presence of queer, black, and indigenous peoples), so i was relieved when it satisfied my expectations.

the structure of poems between longer works worked really well for me. personally, i don’t read a lot of poetry so i can’t say much about those. however, the structure really offers something for everyone.

this also made me emotional various times which is rare 😸

[Paloma Guerrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, esp grieving in Spanish. It was a perfect read right before day of the dead. Really colored how I was present with my family and we thought back on our passed loved ones.

[Molly Atiencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved loved loved, any young adult who is hispanic esp first gen will relate to these

[Caroline Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

From vero from mil mundos.

"Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana” means “heal, heal, little frog's tail.”
Guabancex--zemi of chaos 😳😳😳. Shes so good.
SUCH A GOOD IDEA: "ode to the upside-down flag stamp on every letter i mail / Gabriella Navas / you are yet another habit i have inherited from my papi: the man who taught me that an upside-down american flag is a sign of distress, who pledges allegiance only to the flag of lares. i had a dream the other night where we all took to the streets: stormed our old middle school classrooms after hours, scaled flagpoles to turn the flags on their heads. but in the morning, i woke up and all the flags were still right-side up and half of america refused to acknowledge our grief. look, i know that this is purely symbolic, and i know that i am not changing the world by turning you upside-down, but at the very least, you are how i signal to the people i love that i see them, and their distress, and that i am on my way."

I think this book should have had a reflecrion section.

Everyones moms were dying

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful collection of poems and short essays. I got this at one of my favorite bookshops, Libelula, and was excited to see that one of the editors is a local doctoral student at UCSD. It took me a little while to read, mostly because there were themes of trauma in the narrators’ shared experiences, so I needed some time to bear witness and sit with it. Taking my time reading this felt like a manifestation of some of the central messaging around collective healing and liberation. Highly recommend!

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the longer narratives and storytelling.