Sewing: Houston author writes stories that reflect her Dominican-American roots
"If you count 15 years, then I guess I am," she said.
Her latest book,"Aniana Del Mar Jumps In" , is a middle-grade novel about a 12-year-old Dominican-American swimmer who is diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. On March 26, Mendez will be the featured author in Inprint Cool Brains! Series for children at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School.
"There is more acknowledgement now of why stories like mine matter and need to be heard," Mendez said."There is more of a yearning for stories that are intersectional and that combine a variety of experiences, like the female narrative, the Latina narrative, the Afro-Latina narrative and living with chronic illness." Mendez has been diagnosed with lupus and scleroderma, which are auto-immune diseases.
Mendez said she devoured books growing up, even though her parents couldn't afford them. Her father took the family to the library every two weeks on weekends. Her first published work came out of a health crisis. Mendez, who holds both bachelor's and master's degrees from UH, was teaching full time at a local charter school when she became ill. She took a leave from teaching and used the time off to put together a book of poems and essays. The book,"Island of Dreams," came out in 2013 and won an International Latino Book award.
Mendez' personal stories explore her experience as a Dominican American. But it was after the death of Sandra Bland, who was pulled over in 2015 for a traffic violation in Waller County and found dead hanging in her jail cell three days later, that Mendez started calling herself a Black woman.
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