Xochitl Gonzalez Struggles to Understand a Mother that Chose Activism Over Her

KQED's Forum

Novelist and Atlantic staff writer Xochitl Gonzalez joins us to talk about her recent essay, a personal history about growing up with a mother who was largely absent from her life. Her mother, Andrea Gonzalez, joined the Socialist Workers Party as a young woman from Brooklyn, and devoted decades of her life to the cause and running for various political offices including vice president of the United States. As a child Gonzalez admired her mother, “My mother hadn’t ditched me; she was working to save the world from the ravages of capitalism,” she writes in her piece. We’ll talk with Gonzalez about coming to terms with her absent mother and what happens when a parent chooses political activism over their child.

Guest:

Xochitl Gonzalez, staff writer, The Atlantic; novelist, “To Save The World, My Mother Abandoned Me”