My Beloved World

When Sotomayor was seven, she was diagnosed with diabetes, which she calls a gift. Why does she call it this, and in what ways does it shape the way she approaches any and all obstacles in life?

How does Sotomayor’s understanding of what it means to be educated change over the course of her story?

Reflecting on her father’s death from alcoholism, Sotomayor writes, “For all the misery he caused, I knew with certainty that he loved us. Those aren’t thing you can measure or weigh. You can’t say: This much love is worth this much misery. They’re not opposites that cancel each other out; they’re both true at the same time” (85). What does she mean by this, and how does it impact the ways she understands the concept of community?

Why does Sotomayor believe both models and mentors are necessary? What does each contribute that is different from the other?

In Chapter Thirteen, Sotomayor describes discovering formal logic in a philosophy course. She writes, “I perceived beauty in it. […] I was amazed that something so mathematically pure and abstract could transform into human persuasion, into words with the power to change people’s minds” (123). Despite her rational nature and love for logic, why does Sotomayor believe they are not always enough to persuade? What does she believe emotional appeals do that reason and logic cannot?

Discuss Sotomayor’s motivation for writing her book and how it relates to mentoring.

Using three examples from My Beloved World, explain what books mean to Sotomayor and how they helped shape her life.

When describing the legal field, Sotomayor says, “The law for me was not a career but a vocation” (277). Discuss how the two differ according to Sotomayor and why she calls law her vocation.