By Elia Esparza

Like so many Latinos, David Damian Figueroa was blessed with a Mexican mother who always had a “dicho” (saying) to confront just about any challenge, loss or triumph—blessings. 

Figueroa has penned a book that is part memoir, part self-help, and overall a great journal. A Reminder to My Twenty-Three-Year Old Self is founded on the great lessons his beloved mother taught him growing up. During these current times of great doubt, injustices, and mistrust, this book comes at a perfect time.

Figueroa, who lost his mother, Antonia Hernandez Figueroa when he was 23 years old, has dedicated the book to her– honoring the abundance of love, wisdom, and guidance she packed into his life– from the day he was born until the day she died. “A Reminder to My Twenty-Three-Year Old Self” is a gem of a book, where Figueroa shares all that he learned growing up– wisdom that came in the form of dichos.

I found the book to be an addictive read and with each axiom, my mind wandered back to my own childhood during those times when my own mother would offer up her own dichos at times to defuse a sad situation with some humor.

Figueroa has published the best of his mother’s dichos and has added a few more from other people he admires, like Dolores Huerta and some of his own that have come to him throughout his life.

The book begins with an introduction about Figueroa’s life with his mother, a loving tribute to the woman who shaped his childhood and prepared him for the rest of his life. Afterward, each additional page expands as a journal, where readers write in their own thoughts, tailoring each dicho’s wisdom to fit into their own lives.

All around, “A Reminder to My Twenty-Three-Year Old Self” is a book about staying positive to meet a goal and/or build confidence. Each page presents a “saying” opposite a lined journal page to write your ideas, quotes, and whatnots. And, oh what a joy to learn about the significances of dichos that many Latinos have heard their entire lives. Personally, I found myself reading this book and remembering my mother reciting the dichos as stress-relieving moments.

For those who need a boost in creativity, some of the journal pages can be filled with ideas and drawings or doodles that often come when we’re drawing a blank on what to do or what to write, draw or invent next.

A Reminder to My Twenty-Three-Year-Old Self: A Book of Quotes, Thoughts on Life, and Personal Wisdom
David Damian Figueroa
Lulu.com, 2019
ISBN: 1684702445, 9781684702442
172 pages

About the Author
The host of The David Damian Show, David Damian Figueroa life has led him to work with some of this country’s most iconic civil rights icons, artists, and entertainment professionals. In addition, Figueroa is a respected non-profit leader, activist, and farmworker advocate. He partnered with actors/activists Eva Longoria, Forest Whitaker, and author Eric Schlosser to bring focus to the farmworker issues with the critically-acclaimed documentary Food Chains. He was also associate producer of The Harvest—The Children Who Feed America/La Cosecha—Los niños que alimentan America.