Reyna Grande’s A Dream Called Home: A Memoir Essay Prompt
Throughout her memoir, Reyna Grande is looking for “home,” for a sense of belonging. In your essay,

First briefly introduce the author and the book (in the introduction).
Then identify and analyze two or more ways that her upbringing challenged her sense of having a “home” and belonging (identify these in your thesis). Give specific examples from the memoir in your body paragraphs.
Finally, analyze the ways in which Grande manages to find a home and feel a sense of belonging, giving examples from the memoir as you support your points in your body paragraphs.
As part of your analysis, discuss and cite on at least two of the other readings from our course that relate to the book. You may choose any course texts, but the following research might be especially helpful in your analysis:

cultural legacy (Gladwell, Outliers),
mindset (Dweck, “Brainology”),
grit (Duckworth, Grit),
willpower (Baumeister and Tierney, Willpower),
building resilience in children (Tough, “How Kids Learn Resilience”),
drive (“What Drives Success” Chua and Rubenfeld),
confidence (“The Confidence Gap” Kay and Shipman),
anxiety in college (Cox, “The Student Fear Factor”).