September 15, 2020

When There’s No Alternative, Make One

Furia author Yamile Saied Mendez on fighting for your dreams, no matter the obstacles.

Story By: Yamile Saied Mendez

When There’s No Alternative, Make One

Furia author Yamile Saied Mendez on fighting for your dreams, no matter the obstacles. Story By: Yamile Saied Mendez

I was born and raised in Rosario, Argentina, a city obsessed with soccer. Or how we call it back home, fútbol. My earliest memory isn’t even a memory. It’s the recreation I made up in my mind from my parents’ words. How in 1978, when Argentina hosted the first FIFA World Cup, I celebrated each goal crawling around with the family dog on the roof of my grandfather’s house. I cheered euphorically along with the rest of my town on my young father’s shoulders when our national team won the tournament. The men’s national team.

The men soccer players became gods, idols, role models, and heroes.

No one ever told me that in 1971, just a few years before, seventeen women had represented Argentina in the Women’s World Cup in Mexico under heroic circumstances. They had no coach, proper equipment, medical team, or any kind of support from the Argentine Football Federation. I wouldn’t learn about them until I was already an adult.

“There’s a saying in soccer that those who can’t play become referees. But as a woman, I wasn’t even allowed this alternative. So I made my own alternative.”

Growing up, I spent countless hours at the soccer pitch, but never as a participant. I watched my brothers play the beautiful game that I loved and win tournaments. They had wonderful offers to travel the world and get an education, but I didn’t even have the chance to play–other than in the vacant field in the back of my building in my barrio.

There’s a saying in soccer that those who can’t play become referees. But as a woman, I wasn’t even allowed this alternative. So I made my own alternative. I combined my love of words and soccer and became a writer.

When I moved to the United States to attend college, I was so homesick for Rosario, my family, and Sunday soccer games that a story was born in my heart. I wanted to subvert the stereotype and create an unlikely hero. One whom I’d met in the streets of my barrio but never saw reflected in books or much less, on the pitch. That’s how Camila Hassan was born. But her story wasn’t only about her journey as a futbolera. I couldn’t ignore the reality of the society in which she grows up. The Ni Una Menos movement started as grassroots activism in support of safe abortion and which spread to demand equality and the right to live, love, work, study, and play as women, both trans and cis.

As I came to grow as a person, so did Camila. She discovered that she would fight against every obstacle to achieve her goals–even if the main obstacle lived in her home or was the love of her life, a golden boy following his own dreams.

In the pages of my newest novel, FURIA, I had the opportunity to pay homage to the strong women who raised me and guided me. All in the background of a city with no founder that thrives at the shore of a magnificent river.

Dear reader, I’d love to share a world that may be different from yours. It contains a heroine whose dreams and hopes may resonate with you and inspire you to also fight for your dreams.

Stories are more than words on page — they’re memory, tradition, and love carried across generations. 

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re honoring the voices that keep culture alive. In A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey, a Cuban-American teen finds herself far from Miami, but never far from the heart of home:

“Our story, our people live on in these words. They grow between pages that are sized to fit between a reader’s hands. Small, yes, but somehow they hold us all.” 

Here’s to honoring the voices that remind us where we come from– and where we’re going.  Drop a 🇨🇺 if you've read A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow (or if it's on your TBR!)
Ali Kriegsman has a gift for making the art of reinvention feel accessible and empowering. ✨

On this week's episode of Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club podcast, @AliKriegs chats with @DanielleRobay about her new psychological thriller 'The Raise', reinvention, and her bold, fun approach to self-publishing. 

Listen now at the @iHeartPodcast app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you love to listen. 🎧
Hoping your week is filled with coffee and good reads! 📖☕ 

Our August Pick Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by @AshleyJordanWrites is one of those rare books that can lift your spirits and set a positive tone for the week ahead.
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"If you are on the hunt for a book that has heart, ambition and authenticity dripping from its pages, add this one to your TBR immediately."

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These characters are taking us back! We're HUGE Judy Greer fans. ✨

This week on Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club Podcast, we welcome the incredible @MissJudyGreer! @DanielleRobay and Judy chat her new Stephen King movie adaptation, @HelloSunshine's The Last Thing He Told Me, and of course, dream bookclubs.

Listen on the @iheartpodcast app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you love to listen, and discover which of Judy’s other iconic characters got the book club invite🎧
GIVEAWAY ✨ We're giving away 5 advance copies of the coveted Gone Before Goodbye by @ReeseWitherspoon and @HarlanCoben. Be the first to dive in!

To ENTER:
1. Like this post 💙
2. Follow @reesesbookclub
3. Tag a friend!

Giveaway ends 9/24/25 at 11:59 PT. (5) winners will be notified by DM from @reesesbookclub. No purchase necessary. U.S. only. See official rules in our link in bio.
To the Moon and Back by @ElianaRamage truly shows us that the stars are in reach! ⭐ Grab this exclusive version, including a letter to YOU, an extra chapter, discussion questions, book club insights, and even a conversation with the author at the link in our bio.
#ad The ultimate literary escape is calling ✨ 

We teamed up with World of @Hyatt and brought you an unforgettable bookish adventure with upscale accommodations, scenic views, campfire conversations, and more. Grab your book club and prepare for the dreamiest getaway. Head to our link in bio to book your trip now!
Loving this bookish insight from @MissJudyGreer! Books truly meet us where we are, and take us to where we've never been! 💙

This week on Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club Podcast, we welcome the incomparable @MissJudyGreer! @DanielleRobay and Judy chat all things power of story, female friendships in media, the new Stephen King book-to-screen adaptation, and more!

Listen on the @iHeartPodcast App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you love to listen! 🎧

Photo courtesy of Gregory Russell.