Guzman, Sandra

(Sandra Guzmán)

PERSONAL: Born in Puerto Rico; daughter of Lydia (a wet nurse). Ethnicity: Hispanic American Education: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, B.A.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Three Rivers Press, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. E-mail—Sandra@thelatinasbible.com.

CAREER: El Diario/La Prensa, reporter; senior spokeswoman to New York City controller Elizabeth Holtzman; WNJU-TV, New York, NY, assignment manager, public affairs producer for news, and public affairs producer for Enfoque 47; Good Day, New York, New York, NY, segment producer; Latina magazine, New York, NY, editor-in-chief; Soloella.com (bilingual Web site), content director and editor-in-chief. Serves on Smithsonian Institution's National Board for Latino Initiatives.

AWARDS, HONORS: New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Emmy Award, 1995, for Embargo Contra Cuba.

WRITINGS:

The Latina's Bible: The Nueva Latina's Guide to Love, Sex, Spirituality, and La Vida, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Sandra Guzman has served the Hispanic-American audience through print, television, and electronic forms. When she wrote The Latina's Bible: The Nueva Latina's Guide to Love, Sex, Spirituality, and La Vida, Guzman wanted to supply a source of guidance she had once looked for herself but never found. Her book addresses the conflicts and contradictions young Latinas struggle with in the United States, suggesting ways that they can embrace their culture and develop satisfying relationships and careers. The author recalls conflicts she experienced with her mother and religion, and the feeling that she was being denied the freedom to live like her non-Hispanic friends. Her advice touches on subjects ranging from food, dating, and beauty to sexuality, college, and networking.

The book provides an engaging presentation on important subjects, according to several reviewers. A Publishers Weekly contributor called The Latina's Bible "a valuable resource" and noted that it is "guided by a sense of community-oriented feminism." Writing in Library Journal, Lisa Wise called it "a clear and readable guide" that included sensitive issues avoided in other works. Sheila Shoup described the book as "humorous, serious, and fun" in School Library Journal, and concluded that "this book will speak to young Hispanics." In the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Susan Carlile recommended the book to women ages seventeen to twenty-five and remarked that Guzman's style suggests a "good friend offering intimate advice on life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Notable Hispanic American Women, Book Two, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1998.

PERIODICALS

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, April, 2003, Susan Carlile, review of The Latina's Bible: The Nueva Latina's Guide to Love, Sex, Spirituality, and La Vida, p. 610.

Library Journal, March 1, 2002, Lisa Wise, review of The Latina's Bible, p. 122.

Publishers Weekly, December 6, 1999, John F. Baker, "Calling Latin Women," p. 17; February 25, 2002, review of The Latina's Bible, p. 55.

School Library Journal, June, 2002, Sheila Shoup, review of The Latina's Bible, p. 174.