“Grandma Chuy’s Secret Recipe” by R.Z. Kilborn has been released worldwide. This 168-page memoir, which has achieved Amazon Bestseller status as #1 in the “Biographies of People with Disabilities (Books)” category, #16 in the “Biographies & Memoirs of Women” category, and #13 in the “Family Relationships (Kindle Store)” category, breaks the author’s 28-year silence about the circumstances surrounding her disability, taking a candid, often humorous approach to tragic experiences. Kilborn, who became disabled at the age of 9, shares the circumstances of her young life and connects them to the larger topics of social stigma, cultural perspectives, family hardship, and the folklore that can drive beliefs. As a child, she believed herself to be a victim of her grandmother’s curse.
Through the lens of her own family, R.Z. Kilborn examines how belief and superstition collide with medical needs, sometimes resulting in improper care and desperate attempts to find alternative solutions. The author takes an unflinching look at the effects of disability on relationships, social status, and self-esteem, sharing her own difficult journey toward self-acceptance and breaking the family-reinforced cycle of the topic as taboo.
The cultural and metaphysical underpinnings of the memoir explore what happens when people lose faith, particularly as the faith of others is bolstered, and the strain these differing beliefs (as well as the behaviors they drive) can put on familial relationships. The result is a fascinating portrait of Mexican culture, the life of a first-generation immigrant, communities of women, and the deeply personal experience of coming to terms with disability.
This brave, honest memoir, translated from Spanish to English and also available in its original language, is a reflection almost three decades in the making, taking a raw (yet lighthearted and hopeful) look at unique challenges and the personal growth it took to overcome them. Informative for anyone living with or around disability, and a powerful, inspiring story for people from all walks of life, R.Z. Kilborn’s journey is a truly fascinating ride.
Grandma Chuy’s Secret Recipe (ISBN: 9798895584187) can be purchased through retailers worldwide, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The hardcover retails for $21.99, the paperback retails for $14.99, and the ebook for $2.99. Review copies and interviews with the author are available upon request.
From the back cover:
Finally, after twenty-eight years of maintaining silence and hiding the family secret, the author decided to speak up about the family legend that surrounded her. A memoir made with humor based on the author’s traumatic childhood and adolescent events and experiences. As the author explains, “I hated writing. I hated writing because tears would always come out. I could not write until one day I wrote, and the tears finally stopped. It was then that I knew I had healed. Or perhaps the tears learned to disguise themselves through laughter. Either way, tears and laughter always go well together.”
Join the author as she relives tragic moments such as becoming disabled at the age of nine, which she now says, “were blessings in disguise.” An intriguing story that takes you to the social and cultural aspects of superstition, folklore, and the taboo topics omitted by not just society by sometimes family as well, and the aftermath of it all. Are you ready to know what Grandma Chuy was stirring?
About the author:
R.Z. Kilborn is a Chicana author who writes about her adaptation and experiences as a first-generation disabled woman in America. She is an advocate for women, disability, addiction, and children, and she supports the liberal creed. R.Z. has written fictional realism short stories and has been published on digital platforms. She believes she was destined to be a writer when, at the age of four, while shopping at Goodwill with her mother, she would always head to the book section (not just because it was quieter) but because she created stories with the pictures in the books that mused her. R.Z. was accepted and explored fifteen graduate majors from different Ivy League universities, yet as none of them gave her a sense of purpose or inner happiness, she had no choice but to do what she loved to do as a child, which was creating stories (what you may call “write”). Even so, she is completing her graduate degree to increase authenticity and support and collaborate with others. When she is not at the movies or using napkins to draft her next book, she is exploring the metaphysical world. Since these days, R.Z. is growing so much gray and white hair, her dream is to one day own a castle since she might be turning into a wizard.
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