Here's To You Jesusa! Chapters 11-12

Jesusa’s husband became friends with a young boy who would come to their house for food. They became very attached to one another. That was until they young boy died and Jesusa’s husband became very lost. Jesusa had to support her husband and look out for his interests. Then just as they were at very least coming to respect each other, Jesusa’s husband was shot. Jesusa was left alone with no money and no connections in the world. She was sent by the army to Tehuantepec where she could start a new life, but along they way all of her possessions were robbed. She was left with literally nothing and no where to go in the middle of  Mexico City. She must rely on all of the knowledge gained from her previous hardships in order to survive this challenging part of her life.

Here's To You Jesusa! Chapters 9-10

Jesusa’s husband does not like her being independent. He brings her back to the army and tries to control her by ignoring her and by beating her. Jesusa put up with it for a a short while, but then proved herself to be worthy by standing up to her husband. This was a major turning point in the book. Jesusa established herself as an independent and strong woman. He husband recognized this and there relationship changed into a more balanced once. Jesusa also defended her place in her husbands life often by violent means. Having gone though what she has gone through she had the strength and the rational to defend her place in her own life.

Here's To You Jesusa! Chapters 7-8

Jesusa shows her ability to adapt. She becomes part of the army and learns to survive in harsh situations. Jesusa was a part of an interesting system that existed between the women of the opposing armies. All of the women joined together and waited until the men had stopped fighting. During these occasions Jesusa learned that the enemy was not evil, but just other human beings stuck in the same situation as herself. She had to fight for her place in her life, tooth and nail. However just like in the past, as soon as she got her feet under her, her life was changed again. Jesusa was forced to marry a man that she didn’t love, just again showing how little control she had in her own life. When her new husband left her at her new home, trapped by isolation, jesusa was forced to be resourceful and make her own way in life. It seems as if all of Jesusa’s bad experiences have lead her to create a stronger personality and identity.

Here's To You Jesusa! Chapters 5-6

After Jesusa’s father left her step mom, Jesusa was sent to live with her ‘godmother’. Jesusa’s godmother taught her to me a model child. Jesusa worked from dawn until the evening, to always be respectful, and cater to her godmothers every need. Jesusa had a couple of suiters during her time with her godmother, but Jesusa had no interest in them. She was starting to like being alone was  developing her self confidence and strength that would benefit her later in life. It was especially helpful when she discovers that her brother had been killed. This event causes yet another upheaval in Jesusa’s life that she bears with surprising ease. She sets off with her father to start a new life without looking back.

Here's To You Jesusa! Chapters 3-4

The one constant in Jesusa’s life when she is younger is her father and her younger brother. Her father is her main provider and in turn Jesusa loves him and takes care of him. Both Jesusa’s older sister and brother stay with them for a short time and caused more unrest in jesusa’s life. Her relationships with them are fleeting and this solidifies Jesusa’s conviction that she is all alone in her life. Shortly after that her a new step mother came into Jesusa’s life. Her life was hard but Jesusa came to love her new step mother because she taught Jesusa everything that she needed to know. Working with her step mother in the prison, Jesusa learned to work hard, endure pain and hardship, and most of to all look out for herself. 

Here's To You Jesusa! Chapters 1-2

In the first two chapters of the novel Jesusa expresses her deep spirituality. She has a very intricate spiritual awareness that is based not only on her present life but from two previous ones as well. From these previous lives Jesusa has protectors and visions that guide her in her present life. I am curious to find out how she came to practice this certain religion and what it will do for her in the future. Jesusa then begins to describe the beginning of her life in which the most significant event was the death of her mother. This sets the tone of the rest of her life. Jesusa is constantly trying to find her place in her family that was constantly changing after that. Jesusa’s childhood is a confused mess of sisters, brothers, stepmothers and her own uncertain self identity.