Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in LA

By: Luis J. Rodríguez

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Synopsis: Always Running is the account of Luis J. Rodríguez's growing up in poverty in Los Angeles and his ultimate turning to gang life as a means of preservation. The book chronicles his encounters with racism in school and on the streets, and his struggle to overcome prejudice, drugs, and violence. * * * "And if they murder, it's usually the ones who look like them, the ones closest to who they are--the mirror reflection. They murder and they're killing themselves, over and over." * * * With these words Luis J. Rodríguez expresses the devastation of life in the inner cities. Rodríguez began Always Running when he was 16, finding solace in the words that spilled out of him. However, he was not motivated to complete it until his own son, Ramiro, joined a gang in Chicago, where they now live. Always Running became for Rodríguez a way to offer the kind of mentoring he never received as a youth. It is a tale of survival, presenting a picture of the futility of gang warfare while providing understanding and hope.