Patricia Alarcón Missler finds her roots in a tasty world of chocolate éclairs, platefuls of nachos enjoyed on dates, and tamales nibbled on after Christmas Eve mass. More importantly she discovers that "familia" is at the heart of everything in her proud Mexican American life.

And that's what she shares in Border Town Chica, A Memoir. Missler paints colorful interconnected stories portraying a young girl growing up in the small south Texas border town of Brownsville.

Readers see the author as a six-year-old picking out a special pastry, and as a young woman picking out a special boyfriend, and go along for the camaraderie and adventures shared with familia and friends. Summers spent across the border at Tía Loli's.

A trip to the racetrack with Papi. Bandidos on the road.

Two sisters on their own in Mexico City. "Don't look back, we're being followed.

. .

" Standing atop the Teotihuacán Pyramids. Fortunetellers in a cave bar.

The college "daze" in Austin and more. .

. Readers from diverse backgrounds will relate to these poignant stories, which transcend cultures and reach deep into the core of us all.

Inspiring, humorous, and insightful-at times intimately personal-Border Town Chica, A Memoir, breaks from the stereotype of the Mexican American experience. .