A Cup of Water Under My Bed by Daisy Hernández Summary

A Cup of Water Under My Bed is a memoir by Daisy Hernández exploring her journey navigating cultural identity, language, and queerness as a Colombian-American. It delves into familial relationships, the erosion of Spanish fluency, and her bisexual awakening, framed through themes of immigration, folk spirituality, and the clash between tradition and feminism.

This memoir resonates with readers interested in LGBTQ+ narratives, bilingual identity struggles, and immigrant family dynamics. It’s ideal for those exploring intersectional feminism, Latinx experiences, or memoirs blending personal growth with cultural critique.

Yes—critics praise its lyrical prose, unflinching honesty about bisexuality, and nuanced portrayal of Colombian-American life. Awarded the IPPY Award and Lambda Literary’s Emerging Writer Award, it’s celebrated for its thematic depth and relatable exploration of belonging.

Hernández details how her Spanish fluency diminished after moving to a predominantly English-speaking neighborhood, causing familial tension. Later, she confronts this loss through Chicana writers like Gloria Anzaldúa, reconciling her dual linguistic heritage.

The memoir contrasts Catholicism with Afro-Caribbean santería practices. Hernández’s father turns to santeras for emotional healing, while her mother clings to Catholic rituals, reflecting how spiritual traditions anchor immigrant communities.

Hernández recounts realizing her bisexuality in college, facing rejection from her Colombian family. Her mother dismisses same-sex relationships as alien to Colombian culture, highlighting generational and cultural divides.

The title symbolizes hidden emotional labor and inherited rituals. In Colombian tradition, water under a bed wards off spirits, mirroring Hernández’s struggle to balance cultural legacy with her own identity.

Hernández critiques how assimilation erodes language and tradition, exemplified by her mother’s limited English and her own initial rejection of Spanish. The memoir advocates for embracing hybrid identities.

• “Kissing women is like discovering a new limb”: Hernández’s metaphor for bisexual awakening.
• “The road before me is English”: Reflects her tension between familial Spanish and societal English.

Hernández avoids chronological storytelling, organizing the memoir into three thematic sections: language, spirituality, and sexuality. This fragmented style mirrors her fractured sense of identity.

Some note the nonlinear structure may disorient readers seeking a conventional memoir. Others highlight its narrow focus on specific Colombian-American experiences.

While A Cup of Water is introspective and cultural, The Kissing Bug examines systemic healthcare neglect through a family illness. Both blend personal narrative with social critique but differ in scope.

Its themes of linguistic heritage, LGBTQ+ visibility, and immigrant resilience remain urgent amid global debates on identity politics and multiculturalism.