Books | Funeral for Flaca

Funeral for Flaca

WINNER OF THE 2022 PACIFIC NORTHWEST BOOK AWARD

BRONZE MEDAL WINNER, 2021 FOREWORD INDIES BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR ESSAYS

HONORABLE MENTION, 2022 INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARDS FOR FIRST BOOK

FINALIST, 2021 BIG OTHER BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION & 2021 FOREWARD INDIES BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR MULTICULTURAL NONFICTION

Funeral for Flaca is an exploration of things lost and found—love, identity, family—and the traumas that transcend bodies, borders, cultures, and generations.

Emilly Prado retraces her experience coming of age as a prep-turned-chola-turned-punk in this collection that is one-part memoir-in-essays, and one-part playlist, zigzagging across genres and decades, much like the rapidly changing and varied tastes of her youth. Emilly spends the late 90’s and early aughts looking for acceptance as a young Chicana growing up in the mostly-white suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Portland, Oregon in 2008. Ni de aquí, ni de allá, she tries to find her place in the in between. She captures the painful reality of what it means to lose and find your identity, many times over again. For anyone who has ever lost their way as a child or as an adult, Funeral for Flaca unravels the complex layers of an unpredictable life, inviting us into an intimate and honest journey profoundly told with humor and heart. (Future Tense Books, July 2021) | Media kit | Recent press and excerpts

INVITE EMILLY TO SPEAK OR TEACH

“Utterly vulnerable, bold, and unique” —Ms. Magazine

“I felt these essays deep in my heart. Funeral for Flaca by Emilly Prado is like a Chicana punk rock ballad in prose. Soulful and brave, these essays of Prado’s life made me feel less lonely, less outcasted, and more seen—and isn’t that why we come to books in the first place?“

Kali Fajardo-Anstine author of Sabrina & Corina

“A piece-by-piece collection of essays that forge a radical new form of storytelling. Part music and lyric, part coming of age Chicana memoir, part punk fuck you to cultural inscription and erasure. The thing about the traumatized body is that sometimes someone speaks back, and the story will shatter the walls. The book is a resuscitation of the self. This book is a love song.”

Lidia Yuknavitch author of The Chronology of Water

“Emilly Prado smacks traditional memoirs in the face with this evocative collection of essays. Tackling anorexia, a tumultuous father-daughter relationship, and all the snap-crackle-pop of dark humor, Funeral for Flaca has everything your hood emo heart has ever wanted. Read it and give it as a gift to your goth baby cousin.”

Gabby Rivera author of Juliet Takes a Breath

“It is a beautiful book, told phenomenally.”

Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguezauthor of For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts, founder Latina Rebels

“Funeral For Flaca’s precise, funny, and heartfelt essays tell the story of a brown girl in white suburbia, an American girl in Mexico, and a skinny girl who never feels skinny enough… Make sure to blast the playlist and pour one out for Emilly Prado’s gorgeous debut.” —Bitch Media

*Emilly is available for speaking engagements, workshops, readings, book club visits, and more. Learn more here or email her.* Photo by Justin Katigbak.

Examining Assimilation

Emilly’s first book was a nonfiction work at the intersections of identity and U.S. history for youth audiences grades 7-12. The book broke down complex concepts like assimilation, culture, and acculturation through various lens and in digestible snippets for young audiences. The book was part of a Racial Literacy series. “Did you know that the United States has the highest immigrant population in the world? You may have heard the phrase, We are a nation built by immigrants, but that saying doesn’t tell the full story. Students will examine this popular phrase by retracing the immigrant journey within the United States and investigating the concept of cultural assimilation. What does it mean to be American? As the United States continues to grow and change, students can become better-informed citizens by looking at the immigrant experience and understanding the roots of American identities.” (Enslow Publishing, June 2018) | See the book on Amazon