My Brother's Keeper

My Brother's Keeper is a coming-of-age story about a young man named Edmundo (Ed) Santos, who is born with cerebral palsy. Ed's father is determined to help him overcome his disability, and he pushes Ed to participate in activities that most people would consider impossible for someone with CP. Ed's mother is more supportive and understanding, and she helps Ed to feel loved and accepted for who he is. The story is set in East Los Angeles in the early 1970s, and it captures the challenges and triumphs of growing up in a working-class Latino family. Ed's experiences with racism, discrimination, and bullying are all too real, but he also finds strength and support in his family and friends. Ed Santos, a Latino teenager who must prove himself at every turn, takes on every challenge despite his physical shortcomings as a result of his affliction, cerebral palsy. He succeeds in gaining the respect he deserves when he saves a teammate's life on his high school's cross-country course. His classmates celebrate him as a hero. For once Ed is remembered not for what he can't do, but for what he can do.