Local: A Memoir

For the people who did not grow up in the lush paradise of Hawai‘i, it is easy to imagine life on the islands as being easy and uncomplicated. The locals have easy access to the beach, and the environment is warm and relaxed in the mind of a tourist. Machado’s book sets the record straight on what it is like to grow up in Hawai‘i. Raised by a father whose ancestors are Indigenous to Hawai‘i and a mother from the American South, Machado’s experience growing up on the islands was different. Feeling divided from the history and mythology of Hawai‘i due to the influences of the mainland, the author had a difficult time finding her place as a local and spent much of her time looking for an escape from her home and herself. Her story about her relationship with her family and herself is interwoven with the history and culture of Hawai‘i as a way for Machado to reconnect with the home she thought she left behind.