My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King

Content Warning: This section mentions violence and murder, rape, child sexual abuse, trauma, physical abuse, and the death of a child.



Reymundo Sanchez is the pseudonym for the author. He is both the narrator and central figure of My Bloody Life. His work provides an unfiltered lens into the life of a young Puerto Rican man drawn into gang culture in Chicago. Born into a fragmented and abusive family, Sanchez’s early years were marked by neglect, physical violence, and sexual abuse, experiences that profoundly shaped his psyche and life choices. These traumas caused his gravitation toward gang life, which initially offered a semblance of protection, identity, and belonging that he lacked. His choice to embrace gang culture highlights the theme of The Search for Belonging.

Sanchez’s narrative is noteworthy as a critique of systemic failures, including the roles of poverty, racism, and institutional neglect in perpetuating cycles of violence. His recounting and confrontation of the darker aspects of his life from a personal perspective, such as his complicity in murder, rape, and other crimes, makes his account brutally honest and reflective. By detailing his eventual departure from gang life, Sanchez seeks to offer a cautionary tale, using his lived experiences to shed light on the broader societal forces that foster gang violence.