I Hate This About Me is a modern-day book of affirmations interwoven with personal narratives and reflections of filmmaker Aitch  Alberto’s grappling with the toxic masculinity innately embedded in the Latinx community. As Alberto states in the book, “this book is a manifestation of something or someone” they wish they had growing up. In simple and understated passages the book speaks directly and specifically to boys, though each sentence could apply to any and all gender identities. The use of the word boys is intended to remind us of the often-impossible emotional and behavioral demands we place upon boys and men alike. I Hate This About Me softens those expectations, encouraging and affirming what’s often perceived as weakness or undesirable should be embraced and normalized. It raises the question of what it really means to be a man.