There are little girls who dream of princesses, playing with friends, or discovering a new and exciting book. And, there is Sophak Yem. What she longed for were gooseberries, a bright green berry that grows wild in Cambodia and has a particularly tart taste. Gooseberries. How she loved them when served with a mixture of salt and chili mixture. For Yem, a 2013 Asian Pacific Heritage Month Local Hero honoree, growing up in a Cambodian concentration camp, gooseberries represented one of the few joys in her young life.

Elmer Bisarra learned early on what was expected of him. As the son of a Filipino father and a Chinese Hawaiian mother, he knew that the man is supposed to be the provider for his family, and that women serve best as educators, healers and nurturers. He remembers how this belief was embedded in his culture, passed down to him by his parents.

The verdict is in. The new One Book, One San Diego selection has been chosen. Starting in October, this will be the book that the entire community will come together to read for one extraordinary purpose—to enrich our lives through reading, and discover new worlds while sharing a common experience.

For years, Sy Brenner kept it bottled inside, blocking it out of his memory while moving on with his life. After all, the war was over, and he was no longer being held captive.

Listen to klezmer music and it will harken you back to another time. Rich with tradition, the haunting melodies are a testament to the Jewish people and all they’ve endured throughout the course of history. To me, klezmer has the capacity to reach into our hearts and stir us to feel its beauty and soul.

For as long as she can remember, Su-Mei Yu’s dream was to leave her home in Thailand to come to America. So, when the opportunity arose at the age of 15, she seized it.

Whenever tragedy strikes, in any part of our country, it affects us all. We go into shock, disbelief, sadness and grief. We become riveted to our television sets, radios, computers, and smart phones, craving every bit of news available. And, the horrors of the day are played over and over until they become embedded in our hearts and minds.

What does evil look like? Just ask Frank Meeink, who became a skinhead at age 13, and spent years struggling with the demons inside him—the ones that caused him to pick fights for no reason, sometimes beating his victims senseless. It took incarceration to help him turn his life around, a life that was captured in the film, American History X.

When Rodnia Novarro and her mother Rosario Sotelo opened El Borrego, a restaurant in the heart of El Cajon Boulevard nearly eight years ago, it was with one purpose in mind: to bring to San Diego the traditional cuisine of Southern Mexico, from barbacoa to green pozole.

I was but a little girl when I started hearing the first rumblings of the Feminist Movement. As I grew older it was fascinating to see it all unfold—from the Feminine Mystique, to the protests and marches on the nation’s capital, to Erica Jong’s best-selling book, “Fear of Flying,” and to the launch of Ms. magazine, and my very first copy at the age of sixteen.

One Book, One San Diego is off and running. Or, to put it in the words of Sherlock Holmes, “The game is afoot!” All this month, you have the unique opportunity to help choose the next One Book.

Marcela Zhou, an engaging young woman, is a recent graduate from UCSD, who earned her B.S. in Human Biology in just three years. Soft spoken and polite, she smiles brightly when she thinks about all she has been able to achieve.

San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood is home to one of the largest Somali populations in the nation. Many arrived here as refugees in the early 1990s, during a time of civil war strife in Somalia. One of those who settled here at that time is Amina Sheik Mohamed. Today she is manager of the African American Campaign for the Network for a Healthy California operated locally from the University of California, San Diego. She is also a 2013 Women’s History Month Local Hero honoree.

Two decades ago, in the throes of my divorce, I discovered a workshop that became my lifeline. It’s called Second Saturday: Divorce Workshop for Women, and for me, participating in it helped me get through one of the most difficult, wrenching periods of my life.

This year’s Black History Month is nearly over, but I hope you’ll take a moment to think about what honoring the historic contributions made by African Americans is all about. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month with your family, look no further than your own kitchen. Here’s an easy recipe for Shrimp and Grits that looks mouth-watering delicious.

Max Disposti oozes boyish charm, right down to his robust, Italian accent. Meet him and you’re immediately caught up in his genuine enthusiasm and zeal for all he’s been able to accomplish here, in San Diego. For Disposti, his achievement amounts to having created a center for the LGBT community in North County, the first of its kind for the area

San Diego's best Macaroni and Cheese recipe revealed, which Chefs Deborah Scott and Mike Suttles were gracious enough to share!

“The San Diego City Council didn’t think it had a racial problem,” he says. “But when the city got caught up celebrating the death of the three Freedom Fighters, the city exploded, and that set the tone that maybe we do have problems. “

Take a walk down Congress Street in Old Town and you’ll pass shops selling souvenirs, jewelry, and postcards. You may see a restaurant or two. But, walk too quickly and you’ll probably miss the little house near the corner of Congress and Conde Street.

Ray King can be quietly thoughtful and reserved when you first meet him. But ask him about his childhood in New York and soon he’s waxing poetic. And, it’s not hard to understand why.

What to do if you’re a college student with a hankering for Mexican food? And, what to do if you want to cook it yourself?

Tom K. Wong is haunted by a childhood memory. It is of being awakened in the middle of the night by his mother, and being taken into the hallway, along with his older brother. There, she held them both tightly and sobbed while helicopters hovered overhead.

Margo Porras is on a health mission, of sorts. As a San Diego-based blogger, she wants Latinos, particularly those of Mexican descent, like her, to eat healthier.

Susan McBeth grew up, the daughter of an Air Force father and a German mother. For her, living on a base, there was nothing like her mother’s cooking.

When I think of the people who personify KPBS, who’ve given so much of themselves to make the station what it is today, two come to mind. Two powerful and remarkable women, that is.

When my mother left Venezuela to follow my father to this country, she was a young woman, barely 24. She couldn’t understand English, let alone speak it. But that didn’t stop someone from giving her a copy of the New Settlement Cookbook.

Imagine if you were handed the keys to a museum and told you could plan an exhibit. What would it be? How would you fill it? And, how exciting to be faced with that challenge?

KPBS and the San Diego Children's Discovery Museum partnered to host a special One Book for Kids event for local children. The festivities included a short presentation by the authors of "Armando and the Blue Tarp School," who explained how the book is based on the true story of David Lynch and the school he created on a blue tarp, by the Tijuana city dump.

Michael A. V. Cruz is not used to being thanked for the work he does. Being the humble man he is, he’s never asked for it nor expected it. Besides, he's not in it for the glory.

Many years ago, in the early days of public television, there was a man known to kids simply as Mister Rogers. For over 30 years, Mister Rogers would start his show by entering a living room, wearing a suit jacket. He’d walk to the closet and switch it out for a cardigan sweater, all the while singing, “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”

This Thanksgiving, Professor Patricia A. Dixon has much to be thankful for. “I think I was lucky. I had great parents, and good teachers throughout my life. I had far more good teachers than bad teachers. I was encouraged to read and to dream and I was taught to work hard.” And, though she does plan on celebrating Thanksgiving with her family this week, there’s one aspect about the holiday that’s off the table.

In the course of your life, there are moments that pass undetected, and moments that are life changing. The latter are the ones that can overwhelm you, give you hope or open a new door.

Award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa is on a mission. A mission to change the landscape of mainstream media, and the culture of how news is reported. In the process, she hopes to build a path that other people of color can follow.

Two San Diego teens are featured in the PBS documentary "Broadway or Bust," airing on Sunday. Contributor Monica Medina introduces Chase Fischer, a young man with dreams of the Broadway stage.

It's hard to pinpoint the moment that propelled Danny Gutierrez's life into a spiral of self-destruction. After all, there was no singular instant that set him on a path of joining a gang, breaking the law, using drugs, and causing pain to those around him.

A new PBS documentary series charts the journey of 60 young students as they attempt to live their Broadway dreams. And two of the rising stars featured in the series have San Diego connections.

An interview with Karen Krasne, owner of Extraordinary Desserts, and author of the new cookbook, "Extraordinary Cakes."