 Sonia grew up with an alcoholic father and a mother who was emotionally distant ; she felt closest to her grandmother , who she later said gave her a source of " protection and purpose " . Sonia was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven , and began taking daily insulin injections . Her father died of heart problems at age 42 , when she was nine years old . After this , she became fluent in English . Sotomayor has said that she was first inspired by the strong @-@ willed Nancy Drew book character , and then after her diabetes diagnosis led doctors to suggest a different career from detective , she was inspired to go into a legal career and become a judge by watching the Perry Mason television series . She reflected in 1998 : " I was going to college and I was going to become an attorney , and I knew that when I was ten . Ten . That 's no jest . " 
