Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad

Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad

Author: Krystal A. Sital

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2018-02-20

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0393609278

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An eloquent new Caribbean literary voice reveals the hidden trauma and fierce resilience of one Trinidadian family. There, in a lush landscape of fire-petaled immortelle trees and vast plantations of coffee and cocoa, where the three hills along the southern coast act as guardians against hurricanes, Krystal A. Sital grew up idolizing her grandfather, a wealthy Hindu landowner. Years later, to escape crime and economic stagnation on the island, the family resettled in New Jersey, where Krystal’s mother works as a nanny, and the warmth of Trinidad seems a pretty yet distant memory. But when her grandfather lapses into a coma after a fall at home, the women he has terrorized for decades begin to speak, and a brutal past comes to light. In the lyrical patois of her mother and grandmother, Krystal learns the long-held secrets of their family’s past, and what it took for her foremothers to survive and find strength in themselves. The relief of sharing their stories draws the three women closer, the music of their voices and care for one another easing the pain of memory. Violence, a rigid ethnic and racial caste system, and a tolerance of domestic abuse—the harsh legacies of plantation slavery—permeate the history of Trinidad. On the island’s plantations, in its growing cities, and in the family’s new home in America, Secrets We Kept tells a story of ambition and cruelty, endurance and love, and most of all, the bonds among women and between generations that help them find peace with the past.


Book Synopsis Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad by : Krystal A. Sital

Download or read book Secrets We Kept: Three Women of Trinidad written by Krystal A. Sital and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An eloquent new Caribbean literary voice reveals the hidden trauma and fierce resilience of one Trinidadian family. There, in a lush landscape of fire-petaled immortelle trees and vast plantations of coffee and cocoa, where the three hills along the southern coast act as guardians against hurricanes, Krystal A. Sital grew up idolizing her grandfather, a wealthy Hindu landowner. Years later, to escape crime and economic stagnation on the island, the family resettled in New Jersey, where Krystal’s mother works as a nanny, and the warmth of Trinidad seems a pretty yet distant memory. But when her grandfather lapses into a coma after a fall at home, the women he has terrorized for decades begin to speak, and a brutal past comes to light. In the lyrical patois of her mother and grandmother, Krystal learns the long-held secrets of their family’s past, and what it took for her foremothers to survive and find strength in themselves. The relief of sharing their stories draws the three women closer, the music of their voices and care for one another easing the pain of memory. Violence, a rigid ethnic and racial caste system, and a tolerance of domestic abuse—the harsh legacies of plantation slavery—permeate the history of Trinidad. On the island’s plantations, in its growing cities, and in the family’s new home in America, Secrets We Kept tells a story of ambition and cruelty, endurance and love, and most of all, the bonds among women and between generations that help them find peace with the past.


The Bread the Devil Knead

The Bread the Devil Knead

Author: Lisa Allen-Agostini

Publisher: Myriad Editions

Published: 2021-05-20

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 1912408988

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Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022 'An extraordinary and emotionally immersive novel – the music of Lisa Allen-Agostini's writing voice is gloriously specific to Trinidad, yet this heart-wrenching story of a woman both liberated and in need of liberation has universal resonance.'— Margaret Busby. 'Strips you down to raw nerve to build you back up again. Allen-Agostini has an unswerving eye.'— Nalo Hopkinson 'You dip into the first page and don't come up for breath until the last... thoroughly enjoyable.'— Kei Miller Alethea Lopez is about to turn 40. Fashionable, feisty and fiercely independent, she manages a boutique in Port of Spain, but behind closed doors she's covering up bruises from her abusive partner and seeking solace in an affair with her boss. When she witnesses a woman murdered by a jealous lover, the reality of her own future comes a little too close to home. Bringing us her truth in an arresting, unsparing Trinidadian voice, Alethea unravels memories repressed since childhood and begins to understand the person she has become. Her next step is to decide the woman she wants to be.


Book Synopsis The Bread the Devil Knead by : Lisa Allen-Agostini

Download or read book The Bread the Devil Knead written by Lisa Allen-Agostini and published by Myriad Editions. This book was released on 2021-05-20 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022 'An extraordinary and emotionally immersive novel – the music of Lisa Allen-Agostini's writing voice is gloriously specific to Trinidad, yet this heart-wrenching story of a woman both liberated and in need of liberation has universal resonance.'— Margaret Busby. 'Strips you down to raw nerve to build you back up again. Allen-Agostini has an unswerving eye.'— Nalo Hopkinson 'You dip into the first page and don't come up for breath until the last... thoroughly enjoyable.'— Kei Miller Alethea Lopez is about to turn 40. Fashionable, feisty and fiercely independent, she manages a boutique in Port of Spain, but behind closed doors she's covering up bruises from her abusive partner and seeking solace in an affair with her boss. When she witnesses a woman murdered by a jealous lover, the reality of her own future comes a little too close to home. Bringing us her truth in an arresting, unsparing Trinidadian voice, Alethea unravels memories repressed since childhood and begins to understand the person she has become. Her next step is to decide the woman she wants to be.


Book of the Little Axe

Book of the Little Axe

Author: Lauren Francis-Sharma

Publisher: Grove Press

Published: 2020-05-12

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 0802147038

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This “masterful epic” spans decades and oceans from Trinidad to the American frontier during the tumultuous days of westward expansion (Publishers Weekly). Trinidad, 1796. Young Rosa Rendón quietly rebels against the life others expect her to lead. Bright, competitive, and opinionated, she does not intend to cook and keep house, for it is obvious her talents lie in running the farm she views as her birthright. But when her homeland changes from Spanish to British rule, the fate of free black property owners—Rosa’s family among them—is suddenly jeopardized. By 1830, Rosa is living among the Crow Nation in Bighorn, Montana, with her children and her husband, Edward Rose, a Crow chief. Her son Victor is of the age where he must seek his vision and become a man. But his path forward is blocked by secrets Rosa has kept from him. So Rosa must take him to where his story began and, in turn, retrace her own roots. Along the way, she must acknowledge the painful events that forced her from the middle of an ocean to the rugged terrain of a far-away land. A Booklist Editor’s Choice Book of the Year


Book Synopsis Book of the Little Axe by : Lauren Francis-Sharma

Download or read book Book of the Little Axe written by Lauren Francis-Sharma and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “masterful epic” spans decades and oceans from Trinidad to the American frontier during the tumultuous days of westward expansion (Publishers Weekly). Trinidad, 1796. Young Rosa Rendón quietly rebels against the life others expect her to lead. Bright, competitive, and opinionated, she does not intend to cook and keep house, for it is obvious her talents lie in running the farm she views as her birthright. But when her homeland changes from Spanish to British rule, the fate of free black property owners—Rosa’s family among them—is suddenly jeopardized. By 1830, Rosa is living among the Crow Nation in Bighorn, Montana, with her children and her husband, Edward Rose, a Crow chief. Her son Victor is of the age where he must seek his vision and become a man. But his path forward is blocked by secrets Rosa has kept from him. So Rosa must take him to where his story began and, in turn, retrace her own roots. Along the way, she must acknowledge the painful events that forced her from the middle of an ocean to the rugged terrain of a far-away land. A Booklist Editor’s Choice Book of the Year


The Secrets We Kept

The Secrets We Kept

Author: Lara Prescott

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2019-09-03

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0525656162

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice—inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago • A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK At the height of the Cold War, Irina, a young Russian-American secretary, is plucked from the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Her mission: to help smuggle Doctor Zhivago into the USSR, where it is banned, and enable Boris Pasternak’s magnum opus to make its way into print around the world. Mentoring Irina is the glamorous Sally Forrester: a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit, using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Under Sally’s tutelage, Irina learns how to invisibly ferry classified documents—and discovers deeply buried truths about herself. The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story—the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who inspired Zhivago’s heroine, Lara—with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. Told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail, this is an unforgettable debut: a celebration of the powerful belief that a work of art can change the world.


Book Synopsis The Secrets We Kept by : Lara Prescott

Download or read book The Secrets We Kept written by Lara Prescott and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice—inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago • A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK At the height of the Cold War, Irina, a young Russian-American secretary, is plucked from the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Her mission: to help smuggle Doctor Zhivago into the USSR, where it is banned, and enable Boris Pasternak’s magnum opus to make its way into print around the world. Mentoring Irina is the glamorous Sally Forrester: a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit, using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Under Sally’s tutelage, Irina learns how to invisibly ferry classified documents—and discovers deeply buried truths about herself. The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story—the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who inspired Zhivago’s heroine, Lara—with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. Told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail, this is an unforgettable debut: a celebration of the powerful belief that a work of art can change the world.


Love After Love

Love After Love

Author: Ingrid Persaud

Publisher: One World

Published: 2020-08-04

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0593157575

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“A stellar debut . . . about an unconventional family, fear, hatred, violence, chasing love, losing it and finding it again just when we need it most.”—The New York Times Book Review WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK AWARD • “A wonder . . . [This book] teems with real, Trinidadian life.”—Claire Adam, award-winning author of Golden Child SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE OCM BOCAS PRIZE • One of the Best Books of the Summer: Time • The Guardian • Goop • Women’s Day • LitHub After Betty Ramdin’s husband dies, she invites a colleague, Mr. Chetan, to move in with her and her son, Solo. Over time, the three become a family, loving each other deeply and depending upon one another. Then, one fateful night, Solo overhears Betty confiding in Mr. Chetan and learns a secret that plunges him into torment. Solo flees Trinidad for New York to carve out a lonely existence as an undocumented immigrant, and Mr. Chetan remains the singular thread holding mother and son together. But soon, Mr. Chetan’s own burdensome secret is revealed, with heartbreaking consequences. Love After Love interrogates love and family in all its myriad meanings and forms, asking how we might exchange an illusory love for one that is truly fulfilling. In vibrant, addictive Trinidadian prose, Love After Love questions who and how we love, the obligations of family, and the consequences of choices made in desperation. Praise for Love After Love “Love After Love is gift after gift. An unforgettable symphony of love and loss, heartache and guilt, and the secrets and lies that pull us together, and tear us apart. Dazzlingly told in the most electrifying prose you will read all year.”—Marlon James, Booker Prize–winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf “This book teems with real, Trinidadian life: neighbors so nosy they know your business before it happens; descriptions of food that'll have you googling recipes; feting and liming and plenty of sex. There's darkness here, too—violence, loneliness, moments of despair—and how Ingrid Persaud weaves all these elements together in one book, with so much warmth and humor and love for her characters, is a wonder.”—Claire Adam, award-winning author of Golden Child


Book Synopsis Love After Love by : Ingrid Persaud

Download or read book Love After Love written by Ingrid Persaud and published by One World. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A stellar debut . . . about an unconventional family, fear, hatred, violence, chasing love, losing it and finding it again just when we need it most.”—The New York Times Book Review WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK AWARD • “A wonder . . . [This book] teems with real, Trinidadian life.”—Claire Adam, award-winning author of Golden Child SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE OCM BOCAS PRIZE • One of the Best Books of the Summer: Time • The Guardian • Goop • Women’s Day • LitHub After Betty Ramdin’s husband dies, she invites a colleague, Mr. Chetan, to move in with her and her son, Solo. Over time, the three become a family, loving each other deeply and depending upon one another. Then, one fateful night, Solo overhears Betty confiding in Mr. Chetan and learns a secret that plunges him into torment. Solo flees Trinidad for New York to carve out a lonely existence as an undocumented immigrant, and Mr. Chetan remains the singular thread holding mother and son together. But soon, Mr. Chetan’s own burdensome secret is revealed, with heartbreaking consequences. Love After Love interrogates love and family in all its myriad meanings and forms, asking how we might exchange an illusory love for one that is truly fulfilling. In vibrant, addictive Trinidadian prose, Love After Love questions who and how we love, the obligations of family, and the consequences of choices made in desperation. Praise for Love After Love “Love After Love is gift after gift. An unforgettable symphony of love and loss, heartache and guilt, and the secrets and lies that pull us together, and tear us apart. Dazzlingly told in the most electrifying prose you will read all year.”—Marlon James, Booker Prize–winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf “This book teems with real, Trinidadian life: neighbors so nosy they know your business before it happens; descriptions of food that'll have you googling recipes; feting and liming and plenty of sex. There's darkness here, too—violence, loneliness, moments of despair—and how Ingrid Persaud weaves all these elements together in one book, with so much warmth and humor and love for her characters, is a wonder.”—Claire Adam, award-winning author of Golden Child


What We Find

What We Find

Author: Robyn Carr

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 0778318850

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A Denver neurosurgeon relocates to the small rural town named after her ancestor in the aftermath of a wrongful malpractice suit to recover and reconnect with her estranged father--


Book Synopsis What We Find by : Robyn Carr

Download or read book What We Find written by Robyn Carr and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2016 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Denver neurosurgeon relocates to the small rural town named after her ancestor in the aftermath of a wrongful malpractice suit to recover and reconnect with her estranged father--


Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir

Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir

Author: Jeannie Vanasco

Publisher: Tin House Books

Published: 2019-10-01

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1947793543

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A New York Times Editors’ Choice and Best Book of the Year at TIME, Esquire, Amazon, Kirkus, and Electric Literature Jeannie Vanasco has had the same nightmare since she was a teenager. It is always about him: one of her closest high school friends, a boy named Mark. A boy who raped her. When her nightmares worsen, Jeannie decides—after fourteen years of silence—to reach out to Mark. He agrees to talk on the record and meet in person. Jeannie details her friendship with Mark before and after the assault, asking the brave and urgent question: Is it possible for a good person to commit a terrible act? Jeannie interviews Mark, exploring how rape has impacted his life as well as her own. Unflinching and courageous, Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl is part memoir, part true crime record, and part testament to the strength of female friendships—a recounting and reckoning that will inspire us to ask harder questions, push towards deeper understanding, and continue a necessary and long overdue conversation.


Book Synopsis Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by : Jeannie Vanasco

Download or read book Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir written by Jeannie Vanasco and published by Tin House Books. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Editors’ Choice and Best Book of the Year at TIME, Esquire, Amazon, Kirkus, and Electric Literature Jeannie Vanasco has had the same nightmare since she was a teenager. It is always about him: one of her closest high school friends, a boy named Mark. A boy who raped her. When her nightmares worsen, Jeannie decides—after fourteen years of silence—to reach out to Mark. He agrees to talk on the record and meet in person. Jeannie details her friendship with Mark before and after the assault, asking the brave and urgent question: Is it possible for a good person to commit a terrible act? Jeannie interviews Mark, exploring how rape has impacted his life as well as her own. Unflinching and courageous, Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl is part memoir, part true crime record, and part testament to the strength of female friendships—a recounting and reckoning that will inspire us to ask harder questions, push towards deeper understanding, and continue a necessary and long overdue conversation.


Four Friends

Four Friends

Author: Robyn Carr

Publisher: MIRA

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 0778316815

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When BJ, a newcomer to Mill Valley, enters their close-knit circle and opens up about her dark past, Gerri, Andy, and Sonja come together to help her get back on track and, in the process, make strides in their own lives, becoming stronger as individuals and unfaltering as friends.


Book Synopsis Four Friends by : Robyn Carr

Download or read book Four Friends written by Robyn Carr and published by MIRA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When BJ, a newcomer to Mill Valley, enters their close-knit circle and opens up about her dark past, Gerri, Andy, and Sonja come together to help her get back on track and, in the process, make strides in their own lives, becoming stronger as individuals and unfaltering as friends.


Never Too Late

Never Too Late

Author: Robyn Carr

Publisher: MIRA

Published: 2016-05-31

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1460398947

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#1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr examines the lives of three sisters as they step beyond the roles of wife, mother, daughter and discover the importance of being a woman first Clare Wilson is starting over. She's had it with her marriage to a charming serial cheater. Even her own son thinks she's given his father too many chances. With the support of her sisters, Maggie and Sarah, she's ready to move on. Facing her fortieth birthday, Clare is finally feeling the rush of unadulterated freedom. But when a near-fatal car accident lands Clare in the hospital, her life takes another detour. While recovering, Clare realizes she has the power to choose her life's path. The wonderful younger police officer who witnessed her crash is over the moon for her. A man from her past stirs up long-buried feelings. Even her ex is pining for her. With enthusiasm and a little envy, her sisters watch her bloom. Together, the sisters encourage each other to seek what they need to be happy. Along the way they all learn that it's never too late to begin again.


Book Synopsis Never Too Late by : Robyn Carr

Download or read book Never Too Late written by Robyn Carr and published by MIRA. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr examines the lives of three sisters as they step beyond the roles of wife, mother, daughter and discover the importance of being a woman first Clare Wilson is starting over. She's had it with her marriage to a charming serial cheater. Even her own son thinks she's given his father too many chances. With the support of her sisters, Maggie and Sarah, she's ready to move on. Facing her fortieth birthday, Clare is finally feeling the rush of unadulterated freedom. But when a near-fatal car accident lands Clare in the hospital, her life takes another detour. While recovering, Clare realizes she has the power to choose her life's path. The wonderful younger police officer who witnessed her crash is over the moon for her. A man from her past stirs up long-buried feelings. Even her ex is pining for her. With enthusiasm and a little envy, her sisters watch her bloom. Together, the sisters encourage each other to seek what they need to be happy. Along the way they all learn that it's never too late to begin again.


The Quiet Storm

The Quiet Storm

Author: Stormy Wellington

Publisher: Brown Girls Publishing

Published: 2014-08-26

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1625174888

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Born to fail! That's what many would say about the beginning of Stormy Wellington's life. Born to a mother who wanted to abort her, Stormy didn't have the best of beginnings. Raised mostly by her brothers and family friends while her mother took care of her business in the streets, it didn't seem like Stormy had any kind of path to success. And for a while, Stormy found herself caught up in the life of hustling and drug dealing, scheming and stripping. But even in the midst of that life, Stormy had a dream. Inside she knew she would rise above it all. She was determined never to be a product of that environment. The Quiet Storm is the autobiographical journey of Stormy Wellington as she overcame all the traps of her life. Not even her pregnancy at the age of fifteen stopped Stormy from shaping her future and taking control of her destiny. Stormy endured a life that was filled with pain, but instead of being a victim, she embraced her past, understanding the entire time that every situation and circumstance was a part of her process and would help her along her road to success. Today, Stormy Wellington is one of the top network marketers in the country and for the first time, this renowned motivational speaker and life coach, shares her story. The Quiet Storm is a story of hope and purpose and will leave you feeling encouraged and inspired, knowing that by embracing your past, like Stormy, you can step into the magnificence of your future!


Book Synopsis The Quiet Storm by : Stormy Wellington

Download or read book The Quiet Storm written by Stormy Wellington and published by Brown Girls Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-26 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born to fail! That's what many would say about the beginning of Stormy Wellington's life. Born to a mother who wanted to abort her, Stormy didn't have the best of beginnings. Raised mostly by her brothers and family friends while her mother took care of her business in the streets, it didn't seem like Stormy had any kind of path to success. And for a while, Stormy found herself caught up in the life of hustling and drug dealing, scheming and stripping. But even in the midst of that life, Stormy had a dream. Inside she knew she would rise above it all. She was determined never to be a product of that environment. The Quiet Storm is the autobiographical journey of Stormy Wellington as she overcame all the traps of her life. Not even her pregnancy at the age of fifteen stopped Stormy from shaping her future and taking control of her destiny. Stormy endured a life that was filled with pain, but instead of being a victim, she embraced her past, understanding the entire time that every situation and circumstance was a part of her process and would help her along her road to success. Today, Stormy Wellington is one of the top network marketers in the country and for the first time, this renowned motivational speaker and life coach, shares her story. The Quiet Storm is a story of hope and purpose and will leave you feeling encouraged and inspired, knowing that by embracing your past, like Stormy, you can step into the magnificence of your future!