Breath, Eyes, Memory

Sophie Caco, then twelve years old, is taken to New York at the age of twelve to be reunited with her mother, whom she hardly remembers, from her poor town of Croix-des-Rosets. There, she unearths things no kid should ever know and uncovers a shameful past that she must face in order to be reconciled with the ladies who raised her in Haiti. What follows is a story that pays testimony to the customs, suffering, and knowledge of a whole people—a impassioned voyage across a region filled with the supernatural and wounded by political bloodshed.

Edwidge Danticat, a writer who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti—as well as the enduring strength of Haitian women—has achieved remarkable success at a relatively young age. Her vivid imagery and graceful narrative style bear witness to the bravery and suffering of her people.