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    A Woman of Endurance: A Novel
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    A Woman of Endurance: A Novel
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    A Woman of Endurance: A Novel
    Ebook386 pages8 hours

    A Woman of Endurance: A Novel

    By Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

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    About this ebook

    Combining the haunting power of Toni Morrison’s Beloved with the evocative atmosphere of Phillippa Gregory’s A Respectable Trade, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s groundbreaking novel illuminates a little discussed aspect of history—the Puerto Rican Atlantic Slave Trade—witnessed through the experiences of Pola, an African captive used as a breeder to bear more slaves.

    A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity. 

    Readers are invited to join Pola in her journey to healing. From the sadistic barbarity of her first experiences, she moves on to receive compassion and support from a revitalizing new community. Along the way, she learns to recognize and embrace the many faces of love—a mother’s love, a daughter’s love, a sister’s love, a love of community, and the self-love that she must recover before she can offer herself to another. It is ultimately, a novel of the triumph of the human spirit even under the most brutal of conditions. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 12, 2022
    ISBN9780063062245
    Author

    Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

    Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa was born in Puerto Rico. As a child she was sent to live with her grandparents in the South Bronx, where she was introduced to the culture of rural Puerto Rico, including the storytelling skills that came naturally to the women, especially the older women, in her family. Much of her work is based on her experiences during this time. Llanos-Figueroa taught creative writing, language and literature in the New York City school system before becoming a young-adult librarian and writer. Her first novel, Daughters of the Stone, was a Finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, and her short stories have been published in anthologies and literary magazines such as Breaking Ground: Anthology of Puerto Rican Women Writers in New York 1980-2012, Growing Up Girl, Afro-Hispanic Review, Pleaides, Latino Book Review, Label Me Latina/o and Kweli Journal. She lives in New York City.

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    Reviews for A Woman of Endurance

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Pola, a slave, is used for breeding. As soon as she give birth, her child is taken into the unknown. No longer able to endure, she tries to flee, but is caught and beaten near death. Sold, she finds herself in a different plantation, where she is given the opportunity to work with the house slaves rather than in the cane fields.This novel was heartbreaking. Pola was a very dynamic character, who I found myself cheering for throughout the story. This author is an excellent writer, her words painted a picture in my mind. I found myself unable to put the book down, needing to know what happened with Pola. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      This is a tough read - as one might expect of a novel centered on an enslaved woman's experience in Puerto Rico - and yet I found it to also be a quick, compelling book. Pola is indeed a woman of endurance: she endures tragedy, brutality, and ultimately, love. An excellent, if difficult, book to read.
    • 5/5
      "Grief is relentless. It will eat your insides out and leave a carcass that can help no one, not even yourself. Been acquainted with it more than once, and this I know: it will seduce you, pull you into darkness, and it will feed on your soul until there is nothing left."I am writing this review with literal tears in my eyes because I am so emotional. No one ever tells us about the gifts and talents of our ancestors, or about the things that brought them joy, or the power and healing of food and medicinal practices, or of the depths of their spirituality and the strength of their community. More importantly no one ever tells us that they survived because they had each other and that the bond of trust and endurance was their foundation.A Woman of Endurance also spoke to me about the power of all-consuming grief and its ability to steal the joy of life. Through Pola I have felt the grief of what was stolen from the womb, have felt the abuse and loss of one's body, have experienced the loss of hope and faith and have longed for the memories of original homes.But Pola's journey has taught me that being open to the healing process is what returns autonomy and brings possibilities for restoration. Grief aims to hold to you hostage and steal the joy that is found all around you. Community is essential for survival and our ancestors survived because they carried each other's burdens. They stayed tethered to their homelands through their spiritual practices and ancestral giftings and wisdoms. They remained open to each other and created spaces where joy was in abundance, joy was the glue that held everything together and joy was what fueled their endurance. Pola's story also taught me that the path of faith is never straight. There are times when we will get lost but we are never too far from our ancestors. The inner warrior spirit is what kept Pola physically alive but it was the process of opening her heart to her newfound family that ultimately allowed her to usher in a new future & mend the broken parts of her heart. Thanks to @amistadbooks @bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy.