This collection of narrative essays features stories of immigration to the United States
Homelands: Women’s Journey Across Race, Place, and Time (SEAL Press, 2006), is filled with a collection of beautiful essays about finding home. The women featured have immigrated to the United States, most at young ages, and have spent the rest of their lives trying to remember their homelands.
These women are from families who fled their own countries in the wake of war, suffering or corrupt political leadership. Each personal essay offers a glimpse into the lives of families torn apart by racism, struggling to make sense of a new culture and ways of life.
Each of the essays could certainly be developed into a full length work, the narratives being compelling enough. A real cross cultural map is provided by the editors who chose a wide range of backgrounds and voices.
Redefining Homecoming
The homeland that these women explore is more than the countries where they were born. Some haven’t been back for 20 years, others made the trip back and found no sense of belonging among the people who shared their lineage.
Contributors delve into the complexities of being from mixed race families or living with Americans and not knowing their real parents. Images of foreign airports and unfamiliar languages pepper their narratives.
Mother TongueMost of the women’s writing includes their mother tongue. Growing up in the United States, their native language was only spoken at home or not at all. English often became the easiest way to communicate.
It wasn’t until some of these women visited their homelands and met their relatives that they could appreciate the culture from which they came. But others went home only to find a country filled with turmoil and little trace of what they thought their roots looked like.
The Contributors
The editors, Patricia Justine Tumag and Jenesha “Jinky” de Rivera, have put together an elegant and raw collection of essays from women who are not afraid to bare their souls.
Pieces are written by: Guillermina Gina Núñez, Agate Nesaule, Meeta Kaur, Kim Foote, Ananda Esteva, Patricia Justine Tumang, Lisa Suhair Majaj, Wendy Marie Thompson, Diane Wilson, Pauline Park, Erika Martínez, Nancy Agabian, Phoenix Soleil, Sokunthary Svay, Leila Abu-Saba, Sarah McCormic, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Aphrodite Desiree Navab, Ellen Cassedy, C.L. Carlton, Jill Kim SooHoo, Joshunda Sanders, Loa Niumeitolu, Jenesha de Rivera, Canyon Sam, Claudia Virginia Narváez-Meza, Etel Adnan, and Maaza Mengiste.
The foreword is written by Edwidge Danticat.
Homelands: Women’s Journeys Across Race, Place, and Time can be purchased from AMAZON.
