PROGRAM NOTES

This book is a work of historical fiction, written to place a spotlight on events that are not discussed sufficiently today. In service of the story, I have taken liberties with some of the historical facts. The historical sources that I consulted are listed in the Acknowledgements at the back of the book.

The characters in the book are creations of my own imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

CONTENT WARNING

Since 1492, the land and people of the Caribbean have been colonized, and they bear many scars. The people of the Caribbean Diaspora have been subject to decades of systemic discrimination and exclusion. Arising from these histories, this story is a journey through collective and individual trauma. There are incidents of sexual violence and attempted sexual violence, physical violence against women, gun violence and armed conflict, racist language, infidelity, and infertility. But there are also depictions of the care and comfort of community, of non-violent protest, of the joy of friendship, of the beauty of music, and of self-love, self-discovery, and liberation.

Crick, crack

Break my back