“Deftly explores family strife and immigrant identity . . . expressive prose and convincing characters that immediately hook the reader.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
Winner of the PEN Oakland Award for Literary Excellence
Long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin International Literary Award
 
When Anna takes a break from her successful publishing career in the US and visits the Caribbean island home of her birth, she is upset to discover that her mother, Beatrice, has breast cancer. The family is upper class, and treatment in America may offer her a chance of survival. But, believing that she would never receive quality care there as a black woman, she rejects all efforts to persuade her as the clock keeps ticking on her illness . . .
 
From the American Book Award–winning author of Prospero’s Daughter, this is a “moving exploration of immigrant identity [with] a protagonist caught between race, class, and a mother’s love” (Ms. Magazine).
 
“A psychologically and emotionally astute family portrait, with dark themes like racism, cancer, and the bittersweet longing of the immigrant.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“Nunez has created a moving and insightful character study while delving into the complexities of identity politics. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal
 
“An intimate portrait of the unknowable secrets and indelible ties that bind husbands and wives, mothers and daughters.” —Booklist
 
“Probing and lyrical . . . one of Nunez’s best yet.” —Edwidge Danticat