ISLANDS APART

A poignant memoir from an Afro-Latina perspective.

Dominican American Mendez tells her story in this compelling memoir composed of vignettes including a poetic take on her own birth, her first experiences with English, witnessing anti-Blackness within her family, and having an imaginary White friend. The book takes readers to places such as Germany and Tennessee as the Army transferred her father between bases and through the many complexities of being Afro-Latina. At times poignant and at others heartbreaking, this volume is sure to empower those who share the pressures of forced assimilation. Although the pacing varies between slow and abrupt, the narrative choices feel intentional—every word in the 10 personal essays seems deliberately chosen, varying in tone and gravity but always striving for the same underlying tone of intimacy. Two sections in particular stand out: Mendez’s experience with a teacher in Louisiana who assumed she was deaf because she didn’t respond to English (the teacher couldn’t imagine that a Black child did not know English) and the struggle people of color face when debating how to approach bigotry expressed by elders you are taught never to speak back to. The book ends by paying homage to Maya Angelou, a source of inspiration to Mendez, and encourages others to become phenomenal women.

A strong collection of intimate essays.