AT THE NARROW WAIST OF THE WORLD BY MARLENA MADURO BARAF

Print Length: 184 pages
Publisher: She Writes Press (August 6, 2019)
Publication Date: August 6, 2019

Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC

"With sensitivity and candor, Baraf examines mental illness, immigration, forgiveness, and community—all framed within the precocity of her life’s circumstances.”
—Ms. Magazine

“At the Narrow Waist of the World is a compelling account of what it is like to live through turbulence and come out on the other side.”
—Foreword Clarion Review

“Deftly written, impressively candid, insightfully presented, At the Narrow Waist of the World is an extraordinary and memorable read.”
—Midwest Book Review

“By the end of At the Narrow Waist of the World, we have come to know, admire and even cherish its author in a way few memoirists manage to achieve . . . . ”
—Jewish Journal


Raised by a lively family of Spanish Jews in tropical and Catholic Panama of the 1950s and 1960s, Marlena depends on her many tíos and tías for refuge from the difficulties of life, including the frequent absences of her troubled mother. As a teenager, she pulls away from this centered world—crossing borders—and begins a life in the United States very different from the one she has known.

This lyrical coming-of-age memoir explores the intense and profound relationship between mothers and daughters and highlights the importance of community and the beauty of a large Latin American family. It also explores the vital issues of mental illness and healing, forgiveness and acceptance. At the Narrow Waist of the World examines the author's gradual integration into a new culture, even as she understands that her home is still—and always will be—rooted in another place.


THOUGHTS/REVIEW:


This is a beautiful memoir about a young Spanish Jewish girl living in a majority Catholic Panama in the 1950’s as she comes-of-age navigating herself, her relationship with her troubled mother, and her life in the United States.


The book was written as if a friend was telling me short bursts of her memories of her past while having some Sancocho de gallina Panameño and some Ron Poche an amazing Panamanaian cocktail.
It is poignant, heartfelt, sometimes heart breaking but always genuine and full of spirit. The prose is rich and vivid, lyrical and poetic, that is both exquisite and courageous.

The sprinkling of the Spanish phrases throughout, added to the authenticity as Baraf tells her story of herself and her amazing family and her many tíos and tías.


I enjoyed this emotional memoir that explores the vital issues of mental illness and healing, forgiveness and acceptance. What an amazing read I thoroughly enjoyed!




AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Marlena Maduro Baraf has a knack for raising orchids. She immigrated to the United States from her native Panama, and her writing is colored by this dual identity. She has been interviewing Latinos from all walks of life for a series of articles titled Soy/Somos, or “I Am/We Are.” At the Narrow Waist of the World, chapters of which have been excerpted in Lumina, Streetlight Magazine, Blue Lyra Review, and the Westchester Review, is her first published memoir.