A magical journey through generations of women. ( )

I've been sitting on this review for a week now because I haven't had the words to describe how much it impacted me. I am always looking for pieces of myself within the pages and this was the first time that a book represented Afro-Latinx women and the complexities of looking to the past to make your way in the future.

Daughters of the Stone tells the story of Fela, Mati, Concha, Elena & Carisa 5 Afro-Puerto Rican women who have been silenced by history for different reasons. As the story progresses you see the family dynamics, the clash between their historical roots in Africa and assimilation into colonial ways even into the present, their love of community and even their love journeys. Each one has a gift that was passed down through the generations but the greatest gift they possess is the gift of storytelling because that is where their power lives and that is where they can find their ancestors. Through storytelling they are able to keep their ties to their original culture, remain in community and resist colonialism in all its forms.

Silence is a powerful theme in the book that really resonated with me as a woman. Silence is what has been forced upon us, what is expected of us and what has become our way of surviving sometimes at the cost of ourselves. But silence is not what saves us, not even from ourselves. The way we save our people is to share our stories, to resist conformity and assimilation and to use our ancestral gifts for community. I will end with these quotes:

🪨 "We all carry heavy loads. But even the strongest of us cannot guard against our dreams."

🪨 "The most important thing I learned from Mother Oshun is that stories make us stronger."

🪨 "Remember the silences between you and Mati? They were like giant shadows living between you. Everyone knew you loved each other beyond words. That's where you kept your love, beyond words, in your silences...."

This book was food for my soul and everything I needed to remind me of where I come from. I will hold this book close to my heart and spirit. Thank you so much for writing this @dahlmallanosfigueroa. This story is absolutely beautiful and necessary. ( )

Gosh. This is a good book, the kind of book that leaves me having to get my thoughts in order to write this. It's about 5 women, each a new generation of the same family. It begins with Fela. Fela takes readers from the land of Africa to Puerto Rico when she is taken as a slave. Thru her, the tragedy of slavery on the island is told. She leaves behind Mati and Mati exacts revenge on the men who have done her and her mother wrong. Mati gives birth to Concha who struggles to make her mother's world of magic and old myths mix with the new world of knowledge and advancement. From Concha, comes Elena who takes things ever further and leaves the island for New York and the world of nursing. The story ends with her daughter, Carisa struggling to create, live, and write her own story.

Very little of the island's history is told. Rather it is a book about mother and daughter relationships, old ways versus new, magic versus medicine, and love versus blood.

My sole complaint is the cover is ugly. Great book, great story. It's staying on my shelf. ( )