From Harvey River: A Memoir Of My Mother And Her Island

(Paperback, Main)

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Description

When Lorna's great-grandfather, William Harvey, discovered a clearing at the end of a path cut by the feet of escaping slaves, he gives his name to what became his family's home for generations. For Lorna's mother, Doris, Jamaica's Harvey River was the place she always called home, where she was one of the 'fabulous Harvey girls' and the rich local bounty of yams, pimentos and mangoes went hand in hand with the Victorian niceties and comforts of her parents' house. Doris was a big-hearted lover of big stories and raised Lorna on tales of their family's - and Jamaica's - history. Years later, when her fortunes changed, it was a place she returned to in her dreams She and her husband relocated to 'hard life' Kingston and encountered the harsh realities of urban living at close quarters as they raised their family of nine children.

Gorgeously written with unashamed joy and peopled with a cast of wonderfully drawn characters, Lorna Goodison's memoir weaves together memory and island lore to create a vivid and universally appealing tapestry.

Reviews

"'The book is a joy... A bittersweet reminder to all Jamaica's exiles of what we have lost'. Independent '[Lorna Goodison's] memoir of her large, boisterous familiy, bursting with all the colour and warmth of her Caribbean island home... Both a love song to Jamaica and a touching tribute to the bond between mothers and daughters.' Aberdeen Press & Journal"

Author Bio

Lorna Goodison is a poet, author of eight books of poety and two collections of short stories. Her work has been widely translated and anthologised. In 1999 she received Jamaica's Musgrave Gold Medal. Born in Jamaica, Goodison now teaches at the University of Michigan. She divides her time between Ann Arbor and Toronto.