Guest Blog: Desiree Zamorano

Guest Blog by Desiree Zamorano Author of "The Amado Women"

Shelf Notes was lucky to meet Desiree Zamorano at Book Expo America during her signing of "The Amado Women". We reviewed the book Sunday, here. We even got to interview her yesterday, here. Desiree also graciously has offered to send a free ebook (Modern Cons or Human Cargo), your pick. All you need to do is head on over to her website and add yourself to her e-mail list. http://www.desireezamorano.com/

As I puzzled over The Amado Women I knew I wanted to write about wildly divergent women committed to staying with each other, providing a vivid, conflict-driven story. Where could I find this? The answer is probably obvious to you, thoughtful reader, but it took me some time to arrive at. I was thinking too hard. I was immersed in it, and like the air we breathe it was invisible to me. Where could I find it? In a family, of course.

Years ago when I began working on my writing all the short stories I read, by very prominent names, had narrators whose parents in particular were absent, invisible, or irrelevant. I found that puzzling, and did not, at that time, have the skill to label my misgivings about that. The fact for me was that as an adult I had equal amounts of catering to and reacting against the people who loved me most in the world. My family, perhaps like yours, specializes in over-identifying with each other, with an expectation of taking on a family member’s issue as if it were our own. This can be gratifying or embarrassing, but a response to this enmeshment is also to hide parts of ourselves from each other, in a simple way to avoid further complications or conflicts or drama. Sometimes simply asking for the truth, or telling the truth can be as challenging as flinging down a gauntlet. Fun, right? But in any case, the rich and wonderful stuff for a great story.

All of us have multiple, conflicting identities, as Elizabeth Strout displays so beautifully in Olive Kitteridge with Olive’s complexity, longing and incompetence. Not all of these identities are family-friendly, and some of us are convinced we are in the wrong family. In one of her essays, Ann Patchett mentions Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard out of Carolina, (now there’s a sundering family drama for you) as being worried about having only one novel in her. From this Patchett realizes that it's really one story, and that Patchett's story for all of her novels is: a group of strangers meet and become a community. I thought about that, then looked into my own writing. 

What story do I tell, again and again? My stories are all about displacement: how we long to belong.

In our lives we may wonder are we in the right family? Will they accept the shameful parts of us? Can we survive with or without each other?

I hope, gentle reader, you will recognize yourself, your struggles, your successes, in at least one of these Amado Women.

The Amado Women

The Amado Women Desiree Zamorano 4.5/5	Expected Publication July 1st 2014  First Sentence "Sylvia Levine (nee Amado) had been brooding for months."
Publisher's Description: Southern California is ground zero for upwardly mobile middle-class Latinas. Matriarchs like Mercy Amado—despite her drunken, philandering (now ex-) husband—could raise three daughters and become a teacher. Now she watches helplessly as her daughters drift apart as adults. The Latino bonds of familia don't seem to hold. Celeste, the oldest daughter who won't speak to the youngest, is fiercely intelligent and proud. She has fled the uncertainty of her growing up in Los Angeles, California, to seek financial independence in San Jose. Her sisters did the same thing but very differently. Sylvia married a rich but abusive Anglo, and, to hide away, she immersed herself in the suburbia of her two young daughters. And Nataly, the baby, went very hip into the free-spirited Latino art world, working on her textile creations during the day and waiting on tables in an upscale restaurant by night. Everything they know comes crashing down in a random tragic moment and Mercy must somehow make what was broken whole again.
Dear Reader, This might be the first book that I've read which shows a different side of Latino women. Usually, when reading books featuring Latinos, I find the light is a little dark and the setting a little poor (literally). I recently went to see Junot Diaz speak at a local College and he cried out for more Hispanic writing, and he vividly described what it's like to be a minority watching TV and reading books that are full of characters that live a completely different life. The Author, Desiree, gives us a side that reminds us of those similarities and gives us everything that is relatable within all different races. I love that! I gobbled up this story and felt SO much along the way, I didn't feel like an outsider peering into a secret life I knew nothing about. This is where I think we need to get, this is where we need to overcome the thought that people are so different, because deep down WE ARE THE SAME! Okay, enough of the rant... let's get back to the book. The Amado Women is beautifully tragic, three daughters and a mother get together for family gatherings and each time we see the bonds change between them. The mother, Mercy, who is a proud woman with strength and conviction. The eldest sister, Celeste, who broke free of the family early on (only to succeed in her occupation to make her quite wealthy). The middle child, Sylvia, married young and ends up raising two daughters. The youngest daughter, Nataly, who jumps from ship to ship without figuring out her place in life. Each daughter has an extremely compelling story, we become enveloped with the hurt and/or excitement each one feels.  Starting with Nataly, who can't settle down or live a productive money-making life. I know this person, the artist... the one who struggles to follow her passion but is clueless to the stress it causes others in her life. I felt very close to Nataly because I consider myself an Artist, but I didn't go down the road Nataly did... I was too worried I wouldn't be able to support myself sufficiently. I admire this character but also know that life as an artist is too difficult to cling to that hope, reality bites!  Her sister, Sylvia, has a very different approach with life, marrying an abusive husband and having two children. I know many people who would also relate to this woman, and maybe open the eyes of some to see how horrible living that way is. I found myself relating to this character quite a bit when she started thinking about the big "D" word. How her mother kept nagging her and reminding her that she needed to stay with her husband to be financially secure and for the children, it gave me flashbacks to my own divorce and the way my family handled it.  Then we have, Celeste, the one with "everything", but we quickly realize that she has just as much heartbreak (if not more) than the other two sisters. Money doesn't buy everything, we all know this but sometimes someone hides behind it in order to clear their mind from the tragedy they've experienced. So life like! Every character sweeps in on a cloud of truth dust, I found myself in awe of how connected I felt with all of them... even though each one was so different. The Author really touches on some realistic issues people go through, in all walks of life AND in all races. I love that this novel might strike a conversation outside of social norms, this would be the perfect book for a book club. Just imagine, sharing personal tragedies or triumphs and recognizing that the person next to you is very much the same. Okay, that happens from time to time. However, the times I've felt close to characters with a different background than me are few and far between. Desiree does this with The Amado Women and I believe every woman should pick this book up and feel that connection too! Happy Reading, AmberBug P.S. - Want a digital copy of Desiree's other books Modern Cons or Human Cargo? Head over to www.desireezamorano.com, subscribe to her e-mail list and she'll give a choice between the two. Also, tomorrow check out an exclusive interview with the Desiree Zamorano herself! Even more? The next day she'll be doing a guest blog, right here on ShelfNotes. Make sure you check it out.

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