Island on the Edge of the World

Author/Guide: Deborah Rodriguez

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: Haiti. A poor country rich in courage, strength and love. As these four women are about to discover.

ISBN: 978-0751574586
Genre: Fiction, Historical

Comment

What you need to know before your trail

Charlie, the rootless daughter of American missionaries, now working as a hairdresser in Northern California. But the repercussions of a traumatic childhood far from home have left her struggling for her way in life.

Bea, Charlie’s eccentric grandmother, who is convinced a reunion with her estranged mother will help Charlie heal.

Lizbeth, a Texas widow who has never strayed too far from home. She is on a daunting journey into the unknown, searching for the grandchild she never knew existed.

And Senzey, a young Haitian mother dealing with a lifetime of love and loss, who shows them the true meaning of bravery.

Together they venture through the teeming, colorful streets of Port-au-Prince, into the worlds of do-gooders doing more harm than good, Vodou practitioners, artists, activists, and everyday Haitian men and women determined to survive against all odds.

Locations

Reset

Travel Guide

Haiti – a visit to a troubled yet fascinating country

A very interesting visit to the streets of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, one of the most densely populated, least developed, and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

There’s a lot of information and fascinating detail about the island’s troubled history

Then there’s the fascinating culture – wait until you learn about the unusual tradition of voodoo.

It’s not all culture and tourism though – that’s the good point about this novel as you get to know the truth and the dark truth at that about what living in such a country really is like (poverty, the daily struggle etc. The reader gets to see the devastating earthquake of 2010 and what such an event would have on any country, let alone one already beset by poverty. Children live off the streets and often have to fend for themselves. Sometimes their parents are so poor, they are forced to sell them. Imagine being so desperate that children become commodities! Some upsetting scenes result.