Absence Makes the Hatred Grow Stronger
On the particular exhaustion of being back in your mother's hometown, and why some daughters don't miss the phone call.
The Ultimate Compliment
A neighbor's offhand compliment becomes proof I escaped my mother's script entirely. On being told you're nothing like the woman who raised you.
Independently Minding My Own Business
A Guatemala-based expat's take on a mother's newly performative American patriotism, and the phone call that proved it.
My Own Private Avocado
I avoided guacamole for over a decade, convinced my mother was lying about how good it was. Then one bite at a fancy backyard party at age 12 changed everything.
The Body of Evidence
Neighbors in Guatemala remember my mother as "El cuerpo." A force of nature. A woman they speak about in awe. I inherited her face. I'm trying to figure out if I also inherited the thing that broke her.
