Island on the Edge of the World
Page 25
Katie Moore and Rachel Chapman, when I listened again to the recording of our conversation about living in the jungles of Venezuela, I was amazed, entertained, and shocked, all at the same time. Katie, you are a natural storyteller, and I hope that someday you’ll turn your stories into a book. Rachel, the accounts of your life growing up moved and touched me deeply. You both are an inspiration for all things good.
Lynne Olmstead, I came to you as a stranger, asking you to share with me your life growing up, and then raising a family, in the middle of the Amazon. I could not have brought life to this story without your help. Your dedication to and love for the Yanomami people is beautiful and pure. Thank you for being raw and real with me about tribal life.
Thank you, Debbie Anderson, for giving me insight to the psychic stuff. You were so kind to offer your assistance. In speaking with those who have passed to the other side, you made it sound so easy. Like talking about the weather! You are a natural teacher and speaker, and helped me see things from a different point of view.
Karen Kinne, forever my best friend. I love how I can always send you something to read or hash out a character over the phone. Thank you for being such a beautiful part of my life.
Ingrid Ostick, how many times did you read the manuscript? It is so lovely to have someone to chat with about the characters as if they were real people. They feel real to me, and I can tell they felt real to you. Thank you for always being a good reader, and thank you for letting me explain intricate plots when I am having a hard time sorting things out. But the biggest perk is the friendship that we’ve developed.
Linda Bine, thank you for once again lending your exacting eyes to this endeavor. Your logical editor’s brain has been invaluable when it comes to smoothing out a story that can, at times, become as messy as a tangled head of hair.
My family is from the southern part of the United States, but I was born a Yankee who never developed a true ear for their accent; mine would have gone a bit too “Hew-Haw” without guidance from Wendy Buford Clark and Kathy Murphy, who contributed so much to Lizbeth’s Texan “Southern with a twist” accent. Thank you both.
Thanks to the many people who hosted and took care of us in Haiti—from the rental car agents at the airport to the hotel owners and staff to the outstanding cooks whose meals we ate, and so many more people who welcomed us so hospitably. A special shout-out to Herns Celestin, Charlotte Charles, Fabienne Jean, and Sonson and Fanicia Vitorin. Please note that for the good in the people and places depicted in this book, I was able to draw directly from our friends and experiences. For the bad, I had to use my imagination.
Thank you Haiti for being the most remarkable, complicated place that I have experienced in a long time. You are beautiful, and so misunderstood. My hope with this book is that people can experience Haiti the same way I did.
I would be a terrible grandma if I didn’t thank all my grandbabies. Luna, Kai, Silas, Italya, Derek, Didier. You inspired this story for me. I would travel to the ends of the earth to make sure each and every one of you remain in my life, close enough for me to wrap my arms around you. The love of a grandmother will always move mountains.
I am always grateful to my clients at Tippy Toes salon for listening to my endless stories while I am trying to work out a plot. You all—or as we would say in the South, y’all—are really important to me, and I honestly could not do any of this without the support from all the beautiful people who walk in and out of the door at Tippy Toes every day.
I would love to thank my always faithful and loyal writing partner, Polly—my cat. We have written five books together. Thanks for being so faithfully furry and sweet, and always loving.
Lastly, thank you to my beautiful city of Mazatlán, Mexico. You opened your arms and let me in. I love this city. It fills my life with joy, happiness, and inspiration. Gracias.
How you can help Haiti
There are more than 35,000 NGOs in Haiti at last count, with no system for evaluating or overseeing their work. When deciding whether you wish to support a charity, consider the following:
Does this effort increase Haitians’ capacities for managing their own future?
Are there Haitians involved in the management of the agency?
Is the project moving toward sustainability?
Is the administrative overhead low or zero?
Is this effort providing employment for Haitians?
Is it driven by the needs and goals of Haitians, and not by donors’ wishes?
Here are a handful of organizations worth checking out:
Parents and children
Lumos
www.wearelumos.org
Dedicated to ending the institutionalization of children around the world, rescuing them from orphanages and reuniting them with their families. Working to effect change in education, health, and social care systems toward this goal.
Papillon
www.papillon-enterprise.com
Creates jobs for parents who are in need of income to support their children. Exports and markets Haitian artisan goods.
Healthcare/health education
Partners in Health
www.pih.org
Builds and strengthens health systems in communities of need.
Haiti Nursing Foundation
www.haitinursing.org
Supports advancement of quality nursing education.
Children’s Medical Mission of Haiti
www.cmmh.org
Provides educational opportunities and life skills training to children with disabilities.
Education
Partnership Program, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
www.episcopalschools.org/naes-community/ways-to-connect/partnership-programs
Many denominations have outreach projects in Haiti. The Episcopal School Partnership Program is focused on school partnerships in rural communities. Contact schools@LADiocese.org.
For A Reason
www.FARforareason.org
Provides tuition for motivated students who might otherwise be at risk of having to leave school.
Agronomy
Zanmi Agrikol: Partners in Agriculture
www.partnersinag.org
Provides training for agronomists, producing fortified medical-grade peanut mixture to combat malnutrition in infants and children. Offers family sustainability programs to improve families’ crop production and incomes.
Miscellaneous
Restavek Freedom
www.restavekfreedom.org
An effort to end child slavery in Haiti.
Beyond Borders
www.beyondborders.net
Working to end child slavery and prevent violence against women and girls in Haiti.
Work
www.dowork.org
Job preparation, training, and placement. Holds the annual Run Across Haiti, a coast-to-coast run with the purpose of creating dialogue, jobs, and income from tourism.
SOIL
www.oursoil.org
Provides sustainable methods of dealing with sewage, transforming wastes into resources.
Want to explore Haiti?
Expedition Ayiti
www.expeditionayiti.org
Promotes intercultural understanding via guided hikes through the beautiful Haitian countryside. Overnights are homestays, with 80 percent of hikers’ fees directed to the host communities to be put toward a project of the community’s choosing.
About the author
Deborah Rodriguez is the author of the international bestsellers The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul and The Zanzibar Wife. She has also written two memoirs: The Kabul Beauty School, about her life in Afghanistan, and The House on Carnaval Street, on her experiences following her return to America. She spent five years teaching and later directing the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan.
Deborah also owned the Oasis Salon and the Cabul Coffee House, and is the founder of the nonprof
it organization Oasis Rescue, which aims to teach women in post-conflict and disaster-stricken areas the art of hairdressing.
She lives in Mazatlán, Mexico, where she owns Tippy Toes salon and spa.
Reading group questions
1. What were your impressions of Haiti before you read this book?
2. Did your impressions about Haiti and/or the Haitian people change after reading the book?
3. Was there anything about Haiti in this book that you found surprising?
4. What did you find most interesting about the Haitian culture?
5. Would you be interested in traveling to Haiti?
6. Have you ever been involved in charitable causes? How effective do you think your efforts were?
7. If you were involved in a group dedicated to helping those in need in other countries, what would your suggested approach be?
8. Have you ever had experience with a psychic medium? If so, what was it like?
9. Do you know anyone who grew up, like Charlie, as a third-culture kid, raised in a culture other than their parents’ or the one listed on their passport? How did that affect them, both positively and negatively?
10. Do you confide in your hairdresser in ways you don’t with your friends? Does she/he know more about you than others might?
Some delicious Haitian dishes to share
By Georges Laguerre of Tigeorges Kafé, Miami, Florida
Akra
This fried dish is frequently served by sidewalk vendors in the evening. “Fritay!”
3 to 4 malanga or taro roots
½ small onion
1 green onion
3 garlic cloves, peeled
½ green bell pepper
½ hot pepper
1 egg
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
a deep frying pan and enough frying oil to fill it halfway
Peel and grate the malanga or taro
Finely chop the onion, green onion, garlic, bell pepper and hot pepper
Combine all the grated and chopped ingredients and mix evenly
Add the salt, pepper and egg, and mix to form a batter
Heat the oil and test it with a small amount of batter—when it is hot enough, the oil will start to bubble when the batter is added
Divide the batter with a knife, a spoon or a fork, depending on the shape that you want to fry. Add the portions to the oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes
Serve and eat straightaway—after 20 minutes, the flavor is no longer the same.
Pork Griot
Sometimes spelled “grillot” or “griyo”. A Haitian favorite.
up to 5 lbs (2.25 kg) pork shoulder
3 sour oranges
1 hot pepper (habanero)
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp black peppercorns
1 oz (2 tbsp) white wine vinegar
5 to 10 cloves, depending on preference
The secret is not to wash the meat. Dice the pork shoulder into squares 2–3″ (5–7 cm) in size. If you are in a Haitian community, the butcher will know how to cut the meat for you
Peel the oranges, retaining the peel, and then extract the juice, ensuring there are no seeds or skin in the juice
Rub the diced meat with the skin of the oranges
In a mortar and pestle, crush the hot pepper, salt, peppercorns and cloves
Add the pork, spices, vinegar and sour orange juice to a heavy aluminum pot with a lid. Cook on a high heat for 30 minutes
Pour the contents out of the pot into a baking pan and put it in the oven to caramelize the meat. Keep an eye on the meat, turning it occasionally. It will only take a few minutes to reach a nice glaze.
Pikliz
Every house in Haiti has a jar of pikliz (pronounced ‘picklees’) in the kitchen. Haitians do not eat without pikliz.
1 lb (500 g) cabbage
1 lb (500 g) carrots
¼ lb (120 g) French green beans
3 hot peppers (habanero)
2 sour oranges
2 tsp salt
Shred the cabbage
Grate the carrots
Trim the beans, and cut into 1″ (2 cm) pieces
Wearing a glove, dice the peppers as small as you can
Juice the oranges, ensuring there are no seeds or pulp
Wearing gloves again, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Simple!
Pain Patate
Traditionally a breakfast food for Haitians, today pain patate can sometimes be found as a dessert at events and restaurants. It is back-breaking work for the cook, as one has to grate all of the ingredients manually.
1 whole dried coconut
3 lbs (1.5 kg) white sweet potato
5 lbs (2.5 kg) bananas, very ripe
1 lb (500 g) ginger
1 key lime, very green
1 can (12 fl. oz/395 g) evaporated milk
1 can (12 fl. oz/395 g) condensed milk
1 can (12 fl. oz/395 g) coconut milk
1 lb (500 g) softened butter
½ cup brown sugar
1 oz (2 tbsp) pure vanilla extract
2 bay leaves
Crack the coconut and grate the flesh
Peel and grate the sweet potato
Mash the bananas
Peel and grate the ginger
Zest the key lime
Mix all the remaining ingredients and pour into a heavy aluminum pot
Cook for 30 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon
Then the mixture is ready to bake. Put the dough into a pan to be baked for one hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)
Allow the pain patate to cool before serving. It is best consumed the next day.
Also by Deborah Rodriguez
FICTION
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
The Zanzibar Wife
NON-FICTION
The Kabul Beauty School
The House on Carnaval Street
THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL
Deborah Rodriguez
One little café. Five extraordinary women …
In a little coffee shop in one of the most dangerous places on Earth, five very different women come together.
Sunny, the proud proprietor, who needs an ingenious plan—and fast—to keep her café and customers safe …
Yazmina, a young pregnant woman stolen from her remote village and now abandoned on Kabul’s violent streets …
Candace, a wealthy American who has finally left her husband for her Afghan lover, the enigmatic Wakil …
Isabel, a determined journalist with a secret that might keep her from the biggest story of her life …
And Halajan, the sixty-year-old den mother, whose long-hidden love affair breaks all the rules.
As these five discover there’s more to one another than meets the eye, they form a unique bond that will forever change their lives and the lives of many others.
“The idea behind this book was a beautiful one, and I can say without a doubt that the sheer genius of the idea has come across to the reader through the pages. To write about a warzone, to humanise it for one’s readers, give it life and an identity beyond bloodshed is a feat that deserves more appreciation than I could ever articulate into sentences.” Guardian
AVAILABLE NOW
RETURN TO THE LITTLE COFFEE SHOP OF KABUL
Deborah Rodriguez
Six women, on opposite sides of the Earth, yet forever joined by a café in Kabul.
Sunny, its former proprietor and the new owner of the Screaming Peacock Vineyard in the Pacific Northwest. But can she handle the challenges of life on her own?
Yazmina, the young mother who now runs the café, until a terrifying event strikes at the heart of her family, and business …
Layla and Kat, two Afghan teenagers in America, both at war with the cultures that shaped them …
Zara, a young woman about to be forc
ed into a marriage with a man she despises, with devastating consequences for all …
These five women are about to learn what Halajan, Yazmina’s rebellious mother-in-law, has known all along: that when the world as you know it disappears, you find a new way to survive …
Reuniting us with many of the compelling characters from the international bestseller The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, Deborah Rodriguez offers up an inspiring story of strength and courage in a world where happily-ever-afters aren’t as simple as they seem.
AVAILABLE NOW
THE ZANZIBAR WIFE
Deborah Rodriguez
Set both in Oman and on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, The Zanzibar Wife is the story of three different women, each at a turning point in her life …
Oman. The ancient land of frankincense, windswept deserts, craggy mountaintops and turquoise seas. A place where tales of evil spirits and eerie phenomena abound. Into this magical nation come three remarkable women, each facing a crossroad in her life.
Rachel, a troubled American war photographer who is struggling to shed the trauma of her career for a simpler, gentler life. Now she has once again picked up her camera and is headed to Oman to cover a quite different story—for a glossy travel magazine.
Ariana Khan, a bubbly British woman struggling to keep up with the glitz of Dubai and ready to give up on love. She has rashly volunteered as Rachel’s “fixer”, a job she’s never heard of in a country she knows nothing about.
And Miza, a young woman living far from her beloved homeland of Zanzibar. As the second wife of Tariq, an Omani man, she remains a secret from his terrifying “other” wife, Maryam. Until one day, when Tariq fails to come home …
As the three women journey together across this weird and wonderful land, they are forced to confront their darkest fears and their deepest wishes. Because here in Oman, things aren’t always what they appear to be …
AVAILABLE NOW
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First published by Bantam in 2019