"I come from a place where breath, eyes and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to."

The place is Haiti and the speaker is Sophie, the heroine of Edwidge Danticat's novel, "Breath, Eyes, Memory." Like her protagonist, Danticat is also Haitian; like her, she was raised in Haiti by an aunt until she came to the United States at age 12.

The story begins in Haiti, on Mother's Day, when young Sophie discovers that she is about to leave the only home she has ever known with her Tante Atie in Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti, to go live with her mother in New York City.

I've read a few of Danticat's work, she is an excellent writer, and her short stories collection is my favorite of her books (which diversely includes memoir, short stories and ficiton.) Nonetheless, this book, her first novel, is a poignant, evocative story about a mother and daughter. It's hard to imagine the things they have done, yet on the other hand very easy to understand.

This book is now going to RNAi as RABCK. Don't know if you've read this author before, hope you enjoy it!