A Woman of Endurance

A Novel

By: Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Narrated by: Tracey Leigh

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Combining the haunting power of Toni Morrison’s Beloved with the evocative atmosphere of Phillippa Gregory’s A Respectable Trade, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s groundbreaking novel illuminates a little discussed aspect of history—the Puerto Rican Atlantic Slave Trade—witnessed through the experiences of Pola, an African captive used as a breeder to bear more slaves.

A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity.

Readers are invited to join Pola in her journey to healing. From the sadistic barbarity of her first experiences, she moves on to receive compassion and support from a revitalizing new community. Along the way, she learns to recognize and embrace the many faces of love—a mother’s love, a daughter’s love, a sister’s love, a love of community, and the self-love that she must recover before she can offer herself to another. It is ultimately, a novel of the triumph of the human spirit even under the most brutal of conditions.

©2022 Amistad (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent story

The book is amazing! I highly recommend it. How much can one woman endure?? Paola is a warrior!!!

A GREAT READ!

Amazing!

I really enjoyed this book. it was sad, it made me cry and then the ending was satisfying.

Much needed story!

Love, Resilience and How to Endure. Community, Kindness, Empathy and Care what the World/ America is still missing in the majority population. We are still stuck on gender, race and religion when at the end of the day it doesn’t matter when you LOVE LIFE and the LIVING!

My heart

My heart aches for this book this story.....it is worth the read trust me. This will live in my heart forever.

Story of pain and loss and rebirth

This is a story of unbearable losses and a magnificent rebirth of love and hate

Very well written!

Yes, the basis of the story is slavery. BUT... It's sooo much more than that. The story is very engaging, the characters are well developed, and the story easy to follow. Love, loss, life, good people and bad. And a happy ending that doesn't leave anything unfinished.

And the narration is superb!

Resilience

I enjoyed this book, the trials they endured as slaves. I am humbled and blessed.

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past”. William Faulkner

"Your body is only a vessel. Your essence is inviolate. It is only when you give up your soul that you are lost." A Woman of Endurance.

A Woman of Endurance ~ A Novel ~ by Dahlma LLanos-Figueroa is a testament to the Enslaved African Puerto Rican Ancestors. Dahlma is an obinrin itan in her own right. This book is the second in a non-sequential series. A very intriguing and well-researched story depicting the lives of enslaved women during the 19th century on 1836-1850 Haciendas across Puerto Rico. Dahlma's first book, The Daughters of the Stone introduced us to one of the minor characters that now has a major role in A Woman of Endurance. This is a historical fictional story of an enslaved community that exuded resilience and survival. They became family and supported each other in many ways. Told from a predominantly female narrative, these women were ultimately the backbone of the Haciendas, holding on tightly to their native culture and history. I kept hearing, ‘they can take all that they can from you but, can’t take away what’s in your heart’. Significantly, paramount, giving life, eloquently transcending place and time blurring the distinction between fiction and non-fiction resonates throughout this story.
Pola, born Keera of the Yoruba tribe in West Africa was kidnapped and brought to Puerto Rico via the Transatlantic Enslavement Trade. Keera like so many others before and after her would be stripped of her true identity, forced to become something else; a breeding mare to produce other Beautiful Black Lives that would be nothing more than a commodity to the Plantation owners. "!Apunta tu` ahi`! La negra Pola, now the property of Don Sicayo Duchesne, master of Hacienda Paraiso. Next!’. Keera had a gift of knowing through the sense of touch. 'Her sense of touch made her much more vulnerable than her body.' This would be a blessing and a curse. Pola's horrific journey made her weary with pain and grief, but it would not be her demise. Loss gave birth to relinquishing grief to embrace love and acceptance.
The cover art is of a beautiful woman looking at a well-known piece of art of an enslaved man exhibiting the brutality he endured. The brutality is also a part of the design on the dress or can be an outline of the scars under the dress. These are scars, deep wounds caused by a cancer better known as slavery. Throughout the story, Keera (Pola) would encounter various types of cancers (human, mental, emotional & physical) that left scars and unassailable grief. “Only by releasing the pain will you keep it from killing you.” Thera are several profound statements throughout the book that grabbed me and had me reflecting on life.
A Woman of Endurance is nothing less than a masterpiece that will provoke the reader’s sensory stimuli, giving a broader representation of the reality of enslaved lives. This varied cast of complex characters will take you on their lives journey experiencing deep sorrow and joy. Truly a captivating story, filled with meaning that denotes what a classic would be. I definitely must commend the narrator, Tracy Lay for doing an outstanding job with the audio version of this book. If you have not read / listened to this book yet, consider it a must read and rush to get it.
There is a South African word "Sankofa" meaning "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today. Reading Woman of Endurance is reminiscent of Sankofa.

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past”. William Faulkner

Emotional rollercoaster

As you listen you become attached to the characters. The story is revealing of cruelty and love. Enjoy

a solid Read

I found this to be a engaging story where I was invested in the characters but there were times where parts repeated and where description of details that happened were left stunted. Typical format of overcoming all odds.