Summary

Chapter 1—“Have You Enjoyed Your Life?”—opens in July of 2004. Edwidge Danticat flew from Miami, where she was living with her husband, to New York City to see her father, Mira. Edwidge was 35 years old at the time, and Mira was 69 years old. He had recently been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a potentially terminal disease that affects the lungs. In New York, Mira asked Edwidge if she was pregnant, but Edwidge replied that she and her husband did not want to have children just yet. Edwidge took Mira to his doctor appointment. The doctor said that, because Mira’s body was resisting treatment, he would likely die within two years. Later that day, Edwidge took a pregnancy test and discovered that she was pregnant. She felt fearful at the prospect. At her parents’ house, Edwidge conversed with her parents and brothers. One of Edwidge...