Structure

The book utilizes a nonlinear structure that is based around the personal and interpersonal connections between its central real-life figures. The structure strongly focuses on the lives of the author’s father and uncle, but Edwidge also includes relevant details about her own life experiences. The book begins in 2004, after Mira receives a bleak prognosis for his pulmonary fibrosis, and Edwidge learns that she is pregnant. The narrative then shifts back several decades to exposit upon the important events in Mira and Joseph’s lives. Their stories geographically diverge when Mira and his family leave Haiti, while Joseph remains there to continue his work as a pastor. The book eventually reaches the chronological point of its beginning, after Mira has been diagnosed. Mira eventually dies of the disease, and Joseph dies in immigration custody.

In addition to the personal stories that the narrative incorporates, it also regularly...