“The House on the Lagoon”

 

“Can history be so dangerous as to be revolutionary?” (91)

When does writing a family history become toxic? How can one expose familial lies and secrets without hurting those still living? What if the history isn’t yours? What if your husband objects to your “historical fiction?” Why write it at all?

Puerto Rico. 1955. Part oral history, part historical fiction. So many characters…need a chart (family tree) to keep them all straight. Freedom. Generationally strong women. Independence. Secrets. Society climbers. Descrimination. Revolution. Prejudice. Love.

How do we tell the stories we are given without seeing them through our own lens? Political lens. Emotional lens. Do we need to stay true to the story, or true to the point we are trying to make? Does the story need to end “happily-ever-after?”