Why I Wrote Defiance and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds
We have all had our lives impacted by
certain people, whether family members or friends. This book was inspired by
the stories I heard as a young person about family relations, including my
parents’ star-crossed relationship. My parents’ passion brought them together
under challenging times, and in the end, their stars took them in divergent
directions, leaving a cloud of questions behind for my imagination to explore.
In addition, throughout my life, I was
fortunate to hear about my cultural roots from three matriarchs in our family,
my mother, aunt, and godmother. I also witnessed their bond of sisterhood that
lasted over eighty years. They lived into their nineties, and they died a few
years apart. Those matriarchs taught me to honor family, and to forgive others
and oneself for what happened or didn’t happen in your story. My love to you,
Maria, Josephine, and Rosa!
Defiance and Redemption is a
story that is as current today in parts of the world as I imagine it was in
early 20th century Ecuador when women’s lives were more restricted. Women need
each other for support and to envision a more expansive future. But this story
is not an autobiography or a memoir. It is fiction and it arises out of certain
truths. Yet, I like to think the story has closed a personal circle for me in
which the past is like a garden. It is enjoyed, celebrated, and at death, the
earth turned, for new seeds to grow.
Maria J. Andrade was born in Ecuador, South America, and raised in New York and California. She has a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. As a licensed therapist and writer, Maria has been diving into other people’s minds and her own, through dreams, poetry, and books for over three decades. She traveled with the Four Winds Society where she studied and was initiated into Andean shamanism in 1990.
Before Maria retired as a therapist, she specialized in women’s issues and founded the Wise Women’s Circle a ritualistic and transpersonal study group that continues today. The women support each other through life’s challenges and in the growth of mind, body, and spirit.
Maria Andrade’s books for children and adults is found in a variety of genres. This is an unforgettable first novel that reflects her imagination and creative storytelling.
Defiance and Redemption is her latest release.
Visit her website at www.booksasfriends.com or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
Based on a true story, Defiance and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds, brings to life the joys, dramas, and triumphs of two sisters, Eva and Victoria Alisio and their loyal friend Marta. The sisters are raised by their atheist Grandfather Marcus and religious Grandmother Maria Luisa. Eva, a proud and strong-willed young woman defies her family, society, and culture, faces scandal and disgrace, for her forbidden love affair. Victoria finds herself in the center of a multigenerational conflict as her benefactor bestows a great inheritance on her excluding the rightful heirs. Marta, loyal to the childhood bond with the Alisio sisters, brings humor and support to their twists and turns of fortune. The young women’s bond of love, and perseverance, carries them through ordinary and extraordinary losses, triumphs, and ultimately to their destiny in the United States.
An important novel about 20th Century women, Defiance and Redemption, is an absorbing epic that moves through decades and destinies. It blends personal and historical events into a collective tale of self-determination, love, and sisterhood.
“This book is an engrossing page turner which will pull you in and keep you cheering for your favorite actors until the very end! Defiance and Redemption is a unique book that tells a story that is both particular to a given time in Ecuador, but also universal in its themes of love, betrayal and survival.” – Nancy Mintie, Founder of Uncommon Good
“Reading Defiance and Redemption reminded me of a distant time when I read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Like these writers, Maria Andrade took me through a captivating journey of love and deep passion. Being gripped by the strong emotions that the characters possess and what they did in the end moved me profoundly.” – Maria Donovan, Retired Verizon Executive
“In Defiance and Redemption, Maria Andrade weaves together history, biography, and fiction into a romantic love and a story of three women that defy the ability of patriarchal culture to define them. We see the young women grow up to rise above the shame that tries to silence and limit them. They learn to find their voices and make sacrifices to be true to themselves as women. They leave behind all that they knew to make a better life for themselves and their daughters. This is a book to remind women of all ages where we came from, and what it took to break out and thrive nearly a century ago. Women like these paved the way for all who came after and have the rights we have today.” – Nancy Poitou, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Book Information
Release Date: September 21, 2021
Publisher: Clara Publishing
Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1734290066; 274 pages; $24.99; Kindle Edition $17.99
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3foJnuV
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3BLZYS9
Draft2Digital: https://bit.ly/3EQFud3
Want a signed copy? www.booksasfriends.com
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