My Broken Language: A Memoir

When Quiara is four, her parents move from West Philadelphia to a horse farm in the country. She has to say goodbye to her “brat pack” gang of multicultural children and her mother’s extensive Puerto Rican family with its expanse of aunts and cousins. Her mother, Virginia, bids farewell to her sister in Spanish while her English-speaking Jewish father stays silent. 

On the farm, Quiara is immediately captivated by the “chaos of greenery.” She feels that the forest is her “new brat pack,” and her mother encourages her to greet the forest.

On the farm, Quiara’s mother constructs a circular garden that she calls a “living medicine wheel” filled with medicinal plants and herbs. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Virginia’s father had never learned to read or write, but he taught her about plants and growing things. Now, Virginia shares that knowledge with her daughter. During the week, Quiara’s mother works long hours, enduring a commute that leaves her too exhausted to visit her family in the city on the weekends. 

Instead, Quiara and her mother spend their weekends in the garden, where Virginia performs rituals. These rituals are now the only time that Quiara hears Spanish spoken. Around her American husband, Virginia always speaks English.