I didn't know much about the culture of Trinidad at the onset of this book, but not only did the author beautifully illustrate the culture she also amazingly weaved the stories of her mother and grandmother and how that culture impacted their lives, their families and their decisions. The infidelity, domestic abuse and oppression left me wondering why any woman in Trinidad would choose the institution of marriage, but realizing that if you were poor you didn't have any options. Both Rebecca and Arya used marriage as a means of escape, but soon realized they'd traded one evil for another, especially Rebecca. On many occasions, I wondered why she didn't steal her freedom by any means necessary while her evil husband, Shiva, slept. And then her children, eish! So happy that Rebecca experienced some form of liberation in the end albeit in the winter of her life. The only thing missing were recipes of the amazing dishes the author described.

Sital shares an immigrant’s legacy, not an immigrant’s story. The strength of the Trinidadian women in the face of generations of culturally embedded abuse is both foreign and remarkable to an American reader. The narrative passages sharing Rebecca and Arya’s memories and the depiction of Trinidadian funeral rituals are by far the most compelling. The descriptive sections, especially at the beginning, feel a bit stiff and heavy. Also, as the layers of the family stories continue, it becomes difficult at times to keep the different men and women clearly identified - it is too easy to get lost in references to “her mother” or “his brother.” Overall, Secrets We Kept is a tribute to one writer’s heritage that puts faces and, more importantly, a heart onto the cultural history of the women of Trinidad.

This was a captivating read. First, the idyllic descriptions of the island of Trinidad and then the author's slow unfolding of her, her mother's and grandmother's stories. Krystal A. Sital's memoir reveals the power of owning and telling one's story. You could sense all three women's sighs of relief as they finally opened up about their experiences.

This poignant memoir captivated me, and it was meaningful to read experiences that mirror my own, from the reverence of Pappy in childhood to leaving Trinidad but still calling it home!