I really enjoyed how she used photography and prose to tell the story of her mother. It really brought to life her story. I think it is important to share difficult parent/child relationships because I feel like the message that is pushed the most is that these are great relationships and that we have to accept so much. This painted a more realistic portrait of the relationship and I appreciated that.

Un asesinato secreto en la familia, la misteriosa desaparición de su padre, la eliminación sistemática de las fotos familiares, una turbulenta relación con su madre, capas de trauma y abuso. Estos son algunos de los temas que Erika Morillo aborda en Mother Archive, un trabajo que parece ser una exhaustiva herramienta de sanación, donde reconcilia los demonios de su pasado al indagar en lo más profundo de su familia.

Las descripciones son bellamente trágicas. Observamos a una mujer en constante conflicto con los hallazgos; una mujer que se siente culpable de indagar en el pasado de su madre, pero que a la vez lo reconoce necesario para una reconciliación. Porque de manera paradójica, ella y su madre están unidas por un hilo invisible que necesita ser encontrado para contar su propia historia.

La catastrófica relación filial refleja sus estragos en la adultez y confiesa con zozobra en un punto del texto: “Me siento incapaz de echar raíces; crece dentro de mí una urgencia de escapar cada vez que elijo un lugar para convertirlo en mi hogar”.

Desentrañando tres generaciones a lo largo de tres países distintos, esta memoria es un mapa en donde Erika Morillo rastrea los incidentes en la historia de su familia como una forma de autodescubrimiento y fortalecimiento de su propia experiencia como madre.

The perspective of the author's childhood is fascinating and further illuminated by the photographs added. This book has also allowed me to better understand the political climate of the Dominican Republic from a native perspective. I also love how the story reflects on the actions of her mother through her childhood, it felt therapeutic. As she dives into how different parts of her identity have impacted her over time, this beautiful story comes together. I would recommend anyone willing to go on this journey sit down and read this book.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect this! I could not put this one down.

Morillo details her very difficult and abusive relationship with her mother, and I’ll be honest and confess that it was sometimes a tough read for me, since we both come from similar backgrounds (Dominican, parent(s) who were activists) but our stories could not be more different.

Reading the book you can understand Erika and the title of the book. This memoir not only gets you to know about Erika but also includes some history from her home country. The use of photography to depict some of the chapters is awesome.

I received this book as an e-arc in NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been reading more books by Dominican authors and I was very happy to be approved to read Mother Archive.
We get to read Erika's memoir, how she uses her photography to show us the ups and downs with all her relationships. We also get to see how important a relationship with our parents is. We are able to see how she uses fire and water to show us how they can represent our emotions and behaviors.

Thank you to NetGalley and University Of Iowa Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#MotherArchive #NetGalley

Mother Archive is a non-linear book of photographs and anecdotes. We bob up and down along with the author as she recounts her ever changing relationship with her mother.

We flit from year to year, never stopping long enough to truly examine anything for long. There are poignant moments, but just as many where the reader is adrift. It’s often a struggle to review books that contain someone else’s trauma, and this is no exception.