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The Coconut Latitudes: Secrets, Storms, and Survival in the Caribbean Kindle Edition

by Rita M. Gardner (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 175 ratings
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Gold Medal Winner, Autobiography/Memoir, 2015 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.



A father makes the fateful decision to leave a successful career in the US behind and move to an isolated beach in the Dominican Republic. He plants ten thousand coconut seedlings, transplants his wife and two young daughters to a small village, and declares they are the luckiest people alive.



In reality, the family is in the path of hurricanes and in the grip of a brutal dictator, Rafael Trujillo—and the children are additionally under the thumb of an increasingly volatile and alcoholic father.



Set against a backdrop of shimmering palms and kaleidoscope sunsets, The Coconut Latitudes is Rita Gardner’s compelling memoir of a childhood in paradise, a journey into unexpected misery, and a twisted path to redemption and truth.
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  1. Print length
    227 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    She Writes Press
  5. Publication date
    September 16, 2014
  6. File size
    5566 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Gardner has written a rich, haunting book that vividly captures her childhood and makes everyday turmoil vital through precise and honest prose.”
—Publishers Weekly, July 2014

“Another fine writer we can embrace as ours: an honorary Dominicana, who moves beyond borders into the wide open spaces of the heart.”
—Julia Alvarez, author of A Wedding in Haiti, Recipient, 2013 National Medal of Arts

“Gardner’s memoir is a detailed delight. A kind of ‘island-mindedness’ in her writing makes this a compelling read.”
—Alastair Reid, Correspondent for The New Yorker, author of Inside Out

“In this riveting coming-of-age story, Gardner paints an exquisite portrait of her family’s rupture in paradise.”
—Julia Scheeres, author of Jesus Land and A Thousand Lives

About the Author

Rita Gardner grew up on her expatriate family’s coconut farm in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Living in a remote coastal village, she was home-schooled and began reading, writing and painting at a young age. She returned to Florida to finish school and later moved to Northern California, where she follows her passions―trail hiking, traveling, writing, and photography. Her published essays, articles, and poems have appeared in literary journals, travel magazines, and newspapers. Her photographs show in galleries and other venues. She continues to dream in Spanish, dance the merengue, and gather inspiration from the ocean; her favorite color is Caribbean blue.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MNYLNH0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ She Writes Press (September 16, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 16, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5566 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 227 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 175 ratings

About the author

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Rita Gardner

Rita Gardner

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Rita Gardner grew up on her expatriate family's coconut farm in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Living in a remote coastal village, she was home-schooled and began reading, writing, and painting at a young age. She returned to the U.S. to finish school and later moved to the San Francisco Bay region of California, where she follows her passions: trail hiking, traveling, writing, and photography.

Gardner's debut memoir about her unusual childhood,"THE COCONUT LATITUDES: Secrets, Storms and Survival in the Caribbean" was published September 2014 by She Writes Press of Berkeley, CA. It is available in paperback, Kindle, and as an Audible audio book. In 2015, it won Gold Award from Independent Book Publishers Association's Benjamin Franklin Awards, and Gold Award from 2015 Next Generation Indie Awards. In 2016 it was a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. It was also listed in "Best of 2014 expat books" by The Displaced Nation, and continues to receive acclaim from reviewers and readers alike. She is also a contributor to several anthologies published in 2016: WANDERING IN ANDALUSIA features stories about southern Spain. THE MAGIC OF MEMOIR is a collection of tips by memoir writers and interviews with well-known authors. "MY GUTSY STORY ANTHOLOGY - 2nd Edition, which includes short stories about taking chances and changing your life. Edited by Sonia Marsh, and published in 2015.

In addition, Rita Gardner's published essays, articles, and poems have appeared in literary journals, travel magazines, anthology, and newspapers. Her photographs and paintings show in galleries and other venues. She continues to dream in Spanish, dance the merengue, and gather inspiration from the ocean; her favorite color is Caribbean blue.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
175 global ratings
Unique story of a child growing up in the Dominican Republic.
5 Stars
Unique story of a child growing up in the Dominican Republic.
I did not want to put down Rita Gardner's memoir. It is personal along with historical. Her writing style is colorful and interesting.Her story is unique coupled with fears and tenacity. A quick and easy book to read. Took it with me on my trip to Mt. Fuji.MMM
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Top reviews from the United States

d hume
5.0 out of 5 stars True, Gripping and Told with Heart
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2014
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Rita Gardner tells the story of her upbringing in a tiny tin house near her father's coconut plantation in the Dominican Republic with truth and immediacy, in the voice of the child she was. She writes in the present tense, which enabled me to enter her world and witness its unfolding. Each chapter is a separate incident from her life with her parents and sister as she was growing up and her struggles to create a life away from home as a young adult. Not only were the incidents presented with clarity and exquisite turn of phrase, but Rita's response to them stimulated my own reaction to how she was affected by the drunken outbursts of her father, her mother's passive attempts to keep life on an even keel, even when things were at their worst, and her sister's quiet resistance, anger, banishment and years of silence. Raging around Rita's family were tropical storms and a country in flux and desperate straits, which Rita adeptly folds into her narrative while at the same time maintaining the continuity of her experiences. With no rudder on her small boat, Rita managed to stay afloat through years of stormy seas to survive and flourish--and write a book that is well worth reading. One can only hope there will be a sequel as there is still a lot to be told.
One person found this helpful
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Ilana Benady
5.0 out of 5 stars Candid and revealing, beautifully written memoir
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2019
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This is so much more than just an expat memoir. It is a portrait of a lost world, the Dominican Republic of the 1950s and 60s as seen through the eyes of a child and young woman. The author's father moved the family to Miches, still a relatively remote town, but at the time it was practically isolated from the rest of the country, never mind the wider world. Several decades later, the author tries to make sense of her unusual childhood, her complex relationships with her parents and sister, with a nuanced, frank depiction of the positive and negative sides. Surrounded by nature that is untamed and unpredictable, its superficial beauty concealing dangers in the shape of storms and other intangible threats; this is an ever-present metaphor for her perceptions of the world and human relationships. It's easy to read, engaging and honest but challenging and perceptive at the same time. Highly recommended.
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lmpartin
5.0 out of 5 stars A lyrical memoir
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2015
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"The Coconut Latitudes" by Rita M. Gardner is an emotional journey into the life of the author whose father moves the family to a small village in the Dominican Republic. Ms. Gardner, five at the time of the relocation, spends lonely days being home-schooled at the farm her father has inherited ("Cocoloco") and only occasionally interacts with other English-speaking children brought over by visiting friends. The "Paradise" the father has promised the family turns out to be far from it. Evenings are spent with the author witnessing her father's alcohol-fueled rampages and watching her mother cower at his verbal abuses addressed mostly at the older daughter, Berta.

As a teenager, with her home-schooling over, the author is sent away to a boarding school in the United States. Because of the political situation in the Dominican Republic, the country is ruled by the ruthless dictator Rafael Trujillo, she's not able to return home as planned. The author describes those days of uncertainty with such passion that we suffer alongside her. Perhaps because I too had lived in a country ruled by a dictator, and I too had longed to return to it when it was impossible to do so, her experience became mine, bringing tears to my eyes.

"The Coconut Latitudes" is a beautiful and lyrical book filled with evocative language. When the author returns as an adult to the farm of her youth, we not only see the scenery, the "paisaje," but the little girl who spent her days in that corner of the world trying to imagine a future of success that would eventually become hers. "The `finca' blends in now with the rest, boundaries and color blurred by time and age."
3 people found this helpful
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Jennifer Silva Redmond
4.0 out of 5 stars Quite a memorable journey
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2022
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I read this book a few months ago and it has stayed with me more than some books I read in March. The author paints vivid word pictures as well as breathing life into her family and her younger self. I definitely recommend this lively memoir.
2 people found this helpful
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Kathy Odonnell
5.0 out of 5 stars YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2015
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I read a great deal and am a hard sell. This book captured me from the first chapter as it grabbed my heart and twisted it. I read it in one sitting, finishing it a 4 in the morning. I defy you to read this with a dry eye, it's written as if you are living this horrid life that Ms. Gardner went thru with her, through her eyes. Seeing both the beauty and the ugliness at the same time. It is very visual, both mentally and physically. I have always thought that I have lived a full life of vast experiences, HAH! the woman endured more in her first 21 years than I have in a lifetime of 65 years. Yet she has turned out to be an amazing woman, showing that you can be anything you want to be as both she and her sister did. I know this first hand as I had the pleasure during the 70's to be in the circle of people that they were in. I never knew any of the horror until I read this book, they never let it affect them negatively. I bought the book as a gesture to an old friend and indeed it turned out to be "El gusto is mio!" (The pleasure is mine) Thank you for bringing joy to my life Rita, well done.
3 people found this helpful
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Kay Rae Chomic
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written; helluva story!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015
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Ms. Gardner has bravely shared her family's unique, heart-breaking story, and I'm glad she did. If you enjoy memoirs, read her Introduction, and I bet you'll be hooked. I was hooked, and captivated for the entire journey. I learned fascinating facts about the growing, and harvesting of coconut palms, and some history of dictator Trujillo's reign of the Dominican Republic. Life on the 'Cocoloco Plantation,' appears to be a dream come true for Gardner's father. However, for the rest of the family: mom, Rita, and Berta, it's filled with fear and anguish from living with a patriarch who is domineering, hard-drinking, hard-working, and self-centered. The toll of keeping family secrets screams loud. I turned the last page after crying during the last two chapters, and was both sated by a story written from the heart, and wanting more of each family member's story. The pictures throughout the book are lovely. This is an author of great artistic ability. I'll read more of what Rita Gardner writes.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Jane Silverio
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Reviewed in Canada on April 22, 2018
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Great read especially if you ate familiar with Domi ican life.Amazing but unfortunate story of family and their ups and downs in tbe Dr and USA.
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