Emily Placido

Julita's Sands Emily Placido

In this unique memoir within a memoir is the real life tale of a mother's battle with a disease that shows no mercy, and her daughter's unending love for her.  A narrative told in two voices, Emily shares the story of her newfound relationship with her dementia-stricken mother while her mother illuminates highlights of her life in Cuba.  Julita's Sands reads like a novel, told with brutal honesty and rib-tickling humor as the author takes us on a thrill ride through tunnels of fear, sadness, joy, and inspiration.  What propels this chronicle of their journey together is each one's indomitable spirit as mother battles a disease that is stripping away layers of her being and daughter struggles to understand and cope while trying to keep her sanity and family intact.  The author paints a powerful picture of her outspoken, uninhibited mother, who uses the dinner table as a forum for her "sexcapades."  With vivid images, Emily illuminates the experience of an ordinary daughter in an all too common situation, who ultimately triumphs, managing through a maze of errors, to uncover a loving bond that no disease or affliction could ever take away.