Women Surrounded by Water by Patricia Coral

Longlisted, 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award, Autobiography. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Patricia Coral was surrounded by women who fought for their needs amid the demands of domesticity and who were dismissed and judged when they rejected any predetermined paths on an island that itself has never been free. Faced with disillusionment―with her husband, with the patriarchal expectations that surrounded her like the Caribbean Sea, and with the limited options available to her―she leaves, only for Hurricane Maria to wrench her heart homeward.