BOOK REVIEW | GENERATIONAL TRAUMA
Book Review of When Banana Stains Fade by Frances-Marie Coke
A complex, multi generational Jamaican family saga about trauma and healing.
Generational Trauma
This book is one of the best novels I’ve read that highlights the shackles that generational trauma places on families. It filters into the very fabric of a family dynamic.
In ‘When Banana Stains Fade’, we witness how difficult it is to remove the ‘stain’ that sexual assault places on a close knit community that is held together by outdated and dangerous norms.
The story starts when Zarah returns to Jamaica after running off with a man her family disapproved of. She was warned that she too could be cursed like her mother, grandmother and great grandmother had been. She left without saying goodbye and had been living in New York for years. However, even living in another country couldn’t save her from the family curse of abusive relationships. Zarah is raped.
While still in New York, Zarah accepts an invitation to a support group. Previous generations of women in her family kept their trauma to themselves. She may not realize it at first, but Zarah took the first step that could break the cycle of abuse…
