There is a saying that most Guyanese use to identify their roots after they have voluntarily immigrated or simply fled to another country: “My navel string is buried in Guyana” meaning my roots are there. It’s a place where true and enduring friendships were formed forever. Guyanese will meet one another decades later and feel as if it was yesterday, reminiscing about their beloved land; lapsing into the language only a fellow Guyanese can understand.
Before immigrating to Australia, Helena believed the sun only rose and set in Guyana. She never imagined another paradise existed on the planet.
Helena’s memoir is laced with nostalgia and, at the same time, it is her sincere intention to portray the true essence of the Guyanese culture. This is not only an account of her first 21 years of life in Guyana, it also contains anecdotes of visits back to her homeland alongside a sprinkling about her new life in Australia.
“What an eye opener! Written by a Guyanese of working-class Portuguese extraction, [this book teaches] so much about the social setting and economics of a much-neglected and rarely-written-about group of Guyanese. Often, these stories are told orally and then lost. Helena has written them with great detail and humour. Highly recommended.” —Eva James
Note: The use of colloquialism is of utmost importance to the local culture—it is the vernacular Guyanese understand. The included glossary at the back is helpful for understanding local phrases and sayings which may not be clear to some.