How Many Miles to Yesterday?: A Memoir

by Jennifer Walcott

One woman's story of resilience overcoming the challenges of the Caribbean immigrant experience from Jamaica to England to Canada.

Jennifer Walcott moved around to various relatives as a child. By the time she was nine years old, she had lived in seven different houses with four different sets of relatives. This movement haunted her as they were motivated by family secrets and the choices women in her family had to make.

This short memoir covers family stories from the 1800's to the 1960's and Jennifer's life in Jamaica, England and Canada up to her first year at university.

109 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2023

Reviews

[Ellen Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story echoes with what went before the author's birth, that injected shame into her family. In brilliantly painted characters and vignettes, the author illustrates how this impacted a young girl's growing up years, her view of herself and her place in the world. The story reveals the child's perspective on things, blended with her adult viewpoint, as we are taken through dislocation and readjustment from Jamaica to England to Canada. The memoir is punctuated by the most beautiful and evocative poetry I have ever read, poetry that takes you right into the heart and soul of the time and place.
An important voice and highly recommended!

[Janet Somerville · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous hybrid memoir of poetry and vibrant prose that faces emotional truths head on.

[Elle Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars. Jennifer Walcott’s writing is beautifully poetic and highly readable, with rich sensory phrases and evocative descriptions that bring the Jamaican landscape to life. Fierce love and challenging familial dynamics are at the forefront, explored with Walcott’s sharp wit and tender appreciation for her grandmother, mother, aunts and sisters. My favourite passages are those with a very young Jennifer quietly observing and trying to make sense of the women in her family, followed by her reflection now about what was going on beneath the surface. The poems interspersed throughout the text add a rich layer and showcase Walcott’s tremendous gift as a writer.