Silence and Resistance: Memoir of a Girlhood in Haiti

by Monique Clesca

On January 12, 2010, a powerful earthquake shook Haiti, killing and injuring thousands. In a few seconds, the author's identity was torn apart with all the landmarks of her life shattered, sending her into a transformative journey of self-discovery.

Silence and Resistance recounts the author's upbringing under state-sponsored terror, domestic violence, forced silence, the bewilderment of loss, and generational secrets. It is also a haunting narrative of the author's profound journey to uncover and reckon with the buried secrets of her family's past.

Set against the rich backdrop and singular history of Haiti, this poignant tale explores the complexities of love, trauma, and identity through the lens of a father's dark legacy. When she discovered that her father committed an unspeakable act, the revelation shattered Monique's understanding of family. Forced to confront the silence that has long shielded the truth, she must navigate the emotional turmoil of betrayal and the weight of inherited pain. She must, too, reconcile her love for a man who was both a nurturing parent and a perpetrator of violence.

Through vivid and expert storytelling and intimate reflections, Silence and Resistance delves into the psychological scars left by familial secrets and the struggle for personal redemption. It is a powerful exploration of the necessity to confront uncomfortable truths, break the chains of silence, and ultimately find healing with one's own voice and destiny in the embrace of honesty.

Genres: Memoir

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 16, 2025

Reviews

[Charlotte Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read book that unwraps the silencing of girls and women. It boldly holds a warning of how power can corrupt and terrify a country, but more importantly how intergenerational secrets devastate. Clesca doesn’t rush to unwind her herstory, instead she shows us from a child’s view life in Haiti, a country perhaps unknown to most in the US. And not knowing because questions are silenced, is the force that drives Clesca story. Familial secrets falling in upon themselves, layer upon layer, until she must know it all and I, the reader, was compelled not to desert her courageous journey because it could have been, just might be, is, mine. Written in a voice that stays with you, and a style so sensory you feel the rhythms of Haiti, the heat, the smells and food, the music, the strength of people, place, and family.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has an emotional life to share. Many joys and traumas have followed her as she grew up in a Haiti haunted by violence in fear under a dictatorship. A lot went unsaid in her childhood and she only discovered real truths as an adult, well after the fact. The story was engaging, but took a long time to get through.