My Name is Julia: A Coming of Age Story

My name is Julia
I was born poor.
I was born determined.
I was born a fighter.
I determined at twelve years to fight to escape being poor.
I thought my sister would help me fight.
I thought my mother would champion my fight.
The fight wasn't just for me but for us. My mother. My sister. Myself.
My father migrated from our island and left us to fight alone.
Well left me to fight alone.
My mother's fight was different. She fought to meet only present needs. And she enlisted my sister in a nefarious scheme for survival.
My mother called me a dreamer and laughed at my dreams.
It hurt.
But I used that hurt to propel me to keep fighting for my mother, for my sister, for me.
For our survival.

My Name is Julia is a story about Julia's journey from poverty to resilience, navigating abuse, family tragedy, abandonment, and self-discovery in a profound coming-of-age story of survival and forgiveness set on the island of Dominica.