The Memories of Ana CalderÑn

Book excerpt: Now available for the first time in paperback, The Memories of Ana Calderón is the fictional memoir of a talented woman, born in tradition-bound rural Mexico, who comes to the United States and greater opportunity only to find that here, too, society, family, and religion seem to conspire to hold her back. In order to succeed Ana must give up all that she holds dear. She must remake herself into a rootless and obsessed individual. But even after accomplishing this, fate still conspires to wound her. Ana Calderón has will, guts, and intelligence, but her battle against family, church, and the justice system shakes our belief in the ability to forge our own destinies. The Memories of Ana Calderón is a second novel by the writer who The New York Times Book Review hailed as one who "leaves the reader with that special hunger that can be created only by a newly discovered writer. Ms. Limón's prose is self-assured and engrossing."