July 2022

Mother Mother at Antigua Books

I’m thrilled to see my novel Mother Mother on the shelf at Antigua Books in Antigua, Guatemala.

Here’s the post from the FB page of Antigua Books:

We were honored to have Jessica O’Dwyer visit Antigua Books last week, and she brought a couple copies of her novel “Mother Mother.” Jessica adopted two children from Guatemala and this is a work of fiction that was inspired by a whole lot of real life. Published in 2020, it follows her “Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir” by a decade, which gave another view of these life-changing events. Available now!

“Jessica O’Dwyer gives us a story we’ve never heard before – one that looks with compassion and authenticity and grip-your-chair dramatic tension at the subjects of marriage, adoption, and most of all, motherhood… You will not put this book down until you’ve finished, and once you have, you will not forget it.” –Joyce Maynard, author/writing retreat leader/longtime Atitlan local

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Trip to Chichicastenango

We spent a few days in Chichicastenango in the department of El Quiche, northwest of Guatemala City in the highlands, elevation 6,447 feet. “Chichi” is 98% indigenous Maya K’iche, with 21% of the population speaking only K’iche and 71% bilingual K’iche and Spanish.

Chichi is known for its market day, which attracts sellers and buyers from across the region. It’s also known for the beautiful Santo Tomas cathedral, where Mayan ceremonies are welcomed along with Catholic worship. Santo Tomas is one of many Catholic churches in Guatemala where the faithful crawl on their knees to the altar, hands uplifted and praying, for reasons known to them and their God. To witness this practice is, for me, very moving, so much so that I incorporated it into one of the final scenes of my novel, Mother Mother.

We stayed in the lovely Hotel Santo Tomas, home to macaws and parrots who squawk “Hola!” and a wonderful collection of masks and carvings. When Olivia was almost two and her adoption was finally finished, Tim and I rented a car and set off as a new family to explore Totonicapan, Quetzaltenango, Panajachel and Chichi. Since that first visit, Chichi has captured our hearts.

Traditional dress or “traje”–embroidered blouse (huipile) and woven skirt (corte) of Chichicastenango

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At the restaurant Agua

Here’s a photo of family and friends at Agua Restaurant in Antigua Guatemala. With us in the center is Carlos Haas, university professor in Munich Germany, who grew up in Germany and is adopted from Guatemala. I’m grateful to Carlos or connecting with us as we overlap trips in Guatemala–and to all adult adoptees in our community who are role models and friends to us and our children. Thank you!

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My essay The Jump

It’s been a while since I’ve published a personal essay but recently felt compelled to tell this true story. Mutha Magazine published it, for which I am grateful because I love their mission and writing.

The title is The Jump and you can read it here. Thank you!

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