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Haitian Immigrant's Memoir Honors Two Fathers

When Edwidge Danticat's parents left Haiti for a better life in the United States, she stayed in Haiti with her uncle Joseph, who eventually became like her "second father."

Joseph, whose remarkable life is at the heart of Danticat's new memoir, Brother, I'm Dying, was a Baptist minister who founded his own church and school in Port-au-Prince. A survivor of throat cancer, he used a mechanical voice box to communicate.

But at 81, he fled Haiti for Miami after a battle between United Nations peacekeepers and chimeres — gang members — put his life in danger. Joseph thinks he will be safe there, but instead his tragic stay in U.S. customs makes headlines around the world.

Danticat's memoir of her family tells the tale of two brothers — Joseph and Danticat's father, Mira — who, separated by distance, become like two fathers for Danticat. Her story weaves in rich details of growing up in Haiti, the sacrifices her family makes as immigrants in the United States and Haiti's growing political instability.

In a startling intersection of events, Danticat loses the two men she loves as she prepares for the birth of her daughter.

Danticat spoke with Jacki Lyden about her loving tribute to her father and her uncle.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.