Who was the girl that Dwayne knew as his wife Maya, mother of his two children and love of his life? Was she Sunny, the 12 year old daughter from a large Guyanese family, who was impressed with Barbie dolls? Was she 15 year old Neena Das, the dead girl she replaced when she was smuggled into America? Was she Anita Jagroop, the girl in the passport, used when she entered America illegally?
Sunny's family had a hard life, but through a twist of fate they might begin to prosper and eventually come to America. Michael, a friend of Sunny's father Raj, suffered a bad break. He was a "backtracker" who had set up a deal to send Neena from Guyana to her illegal parents in America on a stolen passport. Tickets were purchased and her mother Lila had already paid most of the fees, when two weeks before the flight, Neena died. Michael showed Sunny's father Neena's picture, and Raj noticed the resemblance Sunny had to Neena right away-if he could pass off his daughter as the dead girl, he could have a foothold into America. Michael happily agreed with the plan-all Sunny had to do was get on the plane, tell the officials she was Anita and join the Das family in Miami. Lila was pregnant with another child and could use the help, and Sunny would achieve a free American education while navigating a path to legality. Sounds like a win-win.
When Sunny got to America and joined her new family as Neena, the reality of her situation proved to be a nightmare. Lila immediately put her to work doing laundry, cleaning houses, and working on the farm owned by Lila's boss. Her husband Preema was a wife beater who soon started looking at Neena as his property. She spent several years as a virtual slave, attending school only because one of Lila's clients, a school teacher, would report her if she didn't enroll Neena. And it got worse. So how did Sunny become Maya Angelique, foster child, dental hygienist, wife and mother? And what is she going to tell Dwayne about the letter she received from her sister in Guyana, warning her of the family gene that she might be carrying when her husband believes that she doesn't have a family.
This is a harrowing story of the lengths people go to come to America to achieve their dreams. We follow Sunny, a girl thrust into an untenable situation against her will, with no one to help her and nowhere to turn. We know that she has succeeded, against all odds, to make a life for herself in America, but we also know that her husband has no idea of the trials that she suffered. Will the truth blow up their marriage or can they survive the harsh reality that was Sunny's past? An amazing read.
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
March 4, 2025
Reserve a physical copy - Coming soon
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