What Start Bad a Mornin'

Carol Mitchell

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Using interwoven narratives -- present-day United States, Trinidad, and the political tumult of Jamaica in the 1980s -- Carol Mitchell's debut gives voice to the immigrant woman whose veneer of middle-class stability masks the violent trauma of a prior life.

"An engaging and life-affirming read." -- Booklist

"What start bad a mornin', cyan end good a evenin'." -- Jamaican proverb

Amaya Lin has few memories of the years before she turned eighteen. Now in her forties, she has compensated by carefully cultivating a satisfying life as a wife, mother, and business professional. Her husband's law practice is on the brink of major success; her neurodiverse son has grown into an independent adult; and she has come to terms with her aunt's dementia. This sense of order is disrupted, however, when she encounters a stranger who claims to have an impossible connection, launching Amaya on a tumultuous journey into the past.

Using three interwoven narratives spanning the United States, Trinidad, and Jamaica, Carol Mitchell's debut gives voice to an immigrant woman forced to confront her repressed memories of violent trauma. Only then can she discover what she is capable of when it comes to self-preservation and the protection of her family.

"This is a stellar debut." -- Cleyvis Natera, author of Neruda on the Park
"Luminous prose." --Elizabeth Nunez, author of Prospero's Daughter

Book Details

Publisher: Central Avenue
Publish Date: Sep 19th, 2023
Pages: 272
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 9.06in - 5.98in - 1.02in - 1.00lb
EAN: 9781771683548
Categories: • African American & Black - Women• World Literature - Caribbean & West Indies• Family Life - Siblings

About the Author

Mitchell, Carol: - Carol Mitchell describes herself (in jest) as being in self-imposed exile from her Caribbean home. She holds an MFA and teaches writing in Virginia. She is also a fellow of the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Her short stories have appeared in various Caribbean journals and four of them have been long-listed for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She has written 18 children's books. What Start Bad a Mornin' is her debut adult novel.

Praise for this book

"Mitchell's ability to sustain tension while telling a nuanced story that balances family tragedy with a vision of acceptance and support makes this an engaging and life-affirming read." -- Booklist

"What Start Bad a Mornin' is a breathtaking novel. Amaya Lin, loving mother, wife and caretaker of many, has built a life that is on the verge of collapse when a hidden past sweeps in. I was riveted by the revelations that followed, stunned by the conclusion. Carol Mitchell is a writer of immense talent and this is a stellar debut." -- Cleyvis Natera, author of Neruda on the Park

"Illustrates the far-reaching power--and damage--of forgetting." -- Foreword Reviews

"With luminous prose, Carol Mitchell tells the story of every Caribbean immigrant, indeed any immigrant, who has had to remake a life they have known in their homeland for the uncertainties in the US where race is often the determinant for success. What Start Bad a Mornin' leaves the reader with empathy for the passions that drive the ambitions of the vividly-drawn characters, and, at the same time, it is a cautionary tale about the consequences of repressing childhood trauma. A compelling debut novel." -- Elizabeth Nunez, author of Prospero's Daughter and Now Lila Knows

"This novel about buried and repressed memories, particularly of trauma, opens with Amaya Lin, a successful Caribbean immigrant woman settled in Northern Virginia, working with her husband in a law firm. When a woman claiming to be Amaya's sister approaches her in a parking lot, Amaya begins to question what she thought she knew about her family and her past, throwing her (and us, the readers) back in time to Amaya's journey from Jamaica to Trinidad and, later, to Washington, DC. Mitchell creates powerful supporting characters in Amaya's family members and friends, and captures the emotional realities of those, like Amaya, who leave the familiar and seek to make new homes for themselves. The spirited life that Amaya has built is well captured by the humanity and empathy of the members of her circle, and makes her reluctance to explore her past a relatable internal conflict. Mitchell's ability to sustain tension while telling a nuanced story that balances family tragedy with a vision of acceptance and support makes this an engaging and life-affirming read."--Shoba Viswanathan "Booklist" (8/29/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"What Start a Bad Mornin' is a breathtaking novel. Amaya Lin, loving mother, wife and caretaker of many, has built a life that is on the verge of collapse when a hidden past sweeps in. I was riveted by the revelations that followed, stunned by the conclusion. Carol Mitchell is a writer of immense talent and this is a stellar debut."--Author of Neruda on the Park "Cleyvis Natera" (2/13/2023 12:00:00 AM)

Carol Mitchell's novel What Start Bad a Mornin' moves between the United States and Caribbean islands in search of buried memories.

Amaya has vague memories of her life in Jamaica before she moved to Trinidad and met her husband, Brian. Further burying her past, she chose to raise her son, Taiwo, in the United States. There, Amaya forms friendships and takes care of her son and her aging Aunt Marjorie while assisting at Brian's law firm. Scenery and people help her to settle
into this life; there are also reminders of her past, always just out of reach. However, after an encounter with a woman who claims to be her sister and an onslaught of repressed memories, Amaya's life is upended.

After a slow start, the novel unfolds via precise details from Amaya's life. With so much of her past forgotten, these details ground her. She observes a multitude of gardens; the shelter she and Taiwo serve food at; and the neighborhoods they traverse. These intricate details hold the story together as Amaya debates who to share her recalled memories with; information is also shared about her friends and herself, so that both the world and those who inhabit it are deep.

The dialogue is peppered with Jamaican patois; Amaya's background is thus centered even when she can't remember it. This language is spoken at home and around Aunt Marjorie, whose dementia leaves her confused in Virginia, so far from Jamaica. Still, Marjorie mistakes others for people Amaya can't recall, leading her toward what she's forgotten. Indeed, colloquialisms fill in the gaps that Amaya cannot.

The novel What Start Bad a Mornin' illustrates the far-reaching power--and damage--of forgetting.--Maddisyn House "Foreword Reviews" (9/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)

With luminous prose, Carol Mitchell tells the story of every Caribbean immigrant, indeed any immigrant, who has had to remake a life they have known in their homeland for the uncertainties in the US where race is often the determinant for success. What Start Bad a Mornin' leaves the reader with empathy for the passions that drive the ambitions of the vividly-drawn characters, and, at the same time, it is a cautionary tale about the consequences of repressing childhood trauma. A compelling debut novel. --Elizabeth Nunez "Author of Prospero's Daughter and Now Lila Knows" (1/11/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"What Start Bad A Mornin' is a tense, gripping tale of a woman's unwilling spiral into her own locked past. As her protective layers of amnesia are inexorably stripped away, the pillars of her life tilt, crack and crumble, forcing her to question everything she believes about herself as she scavenges for the truth: What is real? What is mirage? Amaya's journey of self-discovery takes her thousands of miles, real and newly recollected, from her ordered existence in Virginia, USA to the Caribbean island of Trinidad where she lived as a student and met the man who would become her husband, and finally to Jamaica, her birthplace, where the threads of a turbulent political and personal history intersect and converge in a tapestry as violent as it is revelatory."--Author "Charmaine Rousseau" (1/16/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"What Start Bad a Mornin' grapples with themes ranging from quiet domestic desperation to the perils of the immigrant experience, from latent racism to the literal violence of politics. The character dynamics are complex and interesting; the entanglements sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes heartwarming, sometimes frustrating, sometimes cosy, all the beats of genuine human interaction. A compelling, meditative, and well-paced journey."--Writer "Joanne C. Hillhouse" (1/30/2023 12:00:00 AM)

What Start Bad a Mornin' is an expertly-crafted story weaving past and present into an intricate fabric with a surprising ending. Carol Mitchell takes you on a wild journey through the mind of Amaya, as she peels back layer after layer, revealing suspenseful glimpses into a past she would much rather forget.
--Author "Jewel Amethyst" (1/16/2023 12:00:00 AM)

A radiant and affecting novel that is at once a gripping story of loss and forgiveness, as well as a complex meditation on memory. Mitchell spins a fascinating migration tale replete with mystery, suspense, and an ending that will leave you stunned. --Author of Book of the Little Axe "Lauren Francis-Sharma" (6/26/2023 12:00:00 AM)

At first glance, Amaya Lin is a living American success story. A legal immigrant from Jamaican, she successfully manages her husband's law firm in Northern Virginia. Their young adult son is steadily making his way in the world. Her aunt's dementia is under control for now. the law firm is on the verge of a major deal with a Swedish firm that will make them financially secure.

When a disheveled woman comes up to Amaya in a parking lot and announces that they are sisters, Amaya suddenly finds herself confronting a past she has managed to forget- most of it, at any rate. Like peeling layers of an onion, Amaya begins to discover what she has suppressed all these years.

The result is a story that has well-constructed characters, several unexpected twists, and keeps readers attention. The Jamaican patois does not cause problems for readers unfamiliar with it.--Kristina Marie Darling "Midwest Book Review" (11/18/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"One sentence spoken by a stranger becomes the thread that unlocks decades-old memories for Amaya, who has been living as if her past never existed. Carol Mitchell's debut adult novel is brilliant storytelling that deftly weaves a tale of cross-cultural Caribbean life, trauma and survival. I couldn't put it down."--Author of Ordained for This and In Plain Sight "Nerissa Golden" (1/16/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"With What Start Bad a Mornin', Carol Mitchell casts light on immigration's most unsettling predicament: the tension between the life you leave and the one you create. In vibrant prose, she demonstrates how an unacknowledged past will never die, as well as the power - and cost - that comes in surviving it."--Courtney Angela Brkic "Author and Memoirist" (1/9/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"In carefully measured spoons, Carol reveals the details of Amaya's life, keeping our interest piqued, holding our attention until the very surprising ending. Richly characterized, mystery and intrigue, buried memories and glaring revelations, this story of family, displacement, loss, and immigration keeps you eager to get to the next page."--Opal Palmer Adisa "Author, The Storyteller's Return" (1/23/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"Carol Mitchell's novel, What Start Bad a Mornin', is sublime and intensely compassionate. This debut is uncompromisingly Caribbean; yet, it sings of the America into whose arms immigrants collapse with the intention of rising above the selves they once were. Mitchell's complex characters are enmeshed in an intricate web of classism, racism, colorism, and nationalism--sometimes under the same roof. The intangible and unnamable elements of one's abandoned home follow these hopeful immigrants wherever the future finds them. This is a story of grief as characters sow seeds and must forsake the harvest. This is also a story of triumph. Each sentence is carefully crafted, polished, and captivating. What Start Bad a Mornin' is glorious and downright unforgettable. Mitchell's craftsmanship is astounding. This is a book you'll want to read more than once."
--Author of Mouths Don't Speak "Katia D. Ulysse" (2/6/2023 12:00:00 AM)