The Cleansing

The Cleansing, the first of two books, mirrors the phenomenon of colonialism via the life of protagonist Unis MonteClaire. The poems written in 'bajan'(dialect spoken in Barbados), diary excerpts and other writings, capture the author's struggle to reconnect to her authentic self. Traumatized repeatedly, she moves between two existences created to survive: one in light, the other in shadow. To tell the story she must disconnect from the pain while simultaneously reliving tragedies of the past. In the melee following abusive childhood years, many of the true family stories were lost. Intermingled with personal experience in some areas the author chooses to create stories to fill gaps lost to trauma. The Cleansing depicts the strength, courage, and perseverance of a black, West Indian, woman-centered family line, raising their children single-handedly while facing the dire consequences of the fractured black social family structure, which is the archaic legacy of colonialism.