Word Up celebrates the English translation of Dedé Mirabal’s memoir with Minou Tavárez Mirabal, and translators Ana E. (Nani) Martínez and Heather Hennes. Alive in Their Garden: The True Story of the Mirabal Sisters and Their Fight for Freedom is a memoir on the lives and legacy of the iconic Mirabal sisters, as told in an intimate memoir by the sister who survived. This edition features the memoir’s original introduction by Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies, a chronology by historian Bernardo Vega, and an afterword by Minerva’s daughter Minou Tavárez Mirabal, and a preface that provides historical context for readers unfamiliar with the Mirabal sisters and the Trujillo regime by Heather Hennes.

“This is the book I wish I’d had on hand as I was writing In the Time of the Butterflies.”–From the introduction by Julia Alvarez

This event is a $5 suggested donation ticket with 100 max attendees. Please register in advance. 

In compliance with Word Up Community Safety guidelines, all attendees are encouraged to stay masked at all times.

Recirculation, a project of Word Up Community Bookshop, is located at 876 Riverside Drive (near 160th St.) in Washington Heights, NYC. You can take the 1 train to 157th St., A/C train to 163rd St., and the M4 and M5 to Broadway and 159/160th.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1960, the three sisters Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa Mirabal, code-named “Las Mariposas” (The Butterflies) by a Dominican underground resistance movement, were assassinated by order of dictator Rafael Trujillo. Alive in Their Garden is the memoir of Ded Mirabal, their surviving sister, who for decades kept her sisters alive in Dominican memory. This is the first English translation of Dede’s story, an intimate account of a tragedy and the international outcry that, for many, heralded the fall of the Trujillo dictatorship. In her memoir, Ded recollects her sisters’ lives and personalities, the optimistic beginning of the 14th of June Revolutionary Movement, and the tragic day of her sisters’ murders. She details the emotionally charged court proceedings that followed and the impact these events had not only on the Mariposas’ children and family but on the world. Along her journey, Ded grapples with the question, “Why did they not kill you too?” And as time goes on, she comes to recognize her own important role: raising her sisters’ children alongside her own and working to preserve the memory of a generation.

This edition features the memoir’s original introduction by Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies, a chronology by historian Bernardo Vega, and an afterword by Minerva’s daughter Minou Tavarez Mirabal. Adding a preface and explanatory notes that orient readers to the Trujillato in the Dominican Republic, translators and editors Ana Martínez and Heather Hennes bring a moving true story and valuable piece of history to new readers.