Dirty Laundry on a Line of Sorrow

Life isn't fair, nor is it easy. However, for many women, it is even more difficult and unfair. This is a novel based on the life of a real woman and reveals the daily challenges of those who are poor. Manuela lives in a social housing neighborhood on the island of São Miguel, trying to survive atrocious domestic violence, poverty, and relationship difficulties with her teenage children. Despite her efforts and the love she feels for her children, Manuela's days are filled with despair, punctuated by crises, aggression, and oppression. Her life is a series of tragedies that culminate in emotional breakdown. How much pain and loss can a woman endure?

Although this is a work of fiction, it explores themes that are all too prevalent in the Azores: early school leaving and subsequent illiteracy; children who become pregnant and have their lives destroyed; drug trafficking and addiction to alcohol and psychoactive substances; crime and domestic violence; poverty, social exclusion, and precarious survival. May reading this novel be an opportunity for reflection and discussion on these issues.