"If I Never Went Home" by Ingrid Persaud

Sometimes the only way home is to leave the one you know.

Written in two distinct, alternating voices, If I Never Went Home follows ten years in the turbulent lives of two narrators – thirty-something Bea, an immigrant in Boston, and ten-year-old Tina in Trinidad – as they separately navigate devastating losses, illness and betrayal in their quest to belong.

Moving back and forth from the present to the past through flashbacks, this is the powerful story of how these women unearth family secrets that go beyond anything they could have imagined. Then unexpectedly their lives collide, and they are offered the chance to create a home. But can this gamble survive one last surprise about Tina’s real identity?

About Ingrid Persaud:

Ingrid Persaud is a Trinidadian writer and artist. She came to writing and fine art having first pursued a successful legal career that included teaching and scholarship at the Fletcher School and King’s College London. Her creative work has been widely exhibited and her writing featured in several magazines. She lives in Barbados and London. You can follow her blog Notes From A Small Rock.

Paperback: 304 pages

Publisher: Blue China Press (November 1, 2013)

Price: $20usd

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-099269770

Available on Amazon, Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

“Powerful characters, evocative descriptions, and a tale of two cultures make this lyrical debut novel sing.” ~ ForeWord Review

“Ingrid Persaud writes a fantastic tale of survival and triumph without making the story too sweet or melodramatic.” ~Readers Favorite

“An often colorful novel that refreshingly doesn’t fall back on clichés.” ~ Kirkus Review

“All together, If I Never Went Home is fantastic. The story is fascinating, the characters are real, the emotions are strong, and the writing is beautiful. I simply cannot recommend this enough.” Star Rating: 5 out of 5 -~San Francisco Book Review

5 Stars: “Author Ingrid Persaud is a talented writer, bringing together so many elements into this book that is difficult to put down. Her teenage Bea is equally as gripping as the adult one; the interplay between the two is brilliantly written.” ~ IndieReader

“This new author has fallen straight into her stride with her debut novel

… (the) novel has that magic something that sets it apart.” ~ AI Seal of Excellence for Independent Fiction 

“Persaud’s debut will reward readers who enjoy a sensitive engagement on the perils and pleasures of finding one’s own safe berth.”  ~ Trinidad Guardian

“If I Never Went Home is a true survivor story; it sugar coats nothing. Expect to be shocked, saddened, and horrified by many of the uncomfortable realities of these characters.”  ~ Luxury Reading

“Absorbing, warm and rich” – The Book Bag

***