Overview
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This āwitty, humorous, and heartfeltā (Cinelle Barnes) memoir navigates the tangled branches of Annabelle Tometichās life, from growing up in Florida as the child of a Filipino mother and a deceased white father to her adult life as a med-school-reject-turned-food-critic.
When journalist Annabelle Tometich picks up the phone one June morning, she isnāt expecting a collect call from an inmate at the Lee County Jail. And when she accepts, she certainly isnāt prepared to hear her motherās voice on the other end of the line. However, explaining the situation to her younger siblings afterwards was easy; all she had to say was, āMom shot at some guy. He was messing with her mangoes.ā They immediately understood. Answering the questions of the breaking-news reporterāat the same newspaper where Annabelle worked as a restaurant criticāāproved more difficult. Annabelle decided to go with a variation of the truth: it was complicated.
So beginsĀ The Mango Tree, a poignant and deceptively entertaining memoir of growing up as a mixed-race Filipina ānobodyā in suburban Florida as Annabelle traces the roots of her upbringingāall the while reckoning with her erratic fatherās untimely death in a Fort Myers motel, her fiery motherās bitter yearning for the country she left behind, and her own journey in the pursuit of belonging.
With clear-eyed compassion and piercing honesty,Ā The Mango TreeĀ is a family saga that navigates the tangled branches of Annabelleās life, from her childhood days in an overflowing house flooded by balikbayan boxes, vegetation, and juicy mangoes, to her winding path from medical school hopeful to restaurant critic. It is a love letter to her fellow Filipino Americans, her lost younger self, and the beloved fruit tree at the heart of her family. But above all, it is an ode to Annabelleās hot-blooded, whip-smart mother Josefina, a woman who made a life and a home of her own, and without whom Annabelle would not have herself.
This book title, The Mango Tree (A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony), ISBN: 9780316540322, by Annabelle Tometich, published by Little, Brown and Company (April 2, 2024) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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