Ever Since We Small

Mohammed masterfully weaves together myth, history, and memory to illuminate the inner lives of Caribbean women whose spirits are tested but never broken by hardship.

What a skilfully-woven set of connected stories, teeming with characters so lively they jump off the page. A beautiful mixture of folklore, history, the intimate pattern of family relationships, and a meditation of what it means for women, over generations, to love, endure, and grow. - author of River Sing Me Home

What is remarkable about Celeste Mohammed's book is how she creates vibrant characters from the thin threads of history. The women, beginning with the young Indian widow Jayanti all choose life over death but there is a price for freedom and it will be paid over many generations. All of Jayanti's descendants over the next hundred years want love and freedom, Salma and Yaz, Anand, Nadia and Abby, all dream of a good life but it is too early for the descendants of the indentured. Mohammed writes in a rich and vivid language where myth and gods cross the oceans all the way to Trinidad where they acquire a Caribbean sensitivity. The Mohammed-Gopaul family suffers yet their spirit endures. - author Living the Dream

Celeste Mohammed's Ever Since We Small is an important and spell-binding odyssey of indenture and Mohammed tells it powerfully and beautifully through her evocative prose.

As a descendent of indentured labourers, Mohammed's heart wrenching stories transported me back to my own roots as the characters leapt from the pages, grabbing me until I became fully immersed in their extraordinary and harrowing lives that will continue to haunt me for years to come. Bravo to Mohammed for her outstanding achievement! - author of Riambel

Ever Since We Small is a book of great candour and compassion written by a storyteller in whose skillful hands the tragic experiences of a Trinidadian family become lessons in love, life and grace. Mohammed weaves a compelling saga in lyrical and luminous prose, replete with the colour and cadence of the Caribbean. I couldn't put it down. - author of How The One-Armed Woman Sweeps Her House