Many Mothers of Dolores Moore

By: Anika Fajardo

Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez

GOLD MEDAL in Best Popular Fiction—International Latino Book Awards

For fans of Rebecca Serle and Elizabeth Acevedo, a magically insightful novel about a woman’s journey to discover her roots and what it means to carry our ancestors with us.

In the span of a year, Dolores Moore has become a thirty-five-year-old orphan. After the funeral of the last living member of her family, Dorrie has never felt more lost and alone. That is, except for a Greek chorus of deceased relatives whose voices follow her around giving unsolicited advice and opinions. And they’re only amplifying Dorrie’s doubts about keeping the deathbed promise she made to return to her birthplace in Colombia.

Fresh off a breakup with her long-term boyfriend, laid off from her job as a cartographer, and facing a daunting inheritance of her mothers’ aging Minneapolis Victorian and two orange tabbies, how can she possibly leave the country now? But when an old flame offers to housesit, the chorus agrees that there’s no room for excuses. Armed with only a scrap of a handdrawn map, Dorrie sets off to find out where—and who—she came from.

Critic reviews

"Narrator Stacy Gonzalez delivers a nuanced and affecting performance of Dolores Moore’s search for identity as the sole surviving member of her family. Raised by her biological aunt and her partner, Dolores feels unmoored after their deaths and journeys to her birthplace in Cali, Colombia, seeking reconnection with her heritage. Throughout her travels, she’s guided by the spectral voices of her female ancestors, whose observations prove hilarious and biting. A dual timeline revealing the fate of her birth parents adds to the novel’s emotional depth. As a cartographer, Dolores reflects on the parallels between her profession’s history and her journey of self-discovery. Gonzalez’s narration proves distinguished through her emotional precision and versatility as she seamlessly shifts among characters, genders, and accents in a compelling performance."

A heartwarming story

I liked the multicultural focus of the story and being swept off to Cali Colombia. It's beautifully written and the narrator keeps you engaged from beginning to end. A novel with depth, humor and a fun take on magical realism!