A Woman of Endurance: A Novel

Written by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Narrated by Tracey Leigh

Combining the haunting power of Toni Morrison’s Beloved with the evocative atmosphere of Phillippa Gregory’s A Respectable Trade, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s groundbreaking novel illuminates a little discussed aspect of history—the Puerto Rican Atlantic Slave Trade—witnessed through the experiences of Pola, an African captive used as a breeder to bear more slaves.

A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity. 

Readers are invited to join Pola in her journey to healing. From the sadistic barbarity of her first experiences, she moves on to receive compassion and support from a revitalizing new community. Along the way, she learns to recognize and embrace the many faces of love—a mother’s love, a daughter’s love, a sister’s love, a love of community, and the self-love that she must recover before she can offer herself to another. It is ultimately, a novel of the triumph of the human spirit even under the most brutal of conditions. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9780063062252

Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa was born in Puerto Rico. As a child she was sent to live with her grandparents in the South Bronx, where she was introduced to the culture of rural Puerto Rico, including the storytelling skills that came naturally to the women, especially the older women, in her family. Much of her work is based on her experiences during this time. Llanos-Figueroa taught creative writing, language and literature in the New York City school system before becoming a young-adult librarian and writer. Her first novel, Daughters of the Stone, was a Finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, and her short stories have been published in anthologies and literary magazines such as Breaking Ground: Anthology of Puerto Rican Women Writers in New York 1980-2012, Growing Up Girl, Afro-Hispanic Review, Pleaides, Latino Book Review, Label Me Latina/o and Kweli Journal. She lives in New York City.

Reviews for A Woman of Endurance

[Ebeny Henderson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the writing and the journey this book takes you on

[Kenedi McDonald · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it. Incredibly moving and spiritual. A beautiful reminder of the power and sacredness of love.

[Geri Lorde · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My favorite ? part was the ending. Pola was able to find love after surviving such a horrific life.
She was mentored by women, was able to mother a child and was able to be loved and not used as child bearer.

[Stacy Vrooman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a heartbreaking yet beautiful story! I highly recommend it.

[Patt Mihailoff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

On a forum I once frequented a question was asked. “If slavery is over why are people of color still so angry?” Before I was able to answer a Nonperson of color responded with only pictures, stemming from slavery times up until right now. There was no response from the questioner.

I have listened to countless books on slavery and the Holocaust and still my mind cannot get around how people can so easily torture or be a part of torture of another human being.
A woman of endurance tells the tale I have read about so many times and wondered where does this hate come from, how can people even watch such torturous behavior and be glad in it?

Pola is a slave, an unattractive woman whose very spirit was almost beat and raped countless times out of her. She was a woman so damaged that not even kindness at its best could penetrate the strong walls or self-protection she surrounded herself with. She manages to survive so much including the rants, ravings and beating of Laticia the crazed Loca who hates Pola. Also is the depraved Romero who delights in torture but has his own slight comeuppance.

Cemone a man who sees through all of Pola’s internal and external scars and sees in her the strength of a woman he loved and lost. He waits YEARS for Pola to trust him, almost losing his own life so that her secret would not be detected. Still she could not allow herself to trust him.

The only problems I had with this novel was that there were two slaves who escaped and it took almost no time for the overseers to find and torture them to death in a most cruel way, as the patron lamented. “Have I not always treated you well, how can you run away? Look what you have forced me to do.” Seriously? Yet the same overseers were unable to find or didn’t care when Laticia Loca ran off in a crazed rant.

Also, the only thing I can surmise the author wanted to display by putting the young feral wild child named Chachita into Pola’s life only to have her… Well I don’t want to spoil it for other readers.

There were times when I had to stop listening to this book, to gather my senses, calm my anger and regroup my understanding.

This novel takes place in Puerto Rico, long before it became a commonwealth of the United States. It showed that slavery was an accepted practice everywhere all the time, as well as two slave women who loved each other but were able to keep their union secret all their lives, another thing that has been since the beginning of time until now.

This is a hard but excellent read as the author researched hard and long to depict atrocities that we know were probably a hundred times worse.

[Mary Powell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tough read. There are parts that while not graphic, the writing infers the abuse. It is one instance after another. And while this reflects a Puerto Rican slave, the abuse is familiar to me from other nonfiction and historical fiction books. The synopsis says it all.

I found myself conflicted with the ending, and days later I'm still wondering how the ending would be if this were a history book.

Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request to read and review A Woman of Endurance.

[Sharon Traylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I have read this year. This is a must read!!!!

[Nadine Deveraux · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely wonderful. It will hold you till the end. Great historical perspective and portraying the indomitable strength of the human spirit.

[Jamise Harper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the storytelling and it started off strong. However, halfway into the book the story began to drag and became slightly boring with not much going on.

[janarose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pola, a slave, is used for breeding. As soon as she give birth, her child is taken into the unknown. No longer able to endure, she tries to flee, but is caught and beaten near death. Sold, she finds herself in a different plantation, where she is given the opportunity to work with the house slaves rather than in the cane fields.This novel was heartbreaking. Pola was a very dynamic character, who I found myself cheering for throughout the story. This author is an excellent writer, her words painted a picture in my mind. I found myself unable to put the book down, needing to know what happened with Pola. Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a tough read - as one might expect of a novel centered on an enslaved woman's experience in Puerto Rico - and yet I found it to also be a quick, compelling book. Pola is indeed a woman of endurance: she endures tragedy, brutality, and ultimately, love. An excellent, if difficult, book to read.

[booklover217 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Grief is relentless. It will eat your insides out and leave a carcass that can help no one, not even yourself. Been acquainted with it more than once, and this I know: it will seduce you, pull you into darkness, and it will feed on your soul until there is nothing left."I am writing this review with literal tears in my eyes because I am so emotional. No one ever tells us about the gifts and talents of our ancestors, or about the things that brought them joy, or the power and healing of food and medicinal practices, or of the depths of their spirituality and the strength of their community. More importantly no one ever tells us that they survived because they had each other and that the bond of trust and endurance was their foundation.A Woman of Endurance also spoke to me about the power of all-consuming grief and its ability to steal the joy of life. Through Pola I have felt the grief of what was stolen from the womb, have felt the abuse and loss of one's body, have experienced the loss of hope and faith and have longed for the memories of original homes.But Pola's journey has taught me that being open to the healing process is what returns autonomy and brings possibilities for restoration. Grief aims to hold to you hostage and steal the joy that is found all around you. Community is essential for survival and our ancestors survived because they carried each other's burdens. They stayed tethered to their homelands through their spiritual practices and ancestral giftings and wisdoms. They remained open to each other and created spaces where joy was in abundance, joy was the glue that held everything together and joy was what fueled their endurance. Pola's story also taught me that the path of faith is never straight. There are times when we will get lost but we are never too far from our ancestors. The inner warrior spirit is what kept Pola physically alive but it was the process of opening her heart to her newfound family that ultimately allowed her to usher in a new future & mend the broken parts of her heart. Thanks to @amistadbooks @bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy.