My Mother Cursed My Name

A Novel

By: Anamely Salgado Reyes

Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi, Marisa Blake, Karla Serrato

Three generations of fiercely strong and stubborn Mexican American women face grief head-on as they attempt to shed generational trauma and discover the true meaning of home in this “magical, haunting, and joyful” (Carolyn Huynh, author of The Fortunes of Jaded Women) novel that feels like “a grown-up Encanto with a Gilmore Girls twist” (Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author).

For generations, the Olivares women have sought to control their daughters’ destinies, starting with their names. In life, Olvido constantly clashed with her carefree daughter. Then teenage Angustias discovered she was pregnant and left her mother’s home in search of her own. Ten years later, Felicitas finally meets her estranged grandmother and is terribly disappointed when Olvido is nothing like a grandmother should be. She is strict, cold, and…dead.

Now, Olvido is convinced the only way her spirit will cross over is if she resolves her unfinished business—to make sure Angustias is in a better place regarding family, job, husband, and God—and Felicitas is the only person who can see or hear her. Heartbroken about her mother’s passing and desperate to put Olvido’s tiny Texas home in her rearview mirror as quickly as possible, Angustias doesn’t understand why suddenly everyone in town seems to be conspiring to set her up with every eligible bachelor in town, offer her jobs, and invite her and Felicitas to church every Sunday.

As Olvido attempts to puppeteer her granddaughter to “fix” Angustias’s life from beyond the grave, Angustias tries desperately to find a better place for Felicitas, and Felicitas struggles to keep her ability to see the dead a secret from Angustias, all three Olivares girls are forced to learn how to actually listen to one another. “Incredibly written by Salgado Reyes, this is a spell-binding debut brimming with magic, secrets, and love that will stay with you long after the last page” (María Alejandra Barrios Vélez, author of The Waves Take You Home).

Critic reviews

"Yareli Arizmendi portrays Olvido as she ages from domineering mother to caring grandmother with a deep understanding of complicated family dynamics. Marisa Blake’s touching portrayal of Angustias covers both a grieving daughter who is out of time and a mother who is intent on not repeating generational mistakes. Karla Serrato is perfection as angsty Felicitas, who grows from a rebellious child to a loving daughter and granddaughter. This is one family reunion you can’t miss!"

Beautiful rich characters

Truly beautiful, layered characters. I struggled with finishing this. The story started strong and the felt stagnant for quite some time.

Gift

My daughter got me this as a gift and it’s so good listen tooo it’s worth it

Heartwarming Story

I love the connection of all three female characters, Grandma, Mother and Daughter. It's a beautiful story of understanding and accepting each other as we are. It definitely touched my heart.

The family dynamic between 3 generations of women/females.

A beautifully told story of 3 generations of women and their struggles to show their love.

Intergenerational Healing

The story had me immediately. Great characters and loved the POV changes. I also loved the Mexican American Texas culture and history. I would say it would make a great movie but the story cannot be contained in 2 hours. A Netflix series!