“ When Banana Stains Fade will draw its readers into the compelling drama of over four generations of a Jamaican family, told through the lifeline of its women.” –Rachel Manley, author and winner of 1997 Governor General’s Award for Literature in Canada for Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood When twenty-six-year-old Zarah returns home in 2002, desperate to reconcile with the family she abandoned, their first night together revives memories of events that led to her abandonment and their hopes fizzle. Their reflections take the reader back to the inciting event years before… her thirteenth birthday, the onslaught of Hurricane Gilbert, her mother's shocking miscarriage, and her parents' separation. Determined to warn Zarah against life's treacheries, her grandmother Naomi discloses ugly societal and family secrets, but Zarah distances herself, scoffing at hints of a curse hatched on a banana field decades before. As damaged as the ancestors she once disdained, Zarah finds true friendship at a support group, accepts culpability, and finds her way home to battle for the awakening and reconciliation essential to wholeness. When her grandmother dies, Esther and Bradley travel with Zarah to the spot Naomi requested, and she sprinkles her grandmother's ashes over the ocean, standing on the threshold of her second chance to become "the right person." READERS' FAVORITE BOOK REVIEW 3/28/2024 Reviewed by Doreen Chombu for Readers' Favorite When Banana Stains Fade by Frances-Marie Coke tells the story of the women in a Jamaican family across generations. When Zarah returns home to Kingston, Jamaica, from the United States, she is full of regret over the past three years. She feels she has fallen into the trap of her family curse, which her mother and grandmother Naomi always warned her about. Every woman in her family had either fallen in love with the wrong man or made bad choices that led to severe consequences. Fortunately, Zarah's mother Esther, and her loving father Bradley, who are separated, help her get back on her feet. The book takes readers on Zarah's journey toward healing and also tells the stories of the women who came before her. When Banana Stains Fade explores family dynamics, generational patterns, and the struggles faced by Jamaican women. The story delves into themes of infidelity, family secrets, sexual abuse, and the lasting impact of choices on our lives and families. It also touches on Jamaican culture and history, including societal divisions based on skin complexion and speaking tone. Frances-Marie Coke's rhythmic narration makes the story engaging and easy to read. She has included interactive questions at the end that can be useful for book clubs. Each character is from a different era, and the author perfectly captures the different cultural norms and how these changed over the years. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. Her work is emotionally engaging and a life-changing experience. 10/1/2023 Back Cover Review by Rachel Manley, Author and winner of 1997 Governor General's Award for Literature in Canada for Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood "When Banana Stains Fade will draw its readers into the compelling drama of over four generations of a Jamaican family, told through the lifeline of its women. This saga traces the family fortunes through the journey of a stain - a designation as omen and curse born of fear and ignorance. It travels down a long legacy of self-inflicted pain, rural and urban, from mother to daughter in the grim aftermath of slavery as history's original sin. Her well-drawn characters are victims in these shadows who fight, often blindly, for enlightenment. In a narrative that is hard to put down, Frances-Marie Coke traces both a family's story and the modern history of her island Jamaica, her message ultimately uplifting: 'But her glorious little island prevails.' " Best Women's Literary Fiction Reviews From BookViral: "A fully engaging and evocative 5-star read" In a moving multi-generational family saga, Frances-Marie Coke takes us deep into Jamaican culture and tradition. Her story takes her reader far back to a time of surprising but deep-rooted prejudice, not only between races but within communities and families, tearing them apart and resulting in mistreatment and neglect. The resulting long-standing consequences and beliefs both tarnish and strengthen future lives as they drip down from mother to daughter, where the fear of repeating past mistakes takes on a life of its own, infiltrating natural affection and stilting understanding. Through the generations between Pearlie, a second-born with the 'misfortune' of having been born with a complexion 'too dark', and Zarah, who strains against the bonds of her family, Coke fearlessly narrates the inescapable and omnipresent inequality spread by cultural beliefs and brutality, whilst nevertheless capturing the resilience and sense of identit