Book excerpt: In these stories, Carmen Rodriguez explores place, language, and the intricacies of human experience, based on her life as a political exile in Canada, having escaped from Chile after the military coup of 1973. As a storyteller, Rodriguez maps the emotional terrain of dual geographies. Caught between them, her protagonists seek redemption in the simple truths of love and dignity, whether amid the political turmoil of Chile or the torment of estrangement in Canada.