(Photos courtesy of comadre Monica Peña, Austin, Texas.)
So many of you have told us your special comadre stories (some have more than one to share) and we felt that all of you should have the opportunity to read about them. This is your chance to share…
Is there a comadre in your life that you’d like to share a story about? Perhaps a sister, a mother, an aunt or grandmother, a work colleague, a mentor, or a friend? We’d love to hear about it and share it on our Count On Me book blog.
To participate in this special project, all we ask is that you have purchased at least one copy of our book…hopefully more than one! If you wish to purchase a copy(ies) of the English or Spanish version, you may place your order on our website.
You can describe your comadre, describe your sisterhood/friendship with your comadre, or talk about a meaningful experience you had. There are several ways you can share your story with us! We will advise you, if your story is selected and posted. We might need to edit it, if it is longer than the specified amount. It is our intention to publish as many of the stories as possible.
- 300-500 word essay
- Photograph with a 100-200 word blurb
- 30- to 60- second video (you can even use your phone camera to record)
Send us your story, photo/comment, or video to countonmebook@gmail.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
A few quotes about what it means to be a comadre from our book “Count On Me” to help inspire ideas for your own story…
We’d all grown up in Latin America and had more in common with each other than with our norteamericano neighbors. We understood the concept of comadrazgo—the principle that all mothers of a community share responsibility for raising everyone’s children—instilled by our mothers’ relationships with their comadres.
—Esmeralda Santiago
Yet she can be unpredictable when it comes to follow-through, often suggesting ideas to me for advancing myself and rarely checking to find out if I’d taken her advice. Such things were on me, she likely reasoned, and out of her hands once the advice was given. Comadrazgo fosters mutual benefit, not dependency.
— Lorraine Lopez
Leila used the word comadre with me, but she also shared it with women friends of other backgrounds, presenting it as a rich treasure offered up by Latino culture, a gift for those who resonate with it throughout global tribes. […] We were both daughters of immigrants, and we both turned to the novel as a container for mapping our inheritance, so we could see it, hold it, grapple with it, trace its contours on the page.
—Carolina De Robertis
All Latinas recognize the most common definition of the term comadre—the one related to friendship and camaraderie. Comadres are the women they know they can count on, lean on, and ask for advice or for help when needed. Comadres acquire a particular level of importance for Latinas living in an Anglo world—in addition to serving as a source of comfort, understanding, and inspiration, these women also serve as direct links to their cultural and family heritage.
—Nora Comstock