I remember Michelle Otero as the girl who could do everything. She wrote for the school newspaper, made all-state in band, sang in chorus, acted in drama, was a member of student council, honor society, the prom committee and served as student body president before going on to Harvard and, later, Vermont College.
I hadn’t seen Michelle since the summer that we graduated high school back in 1990, so I was very excited when one of my sisters had a chance encounter with her and snatched up her email address. Over the last few months, I’ve gotten reaquainted with the girl whom I called “best friend” back in the days of parachute pants and Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No campaign. In the process of getting reaquainted, I’ve learned that there was so much about Michelle that I didn’t know.
When Michelle was 32, she journeyed to Oaxaca , Mexico to facilitate a creative writing workshop for women survivors of domestic violence and sexual assult. Since returning, she has written a moving, deeply personal chapbook of essays titled Malinche’s Daughter, put out by Momotombo Press of the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies. Through her book, she shares her personal experience with sexual abuse while giving voice to her students’ stories, touching on a culture of shame that has silenced women for centuries. Read on …


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