Before we were Free

Before we were Free is a Pura Belpre Award winning historical fiction novel written by Julia Alvarez in 2002. Prior to reading this book, I was not extremely interested in it as I am notoriously not a huge fans of reading books about history specifically if the novel centers around an aspect of history that I have little knowledge about. However, Julia Alvarez writes with such a smooth sense that I was instantly engaged in the novel from the very beginning. The story centers around issues regarding freedom from the dictator of the Dominican Republic during the 1960's and the story is told from Anita's point of view, who is a 12 year old struggling to understand the issues with freedom her country is undergoing while also trying to be free herself as a young girl

Reading this story informed me of a part of history that has forever been absent to me. Growing up as an American student, the history of the struggles in the Dominican Republic were never brought to my attention and after reading the author's note at the end of the text I came to realize the importance of untold stories.  Julia Alvarez describes through her author's note that she grew up during this time in the Dominican Republic and was directly affected by it as well.  Through reading the author's note, the reader is able to feel the emotion that Alvarez put into the text and the story in turn begins to take on a whole new meaning.   Although this text is fictional in theory, the historical aspects in turn are completely accurate.  Through telling the story of how how a country and family specifically overcame such political scrutiny to in turn free themselves by coming to a new land, Alvarez is able to tell her story to readers from the viewpoint of those who stayed behind in order to keep alive an important part of history in regards to the liberation of the Dominican Republic.