Tropical Depression (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781685131838)

"Cultural anecdotes along with a cast of well-developed characters create a memorable tale examining our differences and the commonalities that unite us all. 5 Stars!" -Gail Ward Olmsted, author of Landscape of a Marriage

Set in the steamy equatorial rain forest of Nicaragua, Tropical Depression tells a poignant, touchingly funny tale of a young couple, Lupe and Ascensi Guzman, who, after being deported from the United States, have returned to their jungle village of Krukrulitos at the foot of the percolating volcano Momotombo. Here they struggle to readjust to life under one roof with Ascensi's overbearing, over-opinionated, up-in-your-business extended family where emotions are always simmering and the roost is ruled by Ascensi's mother, the family's iron-willed matriarch.

Lupe and Ascensi grieve privately, in what little privacy they can find, for the American-born child they were forced to leave behind and Lupe suffers from bouts of depression that Ascensi's relatives see as laziness from having lived in American comfort and make her the target of her mother-in-law's wrath and her sister-in-law's envy.

But a chain of events begins to unwind that causes Lupe to find her voice and strength, forces Ascensi to man up to his family, and offers both the hope of seeing their child again.

Tropical Depression can be read as a stand-alone story or as the final book of a trilogy, following the books Equal and Opposite Reactions and Hail Mary, heart-tugging comedies that can be woven together to tell a continuing tale of human relationships and contemporary social issues.