Saudade

Through the eyes of a captivating heroine, Saudade richly portrays the culture and history of the Azores archipelago. When Ann Parker finds herself without family, disconnected from friends, and shunned by the field of science that she built her life around, she flees to the islands. There, the interwoven stories of her life and the Azores' past unfold. As Ann's challenges come to light, the reader will root for her to remain hopeful, and as she explores her past and possible future, she will remind the reader of the value of the present. Between America and Europe, the Azores archipelago is isolated by thousands of miles of open ocean. In this picturesque but harsh environment, its people developed a special culture born of self-sufficiency, an intimate relationship with nature, and cohesiveness. A crossroads during the Age of Exploration, many minorities found opportunities there. They planted orange orchards and tea plantations, excelled at whaling and fishing, made fine cheeses and wines prized by European royalty, and they thrived until one by one their endeavors were dealt death blows by disease, politics, and cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. The diaspora to America took one in three Azores from their homeland, and by the 1960s there were more Americans of Azorean descent than there were Azoreans.