Leela Navarro

Leela Navarro

Author of The Molasses Cure · a memoir in fragments
Touch the pieces. They warm up when you look at them. Move them if you want. Memory doesn't mind.
a blessing, 1984
1984

Trauma is a bad archivist. It kept the wrong things in perfect condition and lost whole years.

August 1984
in the matter of
in front of the altar
the living room

I'm changing the names to protect her. She changed them first.

december
the tiny musician

He was sweet to me. That's the whole con.

Los Angeles, 1988
Ohm, the sound of the universe
1987
in her own hand

The one unforgivable thing was ruining the photo.

the family portrait
picture day
dressed for the picture
preschool, already posing
the happiest place on earth
Charlotte's Christmas, 1992 · click to read
a very good bear
the diary
January 13
Life, a definition

There is no diet for bone.

the headshot years
the bleach years
the yearbook
the chihuahuas

You just loved me longer.

what the house kept
the babies

I still sleep in a fighting position. But now I'm being held.

third time
waiting for him

Hugging him is like touching grass.

a living room kid lives here