Breaking Free - A memoir on surviving and healing from trauma

“Intimidation became Papa’s way of asserting his power over us. Mama built up an unrelenting endurance for pain, symbolised by the scar on her forehead. She never shared her suffering with anyone, and never complained. Open discussion about domestic abuse and the infrastructure to help battered women didn’t exist then. Even if it did, Mama wouldn’t have taken it. She wasn’t going to live amongst strangers and leave her home. Up to the time of her death, Mama didn’t have or visit friends. She committed her life to her family.”

Excerpt from Breaking Free, A Journey from Trauma to Empowerment by Angela Laquis-Sobrian

This week’s featured book, Breaking Free on surviving and overcoming trauma and domestic abuse within a family setting, is written by businesswoman, a former teacher and Human Resources professional Angela Laquis-Sobrian.

This powerful, courageous, painfully honest and touching memoir by a woman surviving trauma and abuse within a conservative and closed community in Trinidad could serve as a road map to women throughout Trinidad and Tobago who suffer from domestic abuse.

"If you’ve ever felt you’re living in a box of someone else making if you’ve ever said ‘yes’ when your heart screamed ‘no’, wondered why you can’t seem to break free from self-limiting beliefs, fear and self-doubt, Breaking Free explores ways to make peace with the past... "

Laquis-Sobrian’s memoir, Breaking Free: A Journey from Trauma to Empowerment 2022 (Prospect Press), has been described by her publishers as the story of a “Syrian/Lebanese girl who struggles to find her voice and stand in her truth.”

According to the publishers, “As a Syrian/Lebanese girl, born in Trinidad and Tobago to immigrant parents, Angela Laquis-Sobrian recounts her struggles through a harrowing childhood blighted by the impact of alcoholism and domestic abuse within a patriarchal household. Voiceless and powerless, she attempts to reclaim her self-worth and find her voice and identity as a woman within a culture that imposed a narrow and unforgiving definition of female worth at that time.

“As her journey opens doors to her past, Angela explores what it’s like to grieve, and how to rebuild from the traumatic events that shaped unhealthy beliefs about herself. “If you’ve ever felt you’re living in a box of someone else making if you’ve ever said ‘yes’ when your heart screamed ‘no’, wondered why you can’t seem to break free from self-limiting beliefs, fear and self-doubt, Breaking Free explores ways to make peace with the past, shed facades and the inner critic, and change your narrative towards selfempowerment.”

Of her memoir, Laquis-Sobrian writes: “This is a collection of my experiences recorded over the years. There may be other perspectives and interpretations of events, but these are mine, as I recalled them. I have spent most of my life recording my childhood memoirs and writing and rewriting this book for over ten years. Many stepped forward with their own stories which they needed to tell.

I’m grateful for their wisdom and insights. They helped me learn how our beliefs and truths are born from the stories we choose to tell ourselves. Healing began with my writing and the expression of my experiences. Forgiveness came as a result of the healing.”

Paper Based Bookshop located at The Normandie, St Ann’s, Trinidad, which stocks Laquis-Sobrian’s book reviewed Breaking Free in an Instagram post:

Success stories often soar from suffocating realities – As Angela LaquisSobrian’s memoir proves in unguarded reflections on her rigid Syrian/Lebanese upbringing.

“Born into a household of violence and perfectionism, where emotional gestures of love were frequently repressed, Angela strove to claim her place in her family and broader society. Taking us into collective intimate confidence, the author details the intricate failings of the mother-daughter bond, the stifling expectations placed on Syrian/ Lebanese girls and women in T&T, and the redemptive role of higher education in earning her autonomy. Breaking Free is for anyone who has been trapped by their circumstances, struggled to find a way towards the best version of themselves, and attained it.”

Laquis-Sobrian will be speaking on her book on April 30 at 4.30 pm alongside Wendy Yawching and Ronald Harford in the AV Room, NALIS, during the Bocas Lit Fest (28-30 April 2023).

Paper Based Bookshop hosts a popular Tea and Readings series

Established in 1987, Paper Based Bookshop is one of the oldest bookshops in Trinidad and the only one specialising in Caribbean literature. Cosily tucked into the Shops at The Hotel Normandie, St Ann’s, Paper Based offers the latest titles and classic reads in Caribbean fiction, poetry, non-fiction, art and photography, cookbooks, nature writing and others. Paper Based was established and owned by Joan Dayal, winner of the 2017 Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters. Paper Based hosts a popular Tea and Readings series showcasing the talents of emerging and established writers.