New Story at Strange Horizons
As mentioned previously, I recently sold a story to Strange Horizons. Up In the Hills, She Dreams of Her Daughter Deep In the Ground is now available to read online, and part of their Childbearing Issue. I would be honored if you read it. I mentioned it was inspired in part by The Juniper Tree, but the other inspiration for the story was the decades-long sterilization campaign of poor women of color in Puerto Rico, which is called simply “la operación”. By the time it ended in the 70s, up to 30% of women on the island had been sterilized. This U.S.-led and -funded eugenics program was supposed to solve the perceived overpopulation of the island. It would also prepare women on the island to become part of the workforce at a time that Puerto Rico was becoming attractive as a place for U.S. companies to set up shop. This history is talked around (as you might guess from its understated moniker) if it’s taught at all. This was one of the reasons I wanted to write this one.
Another reason is simply that Puerto Rico was not the only place this type of campaign happened, and has continued to happen.
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