My short story RESILIENT is @ForeshadowYA 's NEW VOICE

Awesome #MondayMotivation! Today, my short story RESILIENT published in the NEW VOICE category of April's FORESHADOW YA short story anthology.RESILIENT tells the story of two young women who left Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria to work at a turkey processing plant in Huron, S.D. It’s a story of heartbreak and longing but also hope. In Marisol’s own words, sometimes we “have to be a palmera.” A palm tree bends but never breaks.Here is the inspiration behind the story:On September 20, 2017, Hurricane María barreled through Puerto Rico, leaving behind the worst devastation the island had ever seen. Like millions of the island’s residents and the diaspora, my heart was broken and desperate to help, hanging onto every shred of news coming out of our homeland. In January 2018 Washington Post journalist Chico Harlan published a story about a group of young Puerto Ricans that left the island for jobs at a turkey processing plant in Huron. Most were in college, worked part-time jobs, and dreamed of a future that didn’t include leaving Puerto Rico. Their stories stayed with me long after reading Harlan’s moving report. Only weeks later, my agent Saritza Hernandez, also a Boricua, encouraged me to submit a story to FORESHADOW’s New Voice competition. Instantly, I knew I wanted to write a story about these young María evacuees. They had been forced to leave everything they knew and loved behind, and venture into the unknown. This is how Marisol and Rosa’s journey came to be.Enjoy and share!Mayra