Josefa Ferrer, a famous Chilean singer and star, awakens one morning toread in the Santiago newspaper that her best friend, Violeta, has beeninvolved in a brutal act of violence. Overwhelmed with regret andplagued with guilt for not having foreseen the tragedy, Josefa feelscompelled to tell Violeta's life story -- one marked by lost ideals,disillusionment, and grief -- which is ultimately Josefa's story, too.

Through the interwoven lives of these two women, Marcela Serranoexplores how the demands of a woman's role as mother, wife, lover, andfriend are frequently at odds with her own dreams and aspirations, andhow easily the fragile bonds of friendship and family can be strainedto the breaking point. For Josefa and Violeta, it is only in Antigua,under the watchful eyes of "the others" -- a chorus of female ancestralspirits who testify to the women's defining moments of strength andcourage -- that Josefa and Violeta will discover that even in theaftermath of violence and betrayal they have control over theirdestinies and their redemption.

Exquisitely crafted and written in beautiful, lyrical prose, MarcelaSerrano's unforgettable novel about friendship, forgiveness, and secondchances speaks to every woman who has experienced the wrenching dividebetween professional ambition and family responsibility, who has beentorn between the excitement of illicit passion and the security ofmarriage, who has craved the thrill of success while yearning forsolitude in an often chaotic, invasive world.

"Marcela is heir to Scheherazade. In Antigua and My Life Before,a woman again saves our lives by telling, every night, a new story.[Her novel] is an answer to the primeval death surrounding us. Thanks towriters like Marcela, life will never speak its last word."
   CARLOS FUENTES