Bitter Until My Dying Day

Author Stephanie Y. Garrett delivers a gripping work of historical drama in Bitter Until My Dying Day, a story rooted in a time when young girls were bartered into marriage for land, money, or the simple chance for their families to survive.

At eighty‑five years old, Trudee Serengega has carried her truth for nearly seven decades. Sold into marriage at just sixteen-traded by her own father for a "shiny new car"-Trudee has lived a life shaped by betrayal, endurance, and the quiet strength of women who had no choice but to endure.
Now, surrounded by her lifelong friends-Vea, Emma, and Martha-each a widow with children and grandchildren grown, Trudee finally begins to speak the words she has swallowed for years. As they sit together reminiscing about their families, their losses, and the secrets they've kept, a painful collective history rises to the surface.
When Trudee's great‑granddaughter, Doris, comes to help her clean the house, Trudee stops her with a warning spoken in a voice edged with anger and old wounds:
"Baby, never marry a man-and never marry a Puerto Rican man."
Her tone is sharp, her pain unmistakable, and Doris is left stunned, unsure of the story buried beneath those words.
What follows is a heartbreaking, unflinching account told by a circle of women who have survived more than they ever revealed. Together, they guide Doris through the truth of their pasts-showing her that the lives they lived were far from what they appeared, and that the bitterness they carry was earned, not imagined.
Bitter Until My Dying Day is a testament to generational trauma, the resilience of women, and the courage it takes to finally speak the truth.