Windward Family

An atlas of love, loss and belonging

Author: Alexis Keir

Paperback

From the Caribbean to Great Britain, and from the 19th century to the present, Windward Family takes us inside the beating heart of a Black British family, showing us how we become who we are, and how the search for ourselves always leads us to the same place - home. An extraordinary memoir from one of the UK's rising literary stars.

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Summary

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'It took two decades for me to go in search of the parts of myself I had left behind in the Caribbean. What ghosts were waiting for me there? There was a thick, black journal in my flat, stuffed with letters, postcards, handwritten notes and diary entries. For the first time in years, I opened it.'

Twenty years after living there as a child, Alexis Keir returns to the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. He is keen to uncover lost memories and rediscover old connections. But he also carries with him the childhood scars of being separated from his parents and put into uncaring hands.

Inspired by the embrace of his relatives in the Caribbean, Alexis begins to unravel the stories of others who left Saint Vincent, searching through diary pages and newspaper articles, shipping and hospital records and faded photographs. He uncovers tales of exploitation, endeavour and bravery of those who had to find a home far away from where they were born.

A child born with vitiligo, torn from his mother's arms to be exhibited as a showground attraction in England; a woman who, in the century before the Windrush generation, became one of the earliest Black nurses to be recorded as working in a London hospital; a young boy who became a footman in a Yorkshire stately home. And Alexis's mother, a student nurse who arrives in 1960s London, ready to start a new life in a cold, grey country - and the man from her island whom she falls in love with.

From the Caribbean to England, North America and New Zealand, from windswept islands to the rainy streets of London, and spanning generations of travellers from the 19th century to the present, Windward Family takes you inside the beating heart of a Black British family, separated by thousands of miles but united by love, loss and belonging.

Read what everyone is saying about Windward Family:

'A powerful meditation on what it means to belong.' The Times Literary Supplement

'Being Black British is more than an identity, it is a journey into uncharted waters of personal history. Alexis Keir's deeply moving account will ring true for all of those navigating their own stories.' David Lammy

'Infused with hope... pertinent and timely... with beautiful touches of memories that will resonate with any child born of Caribbean parents in the UK... honest, poetic and deeply researched excellence.' Paterson Joseph, actor and author of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho

'With a tender mix of prose and historical re-imagining, Alexis creates with words, a symphony of movement that mimics his travels and journeys across continents, in search of identity and belonging. A beautiful ode to

About the Author

Alexis Keir grew up in Luton, a town with a strong presence and history of migrant communities. He spent a year in the Caribbean as a child and returns there regularly. His experiences living in New Zealand, including encounters with Maori culture and communities, inspired him to explore the stories of his own family more deeply. His non-fiction essay I Lands, about returning to the Caribbean, was published by The Selkie. From A Distance was recorded for the podcast We've Chosen Here and My Girlfriend Cuts My Hair was published in The Caribbean Writer. In 2019 he was selected as a participant for the London Writers Award Programme run by Spread The Word, he is one of the 2021 cohort of the London Library's Emerging Writers Programme, and in the same year he was shortlisted for The Cecile de Jongh Literary Prize.