More Nights on Maui is a candid depiction of multi-racial Ros’s personal evolution through divergent cultural and philosophical influences — over three countries, Jamaica, Canada, and the US — from the ‘50’s to the present. It is a novel drawn from one life in Caribbean diaspora.

This first-person narrative gives unfiltered access to its main character’s interior landscape – where the metaphysical holds a prominent spot – as she negotiates her physical one. Ros’s hyperawareness of energies in general, along with the influence of psychic phenomena on her path, could be considered a supporting character in her story. And then, she visits Maui only to discover that the heightened energies of this “magic” land kicks her ongoing exploration up a notch.

Before Hawai’i, Ros has done her fair share of travel and moved around a lot in her complicated life. Still, a sense of belonging anywhere has always eluded her. After arriving on Maui for a quick re-fueling and no more, Ros is drawn to return repeatedly. Not only is she taken by the warmth of residents, awestruck by the beauty and life-supporting soul of the place, but she also becomes fascinated by a charge she feels on the land itself and by its ensuing effect on her experiences. So much that she’d considered long-resolved after years of therapy and recovery now screams out for another pass.

Although Ros’s process from then onwards has her reaching back into her ancestors’ lives for answers, her own began with an intense childhood, rife with violence, abuse, and isolation, in post-war Kingston, Jamaica. In the ‘60’s, her family relocated to Canada, starting four decades in various cities. At first, all but the violence continued for her, only then exacerbated by adjustment to a foreign land. 

Based on true events, this novel peers behind the wall of glowing images that simultaneously mask and propagate human detriment. Cultural nuances as well as unpublicized realities, which have had astonishing impact on Ros, her relatives and forebears, are revealed. Here is a vivid, intimate portrayal — with consistent undertones of humour and light — that is unafraid to delve into its main character’s life challenges: childhood trauma, immigration, racial discrimination, persistent family drama, poor relationships, and addiction. Readers are able to follow Ros on her journey of recovery, resolution arriving in often the least expected ways and places. Her before, during, and after pictures drive a colourful narrative that remains experiential and anecdotal rather than academic, self-help, or motivational. 

A sizeable cast of characters is introduced in varying degrees throughout the novel. Her family and friends are foremost but almost no interaction is lost on Ros who heeds everyone for themselves as much as for the lessons they bring. And although (trustfully) we are mutually involved in the lives of others beyond our own challenges, for various reasons, the individual stories of the other players in Ros’s are largely left to the reader’s imagination. All characters (including her own) are developed, even described, only in as much as they pertain to the novel’s central themes. 

Some of More Nights on Maui does take place on the island which remains central to the story as a catalyst for Ros’s evolution. But it is an international story that has her first nights (the denomination of vacation stays) on Maui suffusing her subsequent nights, and days, in many other places including her “real life” in Canada. Along the way, Ros’s subjective impressions of her everywhere are shared as authentic illustrations of her character’s sentiments at given times.

The inspiration for More Nights on Maui was of course the island itself. And this story does open a window into the singular, energetic quality of this enigmatic land as well as the refreshing spirit of its people and culture. That dynamite combination has had a transformative effect, no doubt, on numerous travellers. Here, this enchanting aspect of Maui is equally presented along with a rare glimpse of island life away from luxury hotels and time-shares.

But the bigger picture of More Nights on Maui is the journey of one woman from a country – clumsily fashioned over less than 300 years around a barbaric colonial enterprise – to her late mid-life elsewhere. It is about family, about the past persisting, about seeking paradise. And about what she found.