Praise For

Alborada (Dawn): A Cross-Cultural Memoir in Poetry

“How fortunate am I to read your holy truths! Brava! . . . I love your work. . . . I’ll be reading your poems at bedtime so I can sleep and reflect on them.”

—Juliana Aragón Fatula, author of Red Canyon Falling on Churches

 “Clearly, your heart is wide open in many of these autobiographical poems, and I love that. You’ve got determination and style . . . I admire you, Nylda, for your compassion and your willingness to speak your heart so freely.”

—Charlene Edge, author of Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International and From the Porch to the Page: A Guidebook for the Writing Life

As I read the poems in Nylda Dieppa’s “Alborada,” I was touched by the poignancy and emotions which she captured in each stanza. This is the story of a woman’s life, of her becoming a woman, wife and mother, betrayed and reborn. Nylda has reached far inside herself to release a myriad of feelings and is unafraid to put those out for the world to see. It is a book to be savored, its phrases so simple yet breathtaking beautiful. “Alborada” as it goes through the stages of the day, from Awakening, Dusk, Night, Midnight and finally Dawn (Alborada), is a book in which we can see ourselves, for example, in the poem “Self Help.” I am touched by her words and highly recommend that others read and experience the passion and intensity of each poem.

—Cheryl Lynn West, author of Along the Shore: Strategies for Living with Grief, Castle's Capers: The Adventures of a Naughty Puppy, Samoyed Tales Trilogy, and Remember Me When This You See

 “The author has a depth of feeling and is unafraid to explore pain.”

—Ken Pelham, author of Out of Sight, Out of Mind: A Writer’s Guide to Mastering Viewpoint (RPLA’s 2015 Published Book of the Year) and multiple titles in other genres

 “Despite all the pain in your life, you face the future with hope. . . . Your author’s note . . . gives readers just enough background to enter the poems more easily and also gives them a reason to trust you. . . . ‘Vacation’ is my favorite poem—absolutely devastating! I think everybody will read it with their heart in their throat.”

—Lynn Schiffhorst, multi-award-winning poet and author

Reviews of

Winner, 2014 Royal Palm Literary Awards

2014 Royal Palm Literary Awards

Second place winner in the General Category (Pre-published)

Alborada: A Poetic Memoir Across Cultures is an autobiographical collection of narrative and lyrical poems Nylda Dieppa crafted throughout her life. Here she shares profound familial love, the struggles of culture shock, the thirty-eight-year strain of holding on to a hopeless marriage, and the joys of emotional and spiritual healing as symbolized by the dawn (alborada) of a new day.

“Nylda Dieppa Aldarondo is a woman of triumph. Her poems are real, honest, spirited, and may tell as much of your story as her own. I love her redemptive spirit.” 

Tama Kieves

Best-selling author of Inspired & Unstoppable: Wildly Succeeding in Your Life’s Work!

https://tamakieves.com/

    “…your author’s note (in Alborada: A Poetic Memoir Across Cultures) is beautiful.  It’s a perfect introduction that gives readers just enough background to enter the poems more easily and also gives them a reason to trust you, because you come across as likable, realistic, and warm-hearted… Love Poem is a wonderful opening poem.  It sets the tone for the whole collection. Secret Message has a very nice surprising twist in the ending!” 

Lynn Schiffhorst, author and poet

“I enjoyed it and was moved by it!  It is a beautiful work, uncovering a beautiful person. I love the honesty of your poems... Keep writing them and being the force of good in the world!

T. K. Thorne, award-winning writer of historical fiction and nonfiction

https://tkthorne.com/

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

To my compadre, Dr. Sigfredo Acosta-Pérez, who dared to look into my heart and encouraged me to print my poems anyway. He suggested I acknowledge him saying: “to my beloved compadre, who spent countless late-night hours reviewing and critiquing this material until it became the polished jewel that it is now.” He thinks the poem My Nails are Growing Now should be called Ode to the Thyroid Hormone.