Lynda Edwards was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, in 1967, the beginning of a turbulent time in Jamaica's history. The island had just gained independence from Britain, with the colonial class and color divisions still firmly in place. The economy was in free fall as communism and capitalism battled for supremacy by destabilizing the government, encouraging violence, and exerting tactical financial control. She came of age during these times. Her playground extended from Mandeville to the beaches and small villages of the South Coast and the island's capital, Kingston. Eight generations of her family are buried on the island. Roots so deep in the Jamaican soil that they will bind her heart and soul forever to her island in the sun, no matter how far afield she may go. Even though she has lived in the United States for decades, Jamaica still holds her navel string, a pull deep in her soul that begins as a low drumbeat growing stronger and louder until she returns to the island of her birth. Lynda now lives in Orlando with her husband of twenty-four years...who still says she is his most expensive souvenir.
