Dr. Ivelaw Griffith and his accomplice of 40 years, Francille, at a e book signing in Manhattan, New York.
Photograph courtesy Dr. Ivelaw Griffith
Famend educational and political scientist Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith has launched his debut novel, “Sylvie’s Love and Loss,” a gripping narrative set within the coronary heart of the Caribbean. The story explores love, resilience, betrayal, and redemption in opposition to Grenada’s vibrant tradition and sophisticated social local weather.
The story follows a personality named ‘Sylvie,’ a decided younger girl compelled into maturity after being deserted by her mother and father. She works at a resort, the place she falls in love with a captivating Canadian visitor and goals of a brand new life in Canada. Nonetheless, her aspirations are shattered when an affair with a Captain spirals into betrayal, imprisonment, and deportation. Returning to Grenada, Sylvie should rebuild her life whereas going through recent challenges and temptations that take a look at her resolve.
The novel’s narrative spans a number of nations, together with Guyana, Jamaica, Canada, and Venezuela, reflecting the far-reaching impacts of drug trafficking and private battle. Dr. Griffith, widely known for his work on nationwide safety and drug trafficking within the Caribbean, attracts on his experience to make clear the area’s socioeconomic realities and cultural richness. “Once I was researching a scholarly e book in 1994, I met a younger girl in Grenada who shared her story of being deported for drug trafficking. Her experiences impressed me to discover the complexities of medicine, household struggles, and resilience by way of fiction,” Dr. Griffith mentioned.
Photograph courtesy Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd GriffithPhotograph courtesy Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith
Initially titled “Victims,” the novel highlights how drug trafficking victimizes people and societies whereas additionally providing a message of redemption. Dr. Griffith wished to disclose “the Caribbean’s layered actuality — the love and loss, the highs and lows, and the resilience inside its communities.”
Launched in September, Sylvie’s Love and Loss has acquired reward from notable Caribbean literary figures, together with Harold Bascom and David Abedin. Professor Terrence Richard Blackman of Medgar Evers School, CUNY, described the novel as “a gripping narrative that takes the reader by way of an emotional and cultural voyage throughout the Caribbean’s coronary heart. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith crafts a narrative that’s as a lot concerning the private journeys of its characters as it’s concerning the broader social and political landscapes of the Caribbean.”
Dr. Griffith, who retired in 2019, has held distinguished educational positions, together with President of Fort Valley State College, Vice Chancellor of the College of Guyana, and Provost at Virginia and New York universities. He’s the writer of 9 scholarly books, together with “Medication and Safety within the Caribbean: Sovereignty Underneath Siege (1997),” and has testified earlier than the U.S. Congress. Dr. Griffith has been acknowledged with the William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Safety and Protection Schooling.
“Sylvie’s Love and Loss” is offered on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and GoodReads.
