Abstract

After losing her lucrative position at a marketing firm, 31-year-old Geneva is forced  to move in temporarily with her mother, June, an exacting eighth-grade teacher and first-generation Canadian living in Scarborough. Neither mother nor daughter cope well with the arrangement. The return draws Geneva back within the orbit of her large, estranged Trinidadian family. Cousin Fran, older by two years and now a mother herself, appears to have replaced Geneva in June’s day-to-day life. Embittered by the termination, Geneva resents having to return to Scarborough. With nicknames like “Scarberia” and “Scarbage,” its status among her peers is dismal at best— it is said to lack arts, culture, and possibilities. She finds herself increasingly ill-equipped to deal with the familial and cultural expectations she faces both at home and in her professional life.�