Broken Hummingbird

In the midst of a marital crisis, Jane hatches an unusual plan to avoid a custody battle, the thing she most fears: she convinces husband Kevin to walk away from the pressures of New York—in particular, her demanding job and an affair she almost had—in the hope that moving to their favorite city abroad will fix their family. In San Miguel de Allende, Jane and her young sons delight in new adventures, but Kevin still seethes. Jane befriends a circle of intriguing women and helps two girls who remind her of the brother she abandoned when her own parents divorced. After witnessing violence involving the girls’ father, Jane’s vivid dreams, possibly guided by a hummingbird messenger from the hereafter, grow ever darker. When tragedy strikes San Miguel, the community fractures and then rises, and Jane must make a dangerous choice. The Broken Hummingbird balances the raw undoing of a marriage with the joys of discovery that lie in building a new life.

“With visually rich prose, Ann Marie Jackson tells a moving tale of a woman’s resilience and reinvention through the eyes of an expat in the beautiful but complicated city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.” —Brian Crewe, award-winning film director “A deep, delightful read! Spanning the parallel worlds of privilege and poverty in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson’s The Broken Hummingbird captures the heartbreak of a dissolving marriage alongside the joys of making a difference in others’ lives as well as one’s own.” —Lucie Frost, satirist “This story beautifully illustrates the power of connection. The author’s deep love and respect for the culture of her adopted country shine through in her writing. Bravo!” —Deanna Singh, author of Actions Speak Louder, Purposeful Hustle, and A Smart Girl’s Guide: Race and Inclusion “With insider’s knowledge, Ann Marie Jackson writes with nuance and panache about the agony and the ecstasy of 21st-century expat life in San Miguel de Allende. Her debut novel is vivid, moving, and highly entertaining.” — Gina Hyams, author of In a Mexican Garden “The Broken Hummingbird shimmers with the iridescent beauty of San Miguel de Allende. In this well-crafted story of a woman determined to help a family in need while at the same time struggling to build a rich and authentic life for herself and her sons, Jackson succeeds in depicting the harsh realities of domestic violence, the complexities of a broken marriage, the significance of community support, and the comfort and strength found in enduring friendships. Boldly honest yet tender at the core—a novel with something important to say.” —Debra Thomas, author of Luz

Ann Marie Jackson is cofounder of microlending organization Mano Amiga and former Vice President of Casita Linda, which builds homes for families in extreme poverty in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Early in her career, after earning degrees from Stanford and Harvard, Jackson joined the US Department of State to promote human rights in China and other East Asian and Pacific Island nations. She has also worked for NGOs including Human Rights Watch, A Better Chance, and Internews, and traveled widely on five continents. This is her first novel. A portion of the proceeds from The Broken Hummingbird will benefit nonprofit organizations serving women and families in central Mexico. A native of Seattle, Washington, Jackson currently resides in San Miguel de Allende.