Lost in Oaxaca - by Jessica Winters Mireles (Paperback)

About the Book

"Once a promising young concert pianist, Camille Childs retreated to her mother's Santa Barbara estate after an injury to her hand destroyed her hopes for a musical career. She now leads a solitary life teaching piano, and she has a star student: Graciela, the daughter of her mother's Mexican housekeeper. Camille has been grooming the young Graciela for the career that she herself lost out on, and now Graciela, newly turned eighteen, has just won the grand prize in a piano competition, which means she gets to perform with the LA Philharmonic. Camille is ecstatic; if she can't play herself, at least as Graciela's teacher, she will finally get the recognition she deserves. But there are only two weeks left before the concert, and Graciela has disappeared--gone back to her family's village in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Desperate to bring Graciela back in time for the concert, Camille goes after her, but on the way there, a bus accident leaves her without any of her possessions. Alone and unable to speak the language, Camille is befriended by Alejandro, a Zapotec man who lives in LA but is from the same village as Graciela. Despite a contentious first meeting, Alejandro helps Camille navigate the rugged terrain and unfamiliar culture of Oaxaca, allowing her the opportunity to view the world in a different light--and perhaps find love in the process."--Page 4 of cover.

Book Synopsis

Once a promising young concert pianist, Camille Childs retreated to her mother's Santa Barbara estate after an injury to her hand destroyed her hopes for a musical career. She now leads a solitary life teaching piano, and she has a star student: Graciela, the daughter of her mother's Mexican housekeeper. Camille has been grooming the young Graciela for the career that she herself lost out on, and now Graciela, newly turned eighteen, has just won the grand prize in a piano competition, which means she gets to perform with the LA Philharmonic. Camille is ecstatic; if she can't play herself, at least as Graciela's teacher, she will finally get the recognition she deserves.

But there are only two weeks left before the concert, and Graciela has disappeared--gone back to her family's village in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Desperate to bring Graciela back in time for the concert, Camille goes after her, but on the way there, a bus accident leaves her without any of her possessions. Alone and unable to speak the language, Camille is befriended by Alejandro, a Zapotec man who lives in LA but is from the same village as Graciela. Despite a contentious first meeting, Alejandro helps Camille navigate the rugged terrain and unfamiliar culture of Oaxaca, allowing her the opportunity to view the world in a different light--and perhaps find love in the process.

Review Quotes

2020 American Fiction Awards Winner in Women's Fiction

2020 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Bronze Medal in Fiction: Cultural

"Setting out from the wealthy enclave of Santa Barbara to a mountainous
Oaxacan community to find her missing star pupil, Camille finds more
than she could have imagined. Warm and lyrical, Lost in Oaxaca
made me long for the tastes and authenticity of village life. Add the
sweetness of romance, heartrending injustice, and the suspense that all
could be lost, and you have a delightful and exciting read."

--Rossandra White, author of Loveyoubye: Holding Fast, Letting Go, And Then There's The Dog

"Take a little romance (Mexican style), add enough suspense to string a
reader along, pepper it with evocative language underscored by a writer
who knows her way around music, and you have a novel as engrossing in
its storytelling as in the cultural nerves it touches. On the surface, Lost in Oaxaca
is the story of a woman, Camille, trying to unravel the mystery of her
star piano student's sudden disappearance. The title quickly shows
itself to be a bit of a ruse, however, a clever setup for a journey
that, in the end, brings catharsis to Camille and with it a chance to
reclaim even more than she thought she was looking for."

--Deborah Batterman, author of Just Like February and Shoe, Hair, Nails

"Jessica Winters Mireles's Lost in Oaxaca is a beautiful, moving,
and timely love story that will tug at your heartstrings, along with
your sense of right and wrong. Through the charming Camille and
captivating Alejandro, you will leave this book believing that both love
and music can rise above the inequities, injustices, and bullies of the
world."

--Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Trouble with Lexie

"Travel and awakening combine in [this] delicate romance. . . .Lost in Oaxaca is a vigorous, sensitive account of crossing borders to reimagine what love looks like when it's poured without reserve."

--Foreword Reviews

About the Author

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, Jessica Winters Mireles holds a degree in piano performance from USC. After graduating, she began her career as a piano teacher and performer. Four children and a studio of over forty piano students later, Jessica's life changed drastically when her youngest daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two; she soon decided that life was too short to give up on her dreams of becoming a writer, and after five years of carving out some time each day from her busy schedule, she finished Lost in Oaxaca. Jessica's work has been published in GreenPrints and Mothering magazines. She also knows quite a bit about Oaxaca, as her husband is an indigenous Zapotec man from the highlands of Oaxaca and is a great source of inspiration. She lives with her husband and family in Santa Barbara, California.