In an interview about her novel, Alvarez said:

"the Mirabal sisters represent the capacity of people, of women, who are not necessarily heroines, to change things.  They were "ordinary" people, wives, mothers, daughters, friends. They became committed to freedom and justice, not necessarily because of their upbringing, but because history put them in a certain situation and they met that challenge. If they did it, we can do it, too. We should feel challenged by their example to consider the ways in which we can defend freedom and justice." www.juliaalvarez.com

"I wrote the introduction to Isaías's book of photographs, Glimpses of La Yagüita, after being floored by the work of this young photographer. Isaías spent a season in a barrio in Santiago, Dominican Republic, called la Yagüita, and captured the soul of that comunidad in his images ... I want to promote work I believe in ... artists who challenge me to see the world and be transformed by their vision into action and compassion!"