Anne Fadiman’s award-winning nonfiction book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997), narrates the story of a Hmong child suffering from severe epilepsy. The child's parents, refugees from Laos now residing in Merced, California, have beliefs about curing their daughter that starkly conflict with the American medical system.

Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John (1985) is a coming-of-age tale presented through eight distinct chapter vignettes, chronicling an Antiguan girl’s life from ages ten to seventeen. Much like Kincaid’s other works, these stories focus on Annie’s deep affection for and subsequent resentment towards her mother. By the book’s conclusion, Annie departs for England.

The concise yet emotionally charged A Small Place (1998) is often referred to as an “anti-travel narrative.” It imagines a visit by a North American or European tourist to a Caribbean island that their ancestors colonized. Although Kincaid critiques the corruption plaguing contemporary Antigua, she continually emphasizes that the island’s issues are rooted in its extensive colonial history.

Similar to Kincaid’s other writings, Lucy (1990) draws heavily from the author's personal experiences. Lucy relocates from her Caribbean homeland to New York City, where she works as an au pair for an upper-middle-class couple and observes the collapse of their marriage.

Edwidge Danticat’s novel Breath, Eyes, Memory (1998) explores themes similar to those in Kincaid’s work. The story begins with Sophie leaving her content life with her aunt and grandmother in rural Haiti to join the mother she has never met in New York.