What Are You?

By Brenda Duran

About the Book
Brenda’s mother grew up extremely poor but blessed with a loving father and nurturing home environment. Even though the relationship between Brenda’s mother and her mother was rather strained, Brenda’s mother describes the first eleven years of her life as that of a content child until the sudden passing of her father, which left this twelve-year-old devastated and quite traumatized. Two years after her father’s death, this same little girl was thrust into an arranged marriage to a man twice her age and to someone she barely knew. Shortly after the marriage, Brenda’s mother moved into a home whose outward appearance was that of tranquility and charm, however, her mother quickly found out that things are not always what they appear. Doors slamming, shadowy figures,and strange sounds and lights were a few of things Brenda’s mother witnessed for eleven long and frightful years. Could it be that the loss and trauma Brenda’s mother experienced opened up the door to the supernatural? While that remains a mystery, those eleven years nearly drove Brenda’s mother to the brink of madness.
About the Author
Brenda Duran was born and raised in Antonito, Colorado, a very small and isolated community located on the border of Colorado and New Mexico. She is the youngest of five siblings and a mother of four beautiful children. Brenda’s generation grew up during a time when dinners were held as a family, prayer was fundamental, and a lot of family time was spent together listening to stories and folklore. For years Brenda has been captivated listening to stories about her mother’s compelling life experiences. She has shared these stories with her own children and other audiences, and would now like to share them with the world. Brenda’s unique form of writing will weave you in and out of the heartbreaking life of a young girl into a world of the unknown and unexplainable, allowing you to hypothesize how those two worlds were able to connect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RoseDog Books
• Release date: Feb 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798888127582

Book preview

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The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2024 by Brenda Duran

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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ISBN: 979-8-88812-258-7

eISBN: 979-8-88812-758-2

This book is dedicated to my mother and father, the best parents in the entire world. Thank you for your support and love.

Thank you for helping me become the woman I am today.

(Why did you do it, Pat)

Jade: A kindhearted and compassionate soul

whose beauty is a reflection of your soul

Shelby: A courageous and fiery spirit who is

as radiant as you are beautiful

Dakota: The most gentle and caring young man

I am honored to call my son

Dylan: Heaven’s angel. Someday I will hold you again.

(You will never know how much I love you!)

Thank you, Smitty, Matt, and Evan for believing in me

and my dream.

Chapter One

My Mother

The following stories I am about to share with you happened to my mother for eleven long years in a house that was mysteriously noisy and utterly terrifying. If you were to have read these twenty or even ten years ago, you would have probably thought my mother to be imaginatively creative, or certifiably crazy, but now with an abundance of paranormal evidence proving the existence of ghosts and entities, just maybe, you will agree that my mother’s experiences were a result of unforeseen energies not of this world. Before I can begin to tell you about her paranormal experiences, I must introduce to you the life of my mother, along with personal challenges and unexplainable events that began way before she inhabited the house. I will take you from my mother’s hardships to strange encounters with the unexplainable.

With that, I introduce you to my mother (mamácita), Priscilla Gonzales Duran. 

My mother was born to Manuelita Vigil and Victor Gonzales on May 16th, 1932. She was born into a family of thirteen siblings, of which only six survived, leaving my mother to be raised with three older brothers and one younger sister. Many of the siblings’ losses resulted in miscarriages, but there were also losses due to accidents or illnesses when they were just toddlers or young adults. The only sibling my mother vaguely remembers was her sister Alfega, who fell gravely ill at the age of 22, passing a slow and painful death from tuberculosis when my mother was only 6 years of age. For most women, these tragedies would have driven a grieving mother to lose all hope for life, a mental breakdown, or potential suicide, but my grandmother pressed on with life as a determined, headstrong and feisty woman.

Even though my mother describes her growing up years to be very poor, she considers her eleven years as a happy and secure child. The home they lived in was very small. It had dirt floors, no running water or electricity. My mother’s vivid memories of her mother in that home are that of a young woman constantly sweeping the floors, washing cloth diapers and doing laundry in the tin wash tub (tinas de lavado), sewing flour sacks together for bed sheets, and constantly cooking for a family of seven. Even though the house did not provide many amenities, it was kept clean and had a home-like and comforting environment.

My mother was very close to her father and brother Willie. They both loved her immensely and were very protective of her. Her eldest brother, Victor, was very quiet and reserved, but also kept a watchful eye on my mother. Rudy, the youngest of the boys, constantly fought with her and