BOOKED Trips Panama Author Chat: Cristina Henríquez, The Great Divide

BOOKED Trips Panama “The Great Divide” Author Chat with Cristina Henríquez

About BOOKED Trips

BOOKED Trips are for women who crave meaningful, book-inspired journeys. As an immersive, small-group travel company, we connect curious and community-minded women who want more than just a vacation. Unlike traditional travel companies, we offer one-of-a-kind experiences that bring stories to life. This leads to deep connections, unforgettable experiences, and a sense of belonging in the places we explore.

BOOKED Trips are all about story. We take our travels from an author’s story to the myriad stories of the people who live in the places we visit. Prior to each trip our travelers receive a BOOKED box with our selected book, a curated playlist, and items from small businesses around the world that connect to the country we’re visiting. On the ground our trip activities and meals are inspired by quotes and scenes from our selected book, taking travelers from the page to the place.

BOOKED Trips Panama: The Great Divide

Our trip is inspired by “The Great Divide” by Cristina Henríquez, a sweeping historical fiction book set in early 1900s Panama during the American construction of the Panama Canal. On its face it’s a book about the Canal, but underneath is a story of the many lives that were irreparably changed by man’s insatiable desire to conquer the land and other people.

This is a particularly timely read as we navigate the current U.S. Trump administration’s efforts to impede Panamanian sovereignty and ownership of the canal.

Cristina Henríquez is the author of The Great Divide, The Book of Unknown Americans, The World In Half, and Come Together, Fall Apart: A Novella and Stories. She has been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, The Oxford American, The American Scholar, and elsewhere. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Illinois.

Author Chat: Cristina and Terce Henríquez

Prior to the trip our BOOKED Trips Panama Travelers got the chance to meet Cristina and her father Terce during a virtual book discussion which you can watch below.

Highlights from the conversation:

The Inspiration Behind The Great Divide: Cristina discusses the real-life experiences and historical events that inspired the novel.

Cristina Henríquez’s Writing Process and Research: We have an in-depth discussion of the research process and how her father was a big part of the on-the-ground research.

The Power of Shared Stories: Henríquez’s talks about the power of storytelling and how sharing stories fosters empathy and understanding.

Current Events & Sovereignty Efforts in Panama: The conversation ends with a discussion of the current U.S. Trump administration’s efforts to impede Panamanian sovereignty by “reclaiming” the Panama Canal. She talks about the historical reverberations of these efforts and what it means about understanding Panama in the present day.