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Eden Laroux
Eden Laroux was born on November 27, 1978, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a father who was a butcher and a mother who was a florist.
Her mother, originally from Saint-Emilion in Fra...view moreEden Laroux was born on November 27, 1978, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a father who was a butcher and a mother who was a florist.
Her mother, originally from Saint-Emilion in France, migrated to the US to become a textile worker.
Eden Laroux was born as Emilia Domini. She had an elder brother, Calvin, and has a sister named Philomena.
Her father, a second-generation Italian immigrant, left Emilia’s mother for a laundrywoman, who was also of Italian descent. He was a gambler and an alcoholic. It was learned later that he not only stole money from his employer, but also left the family with gambling debts to settle.
Eden was 14 at the time, and the experience of being abandoned and deceived seared into her memory – a theme which showed up in most of her early literary works – sad poems and essays--and in her college years, short stories for various creative writing classes.
Eden's brother Calvin chose to leave his own studies and worked odd jobs to supplement their mother’s income, which was obscenely meager, after their father left.
Despite financial difficulties, Calvin pushed Eden to work for a degree, and through his and other people’s help, she was able to get a scholarship to attend college and study English Literature.
Three weeks after Eden's graduation, Calvin - a closeted homosexual - was killed in a freak accident at work (stabbed by his partner in the middle of a long drive for an out-of-town furniture delivery). He had “come out” only to Eden. He and Eden had been very close, owing to their father’s leaving and their mother becoming undone and distraught.
Philomena, Eden's younger sister, is the family’s joy and the family’s artist. While her formal training is in business (she is currently studying for a degree in finance and strategic management), she nevertheless finds time to also dabble in the visual arts – as a potter, painter, and, of late, as a furniture designer.
Emilia chose to write under her mother’s name, Eden, as a tribute both to her mother's unconditional love and for her strength to overcome an enormous challenge of raising a family – all on her own.view less