Ortiz 1

Kimberly Ortiz

English 101

Professor Batty

9 May 2018

Forgive and Forget

“Alex Espinoza’s Still Water Saints is a cycle of tales as perfect as the beads of a rosary. One

alone is a little miracle; the whole together is capable of renewing one’s faith in new fiction.”

– Sandra Cisneros

Regret is something known to kill a man or make him crazy. It is known to be a painful

feeling and it is discussed in Still Water Saints by Alex Espinoza. Espinoza’s character, Nancy

Perez, may have a chose to either live in a regret or forgive and forget. Nancy’s story may be

relatable to many people in real life and it encourages all to forgive and forget.

The novel Still Water Saints by Alex Espinoza takes place in Agua Mansa where Perla,

the curadora of the little town and the main character, owns a botanica. Perla is the center of the

novel since she is the one that meets and knows all the other characters. They all have their own

problems and they go to her store to find something to help them with their personal situations.

Nancy Perez was one of those characters that knew Perla and dropped by at her botanica to get

something for her mother. Nancy Perez had bumped heads with her father for most of her life.

During her teenage years, Nancy was rebellious and always gave her father a hard time. She

separated from her family during her college years, when she graduated, Nancy went down to

visit her parents along with her boyfriend who proposed to her on the way there. Nancy arrived
 Ortiz 2

at her parent’s and kept her engagement a secret for a while. When she finally blurted the news

out her father busted out racist comments. Nancy left her parent’s house in bad terms with her

father and did not forgive him for years, but at the end of her section, Nancy hints on forgiving

her father.

It is always best to live without rage, secrets, and anger towards anyone, because once

that person is gone for good, one regrets not making peace or telling that person what they feel. I

speak from personal experience because when my father and best friend passed away I regretted

and still regret not opening up to them about my feelings and thoughts. There were so many

things on my mind and so many feelings that involved them and when they were gone my

chances of looking at them and telling them I am sorry or anything I ever wanted had slipped

away in an instant. In Nancy’s case, her father might be going through a leg amputation and he

was said to have diabetes. At this point, Nancy should be thinking about the surgery and the risks

that her father might be exposed to. The leg amputation can get infected or never heal due to his

disease and can cause his death. According to the article “Podiatric foot health screening could

save millions of dollars by preventing diabetic amputations” the author, Venetia Lai states, “As

many as 1 in 4 diabetic Californians develop damaging toe, foot and leg ulcers which could lead

to amputation and elevate risk of death, according to the study” (Lai). This study reveals that

Nancy’s father has a slight chance of surviving the surgery and I believe that Nancy should be

the bigger person in forgiving her father because the chances of her getting another chance to do

so are very small. As for other people as well, in any situation it might be, one should always

step up and be the ones to forgive or try to gain forgiveness because a person can be gone in a

blink of an eye.
 Ortiz 3

Although many religious and cultural people think that Nancy’s father was doing the

right thing because of Nancy’s wrong doings in the past, I believe that he was wrong in pushing

her away and spitting out racist comments because times are changing, and you now start to see

many multicultural families or partners and it is normal for teens to be rebellious. From what I

live through, my family has certain expectations on who I date. They depend on the race and

religion of the boy I am dating. In a way they expect my boyfriend to be Latino and Catholic like

us. My family grew up in Guatemala and they still follow some rules that were expected from

them to follow when growing up. So, I know what religious and cultural families and parents

expect from a family member, but I always tend to make them understand that many of these

beliefs and rules they are follow do not apply to many people today. The Spectator in the article

“Religion is on the decline – yet our society is underpinned by faith” reveals that “According to a

survey we are no longer a Christian country, but then neither — for all the squeals over sharia

law — are we becoming much of a Muslim country, or indeed any other religion. Just 6 per cent

of us profess a faith other than Christianity, down from 8 per cent last year” (The Spectator).

This proves that society is changing at a fast rate and beliefs that were worshiped before are not

being followed by society in the same way as their ancestors once did or are not following them

at all. Nancy is part of the society that has changed the way things work and her father of that

part that sticks to the conservative society. Times are changing, and Nancy should be allowed to

date who ever she wants and do whatever she wants.

Nancy should also step up to apologize to her father or gain forgiveness from him before

it is too late because she would be living with regret. A person living with regret is a wrong way

to live and can bring various health problems. In the article “Psychology of Regret” the author,

Melanie Greenberg, lists all the different health problems that come with living with regret. She
 Ortiz 4

expresses, “This pattern of repetitive, negative, self-focused ruminative thinking is characteristic

of depression and may be a cause of this mental health problem as well” (Greenberg). Nancy

should also be thinking about herself and her health because not making peace between her

father and herself will bring her depression or mental issues. It is also great that she hints on

thinking about making peace because she starts to feel bad about her father’s surgery.

In the novel Still Water Saints, Nancy Perez is a troubled daughter who always bumped

head with her father. She would go to many parties as a teenager as it has been revealed to the

readers. Another character, Shawn, mentioned Nancy in his own story, “I took my first hit of

speed the same night I popped Nancy Perez’s cherry. My friend Beady’s parents were away that

weekend, and the party was his idea” (Espinoza 141). Nancy was a party girl and a trouble

maker, but doesn’t every teenager go to parties or out with friends. At least once has a person

flirted with another in high school. This does not give her father the right to be calling her a

whore or not allowing her to marry the man of her dreams because of his race. Her father

screamed, “‘Is that what you’ve been doing in school? Going out with black boys? Having sex

with them? Being a tramp?” (Espinoza 122). It is ok for a father to punish his child, but some

words hurt people even when one is not aware of it. These words hurt Nancy Perez, but she does

hint on forgiving her father at the end of her story. “We separate, then collide and try to hold on

to one another. Because we know it’s only a matter of time before we’re pulled apart again”

(Espinoza 129). Nancy understands that people stop speaking to each other because they fight or

argue, but one never stops caring for the other person. People should hold on to one another

because one never knows when a person will leave forever.

Overall, Nancy takes certain steps to show that at the end she does care about her father

and seems to show sympathy for him. Nancy should always think about how her father will not
 Ortiz 5

live forever and that living with regret comes with various complications and health issues. Her

father should also be thinking about how times are changing and what was expected from people

before is not expected now. Nancy’s section of Still Water Saints delivers the message of

forgiving and forgetting because one must always make right decisions before it is too late.
 Ortiz 6

Works Cited

Espinoza, Alex. Still Water Saints: A Novel. Picador, 2013.

Greenberg, Melanie. “The Psychology of Regret.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 16 May

2012, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201205/the-psychology-

regret.

Lai, Venetia. “UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.” UCLA Center for Health Policy

Research, 28 June 2017, www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/newsroom/press-

releases/pages/details.aspx?NewsID=277.

Spectator, The. “Religion Is on the Decline - Yet Our Society Is Underpinned by Faith.” The

Spectator, 9 Sept. 2017, www.spectator.co.uk/2017/09/religion-is-on-the-decline-yet-our-

society-is-underpinned-by-faith/.