At the start of A Country You Can Leave, Lara starts to grow tired of her mom’s strict rules and what she sees as her limited worldview, which Lara thinks limits her and her identity. Upset with her circumstances, Lara starts a journey of self-discovery. Lara starts to wonder what her life would be like if she were allowed to immerse herself in the culture of the United States, which included reading books she is interested in and cultivating meaningful relationships with others.
Soon, she starts to openly question her mother’s rules and starts to see her mother in a new light. And she finally comes to that conclusion that her mother, named Yevgenia, is holding her back and starts to uncover some uncomfortable truths about her mother’s past, which startles her.
One day, Lara and her mother experience a brutal attack which forces them to confront their pasts, their family history of violence, and the impact that trauma has had on their lives and relationships. From this experience, they both realize that they need to stop focusing on the past and that they need to move forward together, as a team.
To that end, they start to open up to each other and start to share how they feel and the things they have gone through. Previously, they had never done this, so them having a dialogue is a new thing. And as the two start to talk, Lara discovers that her mother’s strictness was caused by her desire to protect her–to protect her from the violence that she had gone through herself and from the associated trauma from that violence.
Meanwhile, Lara starts to fully contend with her identity as a biracial person. Her mother is white; her father is Black. Lara begins to look at herself as a strong and beautiful young woman who, in her mind, is lucky to have mixed heritage. And ultimately, she starts to celebrate who she is and the diversity that lives within her. In doing so, she becomes very confident and starts to chart her own life.
Lara and her mother are ultimately able to mend their relationship and create a newfound understanding with each other. Their relationship is stronger than ever. Even though both women have been through a lot in their life, they both finally learn to embrace the future and trust people, even though both things are uncertain. And through their struggle, they become new, better people.
