Nonfiction
Book
2 Holds on 1 Copy
Availability
Details
PUBLISHED
©2026
EDITION
DESCRIPTION
xiv, 369 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN/ISSN
LANGUAGE
NOTES
"In 1963, four years after Fidel Castro came to power, Ada Ferrer's mother made the agonizing decision to flee Cuba with her infant daughter, Ada, and to leave behind her nine-year-old son, Poly. That moment was but a ripple in a much larger story of a world historical revolution. Yet, in Ferrer's intimate family history, that choice was a crossroads, ultimately inseparable from who and what they all became. In this beautiful memoir, Ferrer masterfully shifts between her roles as historian and family member, weaving a multigenerational tale that reaches into the past to understand the circumstances and choices that led to the present. We see key historical events through the eyes of the family: the grandmother who raised Poly after Ada's departure, a Black woman born a year after the end of slavery in Cuba; Ada's parents, forced to invent themselves anew in a foreign land; and two brothers left behind -- Poly and another, once-secret brother named Juan José, both of whose lives were marked irrevocably by revolution and family separation. From Cuba to the United States and then back again, the book unpacks the experience and emotion of migration, in the moment and over the long-term, for those who left and those who stayed. Using a treasure trove of letters found after the death of Ada's parents, as well as government documents acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests, Ferrer offers us a profound reflection on belonging, memory, and the lasting imprint of history."--