The Eternal Forest A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora - Elena Sheppard
Pub. Date: Sept. 30, 2025
She read
Beautifully and lovingly written, this is the story of one family’s flight from Cuba to the United States. Intermingled with a thorough, but not overwhelming history of Cuba, it delves into the lives of three generations of Cuban women and their extended family. Is it not often the women who hold the families together and are the guardians of memories?
I enjoyed learning more about the history of this island nation and, in fact, saw some concerning parallels that serve as a cautionary for our times.…rewriting history, making people doubt, making people forget, maps changing when government changes.
As the author recounts her family history, I couldn’t help but smile at some of the stories and how it’s often the case that there are several different versions of how events unfolded. Most impressive is the lifelong love and caring that the author and her mother expressed for the matriarch of the family, the abuela who, with her husband, made the difficult decision to flee Cuba upon the rise of Fidel Castro. Despite leaving behind the island they had called home, there is always a pull and emotional connection that binds them to it, a connection that spans generations.
Thanks to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for the DRC.
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