When We Left Cuba @AuthorChancelCleeton @BerkleyPub #cuba #historicalfiction @absltmom

I always find there is nothing better than reading a book that connects you to a time you so well remember. Such was the case in this wonderfully written story that Chancel Cleeton constructed for her readers.

This story takes us into the life and times of Beatriz Perez, a strong willed, beautiful, independent woman who possesses great love and feelings for her native land. Her wish is to see Cuba become the place of beauty, family, and one that her memories so want it to be. However, this is the time of the advent of Castro, coming into power after the tyrannical reign of Baptiste. Beatriz wants to go home again, but the times thwart her heart’s desire.

She is beautiful, desired by many men, but she falls in love with a “Kennedyesque” senator, and their relationship, though loving and torrid for the times, only seems to be able to bring Beatriz pain, longing, and loneliness. Recruited by the CIA, she is determined to fight for her Cuba in any way she can even to the ultimate of murder and death. Her life becomes one of clandestine times with the Senator and plotting for the overthrow of Castro.

One can not help but admire Beatriz as she is driven to try and recapture what was once hers and her family’s. This story was told with the backdrop of the times, Kennedy as President, the Bay of Pigs failed attempt, the plight of the Cuban people both here and in Cuba, and the Missile crisis added such relevance and poignancy to this book. It was a time I so remember as the threat of nuclear destruction hung about our days and made the news reels each night scaring those who watched.

Chancel Cleeton did a most admirable job weaving the story infused with so much historical significance with the life of Beatriz. I recommend this story most highly for its authenticity and its ability to present so well the wonderful ability of strength and resilience that so many woman of that time possessed.

and here’s the author:

Chanel Cleeton is the USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.