In 1972, when she was a young, divorced, single mother, restless and idealistic, Elena Schwolsky made a decision that changed her life: leaving her eighteen-month-old son with his father, she joined hundreds of other young Americans on a work brigade in Cuba. They spent their days building cinderblock houses for workers and their nights partying and debating politics. The Cuban revolution was young, and so were they. At a moment of transition in Schwolsky’s life, Cuba represented hope and the power to change.
Twenty years later, she is drawn back to this forbidden island, yearning to move out of grief following the death of her husband from AIDS and feeling burned out after spending ten years as a nurse on the frontlines of the epidemic. Back in Cuba, she experiences the chaotic bustle of a Havana most Americans never see—a city frozen in time yet constantly changing. She takes readers along with her through her humorous attempts to communicate in a new language and navigate this very different culture—through the leafy tranquility of the controversial AIDS Sanitorium and into the lives of the resilient, opinionated, and passionate Cubans who become her family and help her to heal.
- 230 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
Information
Subtopic
Social Science BiographiesIndex
Social SciencesTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Preface
- Chapter One: Venceremos
- Chapter Two: Forbidden Island
- Chapter Three: Reality Tour
- Chapter Four: Waking in Havana
- Chapter Five: Los Cocos
- Chapter Six: Ties Sealed in Loss
- Chapter Seven: Let There be Light Bulbs
- Chapter Eight: A Long Journey Home
- Chapter Nine: Camping with the Enemy
- Chapter Ten: Ninety Miles of Separation
- Chapter Eleven: Searching for Piña in Havana
- Chapter Twelve: Life on the Margins
- Chapter Thirteen: Telling our Stories
- Chapter Fourteen: Mother and Child Reunion
- Chapter Fifteen: Why is This Night Different?
- Chapter Sixteen: No Word for Quilt
- Chapter Seventeen: Una Yuma in Havana
- Chapter Eighteen: Proyecto Memorias
- Chapter Nineteen: Unfolding
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- Appendix I: Chronology of Global AIDS Epidemic
- Appendix II: To Learn More …
- About the Author
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Yes, you can access Waking in Havana by Elena Schwolsky in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Social Science Biographies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.