Waiting on Zapote Street by Betty Viamontes

Waiting on Zapote Street by Betty Viamontes

This book is based on a true story. Rio and Laura, two people from opposite backgrounds, meet in Havana, Cuba in January, 1961. A single, unselfish decision to help a stranger shatters their lives. The revolution they unwittingly helped solidify creates a powerful and myopic socialist government which tears them apart. Neither one of them is prepared to face the roller-coaster ride their lives become. Neither one of them could have imagined how much their love for each other would be tested, or for how long, or the impact their choices would have on their families. The story is a classic, of young patriots caught up in a revolution and its aftermath . . . How does one live through something like this and not write about it? Many, I think, will be glad Betty Viamontes did. Her book has the texture of a sincere, honest work. - Andy Plattner, author, Offerings From a Rust Belt Jockey Anyone who wants an inside view of life under Castro need look no further than Waiting on Zapote Street. Betty Viamontes has written a painfully accurate and wonderfully detailed memoir-novel of one family's struggle for freedom and reunion. From its opening shocks of loss and separation to its thrilling and emotional conclusion, Waiting on Zapote Street gives us a front-row-and timely-experience of a Cuban family's hardship, love, and enduring hope. -John Henry Fleming, author of Songs for the Deaf and The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman

Betty Viamontes, author of the highly rated autobiographical novel Waiting on Zapote Street, was born in Havana, Cuba. Her work is known for its honesty and its ability to keep readers engaged from the moment they start to read. Betty, her siblings, and her mother migrated to the United States from Cuba in 1980, when Betty was fifteen years old. They left Havana on a shrimp boat on a stormy night, when many men, women, and children lost their lives, traveling on overloaded vessels similar to theirs. Upon her arrival to the United States, Betty had to master the English language and become acclimated to a new culture. Betty completed graduate studies in Business and Accounting, as well as a Graduate Certificate Creative Writing, at the University of South Florida, and moved on to a successful career in Accounting. Her creative works have appeared on various literary journals and newspapers. In 2015, as a tribute to her mother, who passed away in 2011, and to fulfill her last wishes, Betty Viamontes published a memoir-style novel, based on her family's life in Cuba, entitled Waiting on Zapote Street. This novel was selected by a United Nations book club for its February 2016 reading and received excellent reviews. Betty enjoys giving back to her community. She is a regular speaker at the University of South Florida and other professional organizations, and is active at the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where she is currently the Chair of the FICPA Healthcare Conference. She derives her passion from her mother who was a teacher for many years and instilled in her the importance of an education, perseverance, and hard work.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780986423703
ISBN 10	098642370X
Title	Waiting on Zapote Street
Author	Betty Viamontes
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Zapote Street Books, LLC
Year published	2015-03-02
Number of pages	252
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.