Congratulations to my good friend and Babalu’s very own Dr. Carlos Eire for his phenomenal book, Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, being selected as one of Simon & Schuster’s top 100 books they have ever published. The memoir, which captured in rich detail Carlos’ life as a youngster in Cuba and then his harrowing and heartbreaking journey into exile as a Pedro Pan child, won the National Book Award in 2003.
I read the book before I ever met Carlos, and although I was born in the U.S., I instantly connected with his experiences, which tapped directly not only into my Cuban heritage and upbringing, but my humanity. His story is amazing in and of itself, but it’s his prose and whimsical writing style that brings it all to life and makes a deep connection with the reader. The book transcends beyond a Cuban audience and has touched the lives of countless readers, as evidenced by all the accolades it has received.
If you haven’t read the book yet, I highly recommend you do. You can order it HERE When you’re done with that, don’t miss out on the equally captivating sequel, Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy.
For me, however, the best part is I got to meet Carlos in person not long after reading his book, and we have gone on to become good friends. He is one of the most remarkable, intelligent, and accomplished persons I have ever met, and also one of the most humble. This combination of genius and modesty come through in his books and in person.
As many of you may know, Carlos and I also do a bimonthly podcast called the Christian Mysticism Podcast, where listeners can experience a lecture by Yale University’s T. Lawrason Riggs professor of History and Religious Studies delivered with the same brilliance and humility. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, you can hear all the episodes HERE.
While I have enjoyed many of Carlos’ books and have learned so much from him doing the podcast, I cherish his friendship the most.
Felicidades, mi hermano. It is well deserved.
Congratulations Dr.Carlos! I’m a big fan of your work.
Couldn’t have been won by a more deserving author!…
It’s nice to know everything is not being judged in terms of political correctness, though the fact this book has done as well as it has may be due at least partly to divine intervention. Congratulations to the author.
Congratulations professor.
Now when is the publishing industry going to wake up and realize that the second memoir, Learning to Die in Miami, is also a masterpiece? As I wrote in my review of it, It oughta’ win a Pulitzer. This book is like Rodney Dangerfield. It doesn’t get any respect.
Alberto, I also got motivated to get to know Carlos from reading “Waiting for Snow”. For the Cubans like me not living in Miami the book provided a connection to Cuba which filled a void once my parents passed on to the other side. Carlos told me about Babalu Blog which just like his book is both sweetly and painfully nostalgic.
Alberto and Carlos have done and are doing a fantastic service via their Christian Mysticism podcast. Of all our efforts to help Cuba this will likely prove in the long run to be the most impactful.