After They Left

By: Betty Viamontes

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

***Winner of the ILBA Mimi Lozano Best Family History Book, and from the author of the award-winning "Waiting on Zapote Street" and "Brothers: A Pedro Pan Story." Betty Viamontes, a multi-award-winning author, is celebrated for her honest and authentic storytelling that captivates readers from the first page. Her works, often rooted in true stories, are renowned for their engaging narratives.

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In April 1980, a Cuban family is jolted awake by pounding on their front door. Government officials have come to take them to Havana’s Port of Mariel, where thousands of Cubans are fleeing the island for the United States.

But not everyone will be allowed to go.

Two sisters who have lived together for years in a house on Zapote Street are suddenly forced apart. Laura leaves with her three children to reunite with her husband after twelve years of separation. Her sister Berta, however, is ordered to stay behind with her husband, Antonio, and their two young daughters.

From that moment on, Berta’s family is marked as traitors.

Neighbors stop speaking to them. Friends disappear. Government-organized mobs gather outside their home, shouting insults and threatening violence. Living under constant surveillance and fear, the family struggles to survive in a system designed to break their spirit.

But Berta refuses to surrender.

Determined to protect her children and reunite with her sister, she embarks on a desperate battle against a regime that controls every aspect of their lives. Each step toward freedom carries enormous risk.

Based on true events, this powerful story reveals the human cost of political repression and the extraordinary courage required to keep a family together when everything—and everyone—is working to tear it apart.