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June 8, 2022 @ 7:00 pm
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In-Person | Journey Back Into the Vault: An Evening with Mario Cartaya and David Lawrence Jr.
Books & Books and Miami Book Fair present…
An Evening with Mario Cartaya
In conversation with David Lawrence Jr.
discussing
Journey Back Into The Vault: In Search of my Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints
(Xlibris Us, $17.99)
Wednesday, June 8, 7 PM | LIVE & IN-PERSON at Books & Books, Coral Gables
Signing to follow the conversation
RSVP HERE TO ATTEND
Books & Books is thrilled to present Mario Cartaya and JOURNEY BACK INTO THE VAULT.
This event is FREE and open to the public and books will be available for purchase the night of the event so make sure to stay after the talk for a book signing! Please RSVP only if you intend to join us.
About the Book:
Journey Back into the Vault: In Search of My Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints invites you to travel with me back to the land of my birth for the first time in fifty-six years in order to reclaim my forgotten Cuban childhood memories, original identity, and once-promised destiny. Come with me as I search for the now faded footprints I once left behind in the homes, school, and playgrounds of the first nine years of my life; help me honor the grandparents, uncles, and aunts I never saw again at their final resting place; and meet family members I never knew I had. Laugh, sigh, and cry with me during the many unforeseen experiences, astonishing events, and serendipitous moments that would forever change my life. Enjoy the improbable story of a courageous journey aimed at breaching the subconscious vault I once built to store the difficult memories of a childhood usurped, destiny denied, and loving family forever separated by geopolitical events. This is the story of those psychological forces that help define us, the power of enduring hope, and how by achieving purity of heart, reconciliation, and a soul at rest, we can evolve into better versions of ourselves—a universal message of love and enlightenment that can only begin with each individual’s search for self-actualization and inner peace.
BUY THE BOOK
About the Author:
MARIO CARTAYA was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1951. Eight years later, the turbulent winds of political change swept over the land of his birth, leaving his family with little choice but to immigrate toward the United States in search of a new life lived in freedom. There, he realized his earliest Cuban childhood dreams of becoming an architect and started an enduring and highly acclaimed architectural firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His life’s story and award-winning architectural designs were entered into the United States Congressional Record of the House of Representatives in 2019, forever enshrined into the US Library of Congress. Mario now has turned his attention to writing novels with the same dedication and love that made him an architectural success and iconic designer. His fresh voice, creative expression, and humanist values will enrich your mind and refreshen your soul. This is his first novel. You will dream, laugh, sigh, and cry with him in a roller coaster of emotions that will make you glad to have joined him on this most incredible journey.
About the Moderator:
DAVID LAWRENCE JR. retired in 1999 as publisher of The Miami Herald to work in the area of early childhood development and readiness. He chairs The Children’s Movement of Florida, aimed at making children the state’s top priority for investment and decision-making. In 2002 and 2008 he led successful campaigns for The Children’s Trust, a dedicated source of early intervention and prevention funding for children in Miami-Dade. He is the “founding chair.”
Before coming to Miami in 1989, he was publisher and executive editor of the Detroit Free Press. Previously he was editor of The Charlotte Observer, and earlier in reporting and editing positions at four newspapers. During his tenure as Miami Herald publisher, the paper won five Pulitzer Prizes.