In the tradition of The Yellow House and Half Broke Horses, a memoir of the Cuban diaspora that follows one family's exile from the island, through a lyrical exploration of memory, cultural mythology, and the history of Cuban-American relations.
History is undeniably dominated by its men, but the stories Elena Sheppard was brought up on were almost always about Cuba's women-everyday women, whose names would be forgotten and buried along with their bones unless someone took the effort to remember them.
Cifuentes, Cuba, in the 1950s was nearly idyllic-at least that's how Elena's grandparents, Rosita and Gustavo Delgado, remember the Eden they left. When Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, Gustavo was placed on a list of political undesirables, and by the end of 1960, the couple and their two daughters had fled to Florida, with nothing more than five dollars, and a suitcase each. The Delgados were certain they would return to Cifuentes within a few months, after Castro's reign had run its course. But they never went back, and a piece of each of their identities became frozen in that moment.
In 1987, Elena was the first in Gustavo and Rosita's family to be born in the United States, but through the memories that lived on in her grandmother's mind, Cuba became the foundation of her childhood. Elena takes us inside these stories, and as we travel back and forth across the narrow Florida Straits that separate Miami and Havana, we also weave between past and present, to discover family secrets that are on the brink of being lost to time.
In lyrical yet unflinching prose, The Eternal Forest follows one family's exile from their homeland and in so doing, it tells the larger political story of the Cuban Revolution and its diaspora. Through a spellbinding blend of cultural myth, historical texts, and personal narrative, The Eternal Forest seeks to understand the nature of inheritance, how trauma and memory are passed down through generations, and what it means to yearn for an island you can never fully know. In the tradition of The Yellow House and Half Broke Horses, a memoir of the Cuban diaspora that follows one family's exile from the island, through a lyrical exploration of memory, cultural mythology, and the history of Cuban-American relations. Elena Sheppard is a graduate of Columbia University's MFA, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Vogue, The Guardian, The Cut, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and W, as well as on NBC and MSNBC. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, and she teaches creative nonfiction and journalism in Columbia's High School Summer Program.
"Written with skillful assurance and a thoughtful, stirring voice, Elena Sheppard's The Eternal Forest is the tale of a family haunted by history. This beautifully-researched record of exile, journeys, and rebirth not only chronicles personal stories of survival and reinvention but also addresses the larger cultural and political forces that shaped the Cuban diaspora. Sheppard's evocative prose invites readers into the heart of her family's journey, making it a deeply moving tribute to the enduring power of memory, identity, and hope." -Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Fencing With the King
"In The Eternal Forest, Elena Sheppard weaves a lush and evocative tapestry of family, memory, and exile. Through the eyes of three generations of Cuban women, this memoir captures the tenderness, strength, and heartbreak that define a diasporic identity. Moving from the sunlit paseos of mid-century Cifuentes to the bustling neighborhoods of Miami and beyond, Sheppard explores what it means to leave a homeland and to belong to a history shaped by loss and resilience. In lyrical, intimate prose, she recounts moments of joy, pain, and enduring love, connecting past to present in an unbroken circle of mothers and daughters. The Eternal Forest is a tribute t
