A Sense of Belonging: From Castro's Cuba to the U.S. Senate, One Man's Pursuit of the American Dream - Tapa blanda

Mel Martinez is a living embodiment of the American Dream. From his early days under the iron-fisted rule of Fidel Castro to his arrival in the United States at age fifteen, and now as a member of the U.S. Senate, Mel has demonstrated grit, resolve, and a commitment to fighting for the fundamental rights of freedom and human dignity. This remarkable story not only gives a glimpse into the life of a great man, but also reaffirms the notion that in America, anything is possible.
John McCain
An extraordinary and inspiring book, Mel Martinez s account is at once a memoir, a historical document, and a tribute to both his native homeland and his adopted country. Of the fourteen thousand stories that the children of the Pedro Pan airlift could tell, this is definitely one of the most exemplary. Senator Martinez reveals here, as he does in his public life, how the hyphen in Cuban-American is like gold refined in a blazing furnace. Years from now even centuries from now readers will surely marvel still at the history recorded in these pages.
Carlos Eire, National Book Award winning author of Waiting for Snow in Havana

From the Hardcover edition."

"Mel Martinez is a living embodiment of the American Dream. From his early days under the iron-fisted rule of Fidel Castro to his arrival in the United States at age fifteen, and now as a member of the U.S. Senate, Mel has demonstrated grit, resolve, and a commitment to fighting for the fundamental rights of freedom and human dignity. This remarkable story not only gives a glimpse into the life of a great man, but also reaffirms the notion that in America, anything is possible."
--John McCain
"An extraordinary and inspiring book, Mel Martinez's account is at once a memoir, a historical document, and a tribute to both his native homeland and his adopted country. Of the fourteen thousand stories that the children of the Pedro Pan airlift could tell, this is definitely one of the most exemplary. Senator Martinez reveals here, as he does in his public life, how the hyphen in 'Cuban-American' is like gold refined in a blazing furnace. Years from now-even centuries from now -readers will surely marvel still at the history recorded in these pages."
--Carlos Eire, National Book Award--winning author of Waiting for Snow in Havana

From the Hardcover edition.

The remarkable story of how a teenager rescued from Castro’s Cuba rose to become a United States senator

The swift and improbable rise of Mel Martinez to the top echelon of America’s government began not with a political race but with a burst of gunfire. In April 1958, an eleven-year-old Martinez huddled on his bedroom floor while Cuban soldiers opened fire on insurgents outside his family’s home in the town of Sagua la Grande.

If political unrest made daily life disturbing and at times frightening, Fidel Castro’s Communist Revolution nine months later was nothing short of devastating. When armed militiamen shouted violent threats at Martinez for wearing a medallion as a sign of his Catholic faith, his parents made a heartrending decision: their son would have to escape the Castro regime–alone.

A Sense of Belonging is the riveting account of innocence lost, exile sustained by religious faith, and an immigrant’s determination to overcome the barriers of language and culture in his adopted homeland. Though his story ends in the United States Capitol, Martinez has never forgotten the boy who experienced the loss of liberty under communism. A Sense of Belonging is a paean to the transformative power of the American dream.