Mexico in 1918 was a dangerous place to live. Disease was ravaging village after village. Young Sofía's parents decided to take what was left of their family and brave a perilous midnight crossing into the United States, hoping to save the lives of their remaining children. They did not anticipate the hardships that lay ahead of them. After a family tragedy, Sofía is sent to live with a well-to-do aunt in Phoenix. Sofía's father assumes this is for the best, that his sister would educate her and treat her as a daughter. He could not have known it would plunge her into a life of hard labor and bad relationships with the wrong men. Hungry for love, her first lover leads to a daughter, Eva, born out of wedlock. When he abandons her and their baby, another unsavory man is quick to come to her rescue. But when he tries to convince Sofía to leave what little family she has left to go west with him, to work in the fields of California, she is torn. Weighing what few options are available to her, she believes she has no choice but to go with him. If only that was the lone circumstance in which she had no choice. Sofía's difficult, yet inspiring life unfolds over the next twenty years, through a series of highs and lows, with her devoted, headstrong daughter by her side. As a young woman, Eva hopes to avoid the mistakes her mother made with men, but she is not always able to steer clear of them. When life becomes dangerous and unbearable for Sofía, will Eva and her beau be able to save her, or will Sofía have to save them? This poignant and gripping drama plays out from 1918 to 1960, and is full of love and heartbreak, prejudice and betrayal, lovers, friends and family. It is inspired by the true stories written in Debra Burroughs' book CARMEN.
About the Author: Debra Burroughs grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area during a tumultuous time when the Civil Rights Movement was gearing up and racial tensions were mounting. Her parents moved the family to a more peaceful town in the Central Valley of California. Starting college, she majored in broadcast journalism, but over time she changed her major to business. Even though she moved her focus to business, she never lost her love for writing. She always hoped one day to return to it. Over the years, with a large Mexican family, she heard many stories about their history, particularly from her mother and grandmother. As she would relay these colorful and heart-wrenching family stories to her friends, many times she would hear them say, "You should really write a book about that." After continual encouragement and gentle prodding from her husband, she finally decided to do it. Now that their children are grown and gone, Debra has found a quiet place to write in their home in Idaho.