Story of the Child Who Dared to Dream of Freedom: A Memoir

Osmany Rodriguez Afonso grew up in Cuba under a regime that controlled everything: what you ate, what you said, what you believed, and what you were allowed to dream. He had never tasted freedom. He had never seen it, touched it, or known anyone who had. And yet - somewhere deep inside the child he was - he dreamed of it anyway.

This is the voice of those who were born in the dark and still dared to imagine the light.

He watched his mother hide her faith to keep her job. He was arrested on street corners. He was told the sacrifices were worth it - the regime breaks your legs, hands you a crutch, and asks you to be grateful.

This is the story of the child who kept asking why.

From the sugarcane fields of Santa Clara to a military cell where he refused to crawl, from a beach resort in Varadero to a Moscow hotel room with $2,000 and twenty nights to figure out the rest of his life - this memoir traces one man's journey from silence to freedom, told with the honesty of someone who has nothing left to hide.

He arrived in the United States with $20. He built a life. His son was born free in Broward County, Florida.

This is Book One of two. The desert is behind him. The sea is ahead.