Elena Schwolsky takes us on an unforgettable journey through the trenches: as an idealistic Venceremos brigadista doing her part to build a new nation; a pediatric AIDS nurse on the frontlines of the epidemic that claimed her Vietnam veteran husband; and as a grieving widow volunteering at one of Cuba’s controversial AIDS sanatoriums, where she inspires the creation of Cuba’s first AIDS quilt panel. Her remarkable story bears compassionate witness to the resilience and courage of one of the most vulnerable communities, both in the US and in her beloved, quixotic Cuba.

Mindy Lewis, author of Life Inside: A Memoir