Wendy Guerra

A lush, sensuous, and original tale of family, love, and history, set against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath.

Nadia Guerra’s mother, Albis Torres, left when Nadia was just ten years old. Growing up, the proponents of revolution promised a better future. Now that she’s an adult, Nadia finds that life in Havana hasn’t quite matched its promise; instead it has stifled her rebellious and artistic desires. Each night she DJs a radio show government censors block from broadcasting. Frustrated, Nadia finds hope and a way out when she wins a scholarship to study in Russia. 

Leaving Cuba offers her the chance to find her long lost mother and her real father. But as she embarks on a journey east, Nadia soon begins to question everything she thought she knew and understood about her past.

As Nadia discovers more about her family, her fate becomes entwined with that of Celia Sanchez, an icon of the Cuban Revolution—a resistance fighter, ingenious spy, and the rumored lover of Fidel Castro. A tale of revolutionary ideals and promise, Celia’s story interweaves with Nadia’s search for meaning, and eventually reveals secrets Nadia could never have dreamed.

“A revelatory tale of the Cuban Revolution’s impact on a family... Guerra holds the reader’s attention by evoking Cuba’s political tempest in Havana’s humid, salty air. It adds up to an effectively moody, intimate story.” Publisher's Weekly

“In Wendy Guerra’s writing, Cuba is a character, a cosmic force, the loneliest place, the only place. [...] Guerra’s own unpredictable book is haunting, complicated, [and] linguistically beautiful.” The New York Times

“Moving around in time and space, I Was Never the First Lady juxtaposes decades’ worth of Cuban history with the story of a mother and daughter, each struggling to create art.” Words Without Borders 

“A multilayered novel...Nadia's, her mother's, and Celia's stories provide fascinating insights into the female dimension of an infamously macho revolution.” Booklist

“This is Wendy Guerra at her best. I Was Never The First Lady is a beautiful, disturbing, intimately-told novel about the existential orphanhood of women in a Cuba where Fidel’s Castro’s revolution has upended notions of family, individual identity and national belonging. Unforgettable.”  Jon Lee Anderson

“Guerra’s novel is a grand if bittersweet valentine to Cuba.” Kirkus Reviews

“[Guerra is] a staggering talent.” Oprah.com