I was born in the Dominican Republic in the later days of the regime. I felt the suffering and pain which many of my family and their friends some mentioned in this book, endured. This book brought to life the reality of the dictatorship with so much feeling whether actual or not. It is a fantastic work of literature. Thanks Mario, on behalf of my family who were forced to abandom all of their dreams in their homeland. There are still remnants of the dictatorship affecting the Dominican way of life which change and time has not erased.