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Online Author Talk With Ana Hebra Flaster

Exile, Memory and the Meaning of Home

Join us online for a conversation with Ana Hebra Flaster as we discuss her sweeping yet deeply intimate memoir, "Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio to a New Hampshire Mill Town." Adults. Register to get a link. A recording will also be available for later viewing.

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What happens when the country you love forces you out, leaving you just 48 hours to abandon everything you’ve ever known? Join us for an extraordinary online conversation with author and essayist Ana Hebra Flaster as we discuss her sweeping yet deeply intimate memoir, "Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio to a New Hampshire Mill Town."

Ana Hebra Flaster was six years old in 1967 when her working-class family was kicked out of their Havana barrio for opposing communism. Once devoted revolutionaries themselves but disillusioned by the Castro government’s repressive tactics, they fled to the US. The permanent losses they suffered — of home, country and loved ones, all within 48 hours — haunted her multigenerational family as they reclaimed their lives and freedom in New Hampshire. There, they fed each other stories of their scrappy barrio — some of which Hebra Flaster has shared on "All Things Considered" — to resurrect their lost world and fortify themselves for the daunting task of building a new life in a foreign land.

Weaving pivotal events in Cuba/U.S. history with stories from her viejos (elders) of surviving political upheaval, impossible choices and being a refugee, "Property of the Revolution" celebrates the indomitable spirit and wisdom of the women warriors who led the family out of Cuba, shaped its rebirth as Cuban Americans and helped Ana grow up hopeful, future-facing — and American. But what happens when deeply-buried childhood memories resurface, demanding an adult’s reckoning?

Here’s how the fiercest love, the most stubborn will and the power of family put nine new Americans back on their feet.

Register today to gain a deeper, more personal perspective on the refugee experience and the enduring quest to define home.

Adults. Register to receive a link for viewing this online event.

About the Author: Ana Hebra Flaster is journalist and the author of "Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio to a New Hampshire Mill Town," published in April 2025. A former child refugee from Cuba, Ana’s work has appeared in national print and online media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the Boston Globe. Her commentaries and storytelling have aired on NPR’s "All Things Considered" and PBS’s "Stories from the Stage." Since its publication, "Property of the Revolution" has won first place in several international writing contests, including the 2026 IBPA Book Awards (Memoir), 2025 Discovery Book Awards (Nonfiction Overall), 2025 International Book Awards (Creative Nonfiction) and the 2025 IAP Book Awards (Memoir of the Year). The memoir was selected as the Nashua, the New Hampshire 2026 All-City Read and the Rivier University 2025 First-Year Read. Ana speaks regularly with student, library and civic groups about her family’s journey and the refugee and immigrant experience. She is currently focused on covering the struggle for democracy and human rights in Cuba in her weekly Substack, "CubaCurious," a project she launched in July 2024.

This event is part of DBRL's Online Author Series, supported by David Lile honorarium funds. A recording will also be available for later viewing on the author series site.

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