This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
First Love: Just Once in a Lifetime: A Memoir is a non-fiction memoir written by Violeta Barrett. Barrett was a young career woman when she went on a vacation to Mexico in the summer of 1956. She had been working for an investment firm on Wall Street for ten years since graduating from school, and was separated from her husband of two years. The upcoming trip seemed like a thrilling adventure and, when she arrived at the Mexico City airport, the first person she met there was her tour guide, Jorge, from Felicity Tours. The tour through Mexico proved to be every bit as exciting as she had hoped from the very first day, and she soon found herself falling in love with the romance, culture and history of the country. She also fell in love with Jorge, though they had just a few days to share exclusively with each other. Their romance continued after her return to the States through their correspondence. Though the two of them were never able to fulfill their deepest dream of being together forever, they shared a close and indelible bond that transcended all else. Barrett's memoir is followed by the letters Jorge sent her from the time she left Mexico until July, 1960.
Violeta Barrett's nonfiction memoir, First Love: Just Once in a Lifetime: A Memoir, is a beautifully written and heartwarming tribute to the man who captured the author's heart and never quite let it go. This is a bittersweet tale of love that is simply and honestly told in the author's words, which are echoed so marvelously in Jorge's letters from long ago. I kept thinking to myself how different the ending might have been if Barrett's romance had begun more recently, even while I marveled that these two lovers were able to maintain their amazing romance despite the geographical and cultural challenges. Barrett includes a number of photographs taken during her holiday in her memoir and the happiness on her and Jorge's faces shines clear and bright even some fifty odd years later. I was enchanted by their fairytale romance even if there wasn't to be, at least in this life, a happily ever after. First Love: Just Once in a Lifetime: A Memoir is most highly recommended.
