Author Stories Podcast Episode 1062 | Serena Burdick Interview


Today’s author interview guest is Serena Burdick, author of Find Me in Havana.

From the best-selling author of The Girl with No Names, a new historical novel based on the dazzling story of one of Hollywood’s most celebrated Hispanic actresses and her daughter’s search for closure.

“Told in a series of letters, Find Me in Havana is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of mothers and daughters, and the American Dream that comes with the biggest price of all. I couldn’t put it down!” (Heather Webb, USA Today best-selling author)

Cuba, 1936: When Estelita Rodriguez sings in a hazy Havana nightclub for the very first time, she is nine years old. From then on, that spotlight of adoration – from Havana to New York’s Copacabana and then Hollywood – becomes the one true accomplishment no one can take from her.

Not the 1933 Cuban Revolution that drove her family into poverty. Not the revolving door of husbands or the fickle world of film.

Thirty years later, her young adult daughter, Nina, is blindsided by her mother’s mysterious death. Seeking answers, the grieving Nina navigates the troubling, opulent memories of their life together and discovers how much Estelita sacrificed to live the American dream on her own terms.

Based on true events and exclusive interviews with Nina Lopez, Estelita’s daughter, Find Me in Havana weaves two unforgettable voices into one extraordinary story that explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child, and the ever-changing landscape of self-discovery.

Serena Burdick is the Toronto Star, Publishers’ Weekly and international bestselling author of THE GIRLS WITH NO NAMES. She is the author of the novel FIND ME IN HAVANA (January, 2021) and the 2017 International Book Award Winner for Historical Fiction for her novel GIRL IN THE AFTERNOON. She studied creative writing at Sarah Lawrence, holds a Bachelors of Arts from Brooklyn College in English literature and an Associates of Arts from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in theater. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

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