Cuban Blues

The open ocean held the promise of a new life, a fresh start, until it carried Gordon Hesse into a nightmare.

Hesse's bond with the Atlantic Ocean was strong after years of living on its shores, beachcombing, lifeguarding and crewing on fishing boats. After college, as a series of financial, professional and personal challenges left him feeling adrift, the sea gave him a chance to escape it all. Or so he thought.

When his vessel drifted into Cuban waters in 1973, a harsh new reality confronted him: Cuban soldiers, angry prisoners and oppressive captivity. Part drama, part history lesson and all true, Cuban Blues leads the reader into the dark, moldy prisons of Castro's Cuba during the era of the Vietnam War and the world's changing social and political mores, and into Hesse's psyche as he struggles to survive, learn and grow.

For nearly a year, Hesse faced fear, confusion and regret as he dove deep into his past to figure out how he ended up there and considered how he might right his life when he returned home-if he did.

This captivating and unforgettable memoir reminds us that no matter what pressures face us at home, greater struggles may await when we try to leave them behind.