In 'Keeper of My Kin,' Ada Ferrer struggles with being her mother's "chosen one"

In 'Keeper of My Kin,' Ada Ferrer struggles with being her mother's "chosen one"

From NPR's Book of the Day by NPR

June 10, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

Ada Ferrer discusses her memoir 'Keeper of My Kin' and the impact of family separation during the Cuban Revolution.

At the start of the Cuban Revolution, Adela Ferrer’s husband made an impossible decision. Her husband had fled Havana for New York, and she planned to take her two children and join him. But instead, she was forced to bring only her daughter, leaving her 9-year-old son behind. That daughter – Ada Ferrer – is out with a new memoir called Keeper of My Kin . In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Adrian Florido about the weight of family separation in Cuba and the difficulty of being “the chosen one.” To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Host: Adrian Florido

Guest: Ada Ferrer

Topics covered

  • Cuban Revolution
  • family separation
  • memoir
  • personal struggle
  • immigration

Keywords

  • Ada Ferrer
  • Keeper of My Kin
  • Cuban Revolution
  • family separation
  • memoir

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR

Books & works: Keeper of My Kin

Places: Cuba, Havana, New York

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