RAIN OF TEARS

Years ago, mid-90's I think, I woke one night unable to sleep so I got up and turned the TV to a Tom Snyder show.  Tom was interviewing this author, Victor Villasenor, and I was fascinated with the story.  Mr. Villasenor had written a book based on his family's history.  He had received an advance from a publisher who was now insisting that the book be remade as fiction as the stories were too unbelievable to be called fact.  The author insisted that he couldn't do that was it was his family's story and the publisher said because of the advance, it was to be a novel.  Mr. Villasenor bought back his book by repaying the advance and found a small publisher, University of Houston Press.

I few weeks later I found the book, Rain of Gold, in a bookstore.  The copy I picked up was signed by Victor Villasenor so I bought it.  I started to read it and my mother came over to watch her grandchildren.  She started reading the book and "borrowed" it from me.  She couldn't put it down.  My mother was thrilled with the story of the two families.  She had followed the crops herself and she knew what it was to work picking fruit. Victor's father had gone to Montana where my mother's family was from. So when my mom finished the book, she looked up Victor's telephone number and called him.  She was thrilled that he talked with her.

At this point, I had lost track of the book.  I had a receptionist that had time on her hands between telephone calls and client appointments so I would recommend books for her to read.  One of those books was Rain of Gold.  This year, my former receptionist graduated from college.  I sent her a note via Facebook congratulating her on her achievement and she reminded me about recommending Rain of Gold.  I still had not read it some 15 years later.  I bought the book again and read it.  I don't know if I was ready for it 15 years ago, now it touched me in a way few books do.  Perhaps because I have a Mexican girlfriend or that my mother has died.  I don't know.  But at this point, I would call the book a Rain of Tears.  You can find reviews of the book elsewhere.  This is not a review.  This is only my interactions with this story.  Victor has several websites and he continues to write and speak about his family.  I would have loved to have met his grandmothers in person.  I feel like I have met them through his writing.  So thank you Victor, Yadira, Tom Snyder and my mom for inspiring me to read Rain of Gold.