First Love, by Violeta Barrett is a well-written, heart-felt and honest memoir, one that reminds us that “true love never dies.”

The author opens her heart and candidly shares with readers how she fell in love with her tour guide in Mexico during a holiday back in 1956. Not only that, but she also shares with us the 76 love letters that kept their relationship alive during the four years of their affair. Torn and yellowed, the letters speak for themselves in this upbeat, inspirational story.

Violeta had been working for more than a decade for a Wall Street investment firm before her trip. She was a modern, career woman, already married and separated for two years. Stressed and overworked, she had gone to Mexico to relax and charge her batteries. But nothing prepared her for the outcome: her finding true love in the least expected circumstances. She was loved like a princess in a fairytale. How many women can say that in a lifetime?

Entertaining and uplifting, this memoir is full of ethnic, local flavor with all the sights and sounds of Mexico. The narrator’s voice is honest and sensitive. This is a woman who knew real love and who’s lived to tell her experience to others, to share her feelings and doubts.

Part of the book are the letters themselves, which she kept all this time, never knowing that one day she would write a book about them.

This is recommended to fans of memoirs or anybody who enjoys a good romantic tale.

Reviewed by Mayra Calvani (www.MayraCalvani.com)
June 2012