In these linked tales about the Cuban-American experience and the immigrant experience in general, Ana Menendez has instantly established herself as a natural storyteller who and "probes with steady humor and astute political insight the dreams versus the realities of her characters and " (Elle). From the prizewinning title story unfolds a series of family snapshots that illuminate the landscape of an exiled community rich in heritage, memory, and longing for the past. In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd is at once and "tender and sharp-fanged and " (L.A. Weekly) as Ana Menendez charts the territory from Havana to Coral Gables, exploring whether any of us are capable, or even truly desirous, of out running our origins.