How place and sensory memory shaped A Little Piece of Cuba

Today on More to the Story Podcast: A Client Interview with Barbara Caver, author of the debut memoir A Little Piece of Cuba

Barbara Caver joins me to talk about her debut memoir A Little Piece of Cuba: A Journey to Become Cubana Americana, which lands December 2 (She Writes Press / distributed by Simon & Schuster). We talk about the long, winding path from screenwriting and documentary work to creative nonfiction, how a five-day trip to Havana reopened childhood memory, and the way family recipes and sensory details can act as time machines for a life lived between places.

About Barbara

Barbara Caver is a lifelong student of the arts and is an accomplished film and television production executive. She loves traveling, exercising, hiking, dancing, cooking, and eating, as well as writing about all of these things with great enthusiasm, affection, and humor. A Little Piece of Cuba is her first full-length memoir. Raised in South Carolina, Barbara currently resides in Jackson Heights, New York City.

In today’s episode:

* how Barbara’s writing life began (diaries at nine, film school, screenwriting) and how readers kept telling her this material wanted to be a book.

* the catalytic trip to Havana in 2017 that unlocked deeper memories and the decision to tell her Cuba story as a memoir.

* the sensory hooks that became anchors in the manuscript—airport smells, tiles, and the way place can call up the past.

* the role of community, developmental editing, and coaching in moving from fragments to draft—including the 30,000-word early dump Barbara sent me and how we found the through-line.

* the emotional labor of naming the book’s “why” (what the book is about beyond events) and trusting the feeling-thread over strict chronology.

* Barbara’s publishing choice: why she submitted to and chose She Writes Press (hybrid publishing) and what that experience has been like.

* what Barbara’s doing now—publicity, podcast interviews, a six-city book tour, and essays she’s placing in outlets like Lit Hub.

* how the More to the Story community functioned as “creative Kool-Aid”—honest, protective, and un-coddling support that helped her keep going.

Links mentioned in this episode:

* Pre-order A Little Piece of Cuba at bookshop.org

* Barbara’s site and book page → barbaracaverauthor.com

* Barbara’s Substack: Tiny Escapes with Barb → Barbara Caver.

* Learn more / submit or subscribe to Under the Gum Tree → underthegumtree.com.

* More about my coaching & editing services → moretothestory.co

* My Book Outline Formula Worksheet & Book Diagnosis calls → moretothestory.co/bookoutline and moretothestory.co/bookdiagnosis.

* Get your 10% discount on your first order of whole bean coffee roasted from my parents’ boutique coffee roastery in Northern California at caffesantoro.com/janna.

Want help figuring out the next steps for your book project? Schedule a 15-min Book Diagnosis call with me.

Follow & Connect

* find show notes for this episode at moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

* follow me on Instagram @jannamarlies

* follow Under the Gum Tree on Instagram @undergumtree

Question for You

What single sensory detail (a smell, a sound, a taste) immediately takes you back to your family or childhood? Share it in the comments — I’d love to hear what surfaces for you.

Thanks so much for listening and for being here!

(AI Disclaimer: These show notes were generated by AI using the transcript of this episode.)

Get full access to More to the Story with Janna Maron at moretothestory.substack.com/subscribe