Adopted Land, Beloved Land

Book excerpt: Both informative and engaging, Adopted Land, Beloved Land: The Peña-Lara Story depicts the author’s family history, while also telling the story of how a Mexican family successfully assimilated into the United States, adopting the American way of life, though never loosing sight of their Hispanic heritage. Having no choice but to flee what was then a war-ravaged Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, author Christopher Peña’s paternal grandparents and four of his uncles crossed the border at Laredo in 1915. Once in the States, four additional children were born, including his father - totaling seven boys and a girl. Six of the boys went on to serve during the Second World War, including one who was wounded at Iwo Jima. Adopted Land, Beloved Land: The Peña-Lara Story chronicles Peña’s father’s roots in Mexico starting in the 1860s, the Mexican Revolution, life in Monterrey, history of and family life in Laredo, the military service of the six boys during the Second World War, and the post-war years of the family, ending in 2009.