Memories from Brazilian Hell The Saga of the Almeida Family in the Garden of Eden
Edition: 1ª
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Estados Unidos - New York
Format: Perfect Bound Softcover(B/W)
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9780595482474
First sentence: My life is a novel 
My mother, Mrs of my fate
 
  
I really would love that part of this story was just a novel, a piece of fiction. But there is another party, which must shout to the world: it was worth!
 
I am the first of the eight children of Paula Almeida de Jesus, a great heroine of survival. The life of the woman is a novel struggles, which, as in real character suffered weft, I am proud.
 
Paula met earlier with my father, Joao Alexandre de Jesus, the bitterness of drought, labor and rural poverty in the interior of Bahia. But she never even thought to gave up, especially when the children were at stake. The couple came out of Amargosa City to try to better conditions of life in Jequié City.
 
Life has never been easy for our family. But the matriarch has no time to mourn. Despite health problems, which left handicapped, despite the illness of her husband, who was unable to work and help in the sustenance of the family, in spite of total misery, Paula survived with an extraordinary desire to live, motivated by the children.
After achieving the transfer of her husband for treatment of health in Sao Paulo, she remains in Jequié with four children. He lived for a long time of charity donations from neighbors and friends of the church, suffering the limitations of the paralysis which affected his legs. But the will to live was so that after spending years is dragging the ground or immobilized a chair of wheels, starts to improve and now walks of crutch.
 
The boys would not to die of hunger, it was the biggest concern. For them, undertakes to leave the city asking for alms, to run behind donation of baskets in basic religious entities, the request without molestation or shame. In its exhausting going, there is the best chance of days: living on a farm, well away from the city, which belonged to a lady that took a pity on Paula. There would house and food for all.
 
It is for the Turmalina Farm that her husband back, after treatment and recovery work in plantation. It is also born there four more children. The days on the farm were not as bad. Despite the distance, the lack of resources, life difficult without comfort or friends around, the contact with nature allows children of Paula, a child of freedom and, in a way, healthy. Money there, but there is a roof and the earth gives food. Take the foot fruit, vegetables from the garden, bathing in river cow's milk fresh, talk to the animals, walking the woods, we have a few memory of a healthy childhood.
 
But once again, my father Alexandre is affected by serious health problems, and it is the inescapable return to Jequié, where life is difficult. For four years, the lease of hovel where we use do live was paid by close relatives. But that would not last forever, I swore to myself.
 
I had seventeen years when my father died, and worked from the six. It was time to help my family so punished and take the reins. My mother, although its permanent warrior spirit, I was tired. I faced all kinds of sacrifice and humiliation to create their children. 

My mother used to defend his children like a wolf do with her sons. Even with no money, she had a goal: create your children, educating them with dignity and pointing them where the path of moral righteousness. It was not ashamed to be poor, shame was choose the bad paths under the pressure of poverty. This lesson would remain forever in our mind.
 
Now the fight I was too. I should take care of my mother and repay all his effort. The first thing I did was meet him an old desire: teach them to read and write. I spent helping in the maintenance of the house and education of my brothers. It was not easy for those who had a family of nine people. There were days when the forces asked God to support the difficult burden of survival.
 
My mother was not woman to be stopped. Without many alternatives, she and the children were asking for alms from door to door.
 
From that time I have sad memories: eat rotten meat, salami and cheese into the sewer of the hospital, sleeping with hunger-fueled only by words of consolation to my mother: "Wait, that Jesus will bring tomorrow", nights of rain with the furniture on the sidewalk because of the waste, waiting for a solution...
 
But Paula always kept alive the flame of hope and faith: "Next year, things improve," not stopping to say - and believed it. Hopeful, all patients awaiting the New Year, which would only further improvements many years later. The basic education in public schools, which Paula has to missing children, was the flame of their hope. Did you know, for education, the children would have better luck and a future less painful.
 
And she was right.

Studying, for me, became obsession. And so it was until I came here, successful, with some work and the scars closed. My other brothers have also found their way, and if not accumulated fortunes or experiencing today is another difficulty, at least managed ports more secure in their lives. Fortunately, Paula lived enough to see that everything was worth.
 
Today, thanks to this lady from my destination, I changed my life. Instead of ask gift baskets of basic, I must give them, for having known the tyranny of hunger. Today, thanks to this lady's own destiny, contribute to promoting access to culture, opening opportunities to anonymous writers. 
The destination is written by our hands and by our struggles. And Paula, my mother, wrote his and our sweat and with great dignity. And that is why I am here to tell this novel.
Description: Most of us will never experience what young Valdeck Almeida de Jesus experienced. From falling into a cesspool and playing among garbage to collecting bones to sell and avoiding snakes on his walk to school, Valdeck recounts his family's hard life day by agonizing day in this moving memoir.

Translated from Portuguese, Memories from Brazilian Hell follows Valdeck, his parents, and his seven brothers and sisters as they survived poverty, class and racial marginalization, debilitating health problems, and financial crises while living in the Bahian region of Brazil. Amidst these hardships, they struggled to meet their basic human needs for shelter, food, and medical and dental care.

Despite the overwhelming odds, Valdeck and his family spectacularly overcame the obstacles they faced. Without losing faith in the future, despite uncertainty and doubt, every member of the Almeida family achieved his or her goals; each making a mark on the world. As Valdeck's history unfolds, his story becomes one of self-realization, knowledge, and empowerment. 

Valdeck's memories are infused with hope and illustrate that if anguished Brazilians can believe in their country and be resilient, they can fight for and achieve their ideals. This book gives voice to all those who have suffered society's inequities.