Nery was always telling her immediate family about what she went through during those years under the communist dictatorship in Cuba. They wanted her to put it in writing, and it took her years to come up with this book, as the memories were very painful at times.

She was born in Matanzas, Cuba, and came to United States in 1971 on the Freedom Flights, along with her parents, her sisters, and her niece Maria Elena. In 1983, she published a book of poetry called Algo de mi (Something from me), which included poems she had been writing since she was fourteen years old. She is in the process of finishing a short story about the year her father was in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centers, which led to his death. It will be titled “Diary of a Dying Father.”

Nery is also a music composer and has participated in several festivals, including Festival OTI of Miami, where her song was one of the finalists. She also participated in the ACCA (Association of Critics and Commentators of Arts) music competition, where she received second place for one of her songs, placing after her mother, Elena Maria, who got first place.

She has been a dedicated volunteer through the Civitan International Service Organization since 1988. She has formed many Junior Civitan Clubs at different schools in Miami, specifically in Dade County and Collier County. Internationally, she and her husband formed the Civitan Cancun Club in Mexico and the Mount Everest Civitan Club in Nepal.