Mario Cartaya
Journey Back Into the Vault
Award-winning architect and author of Journey Back Into the Vault, La Bóveda, and forthcoming works
Gainesville, FL; Miami, FL; Hollywood, CA; Fort Lauderdale, FL
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: 2025
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Morgan James
Page Count: 230
Format/ISBN/Price: Hardcover / 978-1636987729 / $34.95
Paperback / 978-1636987712 / $18.95
Ebook / 978-1636987736 / $9.99
Audio
Watch Mario’s message to readers here
Read an excerpt from the book here
Book Awards include:
- Winner: Autobiography of the Year— Chrysalis BREWProject Nonfiction Book Excellence Award; 2025
- Winner: Memory and Meaning Award— World’s Best Magazine; 2025
- Winner: A Best Book for Nonfiction—Pencraft Awards; 2025
- Winner: Reader Ready Award— Author Shout; 2025
- Winner: Five Stars Award, Book Nomad Tales; 2025
- Winner: Non-fiction-Travel Award, American Writing Award; 11/2024
ABOUT THE BOOK
Can one write a memoir when they have no childhood memories?
Mario Cartaya was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1951. Eight years later, the turbulent winds of change forced his family to immigrate to the United States in search of a new life lived in freedom.
Fifty-six years later, Mario returned to Cuba in search of the long-forgotten memories of his childhood. Now a successful American architect, this once “unsung child” of the Cuban diaspora went back to face his old demons (who were no longer there) and to recall his earliest experiences. Mario eventually regained the memories of the first 8 years of his life, repaired the tattered tapestry of his existence, and found an inner peace he never knew he needed.
In Journey Back Into The Vault, Mario confronts the contents of the mental lockbox he had built to protect him from his challenging past. In his journey of self-discovery, each chapter reveals relics deliberately buried by his subconscious mind.
Mario’s personal story is also a universal one: how love and enlightenment can only begin with our search for self-actualization and peace of mind. More than a memoir of a Cuban refugee, it’s a story that uncovers the psychological forces that help define us, the power of enduring hope, and how—by achieving purity of heart, reconciliation, and a soul at rest—we can evolve into better versions of ourselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mario Cartaya was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1951. Eight years later, the turbulent winds of political change swept over the land of his birth, leaving his family with little choice but to immigrate toward the United States in search of a new life lived in freedom. There, he realized his earliest Cuban childhood dreams of becoming an architect and started an enduring and highly acclaimed architectural firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His life’s story and award-winning architectural designs were entered into the United States Congressional Record of the House of Representatives in 2019, forever enshrined into the US Library of Congress. An American flag was flown over the US Capitol to celebrate his American legacy in 2022.
With the same dedication and love that made him an architectural success and iconic designer, Mario has now turned his attention to writing books. His debut, Journey Back Into the Vault: In Search of my Faded Cuban Childhood Footprints, was recently released in new hardcover and paperback editions. The Spanish-language book, La Bóveda: En busca de mi niñez cubana was released in 2026. His fresh voice and humanist values will refresh one’s soul.
TIMELY TIE-INS
February
- World Human Spirit Day – 17
March
- National Reading Month
- National Write Your Story Day – 14
- Genealogy Day – 14
April
- National Reconciliation Day – 2
- Drop Everything And Read Day (D.E.A.R.) – 12
- World Book Day – 23
- Independent Bookstore Day – 25
- National Tell A Story Day – 27
May
- Personal History Awareness Month
- Older Americans Month
June
- World Refugee Day – 20
August
- We Love Memoirs Day – 31
September
- World Day of Migrants and Refugees – 29
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- Before returning there as an adult, what could you remember from your early childhood in Cuba?
- What moment or circumstance led you to decide that your personal story of childhood and exile deserved to be told in book form and not kept only as a private memory?
- The book reconstructs a Cuban childhood based on fragmented memories. In addition to your journey of rediscovery, did you consult personal, family, or documentary sources to corroborate or complete those memories?
- You describe your journey—both the returning to Cuba and the writing of this book—as the process of unlocking your childhood memories from a protective subconscious vault. When do you think that vault was constructed and why?
- During the writing process, what findings or revelations emerged that you hadn’t anticipated when you started the project?
- How can confronting the past—flawed, complex, and emotional as it may be—serve as a foundation for growth, healing, or even creativity?
- Your life journey—from exile to success—reflects resilience and reinvention. How did your cultural background and immigrant experience influence the way you understand memory, identity, and belonging?
- What about your experience do you feel can resonate with anyone, even if they didn’t experience childhood displacement or culture change?
PRAISE
“After reading Journey Back into the Vault, what stayed with me most was the tenderness of Mario’s return not just to Cuba as a physical place, but to memory, identity, and the emotional terrain of a childhood interrupted. The book reads as an act of quiet bravery… at once deeply personal and universally human, shaped by loss, exile, and the long work of reconciliation with what was taken and what endured. It left a lasting impression on me.”
—Isabel Allende, multiple award-winning author and 2014 US Presidential Medal of Honor winner
“[With] themes of family, perseverance, and culture…. A satisfying and heartwarming autobiographical voyage.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This true story is a love story as heartfelt as any told in a novel. A tale of love of family, place, and relationships…. It will trigger memories of one’s own childhood experiences and bring back those happy and/or trying times; but if lost, may suggest you journey to your own vault wherever it may be.”
—Charles Redner, author of Down But Never Out and executive editor and publisher, The Hummingbird Review
“What a superb storyteller. This is a beautiful, meaningful story. Indeed, it is a treasure.”
—David Lawrence Jr., author of A Dedicated Life: Journalism, Justice and a Chance for Every Child; Retired publisher of the Miami Herald; Chair of The Children’s Movement of Florida
“Some books entertain, others inform, and a rare few challenge us to think differently. Journey Back Into the Vault belongs to the latter category. It doesn’t demand that readers love their past, but it does ask them to confront it. It is undeniably a book that lingers—long after the last page is turned.”
—Chrysalis BREW Project Review
“Deeply nostalgic and searching, Cartaya’s writing is honest and enthralling. He writes with clarity and thoughtfulness and bravely confronts the heartbreak caused by historical forces beyond his control. His search for closure is admirable and always tinged lovingly with joy as he celebrates the best of Havana with his friends. RECOMMENDED.”
—The US Review of Books
“There are memoirs – and then there are memoirs. Journey Back into the Vault definitely raises the bar. The writing is literate yet conversational, always informed by the acutely insightful intelligence of the author…The unveiling of the past is accomplished to the dual benefit of the author and his readers. This is an ambitious and very effective book.”
—Pacific Book Review
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99
