Maria Elena

Dolores Attias was born in Cuba and moved to the USA the year Castro took over. She moved to Florida where she learned English while writing her first book, Maite. She is an outstanding Spanish teacher and taught that language at Clearwater High School and at St. Jerome Catholic School.
In 2006 she published DANCING WITH ALZHEIMER'S, a memoir about her experiences with Mrs. Bromley, an eccentric British dancer.

She loves classic movies and owns a considerable collection. She lives with her family in Burnsville, Minnesota.



Maria Elena, a young woman coming of age in an abusive home in Cuba, dreams of emancipation. She sees marrying Rodolfo, several years her senior, as her only means of escape from her unhappy home.

Rodolfo wants a young moldable wife to fulfill his needs and please his mother with a grandchild. He lures Elena into beginning their married life in the border house owned by his controlling mother. Reluctantly Elena accepts, only to be caught in the claws of a macho husband and a web of lies.

Under pressure Elena is unable to conceive. Her life becomes unbearable, so she flees to New York. In that uninhibited land she learn English, pursues her independence, and frees herself completely. When true love finds her at last, under dubious circumstances, she finds herself torn between loyalty and happiness.