Teresa Bravo-Cortines looks back at her harrowing life in her inspiring true story Bravo: A Memoir. She stands as a testament that when things look their bleakest, it is possible to overcome the odds.

In her own words:

My book talks about my father being killed when I was only five years old, the great adversity and poverty we lived in, and about my kidnapping at the age of thirteen to work in the fields with migrant workers.

It continues with my going back to college and becoming a successful insurance agent with State Farm, raising three children on my own, and tells of my chronic and terminal illnesses that could kill me before I reach my forty-fifth birthday.

Follow my journey as a single parent and the two careers that I'm no longer able to perform due to my illnesses. But I'm still able to smile, sing, and wish I could dance, because I would ...

(About the Author)

Originally from Yakima, Washington, first-time author Teresa Bravo-Cortines was abducted as a teenager and taken to work camps across the United States. After escaping the man who kidnapped her, she studied business in college. The author worked in the insurance business until she had "a seizure that landed me in the hospital for a couple weeks, followed by the bad news of cancer." She later graduated first in her class at the Cordon Bleu and became a chef. Following a diagnosis of COPD, she is no longer allowed in professional kitchens with oxygen. "I have many hobbies, I'm pretty much an old soul in spite of losing my eyesight. I try to do as many crafts as possible, but my No. 1 hobby is cooking."

Publisher's website: http: //sbprabooks.com/TeresaBravoCortines