This book was inspired by a phone conversation I had with my mother. A winter storm was brewing, and I was cooking some dishes to feed my family in case we lost power. My mother said this reminded her of an experience she had as a child during the Battle of Santa Clara. Led by Che Guevara, the battle occurred in 1958, during the time of the Cuban Revolution, which spanned from 1953 to 1959. She remembered watching my grandmother cook during a harrowing week of fighting. My grandmother would duck low when she heard gunfire, all the while continuing to stir the pots. My mother drew a parallel between the way my grandmother handled chaos and how I was handling it today: We both cooked. As I listened intently to her story, I realized what my grandmother had been doing. Though she felt helpless to change the situation, she could bring some small share of peace and stability to those she loved. This story is a tribute to my Cuban heritage and a kiss on the wind to acknowledge the struggle of those who came before me. But beyond that, it speaks to the human impulse to bring order to chaos. It is a reminder of the comfort we can offer one another even in the face of great hardship, and the hope that enables us to persist.