WHY ME? (¿POR QUÉ YO?)

By León Borenstein

• Language: English
• Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing
• Release date: Nov 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685369286

León Borenstein

LEÓN BORENSTEIN was born on April 11th, 1960 in Mexico. His first years in school were spent in La Salle in Acapulco, followed by high school in Puebla. He attended the Ludwig Maximilian Universitaet, Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze, La Sorbonne in Paris, and Cornell University in Ithaca. He has worked for Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinsky in Germany, Villa La Masa in Italy, world famous Le Moulin de Mougins, Concorde Lafayette in Paris, Westin Hotels and Resorts, Las Brisas in Acapulco, Las Hadas in Mexico among others, and now he lives and works in Miami Beach. León speaks six languages. He loves golf, sailing and padel and has five children: Michelle, Alex, Ricardo, Rene, and little Sefi. His passion for writing is endless and his goal is to touch as many people's hearts as possible. His next projects for late 2023-2024 are two new novels: "In Candela" (On Fire) and "Wu Wei Tsi" (Let it Come to You). They will have you in suspense from beginning to end.

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Copyright © 2022 by León Borenstein.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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My children are the love of my life and each moment while they grow I learn from them. They are the best school that life has to offer.

I love you all!

Obstacles are only moments prior to glory that exist only to take our breath away and allow us to catch our breath for the grand finale.

Sandra, your love uplifts me, it gives me life and reinforces my spirit. My heart if full with you…

León Borenstein

Many times in life, we love with such intensity that we feel that it escapes our control.

Lucky are the ones who can say that in this short life they filled their lungs with sighs, felt butterflies in their stomach and were at times so blind that they walked without knowing the way.

INTRODUCTION

One summer afternoon sitting with my daughter Michelle on the beach after spending several hours talking on plans, goals, you know, father daughter talk, there was a silence that was only broken by the beautiful sunset. At that moment she took my hand, leaned her head on my shoulder and said:

- Dad, why don’t you write a novel?

- What would you like it to be about? I asked her.

- I don’t know, maybe a story about two fish, a father and son that swim together, like salmon! she exclaimed. That fight at all times. She looked at me as though she was waiting for me to read her mind and then continued, but I want you to dedicate it only to me she warned.

And so it shall be I answered, stroking her beautiful long hair while we sat by the ocean watching night come.

Today, thanks to Michelle, this book is a reality. All my gratitude goes to her for being the inspiration for this novel.

For you Michelle, with all my love.

Dad.

DEAR READER…

After writing Smile at Life and Each Dream Begins with a Step I have decided to venture into writing my first novel with the focus being on the love that parents have for their children and the search for success that each person interprets in their own way. The most important thing that I would like to communicate is to follow our hearts and our intuition, and learn each day from the people that surround us.

Our uphill battle, much like the salmon’s, is a daily one.

We are faced with many challenges, dangers and adventures, but our greatest reward is what we will see when we reach our goals.

Let’s decree our commitment to ourselves and bind it to the fervent desire to accomplish what we long for, and let’s always remember that life’s apple will be ready in time, and only then will we be able to pick it and eat it the way it is meant to.

Why me?

Because I can, I want it, I feel it, I’m alive…I enjoy my essence and my life with the most marvelous gift we possess: free will to decide what is best for us.

I dedicate this novel to you my dear reader, and hope you enjoy it.

Sincerely,

Leon Borenstein.

PROLOGUE

Writing about Leon Borenstein and his work as an author has been an undertaking that requires profound reflection. The theme father and son makes us conscious of the great opportunity and responsibility that it implies.

The exchange of ideas I have had with the author has made me get to know him and find the quality that I think characterizes him the most: his relentless enthusiasm. I am also a witness to the fact that Leon has the courage and ability to make his dreams come true. This book, written by a man that learns and enjoys each day without fear of failing, is proof of it.

You hold in your hands the work of a man with ideals, that uses his intelligence to serve his heart. In Why me? Leon awakens our commitment with life, be it as a parent motivating their child to find their way, or as a child that may be confused at the time but has that desire to find his own answers.

The dangers that salmon face to make it all the way upstream to give way to new life become a metaphor for the path that a man must follow to discover who he is and what his mission in life is. In his words, Leon leads us to a paradox: a father who although he knows many of life’s answers is aware that there is no better lesson for his son than to let him experience things and find those answers on his own.

Also while reflecting upon this novel I remembered what a great teacher of mine once said: The first half of the mountain we climb because we need to. The second half because we want to. The first half of the journey is where the father has the opportunity and responsibility to mold and motivate his son by transmitting his wisdom. In the second half of the journey the son depends on himself, the strength of his character and his will to reach the top.

The father gives the son the map. The son is the only one that can make the decision to follow it. It is the son who discovers and is surprised by all of the dangers around him while on this journey, and it is the father that knowing all of these things still has faith and knows that the only way to make it to the finish line is finding yourself.

I want to congratulate Leon for this book, and to all the readers I hope that this book reminds you of the importance of finding our own way, and the responsibility we have as parents to find the way to motivate our children to live their own experiences without limit.

VIVIANA CORCUERA

PROLEGOMENON

Dear readers,

In the midst of the worst pandemic in history I sit here with Why Me? in front of me, a novel that León wrote. What better time than this to stop, reflect, and meditate about it. As I read the chapters I dive deep into a world of fighting for your live, survival.

Those of us who have children know of the importance of having good communication with them as well as knowing at the right time how to guide them and help them live up to their full potential.

I smile at the memory of my eight year old daughter telling me a few days ago that she wanted us to start a business in which I would be the investor and she would be the business woman. When I asked her if we would be partners she said she’d prefer not to, she just wanted the loan.

Today we have a new generation in front of us that is completely different than how we were raised. That’s why this book touches my heart, because it invites you to have the necessary patience as to let them come to their own conclusions, make their dreams come true even though they may differ from ours. There were moments in which I felt completely immersed in the story and felt a part of it.

In this novel, León invites us to reflect about our children’s education and for us to learn to manage that generational gap to be able to communicate with them adequately. It’s a novel that has a lot of our every day reality, where nothing comes easily, but rather with hard work and dedication.

Life’s currents many times make us go against them, but determination and discipline are the best allies we can hope to have.

I thank Leon for the honor of sharing