In his critically acclaimed bestseller Rain of Gold, Victor Villase-or brought his mother's family vividly to life. In Wild Steps Of Heaven, he turns to his father's family, the Villase-ors. Against a vivid backdrop of love and war, magic and heroism, the author breathes life into his father's people--and in particular, the Villase-or women*Margarita, the indomitable matriarch who was swept away by Don Juan Jesus Villase-or on the eve of the Mexican revolution*their beautiful daughters, who find strength and endurance in their mother's faith, and searing passion amidst the turmoil of war. But it is little Juan, the youngest son, through whose eyes this tumultuous saga unfolds. Juan would learn from his brother Jose, a hero of the revolution, how to be a man; and from his beloved mother, how to live and love con gusto y amor. A story of madness and miracles, rage and redemption, In Wild Steps Of Heaven creates a riveting portrait of an extraordinary family and the country whose earth gave them roots.

The incredible story behind the writing and publication of Victor Villaseñor’s national bestseller Rain of Gold. It captures the difficult and courageous path the author followed to ensure that his family’s saga would be published as the authentic, true account it is. The real power of this book lies in the sacred relationship that Villaseñor has with his father, mother, and ancestors. In other words, Beyond Rain of Gold encompasses the magical messages that Villaseñor’s indigenous ancestors told him are universal themes common to native peoples everywhere on this planet . . . and at one time we were all indigenous. This is an exciting, raw, and honest work, with events occurring that transcend the boundaries of what we normally call reality. And like Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan trilogy, Beyond Rain of Gold explores altered states of consciousness, revealing the wisdom and magic inherent in everyday existence. This is a book that will make you see the world in an entirely different way, and which will stimulate your mind and emotions to create a New Earth way of thinking and being!

Standing at the podium, Victor Villaseñor looked at the group of educators amassed before him, and his mind flooded with childhood memories of humiliation and abuse at the hands of his teachers. He became enraged. With a pounding heart, he began to speak of these incidents. When he was through, to his great disbelief he received a standing ovation. Many in the audience could not contain their own tears. So begins the passionate, touching memoir of Victor Villaseñor. Highly gifted and imaginative as a child, Villaseñor coped with an untreated learning disability (he was finally diagnosed, at the age of forty-four, with extreme dyslexia) and the frustration of growing up Latino in an English-only American school in the 1940s. Despite teachers who beat him because he could not speak English, Villaseñor clung to his dream of one day becoming a writer. He is now considered one of the premier writers of our time.

In the American Indian belief, it is said that we never really know who we are until we find our totem, and once we do, then everything falls into place, even in the midst of chaos. Lion Eyes is the exciting true story of Jan Milburn, who came face-to-face with his totem - and was transformed. As a love-deprived young child, he got lost in a snowstorm in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, and a huge mountain lion led him safely home... setting him on a course for a miraculous life. Acclaimed bestselling author Victor Villaseñor gives voice to Jan's thrilling tale, full of danger, clashes between light and darkness, romance and healing miracles. Against the backdrop of the '60s - a time of love and war, a time of turmoil and social upheaval, a time of young people's exuberant exploration while the establishment tried to hold on to the past - Jan Milburn chose an unusual calling... becoming the youngest minister ever ordained by the state of California. Jan's spiritual path, incredibly, led him from San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury District of the '60s to Mexico, and into the darkness of the drug world. Hunted by a notorious assassin, he stared down death and encountered the very depths of depravity and violence - but ultimately awakened to his magical Spirit Guides and the Kingdom of God within each of us that transcends religion and 'of-the-body' limitations. It was at this time that Mireya, a beautiful young Indian girl, saw in Jan the noble heart of a lion and the vision of an eagle. Nothing could get in the way of her love and admiration for this man. It was written in the stars, she said. Eventually, Mireya and Jan married and were instrumental in helping to return more than two million acres of stolen land to the Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua, Mexico. Lion Eyes is a mystical, heartfelt, soul-inspiring love story of timeless relevance. It shows us that our global future lies not just in our politics and religious beliefs, but also in our unwavering love and our forgotten native wisdom that once we find our totem, everything falls into place, even amidst chaos . . . illustrated by one man's incredible life, which can become the norm for all of humanity!

A daring memoir of love, magic, adventure, and miracles, Victor Villaseñor's Thirteen Senses continues the exhilarating family saga that began in the widely acclaimed bestseller Rain of Gold, delivering a stunning story of passion, family, and the forgotten mystical senses that stir within us all. Thirteen Senses begins with the fiftieth wedding anniversary of the aging former bootlegger Salvador and his elegant wife, Lupe. When asked by a young priest to repeat the sacred ceremonial phrase "to honor and obey," Lupe surprises herself and says. "No, I will not say 'obey'. How dare you! You don't talk to me like this after fifty years of marriage and I now knowing what I know!" After the hilarious shock of Lupe's rejection of the ceremony, the Villaseñor family is forced to examine the love that Lupe and Salvador have shared for so many years -- a universal, gut-honest love that will eventually energize and inspire the couple into old age.

Growing up on his parents’ ranch in North San Diego County, Victor Villaseñor’s teenage years were marked by a painful quest to find a place for himself in a world he did not fit into. Discriminated due to his Mexican heritage, Victor questions the tenets of his faith and the restrictions it places on his own spirituality and sexuality. Ultimately, his search for identity takes him to Mexico to learn of his family’s roots, where he soon discovers that his heritage doesn’t determine his intelligence or success. Through this often humorous and poignant tale, Victor deftly undermines the macho stereotype so often associated with Latinos, while exposing the tender vulnerability and naïveté of a young man grappling with the roles foisted on him by the church and society. Victor’s youthful misadventures elicit sympathy, laughter, and tears as he attempts to divine the mysteries of the opposite sex in this powerful, revealing memoir. “The clarity that comes from Villaseñor’s personal and cultural experience is not matched in any of Steinbeck’s major works” (Los Angeles Times).

One couple's inspiring memoir of healing a Rwandan village, raising a family near the old killing fields, and building a restaurant named Heaven. Newlyweds Josh and Alissa were at a party and received a challenge that shook them to the core: do you think you can really make a difference? Especially in a place like Rwanda, where the scars of genocide linger and poverty is rampant? While Josh worked hard bringing food and health care to the country's rural villages, Alissa was determined to put their foodie expertise to work. The couple opened Heaven, a gourmet restaurant overlooking Kigali, which became an instant success. Remarkably, they found that between helping youth marry their own local ingredients with gourmet recipes (and mix up "the best guacamole in Africa") and teaching them how to help themselves, they created much-needed jobs while showing that genocide's survivors really could work together. While first a memoir of love, adventure, and family, A Thousand Hills to Heaven also provides a remarkable view of how, through health, jobs, and economic growth, our foreign aid programs can be quickly remodeled and work to end poverty worldwide.