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by Freddie Avila (Author)
The book Surviving the Mountain is based on my life and how I survived through many near-death experiences. From my beginning to being separated from my biological father as a baby to short memories of living in East Los Angeles and moving to El Monte at the age of six. El Monte, a Spanish word translated in English means The Mountain. El Monte is located in the San Gabriel Valley which is fifteen minutes from downtown Los Angeles.
The Mountain or El Monte is a flat city in between two rivers, The Rio Hondo and San Gabriel Rivers. It is the end of the famed Santa Fe Trail that served as America's first commercial highway established in 1822. When you enter the city, there are signs that say, "Welcome to Friendly El Monte," but this was not my experience from the city. It has a south and a north part to it. The city was huge in an area of 9.65 square miles. Within the city's borders was where I spent a great portion of my life. I survived many trials and tribulations, and I have seen the fall of many of my brothers and sisters who did not survive this city. Street gangs, drugs, and violence corrupted my world. The casualties have devastated my people and my culture. God Brought me through this to share my story, believing that we as a people no longer have to surviving this life, but to live. We can build a new future filled with peace and prosperity as God's love and presence preserved me throughout my life. I know He can help us; all we have to do is ask Him and He will answer Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
