Episode 66 of Soul Decodes brings a raw, emotional, and far-reaching conversation as Tia Jolie Phillips and Sarah Tirri welcome Carlos Solis to the Treehouse Studio. Listeners have already met his children in prior episodes, but this conversation steps directly into the man who shaped a family’s survival story. Carlos introduces the premise of his book: New Horizons: A political-refugee journey that began in Cuba, where Castro’s regime stripped his family of their business, property, and freedom. His parents endured repeated escape attempts, each ending in punishment, interrogation, or retaliation. When the family finally broke free, they passed through detainment and intense fear before reaching the United States with nothing but determination left.

Life in America began in Miami in poverty. Carlos lived in a small apartment he shared with others and had to push through language barriers, cultural shock, racism, and the emotional dislocation that comes from losing one’s homeland.

When Carlos matured into a young man, music became the place where his soul could breathe. He wrote his own songs, built a band, and found a producer interested in signing them—until he realized the contract was one-sided and exploitative. Venues wanted Top-40 covers, not original artists, making it nearly impossible for him to support himself as a musician. When he met the woman who would become his wife, he set the guitar aside, believing he needed a “real job” to build a stable future.

After gaining employment at a company that manufactured and sold billboards, Carlos learned the ropes and ascended within the company ranks until he decided he was ready to start his own company. He went on to build a successful graphic design and billboard company—until his world was invented again. His wife was diagnosed with serious breast cancer, and Carlos sold his company to take care of her full-time while they traveled around America for two years. After his wife’s recovery, and almost by instinct, Carlos picked the guitar back up and he recorded and toured.

Tia Jolie and Sarah guide Carlos through reflections on grief, masculinity, generational trauma, and the strength required to build a worthy life. Writing his book became the avenue for confronting memories he had avoided for decades. He hopes readers and listeners—especially immigrants, trauma survivors, and anyone carrying unspoken pain—will find recognition and courage within his story.

SHOW NOTES:

Carlos Solis website

Daughter Jess Episode

Son Mike Episode

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