World War II yielded many stories of courage and patriotism and Stasha Seaton tells an unusually compelling tale. She describes her idyllic pre-war childhood in Trieste and Slovenia and recounts her family's wartime odyssey -- from Slovenia to New York and back again, with intervals in Greece, Turkey, Jerusalem, Cairo, South Africa and London. In describing her own journey toward a new life, Stasha also tells the courageous story of her father, Dr. Boris Furlan, a renowned lawyer and professor, a true Slovenian patriot, and an advocate for democracy. His betrayal by Tito's government, the show trial to which he is subjected, and his imprisonment vividly show the changing winds in communist Yugoslavia. Stasha's own story is riveting. Upon returning to Yugoslavia during the war, she serves in Tito's Partisans, then comes close to being arrested and manages to escape in a clandestine flight to Italy, where she works for the U.S Army in Rome. Finally, she is able to emigrate to America, where she enrolls at Barnard college and studies philosophy while struggling to make sense of her worlds, both old and new. Throughout this remarkable tale, Seaton's unfailing optimism and resilience illuminate the best qualities of the human spirit. Her story will leave readers caring deeply about a brave and visionary family.
