Mary Terzian was born in Cairo to Armenian parents, refugees of the 1915 genocide. She lived and worked in Egypt, Congo, Togo and Lebanon before immigrating to the United States. Her memoirs of life in 1940s Cairo, seasoned with wit, portray struggles to safeguard her inner self, thwarting parents' obstinate adherence to outdated traditions. Willpower, perseverance, and self-confidence gained through education help her break conventional rules to bloom on her own.--From publisher description.

"American-born Catherine knows little of her Croatian mother's early life. When Marijana dies of ovarian cancer, twenty-two-year-old Catherine finds herself cut off from the past she never really knew. As Catherine searches for clues to her mother's elusive history, she discovers that Marijana was orphaned during WWII, nearly died as a teenager, and escaped from Communist Yugoslavia to Rome, and then South America. Through travel and memory, history and imagination, Catherine resurrects the relatives she's never known. Traversing time and place, memoir and novel, this lyrical narrative explores the collective memory between mothers and daughters, and what it means to find wholeness. It is a story where a daughter gives voice to her immigrant mother's unspoken history, and in the process, heals them both."--Amazon.com.

The Immigrants' Daughter chronicles the growth of corruption, its highs... its lows, from the early nineteenth century, through the romantic '20s and '30s to the present egregious courtroom dramas. It uncovers the obscene abuse she suffered at the hands of her family and the California Court System. In her unrelenting fight for justice and truth, she found a love - few have ever known. The immigrants' daughter created her own fortune from scratch and gave faith, hope, and love to others--even her enemies. The author witnessed, in part, the corrupt, inconsolable crimes committed against her by her two sons, and Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties, which led to the most bizarre rape ever pulled off by California court judges. They stripped her of her good name, her reputation, her lifetime achievements, her entrepreneurship, and her fortune. A depraved woman medical doctor, fraudulently assisted by the Santa Maria District Attorney and her attorney lover, diagnosed her as having a mental disorder, then Dementia and finally Alzheimer's. They had the Santa Barbara Alzheimer's Association award her a scholarship to a Senior Day Care facility. In essence she was branded as insane when there was nothing wrong with her mental capacities. She did nothing wrong. She was then disqualified from testifying against the corrupt judiciary. This is her story!

Taking us from the open spaces of rural New Mexico and the fields of California's Great Central Valley to the intellectual milieu of student life in Berkeley during the 1950s, this memoir, based on an oral history by Mario T. García, is the powerful and moving testimonio of a young Mexican American woman's struggle to rise out of poverty. Migrant Daughter is the coming-of-age story of Frances Esquibel Tywoniak, who was born in Spanish-speaking New Mexico, moved with her family to California during the Depression to attend school and work as a farm laborer, and subsequently won a university scholarship, becoming one of the few Mexican Americans to attend the University of California, Berkeley, at that time. Giving a personal perspective on the conflicts of living in and between cultures, this eloquent story provides a rare glimpse into the life of a young Mexican American woman who achieved her dreams of obtaining a university education. In addition to the many fascinating details of everyday life the narrative provides, Mario T. García's introduction contextualizes the place and importance of Tywoniak's life. Both introduction and narrative illustrate the process by which Tywoniak negotiated her relation to ethnic identity and cultural allegiances, the ways in which she came to find education as a channel for breaking with fieldwork patterns of life, and the effect of migration on family and culture. This deeply personal memoir portrays a courageous Mexican American woman moving between many cultural worlds, a life story that at times parallels, and at times diverges from, the real life experiences of thousands of other, unnamed women.

More than a memoir of personal and political achievements, this volume chronicles a family's development from Mexican immigrants to American leaders. Written in an authentic and unique voice, this book describes how the author's Mexican parents instilled a love of learning, a desire to excel, and a commitment to community in their children. Relating how her heritage and upbringing allowed her to lead her community and promote social justice, the author conveys a courageous story of hope, love, faith, and a fighting spirit long committed to social and environmental justice, regardless of the personal cost.

The fifth installment of Fast’s bestselling Immigrants series, continuing the story of one of his most beloved characters, Barbara Lavette. Howard Fast’s immensely popular Immigrants saga spanned six novels and more than a century of the Lavette family history. The series was considered one of the crowning achievements of his long career. This New York Times bestseller is the fifth entry in the series and focuses on one of his most beloved characters, Barbara Lavette, whom Fast based on his first wife. At sixty, Barbara is living a quiet life in San Francisco, grieving after the death of a longtime male friend. However, her spirits revive when she mounts an unexpectedly competitive congressional campaign. After narrowly losing the election, Barbara begins to reconnect with her past as a journalist and human rights activist, two passions that reignite the spark of adventure in her life. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.

National Book Award Finalist! Instant New York Times Bestseller! The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home. Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal? “Alive and crackling—a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. ”—The New York Times “Unique and fresh.” —Entertainment Weekly “A standout.” —NPR