MARIE ELENA

THIS STORY BEGAN SOME TIME AGO WHEN MY SISTER CAROL WAS GIVEN AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF OUR MOTHER. NEITHER OF US HAD EVER SEEN IT BEFORE, OR HAD EVEN KNOWN OF ITS EXISTENCE. CAROL MADE A COPY FOR ME AND WHEN I FIRST SAW, MY MOTHER AS A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD, I KNEW IMMEDIATELY THAT THERE WAS AN UNTOLD STORY HERE. I BEGAN WRITING IT, USING BACKGROUND I HAD COLLECTED SOME TIME AGO FOR A BOOK CALLED “FOOTSTEPS”, WHICH WAS THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY’S JOURNEY FROM ITALY TO THE UNITED STATES. THERE IS MUCH I NEVER FOUND OUT ABOUT MY PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, WHICH IS WHY THIS IS CALLED “A BIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL.” MUCH OF WHAT FOLLOWS IS FICTION, BUT IT IS FICTION BASED ON REAL LIVES, REAL PEOPLE AND ACTUAL EVENTS. I HAVE CHANGED NAMES, ALTERED DATES AND INJECTED MY OWN THOUGHTS ON THE STORY. I WILL NEVER KNOW HOW CLOSE THIS IS TO WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED BECAUSE ALL OF THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE LONG SINCE GONE TO THEIR REWARD.