My Memoir

The author’s heritage is varied. Among those ancestors are: a Russian Cossack and his ballerina wife, a German nanny and Dutch immigrant husband who raised the author’s grandmother on a farm in lower Manhattan, Englishmen and Yankees. Born during the roaring 1920’s, growing up during the great depression of the 1930’s and being among the first group of enlisted women in the US Navy WAVES during WWII, the author relates a fascinating and vivid history of our country through the eyes of a child, teen and young woman. The author writes: “Life is a journey of crests and chasms, all revealing one’s strength to cope, survive and grow beyond that which one could imagine possible.” Battle fatigue, alcoholism, divorce, mental illness, cancer and molestation challenge the author’s relentless spirit and resolve to survive and find joy and gratitude along the way.