The Tale of Lucia Grandi – The Early Years

The Tale of Lucia Grandi
425 Pages
ISBN 978-0944657010

When an old woman is asked to recount the story of her life, she tells an intense and poignant tale about growing up in and surviving a warring suburban family during the 1950s and 60s.

Written as a memoir, each chapter describes a particular incident in Lucia’s life which shows the constant struggle between her parents and the perverse effect it has on her and the family. From her complicated and unwanted birth, to her witnessing a suicide at age 3, to her stint as a runaway at age 14, the story progresses to the final crisis where as a young woman, she is turned out of her house and banished from her family forever.

Told in breathtakingly beautiful prose, this is a powerful and timeless story of a dying woman's courageous attempt to come to terms with her past and the troubled family that dominated it.

Susan Speranza

About Susan Speranza (Boston, Massachusetts Author)

Susan Speranza

Librarian by day, author by night, and breeder and exhibitor of Pekingese in all my spare time...

I was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island; my childhood was interesting and creative. The early influences to my writing were the fairy tales my mother read to me. These stories set in far off lands, made me dream of rural places and country living. Eventually, I left New York and settled in Vermont where I write and live happily with my dogs.

I hold a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Lindenwood University, where I presented my latest novel, Things Once Done, as my thesis. I am presently querying agents and publishers about this work. Many of my poems and short stories have been published in a variety of literary journals, such as Poetry Quarterly, the Magnolia Review, the Voices Project, Literary Yard.

In 2012 my novel, My Life In Dogs, was a Quarter finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and was also on the short list of finalists in the 2012 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Competition. It was subsequently published by Brook House Press as, The Tale of Lucia Grandi, the Early Years. It has since garnered favorable reviews and has been compared to the American classic, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.