I am the oldest member of the family, and I often lament that many of the stories of the family are lost in time. I wrote this book at the urging of my husband, Dan Kirkpatrick, who loves my family stories. I started the process of family history because I couldn't find any information about my dad's sister, Catherine, and no one ever talked about her other than she died of tuberculosis, was a cosmetologist and was preparing for her wedding when she died. Also, my mother had an aunt who died in 1944. While my aunt was alive, my mother never knew she existed. She was the sister of my Lithuanian grandfather and lived in Dixon, Illinois, in a home for those with intellectual disabilities. Since we never knew her, I'm left wondering if these days she could have lived a happy, rewarding life with family rather than being in an institution. Many questions from the stories about the families on both sides can't be answered because everyone has long since passed on. I'm writing this so that my younger relatives will have some information about their family history in the form of entertaining narratives.

本作は、時の彼方に消え去ろうとする家族の記憶を呼び覚ます、魂の鎮魂の書です。著者は、沈黙の中に葬られた親族たちの足跡を辿り、断片的な事実から血の通った生の物語を再生させました。忘れられた存在に光を当てるその筆致には、歴史の波間に消えた人々への慈愛と、彼らを永遠に留めようとする情熱が溢れています。 特に、かつて隔離されていた親族への追慕は、失われた幸福を問うものとして深く胸を打ちます。自らのルーツと向き合う勇気を授け、家族という絆の残酷さと美しさを浮き彫りにする、一級の人間讃歌です。