Recollections from the Heart

Coming of age in a challenging era – the Great Depression as a child followed closely by World War II as a young adult – Virginia’s early life in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood instilled a resilience that lasted more than 90 years through the final decades of the 20th century and into the new millennium.
In Recollections from the Heart: A Greatest Generation Portrait, readers are invited to share a unique genre; a collaboration of memoir and biography where Virginia, as an octogenarian, scripted the first 30 years of her life. Her narrative combines vivid memories, anecdotes, humorous reminiscences, and soul-baring reflections on growing up during times of economic struggles and anxiety experienced when her fiancé was drafted into the Army, serving 2½ years overseas until the conclusion of the war. Upon his return, she details the journey of building their new life together.
Her son picks up her story chronicling the next 50 years. The fruits of her first decades grow into a rich garden grounded in her marriage, nourishing the subsequent generations of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. When she lost her beloved husband, Eddie, after 57 years of marriage, she grapples with overwhelming grief by again putting pen to paper.
Photographs, letters, and other mementos add to this work’s engaging and intimate content. Her story is not just one of survival but also triumphs, deeply rich in familial bonds and the transcendent power of love.