Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the generations of men and women who came before me and without whom there would be no story. It is a gift from the past to Gabriele, my granddaughter, who gives this work meaning. It began when she was born, when I felt the need to honor her past and give her a sense of herself through time. She lives because others chose to live even though, at times, life hardly seemed worth the struggle. She lives because, in each generation, there was someone who dared to dream and hope.

• Dragon's Egg Press
• Coverart: Lesley M. Polinko
• Printed in the USA