A Long Way From Brooklyn – An Italian-American Journey
Originally published in 1989 as Long Journey to the Rose Garden, this is the inspiring true story of John Tursi, an impoverished Depression-era kid from Brooklyn whose life is transformed when he joins the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Stationed at Deception Pass State Park, in Washington State, he falls in love with the Pacific Northwest, and with a girl in the nearby town of Anacortes. The two set about building a life together—until World War II breaks out.
About John Tursi (Seattle, Washington Author)
John Trusi is vilified as an Italian-American, but he joins the U.S. Army and, with the 342nd Engineers, lands in France three days after D-Day, dodges bullets behind enemy lines, gets caught up in the Battle of the Bulge, and becomes unwittingly involved in black-market operations run by an aristocratic Belgian seductress. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan invited Tursi to the White House to be honored as an outstanding senior volunteer. This is a classic account of a poor American kid pulling himself up by the bootstraps—and succeeding beyond his wildest dreams.