Susan Speranza

The Tale of Lucia Grandi: the Early Years Susan Speranza

When an old woman is asked to tell 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. 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 coming of age story set against the backdrop of a uniquely dysfunctional family. This book (under its former title of "My Life in Dogs, the Early Years") was a Quarter finalist in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. It was also on the short list of finalists in the 2012 Faulkner-Wisdom Writing Competition.