Joanna S Giangardella

Girl from the Tower a Journey of Lies Joanna S Giangardella

"Ten-year-old Joanna, caught in the aftermath of the Greek Civil War, the untimely death of her father and her mothers unwavering love and sacrifice is placed into a special UN adoption program supported by Queen Frederica and, for a child living on the barefoot peninsula of Pergos, it seems to be a dream come true. After all, America is the land of chocolate and walking dolls and so, like a celebrity, she leaves a childhood behind to embark on a journey that changes her life forever. Her new American parents, a Russian-born monarch and a Bulgarian of high society, forbid her to speak Greek, force her to eat intolerable food, and confine her to her room. Joanna's life becomes a nightmare as she longs for home but fears she's been abandoned and forgotten. This true story of a young girls journey bursts open the well-intentioned but flawed American intervention following the Greek Civil War. The strong bond between mother and daughter and how love overcomes distance, time, and hardship in her final journey a magnificent but emotional reunion."