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Introduction "If you leave Opi, you'll die with strangers," Irma Vitale's mother always warned. Even after her beloved mother's passing, 20-year-old Irma longs to stay in her Abruzzo mountain village, plying her needle. But too poor and plain to marry and subject to growing danger in her own home, she risks rough passage to America and workhouse servitude to achieve her dream of making dresses for gentlewomen.
In the raw immigrant quarters and with the help of an entrepreneurial Irish serving girl, ribbon-decked Polish ragman and austere Alsatian dressmaker, Irma begins to stitch together a new life . . . until her peace and self are shattered in the charred remains of the Great Chicago Fire. Enduring a painful recovery, Irma reaches deep within to find that she has even more to offer the world than her remarkable ability with a needle and thread Questions for Discussion 1.
About the Author
Pamela Schoenewaldt's first historical novel of immigration, USAToday Bestseller, When We Were Strangers (2011) , was a Barnes & Noble Great Discovery. Her second, Swimming in the Moon, was short-listed for the Langum Prize in American Historical Fiction. Under the Same Blue Sky (May 2015) tells of a young woman whose mysterious healing powers confront the devastation of World War I. Pamela lived for ten years outside Naples, Italy, an experience which inspired her first two novels. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband, Maurizio Conti, a physicist and Jesse, their philosopher-dog.
Read excerpts, reviews, check out the photo gallery, or get in touch at www.PamelaSchoenewaldt.com
