Kisses from a Distance: An Immigrant Family Experience - Hardcover

Ellis, Raff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1885942451 ISBN 13: 9781885942456

Publisher: Cune, 2007

Synopsis

Kisses from a Distance is a memoir that was conceived after the death of the author's mother and the discovery of a cache of over 200 letters in her personal effects. The correspondence spanned some sixty-five years and was mainly from family and friends in her native Lebanon. The discovery of the letters stimulated Mr. Ellis' memories and he began a journey to verify the truth of the stories he had heard as a youth. After several trips to the land of his ancestors, visiting with relatives on both sides of his genealogy, trips to libraries, scouring archives, and reading and collecting obscure books, he unearthed many historical facts that are unknown to the general public. The author was often surprised at what he learned and each time he thought the storyline was set it would take a different twist or turn. The tale begins with the virtual kidnapping--and ultimate marriage--of the author's grandmother from a remote Lebanese convent in 1895. It chronicles that unhappy marriage through the birth of children, including the author's mother, family financial difficulties, and the emigration of the author's grandfather to the New World. The left behind family suffers through the First World War, the accommodations that had to be made due to the oppressive rule of their Ottoman masters, starvation, rampant disease, natural disasters, and death. Mr. Ellis intersperses his travels in the narrative with the history of the period as it affected the Lebanese people in general and his relatives in particular. The journey spanned nearly eight years before the manuscript was finally completed. Comprehensive written and oral records contributed to making this work into an engaging story of general interest. It ushers the reader into a world of intimate thoughts and actions, oftentimes in the characters' own words.

About this title

Synopsis

This book chronicles a Lebanese immigrant experience - based on a cache of more than 200 letters discovered after the death of the author's mother. The tale begins with the kidnapping of the author's grandmother from a remote convent in 1895. It chronicles her subsequent unhappy marriage and her husband's tragic attempt to find success in America. Their particular story plays out against the struggle and suffering of the Lebanese people through years of oppressive Ottoman rule and the ravages of World War I. Employing traditional Lebanese proverbs and folk tales, "Kisses from a Distance" weaves the author's extensive research and visits to Lebanon into a compelling narrative.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cune
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1885942451
• ISBN 13: 9781885942456
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 311