Marica Prozo

The Path of No Return: a Refugee Story Marica Prozo

This work is an absorbing account of a Bosnian refugee family, forced to flee first to Germany where they worked as migrant laborers. Then six years later, because they could not return home, the family of four was again forced to find another home, this time in the United States. Written by the mother, Marica Prozo, who was a school psychologist in Bosnia, this memoir details her inner thoughts as schoolchildren, along with her family, gradually became caught up in religious conflict. With carefully chosen metaphors, she describes how violence engulfed the countryside, her family's yearning for normal lives, and the pain of leaving relatives and beloved places behind. Despite the disappointment of having to start over again a third time, with yet another language, Marica gracefully depicts the joy of finally being able to put down roots in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania under the sponsorship of a church. Prozo's work is poetic and engaging, presenting much more than the outward details of the refugee experience. The reader shares the ups and downs of their lives and keeps an eye on the bird of hope fluttering through each chapter. Pencil drawings by Marica's son enliven the narrative.