Eleanor Owen

The Gone Room: A Memoir Eleanor Owen

It is 1929, and Eleanor DeVito and her six siblings know nothing of the Great Depression descending on America. Their parents, immigrants from Italy, are hopeful for the family's future, but trouble awaits. Papa sends trucks around the boroughs of New York City filled with Prohibition whiskey while Mama keeps house and prays that Paura-an apparition of fear-won't appear. Financial ruin forces them to leave the city, and for the next decade, the DeVitos struggle with devastating losses, a chaotic homelife, and visits from Paura. But there are also moments of grace.

In this poignant and sweeping memoir, we discover Eleanor's strength in the face of tragedy, as she brings a human story to the despair and resiliency of a nation surviving a devastating era.

"A haunting coming-of-age story not to be missed." -Elena Taylor, award-winning, bestselling author.