Anna ~ Paperback ~ Deanna J Bennett

World War I ravaged the European continent, millions died from the great influenza epidemic, temperance reformers campaigned to outlaw alcohol, and an avalanche of newcomers arrived in America, all between 1914 and 1919. During this time of chaotic upheaval, Anna, a 15-year-old Lithuanian immigrant, strives for a new life in America. This means new clothes, moving pictures, public parks, and Saturday night dances. But also unscrupulous men and family tragedy. A job starts her on the path to independence from her overbearing mother and miserly brother. Challenges loom at every turn. She repels an attack by her supervisor. The police don't understand her when she tries to seek help for a friend because she can't speak English. She determines to learn. Visits to a settlement house turn bad when she discovers thievery and faces a threat on her life. As she surmounts obstacles, Anna progresses from pretty girl to beautiful young woman who holds on to her dream: finding a handsome, kind man with whom she can have a happy married lifeAuthor BiographyDeanna J. Bennett's "Anna" immigration historical fiction trilogy was inspired by her grandmother Anna who immigrated to America in 1914 when she was 15 years old. Anna: Going to America, Anna: American Journey, and Anna: American Dream contain true anecdotes and real historical figures embedded in a fictional story line populated with murders, schemers, and anarchists - and some normal people! The books capture the immigrant experience in the period 1914 to 1919 when immigrants flooded the country, the Great War ravaged Europe, the great influenza epidemic killed millions, the settlement house movement aided immigrants, and temperance reformers campaigned to outlaw alcohol. As a result of her extensive research for these books, Deanna gives talks on European immigration to genealogy societies and other groups. Deanna Bennett has been a write-a-holic since she was a child. She has published management, technical, travel and fine arts articles and short stories and leads the East Lake Writers Workshop. Her next projects are to complete Anna's Daughter, the biography her mother began before her death, and then to continue the "murder in the museum" mystery series she began before starting the Anna trilogy. Deanna has degrees from the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. After a career managing military research and development, she now devotes her time to writing, speaking and performing with her husband in their acting business. Contact the author at www.deannabennett.net