{"id":1789,"date":"2026-02-04T01:25:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T01:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/?page_id=1789"},"modified":"2026-02-04T06:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T06:51:08","slug":"about-the-book","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/about-the-book\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Book"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a66b3efce826&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a66b3efce826\" class=\"alignright size-large is-resized wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"1024\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3d-book-840x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1960\" style=\"width:450px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3d-book-840x1024.png 840w, https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3d-book-246x300.png 246w, https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3d-book-768x936.png 768w, https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3d-book.png 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marcella Luiso Flanagan remembers every detail of July 3, 1948, when she and her family boarded a former military transport ship to cross the Atlantic back to Italy, and the months that followed, like it was yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They spent five unforgettable months in postwar Italy. They were joyous yet filled with uncertainty as her parents struggled to reconcile the country they once knew with the one they found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The devastation of war, and the devaluation of the lira, forced them to make the heart-wrenching decision to return to America. They left Italy on December 1, 1948, and went back to their home in Westchester, New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those five short months would change the course of Marcella\u2019s life forever, and in American Destiny \u2013 with the help of her niece \u2013 she recalls how her family navigated the journey along with its painful decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-63375db1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-custom-font-size wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.balboapress.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/868950-american-destiny\" style=\"border-radius:3px;font-size:15px\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>ORDER A COPY NOW<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marcella Luiso Flanagan remembers every detail of July 3, 1948, when she and her family boarded a former military transport ship to cross the Atlantic back to Italy, and the months that followed, like it was yesterday. They spent five unforgettable months in postwar Italy. They were joyous yet filled with uncertainty as her parents<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/about-the-book\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;About the Book&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1789","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/authorwebservices-gem2.net\/BalboaPress\/868950\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}