Title: Golden
Author: Sandra O. Ferraro
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5462-2306-1
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Martha Thornton
Pacific Book Review
Sometimes it feels as if God doles out more stress and sadness than one can handle; yet with time and the support of family, life goes on to prevail against all odds. That is my take away from reading this remarkably candid collection of memories titled Golden, about Ella, a young girl growing up prior to and throughout World War II. Inspired from true events yet fictionalized, author Sandra O. Ferraro brings readers into her dream- like memories of a little girl growing up in a Norman Rockwell picturesque pre-war America. Cleverly, Ferraro draws readers in from a doctor’s office visit in current time when the narrator learns of a devastating diagnosis on her health; as she then drives to her parent’s home for some peace, quiet and solitude. There, in the house she grew up, she settles into a chair with a book and drifts off to a series of daydreams, remembering the times, both good and bad, while she was growing up.
When Ella was four years old, some forty years earlier than the present, her mom had a new baby and she had a new sister. Nicknamed Goldy because of her hair and coloring, the two girls became inseparable as the stresses of family survival prior to the outbreak of WWII took its toll on the father and hence also her mom. The family routines changed, yet she and Goldy would find the simple pleasures of life such as lying in fields of cool grass, staring up at the clouds, imagining all sorts of shapes and creatures floating in the sky; or dipping their toes in cool water running alongside the path. Days were simple yet the overshadowing of the gloom of war yet to inflict its horror to the men and women of our country with the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor and the battles which followed reverberated in all aspects of American culture.
Yet the story isn’t about the war – it’s about sisters, and family. Goldy has many health issues, and without being a spoiler she passes away at a young age in her mother’s arms. This, so lovingly told, brought tears to my eyes and I needed to take a break to gather myself to read on. Perhaps hard to read but also beautiful in the natural circle of life which is brought to readers’ minds, this experience is when a book achieves a heightened emotional reaction which makes it an unforgettable treasure. Laden with historical events and glazed with the recounts of characters being supportive, readers will find this book the perfect companion for curling up with on a rainy day for an unforgettable adventure; a period-piece of time and strength of stamina of people from when so much was being reshaped in our world. I highly recommend this book as a gift or just for you, but caution: have some tissues nearby.
