Synopses & Reviews
Gracianna is inspired by true events in the life of Trini Amador’s great-grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. As an adult, Amador was haunted by the vivid memory of finding a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand while wandering his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun.
Decades later, Amador would delve into the remarkable odyssey of his Gracianna’s past, a road that led him to an incredible surprise. In Gracianna, Amador weaves fact and fiction to tell his great-grandmother’s story
Gracianna bravely sets off to Paris in the early 1940s—on her way to America, she hopes—but is soon swept into the escalation of the war and the Nazi occupation of Paris. After chilling life-and-death struggles, she discovers that her missing sister has surfaced as a laborer in Auschwitz. When she finds an opportunity to fight back against the Nazis to try to free her sister, she takes it—even if it means using lethal force.
As Amador tells the imagined story of how his great-grandmother risked it all, he delivers richly drawn characters and a heart-wrenching page-turner that readers won’t soon forget.
Review
“While wine is obviously a significant part of life’s enjoyment, the story behind the wine can be even more gratifying. You will be fixated on this thrilling story written by Trini Amador which was inspired by Gracianna, his great-grandmother, the French Basque namesake of his family’s award-winning winery in Sonoma County.”
-- Bob Cabral, Director of Winemaking & General Manager, Williams Selyem Winery
Review
'
Gracianna is a riveting and remarkable narrative. The characters come alive through their unassuming but compelling stories, as Nazi-occupied Paris unfolds before our eyes. We come to care deeply about the characters, which makes putting down the book almost impossible. Highly recommended.'
--Stacey Katz Bourns is Director of Language Programs, Dept. of Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard
Synopsis
The gripping story of Gracianna—a French-Basque girl forced to make impossible decisions after being recruited into the French Resistance in Nazi-occupied Paris
Synopsis
Based on true events, this gripping story centers on Gracianna—a vibrant French-Basque girl who’s recruited into the French Resistance after her sister is sent to Auschwitz at the height of World War II
Author Trini Amador based this novel on events that took place in the life of his great-grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. As a child, Amador recalled his great-grandmother’s commitment to being thankful, and he was also haunted by a memory from age four: while wandering in Gracianna’s Southern California home, he’d found a loaded German Luger tucked away in her bedroom.
When Gracianna found her four-year-old great-grandson wielding the gun, she quickly ordered him to put it down, telling him it was simply “from the war.” But the moment lived on in Trini’s mind and prompted him, decades later, to delve into the incredibly history of his great-grandmother. Many incredible surprises were in store
The result of his research is this novel, which tells of Gracianna’s life in occupied Paris. After bravely setting off to the City of Lights to seek her fortune in the 1930s, the young girl is alarmed by the escalation of the war and the fall of Paris to Nazi control in 1940. Worse, she soon discovers her missing sister has surfaced as a laborer in Auschwitz. When Gracianna finds an opportunity to fight back against the Nazis and free her sister, she takes it—even if it means using lethal force against German officers.
As Amador tells the story of how his great-grandmother risked it all, he delivers a heartfelt page-turner that readers won’t soon forget.
About the Author
Trini Amador vividly remembers the day he found a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand while wandering through his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun. This experience sparked a journey towards
Gracianna, Amador’s debut novel, inspired by true events and weaving reality with imagination. It's a tale drawing from real-life family experiences.
Mr. Amador is a traveled global marketing "insighter.” He is a sought-after guru teaching multinational brand marketers to understand how customer and consumer segments behave based on their needs, values, motivations, feeling and values. He has trained over five thousand brand marketers on how to grow brands in over 20 countries in the last 15 years. His counseling has been valued at global brands including General Electric, Microsoft, AT&T, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems, Google, Jack Daniel’s, The J.M. Smucker Co., DuPont, Mattel, and Rodale, Inc..
Amador is also a founding partner with his wife and children of Gracianna Winery, an award-winning winery located in Healdsburg, California. The winery also pays tribute to the Amador Family’s maternal grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. Her message of being thankful lives on through them. The Gracianna winery strives to keep Gracianna’s gratitude alive through their wine. Learn more at:www.gracianna.com, like Gracianna Winery on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @GraciannaWinery.
Amador resides in Sonoma County with his family.