Heirs to the Pushcart Fortune

In 1912, sixteen-year-old Manny Aboulafia, seeking the American Dream, leaves the crumbling Ottoman Empire for New York. Heirs to the Pushcart Fortune weaves the lives of two generations of his family during two of the seminal events of the twentieth century, The Great Depression and World War II. This family saga explores Mannyas search for that elusive dream and how a chance encounter with a female professor at Barnard College alters both their lives. It depicts the struggles that challenge the family, taking us west with Mannyas firstborn, who deceives her way into becoming a screenwriter, and the trauma experienced by a son who barely survives the war. It is a tale of the true legacy of the immigrant experienceathe transmission to succeeding generations of ethical values challenged by the confrontation with reality. Underlying those values were hope, optimism, courage and perseverance, characteristics typical of those who journeyed in pursuit of their dreams.