by David Kherdian

In 1931 Veron Dumehjian Kherdian gave birth to David Kherdian in Racine, Illinois. Her son grew to be a popular author of children's stories and poetry before he resolved to tell the story of his mother's escape from Armenia during World War I. The Road from Home, which tells this story, won the resounding acclaim of critics, and was followed in 1981 by Finding Home, an account of Veron's life in America.

Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place

Pre-World War I prejudice. The modem Republic of Armenia is situated just northeast of Turkey, atop the high plateaus between the Black Sea to the northwest and the Caspian Sea to the northeast. Although Armenians have at various times inhabited land beyond their current holdings (within modem-day Turkey, the Republic of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran), the efforts of the...