Broken Free

Luisa Tullio's life could have turned out very differently. Her grandfather's choices left lasting scars on his descendants' lives, although he couldn't have known that at the time.

When Antonio Tullio chose to return to Italy instead of settling down in America, he had no idea he would condemn his son and granddaughter to life in war-torn Italy. Instead of fighting Hitler and fascism, Luisa's father, Tito, fought with the Germans against people he would have grown up with. Instead of living in the postwar boom of 1950s America, Luisa came of age in the rural Italian countryside.

Luisa recounts this time in her life with bittersweet feelings. As a young girl, she was shielded from some of the horrific effects of the war by her naivety, but there are still memories and ghosts that haunt her to this day.

Postwar life was a challenge of its own. Her father returned from imprisonment in Siberia a changed man. Luisa gradually began challenging conventional gender norms but wound up trapped in an abusive arranged marriage. Her journey toward personal freedom and a new life in the United States shows her unbelievable courage and defiance. Surviving the war was only the beginning.