Cathy Burnham Martin – författare

Linking past and present, this painfully poignant, true story shares the author''s Armenian ancestors'' harrowing struggle to survive extraordinary chaos and violence in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. Relayed with often soulful introspection, Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear opens the window of hope amidst a quagmire of despair. More fact than fiction, one family''s true story captures the faith and fortitude that make the tormented Armenian saga an all-too-common story for every culture that has suffered at the hands of intolerance.

Memoirs and history books relay the tragic stories of mass-deportations and annihilation of Armenians. The starting point for Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear is sadly familiar. However, sharing the Armenian genocide through historical fiction casts a much-needed light on the vulnerable, highly relatable, family side of the experience. The persecution of any group of people at the hands of another group of people never sings a happy song, but in current times of rising violence and divisive politics the themes ring with eerie parallels.

The book contains some explicit descriptions and a couple of disturbing, though not graphic, violent scenes. While not gratuitous, the depictions may be haunting and unsuitable for young readers. Regardless, noting its cultural and sociopolitical relevance, one doctor posed the opinion that this should be made required reading for all American high school students. 

"Destiny of Determination: Faith and Family" illuminates the stark realities of immigrants determined to settle in America, a land of opportunity and freedom. While young Hrant''s Armenian story parallels the horrors experienced by far too many cultures in both the past and present, Book 2 in the Destiny Trilogy also highlights the strength and hope that live within survivors of various nightmares. To people who have escaped genocide, prejudice and bigotry can appear as manageable hurdles. More fact than fiction, the writing style of the author (a recovering journalist) is straightforward as if she is speaking directly to the reader.

Book 1 found Hrant Gulumian, the youngest child in his family, deeply relating to his granddaughter, Cassie when her nightmares precisely mirrored his traumatic childhood experiences. "Destiny of Dreams: Time Is Dear" shared young Hrant''s harrowingly narrow escape from the mass deportations and attempted annihilation of the Armenians in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire.

Despite the hauntingly intense and dramatic truths in Book 1, the Destiny Trilogy resumes with the powerful hope and strength known only to survivors. Book 2 completes Hrant''s voyage and sweeps the reader into his family''s new life in the USA, illuminating the vulnerability of the diaspora and all forced refugees in a new and unfamiliar land filled with language, cultural, and discrimination challenges.

Author Martin celebrates her family''s quiet determination and refusal to lose faith, despite intolerance and numerous economic woes, eerily paralleled in modern society. Set in the 20th Century, her family''s true story shines as a beacon of optimism and comfort for countless other families, hailing from many nations and struggling to endure on the way to freedom and a chance for a better life in this century.