Goldie Brigante was born and raised in Hungary during World War II, the Russian occupation, and Communist rule. Shouldering responsibilities at a very early age, she forfeited her childhood to war and caring for her younger sister. At the age of seventeen she left home to begin a new life and soon after escaped to Germany where she met and married the love of her life, Pat Brigante, an American soldier. She soon found herself in America, living the life of an Army wife. Goldies story is one of amazing independence, perseverance, and strength in the face of adversity. Her story gives the reader a totally new perspective to life as we know it in America.About the Author: Goldie Brigante was born in Hungary in 1935. As World War II was breaking out her father abandoned the family to go to Germany. Without a breadwinner, Goldie's mother had to work, leaving Goldie at age 6, to fend for herself and her younger sister. Living through the horrors of that war, her family was then subjected to the Russian occupation and then communist rule. What had once been their homeland of Hungary was now part of Yugoslavia and they were outsiders in their own country, a minority in their homeland. At seventeen Goldie left her family and hometown to be on her own. Realizing that life in a communist country did not afford her the type of freedoms she desired, she escaped to Germany. There she met and married an American soldier, Pat Brigante, the love of her life. Goldie came to the United States at the age of twenty-one and began the life of a career soldier's wife. When Pat left the Army after two tours in Vietnam, they settled down on an eighty-five acre farm in rural north-west Florida. Although Pat has since passed away, Goldie still maintains their home on the eighty-five acres and maintains an active and healthy lifestyle.