Publisher's Synopsis
Thus Bound: the story of Tadziu and Marysza is a novel written from two points of view: that of the male character and that of the female. In the waning years of the Great Depression, Tadziu and Marysza, the children of Polish immigrants, meet in grade school, a meeting that will direct the course of their lives. Marysza Jargosz is orphaned in infancy by her father's death and her mother's desertion. Her childhood, spent with a grandmother whose intense love influences her life, seems perfect. Tadziu Wreblewski, the eldest of five children, is beset by his father's violent temper and his mother's depression. At Marysza's grandmother's house he is included in loving relationships, escaping the harsh reality of his own home. Marysza becomes his ideal of beauty and intelligence. Tadziu's and Marysza's lives diverge. Their love endures, ending in a manner that will surprise and stun the reader.
GERALDINE WIERZBICKI-ROACH was born, raised and educated in Buffalo, New York and earned her Ph.D. in English literature from SUNY Buffalo. Her dissertation focused on the novels of George Eliot and Dorothy Richardson. She has taught in colleges in and around the city for seven years. Gerry and her husband, Robert, reside in West Seneca, a town near the city she knows so well and which serves as the setting for the novel. As a single mother facing financial stress and hard work, Gerry raised a daughter and two sons, all of whom have brought her great pride. She believes we do not understand our own happiness. "Looking back on that challenge, I remember the strength my children gave me and realize that the years I thought were difficult were some of the happiest years in my life." She frequently visits her twelve grandchildren, who are scattered throughout the northeast.
