Heirs To The Pushcart Fortune

In 1912, sixteen-year-old Manny Aboulafia, seeking the American Dream,
leaves the crumbling Ottoman Empire for New York. Heirs To The
Pushcart Fortune weaves the lives of two generations of his family during
two of the seminal events of the twentieth century, The Great Depression
and World War II.

This family saga explores Manny’s search for that
elusive dream and how a chance encounter with a female professor at
Barnard College alters both their lives. It depicts the struggles that
challenge the family, taking us west with Manny’s firstborn who deceives
her way into becoming a screenwriter, and the trauma experienced by
a son who barely survives the war.

It is a tale of the true legacy of the immigrant
experience–the transmission to succeeding generations of
ethical values challenged by the confrontation with reality. Underlying
those values were hope, optimism, courage and perseverance, characteristics
typical of those who journeyed in pursuit of their dreams.