Immigrant Daughter

Stories You Never Told Me

By: Catherine Kapphahn

Narrated by: Catherine Kapphahn

Winner of the Center for Fiction's Christopher Doheny Award

Shortlisted for the Del Sol Press Prize

American-born Catherine knows little of her Croatian mother's early life. When Marijana dies of ovarian cancer, 22-year-old Catherine finds herself cut off from the past she never really knew. As Catherine searches for clues to her mother's elusive history, she discovers that Marijana was orphaned during WWII, nearly died as a teenager, and escaped from Communist Yugoslavia to Rome, and then South America. Through travel and memory, history and imagination, Catherine resurrects the relatives she's never known.

Traversing time and place, memoir and novel, this lyrical narrative explores the collective memory between mothers and daughters and what it means to find wholeness. It is a story where a daughter gives voice to her immigrant mother's unspoken history, and in the process, heals them both.

©2019 Catherine Kapphahn (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

A truly beautiful story

A very relatable and moving story. I was so surprised when the story ended. It felt almost like the story was continuing with the authors life. I will be recommending this to others.

Filial Love Delivers a Great Story

Immigrant Daughter is an exciting journey that explores the enigma of identity and lineage. When her mother died young –when the author was only twenty-two—the mysteries of her mother’s past haunted and impelled her search for understanding. Traveling over three continents and three generations, Kapphahn unspools the origins of her own story. Her mother was born in Croatia and was raised during the Cold War by her grandmother. Kapphahn seamlessly weaves the imagined and the real as she uncovers political and thrillingly romantic stories from Europe to South America to the United States. The passion of a daughter’s love is the current that runs through a masterful and fascinating story of patient research and revelation. It is intimate and compelling and very rewarding—an unusual memoir.
Additionally, the author reads her book artfully and it is a pleasure to spend time in her company.

Immigrant Daughter - a historic tale of love and discovery

Catherine Kapphahn in her own voice tells the story of her Croatian mother through the grief of her death. The story traces Marijana’s childhood through the advent of WWll, the loss of her parents and her escape from communist Yugoslavia. Through immense challenge, suffering and sacrifice Marijana perseveres and builds a life and a family. The story is moving, beautiful and inspiring. Marijana lives on.

Beautiful story for yourself and daughters

I drive my 13-year-old twin girls one hour every day to swim practice.  We listened to this story in the car.  First, I recommend the audible version.  I say this because Catherine's Kapphahn's reading is beautiful as she brings the story to life. Second, I highly recommend this book for young girls/women ages 13 and up.  My girls were totally captivated.  But more than that, they learned so much about history and the world.  Hence, this is an educational book for ourselves and daughters.  Enjoy.  

Poignant read

Every book I've ever found worth reading has been full of passages or moments that make me stop and reread them. Moments that are beautifully worded, or particularly poignant, or heart wrenching. Passages that I want to underline and return to, or read to a friend. Of course, this is trickier with an audiobook...
Catherine Kapphahn's Imigrant Daughter had me pausing to run such passages over in my mind. Her memories with her mother are vivid and warm, and I found myself thinking of my own mother, who also died too young.
It's a comforting and lovely read, and I thank the author for giving us the experience of living her memories and journey with her.
When I finished the book, I promptly bought it for my mother in law, a voracious reader. I know she will love it.

Transporting listen!

Kapphahn has created a layered, vivid emotional journey that bridges continents and spans generations in narrative threads that speak to the search for identity and meaning in all of us. This is why words are put to the page: to explore universal themes that echo in our hearts, reminding us of the profound connections we share regardless of geography and the age in which we live. Readers will all find themselves at home in this masterful work of art.

Beautifully Written

As a daughter and the mother of a daughter, this richly told story resonated deeply with me. The author's journey through the death of her mother and getting to know her posthumously on a deeper level was beautifully told. History, complex relationships and the love of family are all on full display. The author tells her story in a voice that made it a true pleasure to listen to. I could definitely feel the emotions behind her words. Thanks for this beautiful story!

a book on home

This book is for anyone interested in Croatian culture, WWII, Venezuela, memoirs, what it's like to be an immigrant in the US, or just fascinating and heartwarming life stories. The author narrates ! which always adds something. I loved it and I think you will, too