Della and Dodi in America: A Story of Italian Immigration and Persecution - Hardcover

by Cheri Emahiser (Author), Kellin Bass (Cover Design by), Joshua James Amberson (Editor)

Born from the whispers of a long-held family secret, this multifaceted narrative traces the extraordinary journey of Della Dodi, a dark-skinned, beautiful Italian immigrant with a sixth-grade education. Blending memoir, fiction, genealogical research, and historical documentation, the story reveals the trials of a young woman navigating injustice, courtroom trauma, and the aching loss of her daughter-all while forging a life of meaning and dignity.

At age 14, Della and her brother Sylvio (16), a gregarious and insightful young man, escape virtual debt peonage on a Mississippi Delta cotton plantation after their parents die of malaria. Their flight coincides with an attorney general's investigation into the inhumane treatment of Italian laborers. Eventually, the siblings reach Oregon, where Della marries Victor Leon-a cruel, abusive man and suspected murderer. Fearing for her life, Della flees with her daughter Marie to the safety of Eddie Wood, Victor's gentle former business partner.

When Victor kidnaps Marie, Della embarks on a six-year custody battle that unfolds in the courtroom of Oregon's Multnomah Circuit Judge Henry McGinn, a figure both revered and reviled. The legal saga introduces characters whose eccentricities rival those found in fiction, including George Dammeier, a wealthy man who offers Della visitation rights to see her daughter, only if she works as his housekeeper. Despite an Oregon Supreme Court ruling in her favor, Judge McGinn awards custody to the Dammeiers. Della never sees her daughter again.

Photos, court records, and news articles reveal glimpses of Marie's later life as a glamorous California socialite-known as Margaret-who married five times and lived to age 94. Della, however, never learned her daughter's fate.

Spanning generations, the manuscript includes memoir chapters that depict life in Oregon's Willamette Valley during the 1950s, where Della, now a widow druing the Great Depression, sells garden crops to support her daughters. These vignettes honor the resilience of migrant families and the quiet strength of women who endured.

A tribute to love, tenacity, and the human spirit, Della and Dodi in America will captivate readers who cherish historical storytelling steeped in emotional depth, truth, and courage.