Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

"Destiny od Determination" is the second book in a trilogy of historical fiction, dedicated to the author's mother, and inspired by the forced exile of her family of Armenian origin.
They are forced to flee their country because of the genocide perpetrated on the orders of the Ottoman Government of the Young Turks in 1915. At the origin of the massacre, Armenia is the first nation in the world to have married Christianity, which has inflamed the ire of the Ottoman Turks. Long ago, in the 15th century, the Turks annexed the Christian land of Armenia to their Muslim empire.
They will be locked there, defenseless, enslaved.
On April 24, 1915, the genocide began. The entire working male and Armenian population was exterminated. Only the old, children, women and the infirm will remain. Those suspected of sympathizing with the Russian enemy, will thus be deported for military reasons far from the war zone in a fictitious place, where they will die on the way. The book begins with a list of Armenians in his family who were murdered or raped and then killed in 1915.

Then the author remembers the life of his ten-year-old grandfather, when he experienced the crossing of the Atlantic to New York on a boat from their native land via Norway, and the immense grief of to have left behind him, his father, his sisters and his grandfather, all massacred... Hrant, his first name, is with his 18-year-old brother, who is more fragile than him, and his 45-year-old mother. The trio was able to escape from certain death by a clever subterfuge: that of disguising themselves as girls! - the Turks exterminating all the young Armenian boys of age to be enrolled in the army -

Believing in Jesus had since the dawn of time, raised nations between them, but was ultimately only an excuse to enslave, dominate and annihilate peoples to appropriate their lands.

Their wonder is at its height when they see the Statue of Liberty, the immaculate symbol of a word they no longer remember. Too many emotions overwhelmed them all. The show is breathtaking.

The turpitudes of the landing ended not without linguistic difficulties, the trio finally find the two eldest of the siblings, and head for their new residence, a large farm in Boston where they can cultivate while going to school to learn the language.
A whole new life opens up to them, a great Adventure strewn with small victories, discoveries like those of the train, the metro, baseball! The eldest of the siblings exercises the lucrative profession of Tailor and dresses...Mr. Kennedy! A major ally who recognized himself through the difficult integration of this Armenian family, having himself been the son of exiled Irishmen.
Drunk with gratitude, the little boy learns the language quickly and follows brilliant studies in electrical engineering.

1918 signs the armistice. The war is over. Turkey is summoned to repair its wrongs towards Armenia despoiled of everything, and must return the stolen goods.

Subsequently, Hrant, a naturalized American, bravely defies the advice of his older brother who officiates as the head of the family, and categorically refuses to submit to the sham marriage he has organized by pre-selecting a Armenian wife, to respect the Tradition. He is deeply in love with a young student like him; an Irish American with whom he shares the same interests.
The marriage will be celebrated, without the presence of the parents-in-law, however, then followed by a difficult twin birth of two little girls, followed by another birth, when he graduated as an electrical engineer.

1933, America is in recession because of the banking crisis and many are unemployed! It's "the Great Depression". Unable to find work, he then accepts the surprising proposal to be a teacher. They had left the spacious farm for a small accommodation next to the school and were faced with food shortages.

In 1938, a force 5 hurricane suddenly struck the northeastern US and caused untold damage, requiring Hrant's electrician skills.
And in 1941, he was offered a job wiring submarines on the east coast. They moved to Maine again and discovered the joys of the beach. Their lives were all taking shape and he was enjoying more now, while saving. He was eternally grateful to this Land of Welcome, this United States of America which had saved them, and allowed them to bounce back by offering them an existence worthy of the name, and granting them American citizenship.

1941 heralded the attack on Pearl Harbor, and brought the US to war. From the shipyard where Hrant worked hard, newly built submarines were produced faster, but the war effort required rationing, including of basic foodstuffs. Then their three adult daughters, life progresses, they get married, have children but Hrant succumbs during his second heart attack.

A story that I particularly liked, moving and rich in feelings and gratitude dedicated to America, a real breeding ground of opportunities and land of welcome for this persecuted people.
This is the story of the survivors!
Coming from a family made up of a mother and her two sons who defy the unthinkable, they escape the massacre of the Turkish enemy guilty of racial crimes against them and rebuild at the other end of the world, where alone the USA mobilized so that they could obtain political asylum for the refugees.

An unsustainable duty of memory, so that no one forgets the atrocities under the guise of religious war, which masked the real and shameful desire to purely and simply make an entire Armenian people disappear. ( )