Cast Your Own Shadow

After a policeman brutally assaults his mother, sixteen-year-old Macedonian Greek Danché has no choice but to avenge the attack—cultural expectations, adolescent fury, and a desperate desire for the approval of his long-absent father dictate his actions. Danché’s reprisal results in the police officer’s death, forcing the young man to flee his Greek homeland.

What follows is an adventurous journey aboard nefarious ships and over rugged land across Europe. Then, in hope of reconciliation with his father, Danché illegally enters the United States, only to be rejected by the man he seeks. Now, as post-Depression America gives way to World War II, Danché must find the means to support his family as he and his wife Sosi struggle to accept their son Stevie’s autistic symptoms—a condition society has little knowledge of and even less patience. Sosi, who begins marriage as a timid child tied to a culture of obedience, finds empowerment and hidden intelligence through love for her children and her need to aggressively pursue her autistic son’s education. Through motherhood, Sosi grows in ways beyond traditional expectation to become a strong supportive partner to Danché.

Hard work and persistence lead to success until Danché’s father reenters his life, threatening the well-being of the small family. The gun that Danché once used to avenge his mother might be used again. If so, it could destroy Danché and Sosi’s lives forever.

A family saga spanning fifty years and two continents, Cast Your Own Shadow blends rich motifs of culture, ethnicity, a woman’s growth and acceptance, and a father-son conflict that threatens to span multiple generations.