Passage

by Sandy Powers

"Passage" is an incredible true story of Grace Balogh and her courage during a turbulent time in American history. Through her journals, "Passage" recounts the struggles of the Great Depression; America fighting two one with unconditional public support and the other with public indifference; the letters from servicemen that are poignant and timeless; and the emergence of a Cold War that pits two ideologies against each other. Threats to the American way of life prompt the FBI to recruit Grace Balogh as an undercover agent whose job is to infiltrate a cell planning violent overthrow of the United States government. Grace leads this secret life largely unknown to her family and friends. "Passage" takes the reader on a journey into events of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's that read like the headlines of today.

Genres: History, Biography, Biography Memoir, Espionage, Nonfiction

127 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not at all what I expected. It basically lays out the contents of a mystery box a dying mother left for her adult daughter. The book reproduces letters, journals, and documents from the box that tell of a few unusual events in the woman's life. But it really wasn't that special.
Barely a 3.

[Sandy Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Passage by Sandy Powers

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Passage (Paperback)
It is not that often that I come across a book that completely captives me and hold my interest from the first sentence right to the last. I started this book and literally could not put it down and read it straight through in one setting.

There are reasons for this. First, this is a very compelling story...more about that later. Secondly, this author is quite skillful, i.e. she can truly write and forth, we get a very insightful look of what was like in our country from the early days of the depression all the way through the 1950s. Good story, good writing, good history lesson and a glimpse into the life of a rather remarkable woman.

Upon her mother's death, the author finds several boxes of documents; letters, news clippings, legal papers and journal entries along with a letter from her mother to "her children." The author is suddenly faced with the absolute fact that she simply did not know her mother as she thought she did. Through this documentation she found that her mom was not the person who had lovingly raised her...there were secrets!

This is the story of a remarkable woman; the author's mother, Grace Balogh.

The author has used documents and journal entries left by her mother that takes the reader though Grace's life starting as an (unknown to Grace herself) adopted child. When her mother died, she found herself in an extremely abusive situation (physically and mentally) overseen by a not very nice step-mother. Married at the age of 16 to the love of her life, the author's father, the young couple starts life during the Great Depression.

The reader is given a very good account of the hard times known to many during that era where survivability was literally on the line. This eventual mother of five was a quiet but determined woman and the reader gets the impression that she was able to hold the family and life together under some very arduous circumstances. So far we have a grim but rather typical story of what so many went through. Then the war came, World War II. Life changed. Society Changed.

The reader, especially the younger reader must realize that times and attitudes were different then. Society in many ways was much more brutal and uncaring that it is today. On top of all of this, right after the war, we had the situation or phenomena which we now refer to as The Cold War. Communism was a real threat. We are not talking about the rich, well educated "Tea Room Communists," who in retrospect were a rather pathetic lot, but the hard core "Reds" who did indeed pose a threat to this country. Through a rather odd set of circumstances, this rather mild mannered woman; a wife, mother of five, PTA member and all around good citizen, found herself working for the FBI as an undercover informant investigating a Communist cell in their local area. For five years Mrs. Balogh latterly led two lives (Remember the old T.V. series "I Led Two Lives?"...The Herbert Philbrick story).

Now this is not a "James Bond" type of thriller. No, it is the story of an ordinary woman leading an ordinary life who did some very unordinary things.

We are lucky that the author has the literary ability to bring this story to us but at the same time we are lucky that the author's mother apparently also had that ability. Her journal entries attest to the fact that she, like her daughter, had wonderful writing and communication skills.

Not only was I fascinated by this woman's life, but after reading copies of her letters (which are recorded verbatim in the book) and those that she received, we are given a good look into the mindset of the American people during the depression during time of war and of course during the Cold War. This is interesting and valuable stuff folks.

All in all this was a wonderful and worthwhile read!

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks


KIRKUS REVIEW




Powers, Sandy
PASSAGE
AuthorHouse (140 pp.)
$21.95; $12.95 paperback $9.99 e-book
March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1456729561
Paper: 978-1456729547

A mother’s collected memories reveal her remarkable life in this work of nonfiction.
Powers (Organic for Health, 2007) brought home her moribund mother Grace to spend her last living days surrounded by the family she adored. Grace had led a long, full life, but her children could not possibly have imagined just how full until after she passes away, and Powers discovered boxes full of her mother’s carefully recorded memories that told the unexpectedly compelling story of Grace’s secret life. While the candid family photographs, legal documents and authentic newspaper clippings help illuminate the reality behind Powers’ sentimental portrait of her mother, “All else,” Powers writes in the foreword, “is as close to true accounts as I could make them.” That leaves Powers’ few elegant pages of introductory prose and, more compellingly, her mother’s journal—which constitutes the bulk of the short book—open to questions of verisimilitude. So be it; despite the liberties Powers may have taken, it’s an enthralling read. Correspondence with a church reveals Grace was adopted at a young age, never able to discover the identity of her biological parents. After the death of her adoptive mother and abuse at the hands of her adoptive stepmother, Grace managed to grow into a sensible, loving wife and mother in a small Ohio town. She and her husband strove for an honest living in the wake of the Great Depression until witnessing a neighbor’s gruesome murder cracked any sense of normalcy. And then came war. Patriotism runs deep throughout Grace’s journal; reprinted letters from World War II offer a frank depiction of life during wartime, both for the soldiers facing combat and for civilians, like Grace, at home sacrificing for their country. Grace’s patriotic sacrifice launches the book’s most stunning revelation—she infiltrated Cold War communist factions as an undercover spy for the FBI. Often the journal entries, particularly those containing the more incredible admissions, read like summaries of profound events rather than a dutiful narration, as if the journal—either because of Grace as writer or Powers as editor—was meant only as an introduction to the deeper story. Perhaps Grace intended to tell her daughter the story herself one day, with the detail it deserves. Now this book will suffice.
The rare family scrapbook that isn’t boring to the outsider.




Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744
Kirkus Indie, indie@kirkusreviews.com

[Janette Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandy Powers' father told her to look on the closet shelf for some boxes that her mother left for her. Her mother had died a few days earlier but never said anything about leaving anything special in the closet. Sandy found several boxes of old letters, journals and documents on her mother's closet shelf. "Passage" is the true story of the secret life of Grace Balogh. The entire book consists of these documents that had been hidden away for so many years.
I found this book to be a real page-turner and tear-jerker. Grace was adopted when she was an infant but her adopted mother died when she was just six years old. Her father soon married a mean, abusive woman with two daughters. Grace lived in a real-life Cinderella situation for many years. Her step-mother beat her and stole money that her birth family had provided for her.

Grace married at a young age and started a family. Many of Grace's friends were serving in Europe during World War II. The author included several letters from men serving our country overseas...some never returned home. During The War, Grace attended several meetings of the American Communist Party. At this time the United States and Russia were fighting together to defeat the Nazis in Europe. Russia and the United States were friends so Grace did not see anything wrong with the Communists.

When Grace was just 32 years old, she discovered a lump on her neck. She went to the doctor and found out she had cancer. She took the brand new chemotherapy treatments and radiation. These treatments made her very ill but the cancer eventually went into remission.

In the 1950s, the United States became involved in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Our entire country was afraid of a Communist take-over of the world. One day two agents from the FBI showed up at Grace's door. They stated that they knew she was a former member of the Communist Party and asked her to go undercover and become active in The Party again. Grace decided to help her country by going undercover and obtaining as much information as possible. She worked as an undercover FBI informant for five years.

I have to say that this book really knocked my socks off. I think it is true that "fact" is stranger than "fiction". The book is well organized and the story has a great flow. I forgot to say that Grace and her husband witnessed a murder while visiting a friend's house in their neighborhood! "Passage" is an incredible true story of Grace Balogh and her courage during a turbulent time in American history. This book really needs to get a movie deal ~ It is that good!

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

An American Heroine

PASSAGES is a great read - the letters and documents and newspaper clippings and transcriptions of important radio broadcasts and trial proceedings that accompany the life of on extraordinary, ordinary American woman - Grace Balogh. Grace began her life as an unwanted child of a woman named Orpha Farley, placed in an abusive adoptive home that evidently was a poor choice (there seems to be missing information here as the transition is puzzling to say the least) and later adopted by a loving family who goes on to marry and Hungarian with whom she has four children. She and her family survive the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and all the deprivations emotionally and physically that those times produced. Grace became involved with the meetings of the American Communist Party and was later hired by the FBI to be an undercover agent during the McCarthy era. There are side stories of Grace and her husband Bill witnessing the murder of a next door neighbor and being called as witnesses in the courts for the case, her letters to her friends and family during the wars and the trauma of hearing of their being killed in action, and the final retirement to Florida.

There is no question that this is the story of an amazing woman who survived the worst of times and became a hero - and that part of the book deserves five stars. But the book itself is just assembled letters, journal entries, birth documents, court reports, and speeches by Roosevelt, Truman, Stalin, etc with only minimal narrative input from Grace Balogh herself. There are many holes in the story that the writer, Grace's daughter Sandy Powers, could have clarified for the reader: the names of Grace Balogh change and the changes are not explained, the names of those who write letters from the war frontlines are not well identified, and Sandy's own participation in her mother's life is not outlined. So as a book it suffers from lack of editing and allowing the reader to better appreciate the life of an extraordinary woman. Perhaps Powers felt that interjecting information in a collection of memorabilia would jeopardize the credibility of one woman's life from her own writings. At any rate, this is a book that is well worth reading and owning for many reasons: it is a fine history of America in the last century, and it is a reminder that there will always be heroes among us - if we just are alert to their contributions to our lives.

Grady Harp

[Blue North · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandy Powers' passage is a true story. The story is told via journals and letters. Grace Balogh didn't live a happy life. She was an orphan. Her stepmother, Elizabeth, is a cruel woman who treats Grace with anything but kindness. There is also a gruesome telling of a murder. The murder happens in Ohio. This is really, I think, my first true murder story. I've never thought the genre would interest me. It is interesting to read about what happens to "real" people because of the violence in the minds of other people.

However, my favorite part of the true story is the facts about WWII. The author tells about the shortage of food, ration cards and women buying one pair of stockings for $20.00. Before the war a pair of stockings cost only $1.00. Sandy Powers also tells about the relocation of the Japanese in the United States. As far as the Atomic Bomb I've always focused on the bombing of the Pearl Harbor. Totally forgetting President Truman allowed another bomb to detonate in Nagasaki. There is much I didn't know about WWII. The book added to my knowledge. I now want to read more books about WWII. When a friend of the family died, I could feel the emotional pain in just a few lines. A soldier's death is totally selfless, sacrificial. Therefore, it doesn't take many sentences to grasp the fact that the most awful circumstances has entered a friend or family's life. "Mom's note: Oh, Porky, our dear, dear friend. Killed in action in France, Nov. 18, 1944."

There is so much in this small book titled passage. The book contains the strength needed to overcome disease. There is also the uncommon event of a woman becoming and leading a life she never thought about in order to keep our Democracy safe. It's true. Truth is stranger than fiction. Then, there is the grasp of the fact that some parts of our life we will never know. For me, this is deeply painful. "As I turned the last page of my mother's final journal. I was engulfed in a profound sadness. My mother. How little I kenw her. I buried my face in my hands and cried."

[Sandy Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

`Passage," a memoir of 128 pages is out of the ordinary since it is a disclosure of a mother's life, unknown to her children.

Grace's journals, a box of letters and newspaper clippings left for her children reveal details of her difficult childhood, early marriage years, a bout with cancer at age 32, witness to a murder, and her secret life as an FBI informant in Lorain, Ohio, during the early 1950's.

The author, Ms. Powers, youngest of Grace and Bill's five children, was told by her father that there was a box with letters and clippings her mother had saved for her to read after her death. Ms. Powers discovers much about her mother's life that she had never talked about: her abusive childhood, the betrayal by her stepmother and stepsisters, futile attempts to locate her birth parents. The journal entries and correspondence demonstrate that her mother is a devoted and loyal wife, mother and friend. Correspondence from their friends in the military during WWII describe their homesickness for Lorain and the good times they had. Sadly, two do not return home.

Grace's infiltration into the Communist party in Lorain as an undercover agent for the FBI put her in danger but she was a loyal American and wanted to do all she could for her country. Clandestine meetings, phone calls from pay phones and mailings dropped at different locations were part of her new routine. Grace decides to stop when the Party wants to send her to Moscow for training......she will not leave her husband and children.


Although I grew up in Lorain, Ohio around the same time as the author, "Passage" has given me new awareness of that complicated time and era.

I recommend 'Passage' to anyone who has been curious about unseen facets of their parents' lives.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Passage is the true story of a woman, Grace Balogh, a PTA mom, and seemingly average lady, who infiltrated and spied on Americans in the Communist Party.

When Sandy Powers' mother, Grace, passed away, her father gave her a box to rummage through, filled with moments of a life kept secret from her children. While the revelations hidden in the box were astounding to her children, and rightfully so, the story culled from Grace's life is presented in a choppy, year skipping, mishmash of scattered letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, and official documents, making it difficult for a non-family member to connect with the story.

It's mildly interesting, but much of what happened is left to the reader's imagination. Grace couldn't record everything she was doing for the FBI, especially as things became more dangerous, creating large holes in the story.

I can understand why her daughter would want to publish the story of her mother's bravery. Sadly, the presentation, missing pieces, and accounts of other moments in Grace's life don't flow together in a pleasing manner.

Passage isn't a bad book; I don't feel like I wasted my time reading it, but the subject matter is hit or miss. I enjoyed the passages dedicated to her life outside of her detective work much better than the limited details of her life as a spy.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do we really know who are parents are? We know them because they are Mom and Dad, but who were they before us? What do they do outside of us? One woman finds out after the death of her mother when she finds her journals. I can imagine that she was quite surprised by what she found. "Wow! That's my MOM?" Yeah...that's your mom.

This book had the journal entries from her mother (although, not nearly enough) and copies of newspaper clippings. Being a fan of history, the newspaper clippings were what interested me most. We share a lot in common in 2011 with 1930s and 40s. Indeed, has anything really changed? Interesting insights on the depression, the war, and the cold war from a very personal point of view. It's a quick read and intriguing as well as enjoyable. Don't expect very many resolutions, though. I would like to have read how the author felt about all the things that she read about her mother, but since she doesn't include that in this book, it seems unfinished.

[Shanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Won a free copy from FirstReads*

I truly enjoyed this book... think 3.5 stars. A fascinating compilation of diary entries and related newspaper articles about an Ohio housewife's life from childhood to her time as an undercover FBI informant on the American Communist Party.

Among the things I really enjoyed about this book include a reminder of how prevalant diaries used to be and how fascinating they are, a housewife's perception of current political and world events of the time, seeing how a woman could overcome such hardship and truly make a difference in the world - not just from her FBI activities, but as a wife and mother.

I only wished that there had been more to the book. I have such an interest in Grace now... I would love to read more about her as a person. What did she do in the years after the book left off?

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this book was little, it was very interesting and very thought provoking. It starts out as a letter that a daughter writes to her children that they are to open upon her death. In the box with the letter are newspaper clippings and letters from soldiers along with her journal. The book has us read excepts from her journal and they are interspersed with the clippings. All of this is taking place during WWII and then the start of the Korean conflict. As I read it, I realize that this all happened not all that long before I was born and that my parents lived through this time. How I wish I would have asked them more questions and had them tell more stories of that time. They are gone now but if you have the opportunity to do that, you may find it very interesting.

[Wanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the book. I felt the description was misleading. The book is about a daughter discovering who her mother was. There are journals and newspaper articles, as well as letters. The book starts in the early 1900s. There are one or two journal entries for every year. The letters and articles are included. I understand the articles, but I do not quite get why the letters are in the book. I don't even know who the letters are from or the significance of them. The book does not give any clue about them or mentions who they are.

I felt that the book was disconnected. It was a short read.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads First Reads and I absolutely loved this book. It was such a quick and easy read, yet it allowed a glimpse into the life of an amazing woman who protected the democracy of the United States. I can't imagine the shock Sandy Powers must have felt when she first read the journals of her mother. The fact that she was able to share the story that her mother never was able to share is such a gift!

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Our parents live a whole life before they even have children that we may never know about. I find that so interesting. Keeping a journal for the next generation and the ones after that can be so fascinating for the reader. Even the most mundane can become important, however, this woman's life was far from mundane. It's a fast read and if nothing else, it renewed my interest in keeping a journal.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandy Powers has written a story of the life of her mother from the early 1940's to the present. After her mother's death, the grown children are given a box of letters and newspaper clippings about a woman they hardly knew. She was a spy for the FBI during the cold war years. She was adopted and her father's second wife was abusive to her. She raised 6 children during the difficult WWII years. The story is told from the letters and clippings.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing story of a woman who faces more than her share of trials from her Depression-era childhood and throughout her life. Written by her daughter, this memoir records details of a horrific childhood, young marriage, illness, yet is never overly-sentimental. Grace's life takes an interesting turn in the 1950's when she becomes more than the ordinary housewife she appears to be. . .

[Karyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting story about a housewife and mother who became a spy during the Cold War. I loved how the story was pieced together from newspaper articles and journals. I wished there was more though. There was so much that her mother couldn't write about in her journal because she was instructed not to by the FBI- but I can't help but wonder if more could be uncovered.

[Kama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read. It is amazing that Grace was able to keep her life a secret from her children until her death. She sounds like she was an amazing and courageous person. I felt frustrated that we never learned what her birth history was. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the amazing true story of the author's mother. She eventually becomes a spy for the CIA. The book is a collection of journal entries and newspaper clippings. It was a pretty fast read, and it kept you turning the pages right until the end.

[Shannon Baas · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book. only took a couple of hours to read. I love historical books like this. Very interesting collection. I would defeinitely recommend it.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. I wish we had more details in places, but since it was written from original letters and documents we just don't get that luxury. It was short but worth the read!

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

this had potential, but failed. A true story but so much left out that I was only left with more questions.

[Irwin]

I just won as a goodreads giveaway! waiting to read it. Thanks.