Goodreads asked Meryll Levine Page:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Meryll Levine Page Leslie was inspired to write the book after attending Vera's son's wedding. She asked herself how did a poor Soviet woman wind up hosting a wedding
in the Grand Caymans? What made Vera's success possible? When she met Vera's best friend, Alla, at the wedding, she knew she had a story. Meryll leapt at the chance to write with her sister and as a historian was
also struck by these women-friends who battled so many odds to find success.

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