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SUSQUEHANNA

SUSQUEHANNA is a tale of commitment and thwarted love. Dr. Arthur Hillman, the grandson of Jewish immigrants, dedicates himself to practicing medicine among impoverished coal miners. A devoted husband and father, he spends his life trying to forget the only woman he has ever loved. Molly Shea, a beautiful, skilled, compassionate nurse, is the daughter of ardent Catholics, the grandniece of an Archbishop. She falls deeply in love with Arthur when they work side by side to save the life of a patient. But theirs is a forbidden love and through the years, they are put to the test to resist their emotions.

The narrative sweeps far beyond the Pennsylvania coal regions—to the upper-class enclaves of Philadelphia's Main Line, to Germany falling under the shadow of a threatening Nazi party, to World War II India, to contemporary Geneva. But always it returns to the river valley where the Hillman family has its roots, to the Susquehanna, which bears witness to their struggle for survival, their commitment to ideals and their quest for happiness.

SUSQUEHANNA was chosen by Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the "Best Books of 1984."