First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea has started a fun new meme First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from SUVs Suck in Combat by Kerry Kachejian.

Getting to Baghdad would be a tough, tough journey for me. And while all Americans face adversity during their lives, my family had borne far more than its share. To us adversity was a normal state of affairs, and we faced it head on. My family's collective resilience and ability to cope with tough times often amazed our friends and neighbors. Bur it was this very ability to cope that allowed me to leave my family even in a time of hardship.

My family's challenges can be traced back almost 100 years to a mass genocide that drove my grandparents, Aram Kachejian and Regina Hagopian, out of Armenia and to the United States. They were among the lucky survivors of the 'Starving Armenians.' They opened a shoe shop in Philadelphia and raised their kids during the Great Depression. I owe my grandparents the American life I know today.