Christopher Gilland
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With degrees in government, philosophy, law, and international law and years as a global corporate general counsel, Christopher Gilland has nurtured a lifelong interest in the stories of The Greatest Generation. His debut novel, Passage to War, portrays Italy’s unique, complex, and little discussed participation in World War II. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.
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Passage to War
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Historical Fiction
Thousands of kilometers from home, fighting for a cause he doesn’t believe in, Antonio struggles amid the unforgiving Russian winter—battling hunger, a ferocious enemy, and the demons that war has unleashed inside him to return to the family he has left behind. In a war-torn country beset with fascist ideologies, food shortages, and foreign armies, Isabella struggles to raise her child while coming to terms with the crippling anxiety of her husband’s uncertain fate. They came to Italy to break free of a bleak past but found a perilous future. Now trapped in a global conflict, they must chart a course not just to survive the war and return to America but to salvage their souls and their love. Inspired by the experiences of the author’s extended family, this epic story flows across continents from New England to the mountains of Abruzzo, the shores of Sicily, and to the front lines of Europe’s devastating battlefields. Antonio and Isabella embark on paths that test their notions of hope, sacrifice, and forgiveness as they fight to survive the escalating hostilities of World War II. Examining the tragic cost of war and celebrating the enduring power of love and the human spirit, a journey for a new life becomes a Passage to War. 
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