{"product_id":"2026200012446-secondhand-promise-at-dawn-a-memoir","title":"Promise At Dawn: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Remainder mark\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew memoirs capture the ferocity of a mother's love and its lifelong consequences with the raw, luminous honesty found in Promise at Dawn. Romain Gary chronicles his extraordinary journey from a poverty-stricken childhood in Eastern Europe to becoming a celebrated French diplomat, novelist, and World War II aviator — all under the relentless, almost mythological force of his mother's boundless ambition for him. She declared he would be a hero, a great man, an ambassador, and a famous author, and through sheer, unyielding devotion, she willed it into being, even as Gary carried the immense weight of her dreams across battlefields and borders.\n\nTranslated with grace by John Markham Beach, this semi-autobiographical masterpiece stands as one of the most emotionally resonant works of 20th-century French literature. Gary's prose moves between comedy and heartbreak with effortless sophistication, weaving a portrait of maternal love so consuming it becomes both a gift and a burden that lasts a lifetime. As an epigraph drawn from Robert Frost reminds the reader — *…But I have promises to keep, \/ And miles to go before I sleep…* — one is left wondering whether any child can ever truly repay the debt of a parent's sacrifice, or whether the attempt itself defines a life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130977657051,"sku":"2026200012446-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/4cb898fb-26a0-40c7-936e-cdaea16393bb.png?v=1786593387","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200012446-secondhand-promise-at-dawn-a-memoir","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}