It Started with Dracula: The Count, My Mother, and Me

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The terrifying legend of Count Dracula, silently skulking through the Transylvania night, may have terrified generations of filmgoers, but the tall, elegant vampire captivated and electrified a young Jane Congdon. It ignited a dream to one day see his mysterious land of ancient castles and misty hollows.

Four decades later she finally takes her long-awaited trip—never dreaming that it would unearth decades-buried memories of life with an alcoholic mother. Set in Dracula's back yard, the story unfolds in a mere eighteen days as the author follows the footsteps of Dracula from Bucharest, to the Carpathian Mountains and the Black Sea. Dracula's legend becomes the prism through which she would revisit her childhood, and eventually, lay claim to a happiness she had never known.

A memoir full of surprises, Jane's story is one of hope, love—and second chances.

Unfinished business can surface when we least expect it. It Started with Dracula is the inspiring story of two parallel journeys: one a carefully planned vacation and the other an astonishing and unexpected detour in healing a wounded heart.—Charles Whitfield, MD, bestselling author of Healing the Child Within

An elegant memoir of discovery, of dark secrets dragged into the light.—Catherine Watson, Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel editor and author

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Thrilling! Dracula fans will love the movie references and devour the adventures of one of their own in Romania.—C. Dean Andersson, author, I Am Dracula

An elegantly written and cleverly told real-life adventure story, proving that the struggle for self-love is universal. An electrifying read.—Diane Bruno, CISION Media