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'The Fortress': Danielle Trussoni's Difficult Love Story

Harper Collins Publishers

  *Original airdate: 09/19/16

Wisconsin native Danielle Trussoni wrote a memoir ten years ago that focused on her childhood in La Crosse. It explored how she came to terms with her dad, who had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his service as a so-called “tunnel rat” during the Vietnam War. 

That book helped launch Trussoni’s literary career. She turned to fiction and wrote two novels that straddle the line between thriller and supernatural. Those were written while Trussoni was married to a Bulgarian man who was brilliant, but also enigmatic and disturbing.

Now a decade after that first memoir came out, Trussoni’s new memoir, The Fortress: a love story, tells the story of her crumbling marriage, and a last-ditch effort to shore it up with a move to a medieval manor in France.

"A large part of this book is about having dreams, trying to make those dreams work and going to extremes in many ways to make them work," Trussoni explains.

For Trussoni, memoirs are a "wonderful," widely popular form of writing that can bring readers incredibly close to the author. However, much thought goes into what is revealed and kept personal for Trussoni.

Her hope with the latest book is to show others that not all expectations can be met in life, and failure is nothing to be ashamed of.

"The lesson to take away from this is: life is imperfect," says Trussoni. "We're imperfect, relationships are imperfect, and be forgiving. It's OK if something doesn't work out perfectly."