Leave If You Can

LEAVE IF YOU CAN Religious persecution and political unrest in the years marching toward World War II colored Geza Dombi's childhood. Born into a poor but loving family in 1925 in Transylvania, he was drafted to fight for the Axis powers in the Hungarian army when he was 18 and served as an Austrian farmhand after the war rather than return to a country under Communist rule. Geza finds his way to the United States to pursue freedom, seizing every opportunity he can. Despite little knowledge of English, he convinces an Army recruiter to let him serve his newly adopted country, first as a soldier in the Korean War and then blowing glass scientific instruments for the government. In Leave If You Can, Geza shares his life's story from his first memories as a toddler to physical violence by brutal authorities and his arrival in New York harbor with hope in his heart. The eighty-eight-year-old's adventures include keeping bees, serving on a sheriff's posse and the National Ski Patrol, playing the harmonica and traveling across the country. Geza's story serves as a reminder that hope, faith, and inspiration can lead to freedom and grace. AUTHOR BIO Geza Dombi, born in 1925 in a small, poor village in Transylvania, faced religious and political persecution. He was drafted into the Hungarian army during World War II and eventually fled to freedom in the United States. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, Thelma. Kimberly Dailey, a special education teacher and former columnist for the Suburban Journals, spent two years interviewing Geza after being asked to write his story. She lives in Columbia, Illinois, with her husband, Mike. They have five children, two sons in- law, and a granddaughter.