“In a voice at once fiercely honest and exquisitely tender, Smith explores what we inherit from our foremothers, what we pass down to our daughters, and the power we hold to forge new stories together.  Like the best of road trips, Troika winds through shimmering vistas and surprising detours, delivering us, ultimately, to the possibilities that lie in our hearts. A wholly delightful journey from beginning to end.” 

—Nicole Graev Lipson, USA Today bestselling author of Mothers and Other Fictional Characters

“Heartfelt, moving, and, oh yes, very, very funny.”

—Alina Adams, NYT bestselling author of The Nesting Dolls and Go On Pretending

“An eloquent meditation on intergenerational legacies, memories of a left-behind homeland, and coincidences that stitch our lives together.”

—Elizabeth Rynecki, author, documentary filmmaker, and podcaster

“Irena Smith’s captivating and smart memoir . . . can serve as a potential antidote to the fevered belief that being admitted to an elite college will spell the difference between a successful life vs. a doomed future. That’s a fever that’s hard to break for many families, but Smith’s highly personal, literate, sometimes snarky account might just do the trick.”

—Forbes

“With humor and pathos, Irena Smith draws the reader behind the curtain of college admissions, where life is more complicated than any kid’s file.”

—Malcolm Harris, author of Palo Alto