Can you imagine leaving your home and only being able to take with you whatever fits in a large suitcase? What would you pack, knowing it would be all you could carry into your future life?
Like all immigrants to America in the 1800s, the Garraux family of 10 left Switzerland with only what would have fit in a few satchels, sacks and trunks. Very few immigrants ever returned to their homeland for visits, so they also left knowing they would likely never see their extended families or friends again.
The courage it takes to immigrate in hopes of making a better life cannot be underestimated. Their journey to an unknown land, buoyed only by the hope of new opportunities, is included in “When He Was Gone,” a sweeping drama that covers several decades of the Garraux family’s lives.