The Lost American Dream

What does it mean to belong in a country built on both opportunity and exclusion? The Lost American Dream confronts this question with heart, humour, and unflinching insight.

From the working-class streets of 1950s Rome, New York, to the ivy-covered halls of Georgetown University, this sweeping novel follows one young Italian-American man’s search for identity and purpose in an America divided by class, culture, and war. As the Vietnam draft looms, Enrico pivots from mathematics to medicine, a decision that propels him into the elite world of American academia and into the orbit of Athena, a brilliant physician with roots in Boston’s old-money aristocracy. Their lives intertwine against a backdrop of privilege and restlessness, where Enrico must reconcile his humble beginnings with the glittering but hollow circles he now inhabits.

With a clear-eyed view of America’s contradictions, this deeply personal novel explores love, ambition, and the eternal questions of identity and purpose. Inspired by true events, The Lost American Dream is a sweeping and soulful coming-of-age tale steeped in cultural heritage and quiet revelation.

Author Biography

Lawrence Panasci is a medical oncologist, researcher, and writer whose rich life experiences inform his literary work. A graduate of Georgetown University, where he studied both mathematics and medicine, he was shaped by the rigorous education of the Jesuits and the social contrasts of Washington, D.C. In 1977, a formative journey to Sicily deepened his connection to his Italian heritage and helped inspire The Lost American Dream.

Panasci has received numerous academic distinctions, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, and the Gertrude and Charles Vineberg Clinical Scientist Award. He is the author of several medical publications and the novel Médecin Empoisonneur (2023) and its English translation The Poison Doctor (2024). He draws creative inspiration from both his medical career and his lifelong appreciation for Russian literature, particularly the works of Chekhov.

Lawrence lives in Montreal with his wife. Readers can reach him at lawrence.panasci@mcgill.ca.