The Fortunate Pilgrim The Fortunate Pilgrim is a poignant novel, truthfully written and one of the most deeply felt portraits of an Italian-American family. The novel vividly illustrates one women’s courage to overcome the many misfortunes in her life and in her children’s lives. Lucia Santa is an unforgettable woman who came to America hoping for a better life. But along the way she had to overcome many obstacles including, the loss of two husbands, the raising of six children who all had different aspirations in life, and the struggle to hold her family together. Lucia Santa was only seventeen years old when she came to America. Her father could not affor