{"product_id":"papa-a-journey-back-jerry-ilgiovine-jr-9781735407111","title":"PAPA A Journey Back: Stories of Family, Friends \u0026 Life by an Italian American","description":"\u003cp\u003ePapa, a baby boomer, leaves a fun book of creative short stories for his descendants on life during the second half of the twentieth century. Each trip back in time is a stand-alone memoir based in truth, laced with imagination, and ending in some reflection and perspective. This grandfather takes the reader on a journey from growing up in a vibrant, ethnic neighborhood in Cleveland's inner city through an extraordinary adolescence to raising his own family in the suburbs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eExcerpts: \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e... Italians have this extraordinary reaction to drama and tragedy. They get angry before they can show compassion. I'm sure it has everything to do with the initial adrenaline rush, but I learned to wait it out since it never lasted long. I knew doting would soon follow. It always did, and it's no wonder that I now exhibit this same trait as an adult. \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e... We had a saying in my old Italian neighborhood. \"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, I'll kick your ass.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e... This was no church club of boys I was joining. It was a gang of boys who just happened to be in a church club. And I wanted in! \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e... I stopped behind my cousin with my heart pounding in my chest, and rightfully so. Getting my ass kicked was not on this evening's agenda. I remained silent as the situation deteriorated in front of me.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e... Ordinarily, I cringe whenever I hear my non-Italian friends are serving me their homemade pasta - only because my family has been cooking sauce every Sunday since the invention of the tomato.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e... He stood there motionless for a moment as if he were making an important decision. \"Here, take this,\" he said, and then shoved something into my hand. I looked down at what I was holding. It was a blue steel handgun.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jerry Il'giovine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1735407119\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781735407111\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bambino Publishing LLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/14\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 394\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.81d","brand":"Jerry Il'giovine","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43986552258815,"sku":"9781735407111","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_89740b6a-c9f4-4df7-92d0-d16b03ee9335.jpg?v=1683284022","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/papa-a-journey-back-jerry-ilgiovine-jr-9781735407111","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}