Description
Book SynopsisA memoir dealing with the aftermath of abuse. “I’ve heard that some volcanic eruptions are soft with oozing streams of lava dancing down the side of the volcano like a Las Vegas chorus line. My father’s eruptions were quick, like bricks being thrown through a window.”
Denise Tolan’s memoir-in-essay traces the legacy of violence in an Italian American family, showing how abuse reverberates both in the body and mind of a family. The book’s first part, “Blood is Not Water,” lays out how the origins of violence can infect the roots of a family tree. The second part, “Good Blood Doesn’t Lie,” shows what grows from those roots.
Italian Blood is a raw, heartbreaking series of essays where everything is connected through literal and metaphorical blood. These essays offer a connection to anyone who suffered childhood shame, violence, or fear and provide reassurance that they are not alone.
Trade Review“Tolan spares no one in this taut, clear-eyed, immensely moving memoir, least of all her ‘Little Miss Perfect’ self. A daughter/mother dialogue, a case study of paternal rage and brutality, an indictment of patriarchy and a survivor’s chronicle all in one,
Italian Blood offers page after page of hard-won insights, salted with black humor. Read it straight through and let the haunting begin.” * Kat Meads, author of "Dear DeeDee" *
Table of ContentsPrima Parte: Il Sangue Non e Acqua / Part One: Blood is Not Water
Never Two Without the Three
Divisible by Thirteen
Malocchio (The Curse)
My Mother Tells Me
Seconda Parte: Buon Sangue Non Mente / Part Two: Good Blood Doesn’t Lie
Betrayed by Blood
Things That Go Boom
The Underside of Normal
Visiting Rena
Terza Parte: Echi del Mio Sangue / Part 3. Echoes of My Blood
Mercury Rising
A Very Short History of Abuse
Snake Light
