Tiny Hot Dogs

Tiny Hot Dogs a memoir in small bites by Mary Giuliani

Maybe you've seen her on The Rachel Ray Show,
The Today Show, or Good Morning America.
As CEO of  Mary Giuliani Catering and Events,
she plans memorable parties with panache; just ask
the many celebrities who count on her to make
their soirees unforgettable.

Mary can turn the common hot dog into a culinary delight.
(who knew Elizabeth Taylor loved pigs-in-a-blanket?)
She's the force behind simple menus with innovative
presentations that make a splash with the rich and famous.

Now meet the other side of Mary Giuliani
(no relation to Rudy, in case you're asking) in
this poignant memoir that is not only eye-opening,
but laugh-out-loud amusing. (Reading about having
one eyebrow as an awkward child with few friends
might sound sad, but Mary manages to make it all so
humorous with her sassy style of writing).

She grew up on Long Island in a devout, Catholic
Italian family, but was enamored with converting
to the Jewish faith as a child. Her fascination with
Steve Martin's "The Jerk" had something to do
with her desire to transform herself. (If you've seen
the movie, the parallel becomes crystal clear).

Mary dreamed of being an actress, or of becoming
a cast member on Saturday Night Live, going to
great lengths to achieve those aspirations. She fell
short, but relentlessly continued her pursuits which
took her in another direction that she never imagined,
bringing her face-to-face with all those celebrity
crushes.

Through it all, Mary was fortunate to have some
pretty great cheerleaders in her corner, many
of which included her loving, eccentric family. Her
wildly capable mother bestowed upon her eleven
indisputable rules to live by, her father brushed
off his own fling with fame, demonstrating love
by example, and Grandfather, "Papa Charlie",
encouraged Mary's vivid imagination and comedic timing.

She writes with sincere thanks and admiration about
Chef Daniel, the boss who taught her so much and
then let her soar with wings of her own when the
time was right, and Lee, a woman old enough to
be her mother, who not only was a good
friend, but also the source of reliable advice
and fun at a time when Mary needed it the most.
And of course, Ryan, her husband and best friend
who has stayed by her side, weathering the ups and downs,
the laughter and the tears. It's exactly where he
remains today.

Disappointments along the way were many,
one of them being the inability to have a child.
But after fifteen years of infertility, joy arrived
in the name of a daughter named, Gala, a tribute
to Salvador Dali's wife. A holiday trip to
Spain gave Mary "permission to be perfectly
imperfect", and the realization that home, not
some foreign land, is where she wants to be.

Mary writes with humility, never seeming to forget
her upbringing. "Not everything has to be big.
Not everything has to be skywriting. Finding the big
in the small works for me to be happy with what
I've got. If we all want more from something, aren't
we always going to be disappointed?"

Pick up a copy of this refreshing, inspiring memoir and
perhaps make one of the many taste-tempting
recipes scattered throughout the book. Sit back, relax,
ponder your life's achievements (small as they may be),
laugh, find balance, dream big (but not too big that you
lose sight of what really matters), and be grateful for all
that you have, including friends that are the lasting ones.

Mary Giuliani certainly has done all of that and more.

Not For Nothing

Not For Nothing by Kathy Curto

Take a close look at the family photo
on the cover of this memoir, and you'll
clearly see the people who shaped
Kathy Curto's life.

She's the timid, little girl posing with
her stern father in his dapper new suit,
while her adoring mother smiles faintly,
not a hair out of place in her perfectly
coiffed beehive. A loving family
with a volatile past.

This captivating collection of anecdotes
details the author's life growing up with
her three siblings in a robust Italian family
in South Jersey during  the tumultuous 1970s
and 1980s. It's a story filled with her memories
as a child, and her awakening years as a teenager.

Her father was a proud man, loud and boisterous,
who owned a small chain of gas stations. Every
night he'd come home reeking of oil, with dirt
under his fingernails, ready for a home-cooked meal
and a fight if anyone dared to antagonize him.
Even with success, he never felt quite good
enough, often asking his children
"who do you think you are?" when they
dared to question his authority.

Her mother was caring, long-suffering,
capable, and loyal. When she could no longer
tolerate her husband's roving eye or angry temper
tantrums, she would leave for awhile, only
to return to try again. She loved her children
with a fierceness that sustained her through
the good and the bad times, and the ups and downs
of life with a husband who was not always easy to love.

In those days, her brother was a carefree young man,
until drugs took him deeper and deeper into
an abyss from which he couldn't escape. Kathy
watched the futile attempts to save him fail
over and over again.

This short book is both humorous ( her father's
glued on hairpiece will make you laugh out loud)
and achingly emotional. It will appeal to all
those readers who can relate to growing up
up in a large, ethnic family where food, fights,
and laughter are all part of daily life.

Honest, poignant, and thoroughly entertaining.

Educated

Educated by Tara Westover

She gazes at the valley below as the bus rolls down the highway, never stopping at her home in Buck's Peak, Idaho because she doesn't go to school. She has no birth certificate. She's never seen a doctor or nurse. Along with her survivalist father, mother, and siblings, Tara prepares for the "Days of Abomination, watching for the sun to darken, for the moon to drip with blood". This is the only life she knows.

Tara Westover's intoxicating words tell a story that few of us can fathom. She chronicles her life growing up in an authoritarian Mormon household, with a controlling father at the helm. She works grueling, dangerous hours with her brothers in a junkyard, salvaging steel and car batteries to put food on the table. She becomes a reluctant apprentice to her mother's role as a midwife and mixer of herbal remedies. She endures violent abuse from a brother, learning to appease him in order to escape an even worse fate. She listens to the preaching of a father who accuses her of deeds of the Devil, while he basks in the glow of her heavenly voice. She's never heard of the horror of the collapse of the Twin Towers, the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement. This is the only life she knows.

When brother Tyler dares to go to college and encourages her to do the same, she follows his lead and eventually earns a degree from Brigham Young University. From there it's across the sea to Cambridge University, and the hallowed halls of Harvard. However, these documented, defining moments are wrought with anguish and pain. The joy and pride of great accomplishments are often followed by  grave doubts, as she questions the decisions she's made. Loyalty and love of family are still at the center of her existence.

This memoir is a soul-crushing story of self-preservation. It's about one woman's courageous journey to discover the power of education beyond the unconventional confines of a small town in Idaho. It's about finding peace, acceptance, and happiness after a childhood of turmoil and isolation.

Chinese Lanterns

Chinese Lanterns by Margie Hiermer


Chances are if you lived in the Georgesville, Ohio area in the mid 1970's,  you may have heard of the irascible, one-of-a-kind, Leona "Loany" Rice.

Even if you didn't spend time in this little community where the Little Darby and Big Darby Creeks meet, you can read about her colorful life in this memoir written by her grand niece, author Margie Hiermer.

 And what a life it was. This rags to riches story (and back to rags) is told with warmth and humor by someone who knew Loany well. Additional anecdotes from extensive research, are peppered throughout the book, passed down over the years from friends and relatives, revealing a strong, vibrant lady.

Loany's escapades included buried slot machines near Paradise Alley, the home she shared with Okie, the forbidden love of her life whom she refused to deny. Chapter after chapter describe in detail her life as a bookie (oh, how she loved the racetrack), a suspected murder (never proven), a penchant for the sparkling beauty and mystery of  fireworks (thus the book's cover), and the crude, rude language that somehow made her all that more endearing. Maybe that's because people recognized the kinder, softer side of Loany. When her beloved son died, her grief was agonizing. When she worked with her "tickies", the mentally challenged individuals she supported and loved, she beamed with pride. When friends were down and out, she reached into her own pocket to help. Yes, there were two sides to Loany.

There's an audience for this debut book written by an author who finally saw her labor of love come to fruition.  Written with tenderness from the heart, it must have been quite the experience to have known the exuberant Loany Rice.

They Left Us Everything

They Left Us Everything by Plum Johnson


In this poignant, moving memoir, Canadian author Plum Johnson writes how her mother's death didn't bring the relief she so often longed for; instead, she's left with the pain of regret over what might have been.

The novel chronicles Plum's life as the only daughter of a staid, strict, and proper British father and a flamboyant, eccentric, outspoken American mother. Along with her brothers, Plum grew up with parents remarkably different in temperaments, separated for months on end, yet bound to one another with a resolute belief in their Christian faith and commitment to family. While Plum's father slowly succumbed to the agonizing effects of Alzheimer's, her mother remained spirited to the end, finally surrendering to the effects of old age, never revealing the deep, enduring love she had for her child

After her death, Plum discovers many treasures revealing the person behind the woman she never really knew or understood. As she and her brothers prepare to sell their beloved family home on a picturesque lake in Ontario, they begin the daunting task of sifting through the "pocket litter" left behind. They discover over 2000 personal letters, mementos, and keepsakes from the past that offer a snapshot into the complicated lives of parents who loved one another in spite of the extraordinary obstacles they faced.

Anyone who has cared for an elderly parent will relate to this inspirational story, written with warmth and humor. Candid and reflective, this well-written narrative will undoubtedly bring the reader to tears as the author describes her feelings of grief and remorse about the impasse she and her mother faced in telling one another their true feelings. So often we wait until tomorrow to ask questions about the past, to express love, to forgive.

Sometimes tomorrow never comes.

Glitter and Glue

Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan

This book is for mothers and daughters everywhere.

Author Kelly Corrigan writes a poignant and touching memoir revolving around her own life and the trials and tribulations of the mother daughter relationship, eventually coming to the understanding that perhaps Mom's words of wisdom have some merit after all.

"Your father is the glitter, and I'm the glue." How many times did Kelly hear those words spoken by her mother?  Far too numerous to count along with those endless quotes about every trivial event and circumstance in her life. And what in the world do those words mean? In any case, it's time to move on after college graduation. The adventure and glamour of Australia beckons Kelly and friend, Tracy, so they depart for the other side of the world.. Soon her savings account is exhausted and she finds herself accepting a job as a live-in nanny for a widower named John. The package includes scrawny  five-year-old Martin, precocious eight-year-old Milly, lonely Grandpa Pop, and intriguing stepson Evan. The book chronicles Kelly's days and nights of making monotonous meals, wiping runny noses, and daydreaming of scuba diving on the The Great Barrier Reef. As time passes, however, an attachment grows to this grieving family, and she slowly begins to understand that the untimely loss of a mother has far-reaching consequences. To her surprise, Kelly begins to feel an unexpected love for a family that courageously attempts to move on after days filled with emptiness and sorrow. And in the process her own mother's advice begins to take on a whole new meaning. When she returns to the States, her past experiences in a faraway place in 1992 prepare her for the challenges she faces today, with mom by her side.

This is a heartrending emotional story filled with a bevy of "mom" quotes; I marveled at exactly how many were familiar to me, spoken by my own mother throughout those formative teenage years. Sad at times yet surely captivating, it also is very amusing. After all, laughter is good for the soul. It explores that mysterious ever-changing bond between mothers and daughters that evolves over time; that protective nature one experiences when a child enters your life.

"And it occurs to me that maybe the reason my mother was so exhausted all the time wasn't because she was doing so much but because she was feeling so much."  Yes, indeed, an insightful window into the phenomenon known as motherhood. And may I be the first one to wish you...

Happy Mother's Day.