One of the presentations I give more often is “My Italian American life: the Importance of Writing a Memoir.” I treasure that type of presentation because I really do believe that people should leave behind some kind of written or recorded story of their life, or the life of other close family members, for their descendants—and sometimes the public at large.

How sweet it is for a grandchild or great-grandchild to discover the story of his or her grandparents! But it’s more than that since within the story there are lessons to be learned and history to be discovered. It’s a world much more interesting and intimate than TV programs or movies and it belongs to the reader as much as to the person who wrote it…