Rosa: The Life of an Italian Immigrant (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography)

Rating:
Summary: Rosa's life is unforgetable, as is Rosa herself
Review: First we need to thank Helen Barolini for resurrecting this precious book from obscurity. And for all those who complain there are no uplifting, inspiring tales about Italians, here in Rosa The Life Of An Italian Immigrant, is the proof that there certainly is.

Rosa would be the first to say she was no one special, just an ordinary peasant orphan who kept herself from starvation and worse by the faith of her religion and incredilby hard work for her entire life. Not that hard work is a surprise but the reality with which this uneducated woman shows us a plain ordinary life is as unforgettable as she is. God gave her the gift to tell the story of her life, to share laughs and to charm her new friends in wherever she landed, in a mining camp, a convent school or a silk factory.

From her early life as a child laborer who is beaten for mistakes in the silk mills of the 1860s to the uneducated young girl who is forced to marry a lousy, drunken bum, Rosa perseveres and triumphs with a long life and many friends who love her. You can't read this story with out falling in love with this precious woman as she endures life.

In 2001, it is hard to imagine that the cruelties Rosa suffered were every day occurences a century ago (or even less!), that is, nothing unusual. We have come a long way baby, but we had better not forget where we've come from.

Rosa The Life Of An Italian Immigrant will keep you rooted in the reality of our history and ancestry. Buy it, read it. Give it to your friends. Buy them their own copies! Give it as gifts to all the young women in your family.

Rosa's story must be remembered. Her story is unforgetable, so is Rosa Cavalleri.

Hey, Hollywood, I dare you to make a movie about this incredible woman!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A vivid tale
Review: I stumbled across this book a month ago while writing a term paper on Italian immigration.
Rosa's tale is a poignant story. Her life story reveals her pride,faith and determination to survive in both the new and old world and her unwillingness to compromise her values.

I highly recommend this book!