Author: Nick (Yu) He
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781733969505
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
One hundred percent made in China, Nick (Yu) grew up in an environment where being gay was not an option. The expectation from his parents and pressure from the society molded him into the "best student" and "best employee." He made his family proud. But deep inside, he knew that something was missing, and he was different. In this memoir, Nick (Yu) takes readers on his journey from growing up as a confused "straight" boy from China to today having a lovely husband and three girls through surrogacy. He invites readers to the experiences that he would rather have forgotten - from being sexually harassed by his desk-mate in middle school, through depression and a one-night stand in college, to losing a baby during pregnancy. With ultimate honesty and absolute vulnerability, Nick shares the happiness and sadness on the journey to come out to himself, his parents and friends; learn about gay culture in America, cherish his Chinese heritage, find his first love, and create a family through surrogacy and the help of many amazing people. Two Dads and Three Girls is a celebration of courage and love. It challenges each of us to dig deep into our soul to find what matters most to us, gain courage through the stories, and live our lives in truth.
Two Dads and Three Girls
Author: Nick (Yu) He
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781733969505
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
One hundred percent made in China, Nick (Yu) grew up in an environment where being gay was not an option. The expectation from his parents and pressure from the society molded him into the "best student" and "best employee." He made his family proud. But deep inside, he knew that something was missing, and he was different. In this memoir, Nick (Yu) takes readers on his journey from growing up as a confused "straight" boy from China to today having a lovely husband and three girls through surrogacy. He invites readers to the experiences that he would rather have forgotten - from being sexually harassed by his desk-mate in middle school, through depression and a one-night stand in college, to losing a baby during pregnancy. With ultimate honesty and absolute vulnerability, Nick shares the happiness and sadness on the journey to come out to himself, his parents and friends; learn about gay culture in America, cherish his Chinese heritage, find his first love, and create a family through surrogacy and the help of many amazing people. Two Dads and Three Girls is a celebration of courage and love. It challenges each of us to dig deep into our soul to find what matters most to us, gain courage through the stories, and live our lives in truth.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781733969505
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
One hundred percent made in China, Nick (Yu) grew up in an environment where being gay was not an option. The expectation from his parents and pressure from the society molded him into the "best student" and "best employee." He made his family proud. But deep inside, he knew that something was missing, and he was different. In this memoir, Nick (Yu) takes readers on his journey from growing up as a confused "straight" boy from China to today having a lovely husband and three girls through surrogacy. He invites readers to the experiences that he would rather have forgotten - from being sexually harassed by his desk-mate in middle school, through depression and a one-night stand in college, to losing a baby during pregnancy. With ultimate honesty and absolute vulnerability, Nick shares the happiness and sadness on the journey to come out to himself, his parents and friends; learn about gay culture in America, cherish his Chinese heritage, find his first love, and create a family through surrogacy and the help of many amazing people. Two Dads and Three Girls is a celebration of courage and love. It challenges each of us to dig deep into our soul to find what matters most to us, gain courage through the stories, and live our lives in truth.
Three Dads and a Baby
Author: Ian Jenkins
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN: 1627785221
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
As a closeted teen, Ian wondered if he would ever fall in love or be able to live openly with a male partner. Years later, he had not one but two partners in a polyamorous throuple, and the support of family, friends, and coworkers. But something was still missing. Spurred by a friend’s donation of two embryos, Ian, Alan, and Jeremy embarked on a sometimes hilarious, sometimes tearful quest to become parents. Along the way, they faced IVF failures, the threat of Zika virus, a battle at their clinic that forced them into an urgent hunt for a new doctor, pregnancy-threatening bleeds, costly legal battles, and a reluctant superior court judge. Ultimately the grace of women—embryo donors, their egg donor, their surrogate, even a surprise milk donor—allowed them to complete their family with one perfect girl. And in fighting for their family, they became the first polyamorous family ever named as the legal parents of a child.
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN: 1627785221
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
As a closeted teen, Ian wondered if he would ever fall in love or be able to live openly with a male partner. Years later, he had not one but two partners in a polyamorous throuple, and the support of family, friends, and coworkers. But something was still missing. Spurred by a friend’s donation of two embryos, Ian, Alan, and Jeremy embarked on a sometimes hilarious, sometimes tearful quest to become parents. Along the way, they faced IVF failures, the threat of Zika virus, a battle at their clinic that forced them into an urgent hunt for a new doctor, pregnancy-threatening bleeds, costly legal battles, and a reluctant superior court judge. Ultimately the grace of women—embryo donors, their egg donor, their surrogate, even a surprise milk donor—allowed them to complete their family with one perfect girl. And in fighting for their family, they became the first polyamorous family ever named as the legal parents of a child.
Courage to Grow
Author: Laura Sandefer
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
ISBN: 9781626344914
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Acton Academy: The one-room schoolhouse for the twenty-first century Seeking a 21st century education for their children, Laura and Jeff Sandefer jumped off the track of conventional school and created a new model for learning. They created Acton Academy as a better school where learning is made practical and meaningful and where students begin a lifelong Hero's Journey to discover their true potential. Using the Socratic method, elements of the Montessori approach and state-of-the-art online instruction, Acton guides students toward independence and self-motivation, helping them find the courage to grow into the person they were meant to be. Soon, other parents wanted to start their own Acton Academies, and less than a decade from the seven founding students' first Socratic discussion, Acton has spread around the world. Courage to Grow is the Sandefer family's personal quest for their own children's education and happiness. Their story also contains a path for other parents who want to give their children the freedom to take ownership of their own education and to start their own school. The treasure at the end is much larger than Laura ever expected--a quickly growing network of dedicated, curious young people and parents who are not afraid to set them free.
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
ISBN: 9781626344914
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Acton Academy: The one-room schoolhouse for the twenty-first century Seeking a 21st century education for their children, Laura and Jeff Sandefer jumped off the track of conventional school and created a new model for learning. They created Acton Academy as a better school where learning is made practical and meaningful and where students begin a lifelong Hero's Journey to discover their true potential. Using the Socratic method, elements of the Montessori approach and state-of-the-art online instruction, Acton guides students toward independence and self-motivation, helping them find the courage to grow into the person they were meant to be. Soon, other parents wanted to start their own Acton Academies, and less than a decade from the seven founding students' first Socratic discussion, Acton has spread around the world. Courage to Grow is the Sandefer family's personal quest for their own children's education and happiness. Their story also contains a path for other parents who want to give their children the freedom to take ownership of their own education and to start their own school. The treasure at the end is much larger than Laura ever expected--a quickly growing network of dedicated, curious young people and parents who are not afraid to set them free.
Pearl Power and the Girl with Two Dads
Author: Mel Elliott
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781527266728
Category : Children of same-sex parents
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Pearl Power and the Girl with Two Dads is a new children's storybook that addresses the subject of same sex parents. This is the third in a series of Pearl Power books, designed to tackle the subject of gender equality but in a simple, light-hearted way. The story of Pearl Power and the Girl with Two Dads features a new girl at school who has same-sex parents. Pearl thinks this is all very different and cool but eventually finds out that it's nothing to get excited about. Its aim is to show children that a mum and a dad isn't always the case and that different family set-ups are no big deal.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781527266728
Category : Children of same-sex parents
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Pearl Power and the Girl with Two Dads is a new children's storybook that addresses the subject of same sex parents. This is the third in a series of Pearl Power books, designed to tackle the subject of gender equality but in a simple, light-hearted way. The story of Pearl Power and the Girl with Two Dads features a new girl at school who has same-sex parents. Pearl thinks this is all very different and cool but eventually finds out that it's nothing to get excited about. Its aim is to show children that a mum and a dad isn't always the case and that different family set-ups are no big deal.
The Lucky Few
Author: Heather Avis
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310345499
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
When life looks radically different than the plan we have for ourselves, it's the lucky few that recognize God's plan is best. That's what adoptive mom Heather Avis learned, and that's the invitation of this book. As the mother of three adopted children - two with Down syndrome - Heather Avis has learned that it's truly the lucky few who get to live a life like hers, who actually recognize that God's plans are best, even when they seem so radically different from the plans we have for ourselves. When Heather started her journey into parenthood she never thought it would look like this, never planned to have three adopted children, and certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most things God does, once she stepped into the craziness and confusion that comes with the unknown and the unplanned, she realized that they were indeed among the lucky few. Discover in this book what 70,000+ followers of Heather's hit Instagram account @macymakesmyday already know: the power of faith and family can help us stay strong in the toughest times. This book will also be especially touching to those with adopted family members or children with Down syndrome in their lives.
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310345499
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
When life looks radically different than the plan we have for ourselves, it's the lucky few that recognize God's plan is best. That's what adoptive mom Heather Avis learned, and that's the invitation of this book. As the mother of three adopted children - two with Down syndrome - Heather Avis has learned that it's truly the lucky few who get to live a life like hers, who actually recognize that God's plans are best, even when they seem so radically different from the plans we have for ourselves. When Heather started her journey into parenthood she never thought it would look like this, never planned to have three adopted children, and certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most things God does, once she stepped into the craziness and confusion that comes with the unknown and the unplanned, she realized that they were indeed among the lucky few. Discover in this book what 70,000+ followers of Heather's hit Instagram account @macymakesmyday already know: the power of faith and family can help us stay strong in the toughest times. This book will also be especially touching to those with adopted family members or children with Down syndrome in their lives.
Harriet Gets Carried Away
Author: Jessie Sima
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1481469126
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 46
Book Description
From the author and illustrator of the bestselling Not Quite Narwhal comes a sweet and funny story about remembering where you belong, no matter how far you roam, or what you’re wearing when you get there. Harriet loves costumes. She wears them to the dentist, to the supermarket, and most importantly, to her super-special dress-up birthday party. Her dads have decorated everything for the party and Harriet has her most favorite costume all picked out for the big day. There’s just one thing missing—party hats! But when Harriet dons her special penguin errand-running costume and sets out to find the perfect ones, she finds something else instead—real penguins! Harriet gets carried away with the flock. She may look like a penguin, but she’s not so sure she belongs in the arctic. Can Harriet manage her way back to her dads (and the party hats!) in time for her special day?
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1481469126
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 46
Book Description
From the author and illustrator of the bestselling Not Quite Narwhal comes a sweet and funny story about remembering where you belong, no matter how far you roam, or what you’re wearing when you get there. Harriet loves costumes. She wears them to the dentist, to the supermarket, and most importantly, to her super-special dress-up birthday party. Her dads have decorated everything for the party and Harriet has her most favorite costume all picked out for the big day. There’s just one thing missing—party hats! But when Harriet dons her special penguin errand-running costume and sets out to find the perfect ones, she finds something else instead—real penguins! Harriet gets carried away with the flock. She may look like a penguin, but she’s not so sure she belongs in the arctic. Can Harriet manage her way back to her dads (and the party hats!) in time for her special day?
Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl
Author: Brian A Klems
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1440545464
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
Rules for Raising Little Girls "As the father of a daughter, I wish I'd read this very funny book sooner, if only to know that it's OK for a grown man to wear a tutu." - Dave Barry "Required reading for any parent who doesn't know pants from leggings." - Dan Zevin, author of Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad It's easy to imagine how you'd raise a boy--all the golf outings, lawnmower lessons, and Little League championships you'd attend--but playing dad to a little princess may take some education. In Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl, Brian, a father of three girls, shares his tactics for surviving this new and glittery world. From baby dolls and bedtime rituals to potty training and dance recitals, he leads you through all the trials and tribulations you'll face as you're raising your daughter. He'll also show you how to navigate your way through tough situations, like making sure that she doesn't start dating until she's fifty. Complete with commandments for restroom trips and properly participating in a tea party, Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl will brace you for all those hours playing house--and psych you up for the awesomeness of raising a daughter who has you lovingly wrapped around her little finger. "Somehow, Brian Klems has taken one of the most traumatic situations known to a father--having a daughter--and made it into something so completely hilarious you'll laugh until you've got oxygen deprivation!" - W. Bruce Cameron, author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1440545464
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
Rules for Raising Little Girls "As the father of a daughter, I wish I'd read this very funny book sooner, if only to know that it's OK for a grown man to wear a tutu." - Dave Barry "Required reading for any parent who doesn't know pants from leggings." - Dan Zevin, author of Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad It's easy to imagine how you'd raise a boy--all the golf outings, lawnmower lessons, and Little League championships you'd attend--but playing dad to a little princess may take some education. In Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl, Brian, a father of three girls, shares his tactics for surviving this new and glittery world. From baby dolls and bedtime rituals to potty training and dance recitals, he leads you through all the trials and tribulations you'll face as you're raising your daughter. He'll also show you how to navigate your way through tough situations, like making sure that she doesn't start dating until she's fifty. Complete with commandments for restroom trips and properly participating in a tea party, Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl will brace you for all those hours playing house--and psych you up for the awesomeness of raising a daughter who has you lovingly wrapped around her little finger. "Somehow, Brian Klems has taken one of the most traumatic situations known to a father--having a daughter--and made it into something so completely hilarious you'll laugh until you've got oxygen deprivation!" - W. Bruce Cameron, author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
Stella Brings the Family
Author: Miriam B. Schiffer
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452135746
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 53
Book Description
“A tender story about the variety of people that make children feel loved and supported.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? It’s not that she doesn’t have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn’t have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family. “Told with both a light touch and an astute eye toward a child’s perspective and heartfelt concerns.” —School Library Journal “A raucous happy ending.” —The New York Times
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452135746
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 53
Book Description
“A tender story about the variety of people that make children feel loved and supported.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but what’s a girl with two daddies to do? It’s not that she doesn’t have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn’t have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family. “Told with both a light touch and an astute eye toward a child’s perspective and heartfelt concerns.” —School Library Journal “A raucous happy ending.” —The New York Times
52 Things Daughters Need from Their Dads
Author: Jay Payleitner
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736948104
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Most dads love their daughters, but they’re uncertain how they can show that love in a way their daughters understand...or figure out what their girls really need from them. Jay Payleitner has given thousands of dads great, man-friendly advice in his bestselling 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad. Now Jay guides his readers into what is unexplored territory for many of them—girl land—giving them ways to... do things with their daughters, not just for them lecture less and listen more be on the lookout for “hero moments” and take advantage of them realize that their daughters are females...and tailor their actions and responses accordingly give their daughters a positive view of the male sex Dads will feel respected and encouraged—not made to feel guilty—and they’ll gain confidence to initiate activities that build lifelong positives into their girls. Great gift or men’s group resource.
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736948104
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Most dads love their daughters, but they’re uncertain how they can show that love in a way their daughters understand...or figure out what their girls really need from them. Jay Payleitner has given thousands of dads great, man-friendly advice in his bestselling 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad. Now Jay guides his readers into what is unexplored territory for many of them—girl land—giving them ways to... do things with their daughters, not just for them lecture less and listen more be on the lookout for “hero moments” and take advantage of them realize that their daughters are females...and tailor their actions and responses accordingly give their daughters a positive view of the male sex Dads will feel respected and encouraged—not made to feel guilty—and they’ll gain confidence to initiate activities that build lifelong positives into their girls. Great gift or men’s group resource.
I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.