Growing Up with a Crazy Italian Mother

Book excerpt: This book is about an immigrant woman and her youngest son. Christina, from Calabria, Italy, came to America in an arranged marriage, experiencing the immigrant life in a strange land, and coping with the shame and degradation of mental illness. Through her strong will and determination, she rose from the despair of poverty to become a woman who owned and rented many properties. Christina's son, Tony, struggled to understand her inconsistent love and paranoid delusions. Influenced by her strengths and weaknesses, he developed from a frightened boy to a juvenile delinquent, to a serious student, and to a well-known scholar in social work research. Yet, to this day, he has yet to reach maturity in his interpersonal relationships.