Papa and Eva and Me

Papa, whose given name was Armando, was born at home, the fifth son in his Italian immigrant family, and the first of the family to be born in America. His mother Graziella was ill and unable to nurse him, and the doctor told Papa's father Vincenzo that the baby wouldn’t survive the night. Vincenzo held baby Armando and said, "If you're going out of the world tonight, little one, I want you to go happy." He took a crust of bread and dipped it into wine and put it to baby Armando's mouth, again, and again, and again. And in the morning, the crisis had passed. Armando had survived.

©2024 Kate Lydon Varley (P)2024 Kate Lydon Varley

A walk down memory lane

I was very excited to see that Papa, Eva and Me was on audio. Kierstin Valentine's does a wonderful job bringing this book to life. This is a charming walk down memory lane as the author recounts growing up visiting her grandfather and his second wife, Eva. On the surface, Papa and Eva are two argumentative and opinionated people. If one scratches the surface you see how they very much love their family.