Put It On The Windowsill: An Italian-American Family Memoir

The Italian-American family is a unique and wonderful cultural entity. From the bond between generations, to collective responses to adversity, to its overwhelming love of food – the family is central to Italian-America.

Sharing stories of her extended Italian-American family in this personal memoir, Marcia Brennan shows how cultural histories can be deeply interwoven with the magic of blessings, curses, and other forms of creation. From the rituals employed to ward off bad luck, to the mischief of older family members, to Italian toasts and swear words – Put It On The Windowsill shines a light on the multi-faceted world of Italian-American people.

Both humorous and poignant, the book is filled with stories and insights from the author’s upbringing that will be familiar to Italian-Americans across the world. The book draws on rich details of cultural history to evoke the intimacy of spirit presences. These presences extend from the memory of previous generations to encounters with sacred objects, near-death experiences, and transcendent visions.

The author also describes how whole worlds were created out of almost nothing, while the magic of the home served as a stage for sacred expressions of love. The book includes over 40 traditional family recipes, which represent both expressions of Italian-American cultural heritage and practical forms of creation.

Table of Contents
I. THREE WAYS OF APPROACHING A WINDOWSILL: THE MULTIPLE LIVES OF THE STORIES
II. BOTH ITALIAN AND AMERICAN: MULTIPLE LIVES IN MULTIPLE WORLDS
III. YOU COULD EAT OFF THE FLOOR: HOW MY GRANDPARENTS CREATED A WORLD, AND HOW THEY TOOK THAT WORLD WITH THEM, WHEREVER THEY WENT
IV. I THINK WE WOULD KNOW IF THE BED WAS ON FIRE: MY PARENTS’ GENERATION
V. THE DONKEY AND THE CUCUMBER: HOW WE LEARNED TO CURSE FROM THE MASTERS
VI. THE ONGOING LIFE OF THE LIVES: THE BLESSINGS OF THE STATUES, THE VISIONS, AND THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
EPILOGUE: THESE THINGS MEAN A LOT TO US: THE STORY AFTER THE STORY
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