My Journey with Mother Rosa

By Antonio Termine
Published by Red Willow Publishing
$2.99 Rating: Not yet rated.
Published: Sep. 04, 2011
Words: 46,087 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781936539406

Short description

The writing of this biography/memoir was an act of courage for me. I not only had to put together imagination and memory to take me from the past to the present, but I was torn between some disloyalty to my Mother, knowing I had to tell her story as she instructed, and also knowing it was my story, to tell it in my own way.

Extended description

Can you imagine being a young Italian girl in a strange country, newly married, and barely able to speak the English language?

Little did Rosa know that when she first arrived in Australia, the letter she held in her hand destined for a certain young man would be the beginning of a courtship, leading to marriage and a lifetime of enduring hardship in the cane fields of far northern Australia.

Her “Batti’ or John, as she affectionately calls him, is away engaged in a war in which he has no intention of participating. However, a passion for his new-found country tells him he must now fight for it. He leaves his Rosa and four children to support the Australian Defense Forces repel the invading Japanese armies in Papua New Guinea. (Read more) Can you imagine being a young Italian girl in a strange country, newly married, and barely able to speak the English language?

Little did Rosa know that when she first arrived in Australia, the letter she held in her hand destined for a certain young man would be the beginning of a courtship, leading to marriage and a lifetime of enduring hardship in the cane fields of far northern Australia.

Her “Batti’ or John, as she affectionately calls him, is away engaged in a war in which he has no intention of participating. However, a passion for his new-found country tells him he must now fight for it. He leaves his Rosa and four children to support the Australian Defense Forces repel the invading Japanese armies in Papua New Guinea.

Thus, against a backdrop of a strange, tropical landscape, Mother Rosa has to endure countless days and months without her beloved husband, Giovabattista. And as the self-appointed matriarch, her show of courage and determination through a tropical cyclone gives an indication to her sons she is there for the long haul – even though her troublesome boys are constantly demanding and testing her resolve to breaking point.

Rosa accepts the lead role in decision-making. From buying the first ice chest to haggling with her broken-English style vernacular in purchasing a shiny, new electric refrigerator.

Antonio (Nino), the youngest of her four sons later has the burden of being interpreter, driver, finance guru, and general know-all handy person. He has this role because of his higher scholastic achievements to the other boys, and according to his mother Rosa’s traditional belief for the youngest of the family, he should have become a priest instead of a printer. Consequently, one of her last wishes was for Nino to write the life story of his family.

She resolves disputes to the bitter end, and when not able to, she displays her usual volatile anxiety syndrome and collapses into a hysterical mess. To add further to her woes, when she was given the Malocchio (Evil Eye), Rosa’s life spiraled into serious grief and depression.

Her real world comes crashing down once again when her eldest son dies at the early age of 38. She never reaches, or for that matter, never wants to achieve closure.

Her ‘baby’ Nino always endeavors to adopt a counseling position with his mother, using his ‘bush’ psychology, or psycho babble. His constant psychoanalysis to friends and family about his philosophy of life was at times either a help or hindrance, depending on circumstances.

The final stage comes when her beloved ‘Batti’ dies. His tragic death, although not unexpected, heralds the last years of grief and despair until her sorrowful passing.

Written with a true Australian flavor, the author has incorporated a distinct and individual narrative voice to the story, allowing the reader to visualize events, characters and settings.

‘My Journey with Mother Rosa’ will be a valuable read to those who want to recall their association with their own family and heritage, and to learn about human nature in general.

This book will appeal to schools, colleges and libraries with sections on pre and post World War 2, displaying quiet achievers from that era.

This creative non-fiction is fact-based writing that is compelling and hopefully undiminished by the passage of time. At heart, it has an interest in enduring human values. It is story-telling through the revelation of characters and plot, original language, and a narrative stance that is original, humble, distinctive and quirky.
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Tags

creative nonfiction, a journey, literary memoir, my mother rosa, life with mother rosa, sacred biography

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