Title: Thank Goliath: A Memoir About an Italian Mother, a Rebel Son, and Life’s Noble Teacher
Author: Domenic Aversa
Genre: Memoir, Inspirational, Family Saga
Book Blurb:
“As Goliath grew, we grew.”
Born to impoverished, Italian immigrants in 1960s Canada, Domenic Aversa is creative and restless. He shares a busy but happy home with his hardworking father and doting, strict, traditional mother.
When his childhood reputation as a troublemaker drives him to juvenile delinquency and his mother to uncontrollable anger, Domenic decides the best way to overcome adversity is not to rebel but to stare it down. Determined to prove himself, he is drawn toward increasingly difficult and dangerous challenges around the world. He supervises abandoned and abused children, trains delinquent military cadets, starts a business in the violent underbelly of the Soviet Union, takes down white-collar criminals across America, and even joins the war on HIV/AIDS. He faces each giant, stone in hand, determined to overcome adversity and help those in need.
Closer to home, his mother, Benedetta, puts on a cheerful façade as a pillar of the community. But with increasingly severe health problems, she is facing a Goliath of her own within a healthcare system unequipped or perhaps unwilling to help. As Domenic’s compass slowly points him back home, he realizes saving his mother might be his toughest challenge yet.
Benedetta and Domenic’s close, complex mother-son relationship is the backdrop for this poignant and inspiring memoir that reminds us that there is more than one way to slay a giant. More importantly, each challenge offers an opportunity for growth, resolution, and acceptance.
My Review:
No matter the adversity, his mother taught him to stare down the giant and never be afraid. It’s the crux of the relationship with his mother, right until the very end. Thank Goliath is a poignant, dramatic memoir detailing the powerful relations between a mother and son. Sometimes harsh, often humorous, always enriching banter makes this memoir a book worth reading.
I want to share a passage from the book. It speaks to my heart and truly embodies this book.
“We knew that Goliath could and would show up at any moment in any form. Rather than run from adversity, we decided to develop a relationship with it. We thanked Goliath and made him noble because without that adversity, we wouldn’t have known what was inside of us.”
The relationship between Domenic and his mother was a complicated one. Most families are rife with emotional mine fields, drama, and pain. But Domenic shows us, the reader, that his mother was his greatest life teacher. She showed him about life and adversity. It’s portrayed with equal portions of humor, insight, and growth. It’s a tribute to the human spirit and very inspiring.
The compelling narration will hook you from the very first page. The dual lifelines provide incredible vignettes that will uplift your spirit and propel you to greatness.
My Rating: 5+ stars
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Author Biography:
As an entrepreneur and operational turnaround expert, Domenic Aversa is sought
after by both global business leaders and government agencies. He has actively
assisted companies in dramatic transition for more than 25 years. He has served as
an educational speaker and managerial advisor on international business
development, recession preparation and insolvency issues for many business and
academic institutions. Audiences have included the Harvard Business School and
the Sloan School of Management at MIT. Domenic captured his business experience
in the world of crisis management in his first book, Corporate Undertaker; Business
Lessons from the Dead and Dying.
He is a member of the board of directors for the non-profit, Michael’s Gift
(www.michaelsgift.org). The organization is dedicated to the healing of spiritual,
emotional and physical trauma.
He currently resides in California with his wife, Nirvana, and his two cats, Carnelia
and Truffles.
Reviewed by: Nancy