Language of my Choosing by Anne Pia sampler
Where do I truly belong? This is the question Anne Pia continually asked of herself growing up in the Italian-Scots community of post-World War Two Edinburgh. This candid, vibrant memoir shares her struggle to bridge the gap between a traditional immigrant way of life and attaining her goal of becoming an independent-minded professional woman. Through her journey beyond the expectations of family, she discovers how much relationships with other people enhance, inhibit and ultimately define self. Yet – like her relationship with her own mother – her ‘belonging’ in her Italian and Scottish heritages remains to this day unresolved and complex.
Where do I truly belong? This is the question Anne Pia continually asked of herself growing up in the Italian-Scots community of post-World War Two Edinburgh.
This candid, vibrant memoir shares her struggle to bridge the gap between a traditional immigrant way of life and attaining her goal of becoming an independent-minded professional woman.
Through her journey beyond the expectations of family, she discovers how much relationships with other people enhance, inhibit and ultimately define self. Yet – like her relationship with her own mother – her ‘belonging’ in her Italian and Scottish heritages remains to this day unresolved and complex.
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language <strong>of</strong> <strong>my</strong> choosing<br />
Contents<br />
Acknowledgements 9<br />
Author’s Note 11<br />
openings<br />
A Complicated Relationship with Milk 15<br />
backlights – backdrop to <strong>my</strong> life<br />
Where it All Started: Viticuso, Lazio, Italy 25<br />
The Night Neighbours Became the Ene<strong>my</strong> 28<br />
The Sinking <strong>of</strong> the Arandora Star 37<br />
highlights – early influences<br />
A Contentious Marriage 47<br />
The Power <strong>of</strong> an Italian Grandmother 59<br />
A Family and Community in Transition 65<br />
An Appraisal and Matters <strong>of</strong> Choice 70<br />
Walking with and Losing Grandma 74<br />
Terra Straniera: An Education 87<br />
7
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