A historical novel based on a true story about an amazing early twentieth-century woman. She stood out in a crowd of friends and relatives from Casteltermini, a small town in central Sicily. Her story sheds light on a little-known segment of a twentieth-century diaspora, a mass-exodus from Europe by some "huddled masses yearning to be free." This oppressed group fled the dire poverty of Sicily and southern Italy to endure a subsistence lifestyle bestowed by the owners of the coal mining industry and early American factories. She was surrounded by a clan of families. They were determined to achieve a better lifestyle through sheer hard work, struggling to overcome hardships and failures on the journey to success. They came with barely the clothes on their back. Eager for work, they spoke no English and were willing to do what the average, better-educated American refused to do. This amazing woman, Maria, was married to a lackluster, strong-tempered, tough, fearless, uneducated man who never worked a steady job his entire life. She endured a series of traumas---miscarriages and still births, each time berated by her husband for not delivering a healthy child. Starting at age twelve and until she died, her immediate family was her life. Maria passed her work ethic, her entrepreneurial skills, and her determination to get ahead to her children. Her legacy lives on in the succeeding generation of the clan who were better educated and became doctors, dentists, pharmacists, accountants, attorneys, and professors. Some became entrepreneurs like Maria, owning small and large businesses. There was one common denominator: they inherited the hard work ethic and generosity from their parents. The story begins in 1915.

A year in the life of Tonino and his sister Nanou, who live in the Provence region of France.

This book is based on a true story, about a group of second-generation Italian /Sicilian kids from The Hill in South St. Louis, and their dream of building a successful chain of Italian restaurants. They had no money in the beginning, but it did not stop them from embarking on a roller coaster path to success. They faced one trauma after another, survived the early tragic death of one of the founders, and took on heavy debt to buy out the other original founder. They survived the 1980s when the prime rate reached a record high of 20 per cent, barley keeping the doors open, and struggled for two years. Two other partners relinquished their ownership to be relieved from the debt at the bank, leaving the business to three partners, Joe Fresta, John Ferrara, and Kim Tucci. That trio never lost hope, nor the 'Dream'. Throwing in the towel was not to be. Negative was not part of their vocabulary. The desire to succeed, overcame all the traumas, recessions, and financial difficulties. The business survived even the untimely death of their leader John Ferrara, and Kim Tucci's battle with cancer, and his passing. And then Covid, shutting down the day-to-day operation in 2020; reopening with 25 percent seating capacity. Perhaps survivor of the fittest was coined for this story, it seemed to hang over the business, like a dark cloud on a rainy day in April. And then it was down to one, Joe Fresta outlived his partners and all the traumas, and runs the business today, as if it was ordained from the beginning, fifty years ago.

You will miss much of Italy’s fascinating, little-known, hidden treasures unless you enrich your trip with the experience of Joe Reina, the son of Sicilian immigrants, and his encounters with Italy’s hidden delights during his decades of business and pleasure trips. Most guidebooks and guides who lead tours provide you bare-bones historical facts, but they seldom can regale their tourists with insider’s awareness of stories and events. Reina’s travel-earned familiarity with landmarks and the artists who created them offers an insider’s grasp of the famous personalities who built and artistically adorned “the glory that was Rome.” In Milan, The Last Supper, which took DaVinci three years to paint, is hung with Donato’s Crucifixion, initially painted in a church destroyed (except for one wall) by Allied bombers in World War II. The Last Supper is on your right as you enter, and Crucifixion is on your left. In Rome’s Piazza Campo de’ Fiori, sits Ristorante da Pancrazio, a waiter will lead you down a cellar to the remains of how the entire piazza was built atop the ruins of what was once General Pompey’s theater, which could seat forty thousand people. In Rome’s Piazza Navona, the seventeenth-century Pope engaged three leading sculptors to create the fountains, the first designed by Bernini, leading sculpture of his era. Bernini became incensed when Borromini was commissioned to build a church directly across from his fountain. In retribution, Bernini had his largest statue of a man lying on his side in the fountain; his hand outstretched directly at Borromini’s church. Once both were constructed, Bernini sent his rival this message: “My statue will catch your church when it falls.” Reina’s historical information of tourist sites to visit and the best restaurants and hotels that fit any budget is invaluable.

The roaring '20s was the wildest decade of the 20th century! It was a heady time, dominated by two significant events, Prohibition, and the soaring stock market. More alcohol was consumed during Prohibition than before the law was enacted. And loose money, only ten percent down, bought anything from stocks to autos, homes, and appliances. With the stock market open to everyone, fortunes were made and lost in days. Enter this era with Giancarlo Giambrone, a Sicilian emigre of a wealthy, centuries-old olive oil business, vowing to earn his own fortune. Join him as he becomes a stockbroker, foresees the 1929 market crash, and traverses the depression, becoming even wealthier. Enjoy his successes, romances, travels, and contributions to society, while surviving tragedy and standing up to FDR. Joe Reina Bio Meet Joe Reina, entrepreneurial businessman turned author. Joe came up through the ranks in the apparel industry from salesman to manager, to store owner, business mogul, and real estate developer. An avid reader of history, he took the lessons from the past to navigate the economic ups and downs of the mid-twentieth century. His businesses entailed international travel and enabled him to explore a good part of the world. That exposure helped satisfy his lifelong desire to experience the pleasure of meeting people all over the world and then share his travels with his family and friends. Throughout his successes, Joe never forgot his roots of growing up on the "hill" of St. Louis and the fortitude of his spirited mother, an emigre from Sicily. He wrote the book, The Goat Sleeps in the Kitchen, to tell her remarkable story of becoming a successful businesswoman in the early twentieth century. His fascination with that era resulted in the birth of his fictional alter ego, Giancarlo Giambrone, one of the world's great entrepreneurs. Joe lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.