I was drawn to this book because I love reading memoirs. Often, I love to read about different places in the world—mostly, as I am an admitted armchair traveler—places I’ve never had the opportunity to visit; however, sometimes, I like to revisit areas I have lived in through someone else’s eyes. The main character in this book comes from Philadelphia—an area I lived in briefly.

While I was sure I’d enjoy a memoir about growing up in an Italian family—since there always seems to be so much love, amusing comments, and lots of pasta! I was a bit unsure I wanted to read a book where boxing played a big role, or one that appeared to be more suited to a male audience than a female one. Those concerns proved to be without merit; the book is certainly one that females can enjoy. The stories about Richard’s life definitely give you insight into the male mind, but they are also heartwarming tales of friends, a search for jobs after college, marriage and family. They are about triumphs and disappointments, joy and grief and even regrets. Moreover, the parts about boxing—I actually found interesting and funny. It added an extra dimension to his openness about his relationship with his father. And in case you are wondering, he didn’t leave out the women in his life; he does add some delightful details about his grandmother, mom and wife .

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it to everyone who likes to have an honest look into the lives of others and read about the places they have lived.

I liked this book. It was a very pleasant read. I'm from Philadelphia myself, and that probably added a bit to my pleasure. I liked the author's sense of humour.

The book focuses mostly on the author's relationship with his father - a bit from his childhood and a lot from his young adulthood. At the same time, he writes quite a bit about his quest for his first jobs and his experiences with these jobs. Both these parts of the book were very good.

I did feel some pity for the Mother - I would have liked to know more about her. And I found the ending of the book a bit abrupt. I think the writing is good enough for the author to have developed the book into a fuller autobiography - with more details about other relationships in his life, and the continued development of his career.