Final Touchstones tells the story of four brothers leaving Sicily for America in the early 1900s. The author’s maternal grandfather is the seminal figure from age three through his later emigration to a new life—a decision that forever changed his family’s destiny.

The book includes a series of ninety-two short selections in prose and poetry, divided into three sections: Italian/Italian, Italian/American, and American/Italian. The pieces stand independently; together, they relate one story.

Final Touchstones is chronological, episodic, and historic. It appeals to readers interested in family histories and those who remember their grandparents from the Great Immigration wave of the early 1900s. Now is the time to reflect on the formative years of your ethnicity.