When Jennifer Mascia is five years old, the FBI comes for her father. At that moment Jenny realizes that her family isn’t exactly normal. Wha...
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Sep 17, 2010
Giselle
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Apr 07, 2010
Bookworm
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Never Tell Our Business to Strangers is journalists Jennifer Mascia's memoir about growing up an only child who ends up finding out her parents were living a double life. Jennifer's father John Mascia, whom she thought was a carpet cleaner, was selling drugs, was associated with the mafia and at one time served prison time for murder. The first time the FBI came for her dad, Jennifer was just five years old. To calm her down, Jennifer was told that her dad was acting in a movie.
Her m More...
Her m More...
Feb 09, 2010
Colleen
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This true tale of one woman's childhood on the run from her parents' criminal activities is deeply personal and poignant in parts, though ultimately the narrative voice kept me from sinking completely into the story. Jennifer Mascia, whose life was shaped by the activities of her parents and a past she didn't learn about until after her father's death, is certainly exorcising her fair share of demons here, and rightfully so.
I definitely felt for the lonely child so caught up in he More...
I definitely felt for the lonely child so caught up in he More...
Apr 23, 2010
Michelle
rated it: 
2.5 stars. Once again a memoir for which reviews and cover copy oversell certain aspects. I was expecting this to be about a unknowing girl plunked in the middle of Sopranos set; her parents are mobsters but she hasn't a clue. That is not this book. For the first 1/3-1/2 all I kept thinking was "this guy was nothing more than a con man." Think tax evasion, credit fraud, and identity theft. It was shades of Glass Castle but far less compelling. It does turn out the father is connected (
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Apr 04, 2011
Sara
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This is not a book for people who look to the Godfather and the Sopranos for cultural insight into Italian-Americans. Instead, this is a very well thought out book about a daughter coming to terms with her imperfect parents, largely after their deaths. By piecing together family conversations, and through her own research, Jennifer Mascia is able to understand her parents simply as adults rather than as her own mother and father.
A major strength - Mascia explains her grief at bot More...
A major strength - Mascia explains her grief at bot More...
Nov 13, 2010
Meg
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This book was written as an attempt for the author to cope with her parents' deaths. Although her parents did live interesting lives (her father was associated with mob activities), the narration by their daughter is frustrating if you expect this to be a biography of their lives. Mascia simply doesn't have enough adult perspective and information to be able to provide a biography. At one point she actually consults a forensic psychoanalyst to posthumously shrink her parents, and a good chunk
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Mar 29, 2010
Cheryl
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There are many memoirs currently available to read but how many people can say that their father was wanted by the FBI and who used to be a business associate with Joey Gallo, a big time mobster before the Gotti family. Author and nighttime news assistant of the New York Times, Jennifer Mascia calls this life.
When Jennifer was a little girl, she can remember a time when the FBI came to arrest her father right before Christmas. Jennifer asked her mother’s boss if this was real and he More...
When Jennifer was a little girl, she can remember a time when the FBI came to arrest her father right before Christmas. Jennifer asked her mother’s boss if this was real and he More...
Jun 01, 2010
Paige
rated it:
I'll admit it, I laughed and I cried at times throughout this book because the clinques can be true to almost any family. It's a memoir by Jennifer Mascia, who tells the story of her childhood, learning of her family's secrets, betrayals and the ability to move past it knowing that you were loved.
Not alot of people can say that their father was wanted by the FBI and was a business associate with Joey Gallo, a big time mobster even before the Gotti family. Early on, you can sense that the More...
Not alot of people can say that their father was wanted by the FBI and was a business associate with Joey Gallo, a big time mobster even before the Gotti family. Early on, you can sense that the More...
Apr 15, 2010
Jessica
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Jennifer Mascia knew her family was different when the FBI came to arrest her father when she was 5 years old. What followed was years moving from place to place, blowing through credit cards and money like it was nothing and lots of fighting between everyone. But, there was also a lot of love - Jennifer was the only child of her parents, although her father had 3 other children from a previous marriage. So, Jennifer was doted on by both her parents and she helped them both when a few years a
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Sep 17, 2010
Jessica
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Apr 18, 2010
Jessica
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This is a memoir of a girl who finds out about her parents' seedy past after their passing. At times it seems unbelievable that she didn't know more, but the strong-willed, intelligent and loving mother always had a plausible explanation for their family's oddities. The first half of the book tells the story of this family unit up to the protagonist's parents' passing. The second half focuses on her coming to terms with the truth, her own lineage, and where to go from there. I tend to like books
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Jul 25, 2010
Jeffrey
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This book has two running motifs: love and secrecy. These motifs are interconnected through a well thought-out and incredibly written story about a young girl turned woman and her struggles of figuring out of truth of her father's criminal past (being a drug dealer and a murderer on multiple accounts). When Mascia finally finds the answers, her life spirals and takes the rollercoaster on an emotional rollercoaster as they travel from sunny Orange County, California living the in the lap of luxur
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Aug 15, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
Well, I gave up on this book. I really, really enjoyed the first 150 pages, although it was a slow read. I had heard an interview w/the author on NPR and thought this was going to be about mafia, about her family hiding out and running from the feds. It's not. It's about how that all happened before she was born, and how she didn't know why her dad had been in jail. Then it's more about her life, her life with her mom and dad, and almost all the rest of the book was about her parents dying and d
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May 17, 2010
Alissa
rated it:
I'm not sure why I read this. It was recommended from somewhere and I can't remember where now which frustrates me.
It was an ok memoir. I felt there was too much minutia about the early days and kept being surprised that there was more to write about. I could've easily cut 100 pages from the narrative.
It was an ok memoir. I felt there was too much minutia about the early days and kept being surprised that there was more to write about. I could've easily cut 100 pages from the narrative.
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Nov 25, 2010
Samantha
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I thought this book was going to be about the author living with her parents while her father was in the mafia and how she had to keep secrets. It's not. It's about her relationship as she gets older with her parents coming to terms with their life. It is a very slow moving book that is repetitive. The author seemed to be stretching situations in order to make a book. There is a lot of detail about how both her parents die a slow death from cancer and how she feels about this. The author a
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Jul 15, 2011
Deb
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This started out as just another story of one more dysfunctional family in the US. The more I read this book, the more I became involved in the family dynamics and the love that evolved in this family. Thank you Jennifer Mascia for sharing your story with us. Even though your parents had their many issues, your book made enjoy being with your family. Growing up I thought my family was the only crazy family there was. In my 48 years of life, I've learned that many other families dealt with a
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Apr 25, 2010
Fran
rated it:
This book could have used a harsh editor that would have cut the length by at least 200 pages. There was a bit of an interesting story in there somewhere, but you had to get through a bunch of repetitive nonsense to get there.
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Apr 04, 2010
Maureen
rated it: 
As the daughter of an FBI Agent who worked organized crime for 20 years Mascia's memoir of life as the daughter of a mob boss was fascinating. Two sides of the same mirror. A really good read full of humor and remembrance.
Jun 25, 2011
Becky
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I listened to this and it was very hard to stick with it until the end (18 parts). I definitely liked the first half better than the second half. It's an interesting story but it just seemed to go on far too long.
May 25, 2011
Laura
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I am fascinated by all things Mafia. But the Mafia part of this book is minimal and the story drags on for way too long. Then too, the author loves her parents so much that she seems to have blinders on for most of the book. Her father was a murderer and both of her parents used fake ids to buy things they couldn't afford.
Aug 05, 2011
Very good book about finding out your family secrets and the juxtaposition of what you remember and feel about growing up and the realities. Her parent's cancer made me very emotional and made me wonder why I was reading this book, but I stuck it out and I'm glad that I did.
Apr 23, 2011
Kara
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I'm done with this book. It's boring. Really, really boring. I'm halfway through, and the Big Mystery has been revealed. I can only assume the rest of the book is about the author building her life in New York while bursting into tears every 2 pages. I feel bad that I don't like it, since it's her actual life, but this really would have made a better magazine article than a 400 page memoir.
Jun 03, 2010
Christina
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Another cleverly written book jacket that sucks you in for one memoir only to be something else completely. I only kept going to see what Dad was arrested for and it wasn't worth it.
May 19, 2010
Carol
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Well, be careful digging into your family's history as you don't know what you may uncover. This memoir of a highly dysfunctional family with ties to the mafia was chilling and sad.
Jul 11, 2010
Lynn
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Interesting memoir by the daughter of a mob connected father and loving mother. Lots of crying by the author, though easy to understand the depth of her sadness and pain.
Apr 05, 2010
Jen
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This is the memoir of Jennifer Mascia who tells the story of a childhood on the lam, intricate family secrets and betrayals and the incredible power to love. It’s strangely relatable when you are not expecting it to be – and more powerful than I anticipated. I laughed, I cried… clichéd but it’s true.
Jan 09, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
I've tried finding where I read the comparison but I haven't had much luck. This book was touted as similar to Walls' Glass Castles or Half Broke Horses. Not even close!
The first part of the book was interesting and well written. The author is a reporter for the New York Times. After Mascia's father dies and she begins investigating her family's past the story seems to drone on and one. Mascia spends a lot of time trying to rationalize how she can still love her parents and have More...
The first part of the book was interesting and well written. The author is a reporter for the New York Times. After Mascia's father dies and she begins investigating her family's past the story seems to drone on and one. Mascia spends a lot of time trying to rationalize how she can still love her parents and have More...
Jun 01, 2010
Kristina
rated it:
I am entering the beach reading season! This woman uncovers the secret past her parents have tried hide. Who doesn't like a nice mafia story?
