"Neighborhood Girl" Author Linda Schifino on the Sunbury Press Books Show

Linda Schifino's memoir, Neighborhood Girl: A Memoir of Loss, Longing, and Letting Go takes the reader back to her Italian-American roots, in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh. On this episode of the Sunbury Press Books Show, Schifino discusses a time when neighbors looked out for each other, trust was paramount, and the values of another place and time made their home in America.

Most of what Schifino recalls is no longer there, but she brings the customs, traditions and memories back to life. Recollections of her confirmation, the neighborhood grocery, and her brief career as a numbers runner(!) collide with the now. When her son asks if it's all right to bring a ham to the Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes, there is a fear of dismantling these traditions further, but also there's the letting go.

Linda Schifino holds a Ph.D in Rhetoric from Duquesne University, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Carlow University. She writes with Madwomen in the Attic, and her essays have been published in Adelaide Magazine, Avalon Literary Journal, Northern Appalachia Review, and Brevity Blog. You can find more about her at her website.