Marianne Leone ist eine Schauspielerin, Drehbuchautorin und Essayistin, deren Schriften sich mit tiefgreifenden menschlichen Erfahrungen auseinandersetzen. Ihre Essays, die vielfältige Themen behandeln, erschienen im Boston Globe. Nach der tiefen Trauer über den Tod ihres Sohnes wurde ein für den Boston Globe verfasster Essay zum Fundament ihrer Memoiren. Leone's Werk bietet den Lesern eine ungeschönte Auseinandersetzung mit Verlust, Erinnerung und Widerstandsfähigkeit.
The story revolves around Jesse Cooper, an exceptional honor-roll student with severe cerebral palsy, who faced immense challenges as a quadriplegic unable to speak and plagued by seizures. Despite his physical limitations, he had a passion for windsurfing and poetry. His life, marked by resilience and creativity, ended abruptly at the age of seventeen, leaving a profound impact on those who knew him.
The narrative centers on the life of a vibrant Italian immigrant mother, known for her outspoken and often outrageous personality. Through a blend of humor and emotion, the author shares entertaining anecdotes and poignant moments that capture her mother's unique character and the challenges of immigrant life. This story not only highlights familial bonds but also reflects on cultural identity and the immigrant experience, providing readers with a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable woman.
The acclaimed actress and author of Jesse: A Mother’s Story tells the "entertaining and moving" story of her outspoken, frequently outrageous Italian immigrant mother (Tom Perrotta) Marianne Leone’s Ma is in many senses a larger-than-life character, one who might be capable, even from the afterlife, of shattering expectations. Born on a farm in Italy, Linda finds her way to the United States under dark circumstances, having escaped a forced marriage to a much older man, and marries a good Italian boy. She never has full command of English—especially when questioned by authorities—and when she is suddenly widowed with three young children, she has few options. To her daughter’s horror and misery, she becomes the school lunch lady. Ma Speaks Up is a record of growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, with the wrong family, in the wrong religion. Though Marianne’s girlhood is flooded with shame, it’s equally packed with adventure, love, great cooking, and, above all, humor. The extremely premature birth of Marianne’s beloved son, Jesse, bonds mother and daughter in ways she couldn’t have imagined. The stories she tells will speak to anyone who has struggled with outsider status in any form and, of course, to mothers and their blemished, cherished girls.