Mama Dalla and Augie is a sweeping, multi-generational epic that vividly reimagines the Italian American experience through the eyes of an unforgettable matriarch and her son, whose destinies are shaped by love, loss, and the brutal tides of history.
At the heart of the story is Concetta, a fierce and compassionate woman who escapes a hardscrabble life in Italy, only to find herself navigating the violent, chaotic streets of New York's notorious Five Points district in the early 20th century. There, she rises as the city's first "Godmother," protecting young women trapped in cycles of poverty, exploitation, and abuse. When a devastating tragedy convinces her that her beloved son Augie is dead, Concetta channels her grief into a life of service-becoming a pillar of hope in the Italian immigrant community, feeding the hungry, sheltering the vulnerable, and holding her broken family together with indomitable will.
But Augie lives.
From the smoky alleyways of Harlem to the glittering cabarets of Paris and the seedy ports of Istanbul, Augie carves out a path in the dark underworld of organized crime. Gifted with charisma and street-smart cunning, he becomes a key player in the infamous French Connection drug trade-eluding both the Mafia and international law enforcement while unwittingly crossing paths with OSS agents and Nazi operatives on the eve of World War II. His world of crime and espionage collides with history's darkest chapter when he is captured and sent to Dachau, where survival becomes a battle of wits, memory, and sheer willpower.
Based on a remarkable true story, Mama Dalla and Augie is a richly layered saga of resilience, justice, and the enduring power of a mother's love. Spanning continents and decades-from the immigrant slums of New York to the war-torn streets of Europe-this novel pulses with raw emotion, unforgettable characters, and the grit and glory of a family bound by blood and forged in fire.
