My guest this week on SHLTMM, is Edward Di Gangi, who just completed his first book which is a memoir titled "The Gift Best Given," exploring his passed to find out more about his biological mother and the reasons for surrendering her baby in 1948. A Son's Search - A Mother's Journey A story of adoption, search, discovery, and reunion, set against the backdrop of the glamorous ice skating shows of the 1940s.
Set in the 1940s, as America emerged from the Great Depression and went to war, Ed's memoir, The Gift Best Given, recounts the search for his family and tells the story of a young woman's courage as she overcame obstacles to achieve her dreams. Ed's biological mother's name was Genevieve Knorowski and she was an aspiring professional ice skater. She left home at the age of 17 and traveled by train to Vancouver, Canada to begin her career,
Unexpectedly, Genevieve found herself pregnant at 23 with no significant partner by her side. She, along with her older sister and brother in law, kept this personal secret from the rest of the family, including her parents. At the time, Genevieve was a celebrity performer in the ice skating spectaculars of the 1940's and 50's.
The story unfolds so nicely in Ed's book, but he's sure it wasn't as easy as that for Genevieve. As we were having our conversation, Ed mentioned that he's already started writing a sequel.
I must make note that, Nina Di Gangi, Ed's adoptive mom, was very loving and caring and went to great lengths to follow through with Genevieve's wishes and desires for the best outcome for her son. And to this day, he still calls his adoptive mom, "mom." And it's astonishing, the similarities between the two mothers. The coincidences/similarities in their likes and characteristics is profound.
It's truly a remarkable story, that I'm sure you'll enjoy.
The Gift Best Given , a memoir, is now available online as well as on Ed's website. All information is below.