Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir by Jennifer Mascia

Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir Reviews

• 
  Colleen

  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 her parents dramas, though I thought the book itself could have been more tightly edited. It does get repetitive in places, and seemingly builds toward narrative peaks that then somehow are revealed as only plateaus. I also didn't appreciate Mascia's moments of self-loathing when she speaks of wearing size 14/16 pants; it was off-putting and didn't seem to fit into the narrative.
  
  Though Mascia herself seems to have forgiven her parents for her unconventional upbringing, it is hard for the reader to do the same. Though her parents undoubtedly loved her, they certainly seemed to love themselves more, and gave little to no thought to the impact their actions would have on their young impressionable child. Well-written and even conversational in parts, this book certainly highlights the seamy side of life in the Mafia while demonstrating the painful effect parents can have on their children. Raw in parts, this memoir is nevertheless painfully honest- a solid offering from a novice writer.
• 
  Cheryl

  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 her mother’s boss responded that this was not real and they were filming a movie. Though, Jennifer wanted so hard to believe him, Jennifer knew that what was happening was for real.
  
  Due to her father’s involvement with drugs, mobsters and shooting someone, Jennifer and her family were always on the move. They live in California, Florida, and New York. Even with all of the things Jennifer’s father did, he was still a good father to Jennifer and her mother. People can change.
  
  I read this book in one sitting. I found it fascinating that I couldn’t stop reading. For the short time I was reading this book, I felt like I was part of Jennifer’s family. Part of this was due to the family pictures included throughout this memoir. Jennifer’s father was a nice guy. I am not usually a fan of memoirs but I was a fan of this one. So glad that Ms. Mascia decided to go ahead and share about her family and childhood unlike the title of this book…Never Tell Our Business to Strangers.
  
• 
  Michelle

  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 (as opposed to "made") and definitely engaged in some gangster-like activity, but this was all before the daughter was born. It just had a much less emotional impact when she found out after the fact. But given she found out about extraneous siblings randomly at some point in her childhood, she had to know her parents hid things from her. And the way the realizations unfolded at the end "told" instead of "showed." Think lots of long conversations. It was almost boring to read even though it was some very major stuff. That said, this was a fast read and the relationship the author has/had with her parents is very endearing even in its dysfunction. Just proves what I believe: it's actually not that hard to be a good parent. Being there for your children pretty much covers it.
• 
  Tom Armstrong

  This book contains a few really well written sentences, but overall it's not worth the time. A few initial impressions:
  1) It would be easy to cut at least 100 pages out of the this book without harming the story
  2) The cover copy completely oversells what this book is about. At heart, it's a story about a young woman struggling to understand who she is and to deal with the loss of her parents. It's just not about life on the run from the mob or the authorities
  3) The author is not terribly sympathetic. She comes across as whiny and entitled far too often.
• 
  Patricia

  I enjoyed this memoir about a woman who grew up with criminal parents that were just parents to her. After her death she found out the extent of their involvement and their secrets. She goes to therapy to deal with what she learned. A brave, honest, fascinating account.
• 
  Jeffrey

  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 luxury to Long Island living in poverty, to the hospitals where both her parents die. The book is a tear-jerker, a comedy, and an accurate depeiction of life. Though it has an ironic title, its a very good read!
• 
  Deb

  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 lot bigger issues and it makes my family problems seem small in comparison.
• 
  Alissa

  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.
  
• 
  Fran

  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.
• 
  Kristin

  the worst ever; couldn't finish. not a good writer and not really an interesting story. memoir of a girl / woman who grows up with parents she doesn't realize are life-long criminals. sounded kind of interesting but WASN'T!
• 
  Shannon

  An interesting biography giving insight to how one can love someone who is capable of terrible things.
• 
  Annie

  The better part of me says that this book has value because it's about the struggle of a woman growing up to realize that the parents she idolized and loved are not perfect, as are none of us, while also finding out that they have lived immoral, criminal lives, and the dichotomy between her love for them and her disgust at their actions.
  
  Warning - spoilers ahead, but it's too much to add spoiler tags for every other sentence.
  
  That's the better part of me. The rest of me almost gave up on this book about 150 pages in. Jennifer spends a lot of time talking about her young life, about how much she loved her father, about what a great guy he was, and how luxuriously they lived, buying clothing and home items on credit cards, their amazing life in the California sunshine. How her dad was a charismatic, wonderful man, and her mom was a well-educated, brilliant, philosophical woman.
  
  Except.
  
  All those shiny new possesions were purchased on credit cards that the parents had no intention of paying. The great mystery of why dad was nabbed by the FBI right in front of her. How she cried, alllllll the time, often "hysterically". How dad leaves town to start over, leaving Jennifer and her mom to live in a room in a friend's house. The brother and sisters she never knew she had. The bankruptcies. Mom sitting around smoking and reading in her bathrobe buying more and more stuff and not working while the family fell further apart financially. The screaming fights between all of them. The aunt who lives in the lap of luxury on the salary of a restaurant manager. The financial scheming and fraud.
  
  As Jennifer gets older, she starts to realize that things aren't adding up, and through years of investigation, she finds out that her father was a drug-dealing murderer, her mother aided and abetted him in some of his crimes, the aunt was his conspirator in selling cocaine, that her wonderful father was a low-life, cheating, murderous mafia "connected" criminal thug. Jennfer vacillitates between her love for her dad and disgust and horror at his actions. She also expresses admiration for her parents' penchant for larceny. She has moments of complete selfishness, understandable after how she has been raised. She finds out her parents met when her father was in prison and her mother was having an affair with a married man. Real peaches, huh?
  
  As many other reviewers have said, this book needed a good edit. It was just far too long. Even after all of that content, I still didn't have a grasp of who her father was, or how he turned out the way he did, other than a charming, narcissistic criminal. She had access to people who knew him "when", but spent most of her time on his criminal activities.
  
  The main thing, I guess, is that her parents were awful people, a detriment to society, but she loved them, helped care for them when they were sick, and apparently has turned out ok.
• 
  Terri

  This was a lot of words. Not this many were needed to tell this story. Perhaps this should have been a magazine article. A book of this length should really explore what it means to have a father who is a drug dealer (alongside her aunt and with her mother's help) and a murderer. Instead we get an account of childhood with excruciating detail. In the end, I'm left trying to figure out why she loved this people so much. As is she.
• 
  Victoria Strong

  TBH, this is not the type of book I would normally read, but my mother in law handed it to me and I was hooked at first. The first half was very fun and interesting to read. After Eleanor dies, it goes on and on in all different directions...I can understand that, but I was done with the story, so I skimmed through the rest of the book.
• 
  Shannon

  DNF at 43%. I really enjoyed the first 20%, but got tired with the long chapters and sloggy middle.
  
• 
  Rosa

  Did you ever want a book to end? I didn’t stop because I thought it would get better. It never did.
• 
  Jan

  Got bogged down in the middle. TMI. Could have been edited to make it shorter.
• 
  Jessica

  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 apart they were each diagnosed with lung cancer that would eventually kill them. Only after both her parents were dead did Jennifer find out the REAL story of her parents and the huge secrets they both hid.
  
  I was a little dissapointed with this book overall, the last few chapters were the best - that was when she was really finding out the truth about her parents. Their life was so dysfunctional so a lot of the book is recaps of the fighting, moving, money problems, etc. Overall interesting, but not as good as I hoped.
• 
  Paige

  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 author misses her parents and tries to honor them by explaining that they tried to shelter her and did the best they could. (While, much of the time, it is not flatterhing) It starts at a young age when she first sees her father being arrested, carries on as they family moves endless times and why, her mother explains, that while her fathers name is "Johnny", the family is going to call him "Frankie" just for a little while. While some of the stories are a little too long, it's an interesting read from a family members perspective.
  
  
• 
  Jessica

  This book was not at all what I was expecting from the publisher's synopsis, and that was a huge disappointment This book is not about a girl's life with a father in the Mafia, it was 400 pages of her finding out that her dad was in the Mafia before she was born. Throughout her childhood, during which she went to private school and was a cheerleader, she had no idea her father was a criminal. While his life may have been interesting (not that we know), hers certainly was not. There are several issues I had with this book. It was way, way to long and could have used some serious editing. At no time do you get a sense of Jennifer and who she is. The only thing I can tell you about her personality after reading this book is that she cries. A lot. She doesn't show you anything with her writing, she tells you. The writing was poor, it could have been at least half as long, and above all, it was just plain boring.
• 
  Meg

  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 of the book is spent reading newspaper articles she discovered. Really anyone with similar resources could have learned much of the same information. If you go into it expecting a memoir of her grief (a la Didion's Year of Magical Thinking), you will probably enjoy it more. In this respect, it probably does a good job conveying the loss that very young adults experience when they lose a parent.