R. M. Rizzo ~Author

Reviewed by Grant Leishman 

Thank You for the Shoes: Anniversary Edition by Raffaela Marie Rizzo is a retelling of the classic American immigrant journey of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Michelangelo Rizzo was just a child in Southern Italy when his father was killed, working on a construction site in America to earn enough money to bring his entire family there. As he grew up and slowly became alienated from his mother and his new stepfather, Michele (or Mike, as he would later be known) was determined to follow in his father’s footsteps and seek a new life in the USA. In 1909, he left Platania alone to travel to the promised land, full of hope, courage, and a new set of shoes given to him by his adopted sister. Once in America, he would find struggle, poverty, and a series of seemingly never-ending tragedies. Still, he would also embrace his new country and its many and varied cultures. He would find love, happiness, and peace as he set about doing what all immigrants ultimately dream of: making a better life for his children and generations to come.

Thank You for the Shoes is a poignant, beautiful, and at times extremely painful description of the life many immigrants face when they begin again in a new land. Raffaela Marie Rizzo has compiled this story of her father’s journey as a tribute to her parents, her own children and grandchildren, and the many people who knew and loved Mike. It is incredibly timely, especially given the current furor over immigration, to remind ourselves just why people make that difficult decision. The author has done a marvelous job of exploring Mike’s character and his journey. She describes a man who loved deeply and would always choose the path of righteousness, even if that was the more difficult choice. I marveled at his ability to continue as each tragedy befell his little family. His determination to ensure that his four young daughters stayed with him was truly inspirational. I appreciated that at no time did Mike seek wealth and riches but was happy to just seek a simple life, where the necessities were available, and his family could grow in warmth and security. As the subtitle says, this was indeed the journey of an extraordinary ordinary man and his family. The author has done her father justice, and it was a pleasure to read. It is men like Mike and his fellow immigrants, from many varied cultures, who were the backbone of the United States. This story reminds us that the USA is a nation of immigrants and always has been. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.