In case you really, really wanted to see me talking with host D.G. Martin on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch on July 12, but just couldn’t get to a television, stop worrying! Just click here and enjoy the video.
Shot in Reggio Calabria, Italy by Michael Frierson, of UNC-Greensboro.
Author and critic Mary DeTurris Poust wrote this brief review of My Cousin the Saint for Our Sunday Visitor, the nation’s largest circulating Catholic newspaper:
“Ever since I read the hardcover version of this book, I have been recommending it to friends who are Catholic, friends who are Italian, friends who like adventure travel stories because it is at once a story of pilgrimage, a story of heritage, a story of newly discovered family love. Justin Catanoso’s search for the history behind Padre Gaetano Catanoso, his grandfather’s cousin who was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, unfolds in beautiful prose that allows the reader to enter into the author’s own spiritual struggles and family celebrations. You will walk away from the book wondering how it is possible you didn’t know about Padre Gaetano long before you joined Catanoso on his quest for faith and knowledge.”
You’re welcome to judge for yourself. Click here.
There are all kinds of saints. The fearless, recently murdered activist Natalya Estemirova of Cechnya surely qualifies. A fond look at her life and life’s causes in today’s New York Times.
UNC-TV, which broadcasts North Carolina Bookwatch on Sunday evenings, does a nice job promoting upcoming authors who meet on set with host D.G. Martin. Take this release, for example, about my appearance on this Sunday at 5 p.m.
An excerpt of our conversation: “When my family landed in Italy in 2003 was the first time I learned [the saint] was real,” says Catanosa. “Italy was remarkable. I spent most of my life as a kid being reticent, and almost embarrassed about my Italian culture—with all of the mafia jokes, and The Godfather, and all of those things that you get ridiculed about as an Italian-American. But, when I landed in Italy, I realized that all the things we hold dear in this country have roots in that beautiful place: the art, and the architecture, the fashion and the food, the warm generosity 0f the people, la dolce vita, and the sweet life that they live. And I fell in love with that place. And then we met these relatives. And they were extraordinary.”
