Bob Farina releases new memoir, ‘I Didn’t Always Like Calamari’

Bob Farina’s grandparents immigrated to the United States, leaving Sicily, Italy, by boat on June 14, 1913. They arrived in the country nearly one month later on July 1, 1913. Like millions of other immigrants at the time, they were greeted by the Statue of Liberty upon arriving in New York.

 

Born into this hardworking family of New York Italian immigrants in 1943, Farina earned his first job as a newspaper delivery boy for the Long Island Star Journal.

 

“I certainly was not conscious of it then, but the two key elements of the job, planning a project and good customer service, would follow me the rest of my life,” he writes in his book “I Didn’t Always Like Calamari.”

 

Farina, who moved to Daniel Island in 2006, shares his coming-of-age story in his memoir. 

 

Farina earned his degree from St. John’s University and enjoyed a 30-year corporate executive career at Bloomingdale’s department store.

 

Farina ran Et Cetera, an Italian gourmet store on Daniel Island from 2007 to 2011. Now working as a real estate agent at Dunes Properties in Charleston, Farina’s latest business venture is a labor of love. 

 

The triumphs, struggles, and journey of the American dream for his family of Italian immigrants during a time of cultural shift in the United States are documented in his autobiography, a project he completed in 2020 with the assistance of his daughters, Allison Farina and Carolyn Lasater.

 

Packed into 164 pages, Farina tells his tale in personable, concise, and compelling fashion.

 

Born as the eldest and “favored son” in a large Italian family, Farina’s parents put him on a pedestal, with the expectation that he would be the first member of the family to earn a college degree. 

 

Following graduation, Farina was faced with a major decision after meeting the love of his life at St. John’s: either get married or honor his father and mother, who requested that he wait patiently before making a decision. 

 

A family formerly immersed in meals, celebrations, loving support, and positive affection, Farina’s world was flipped on its head.

 

With their staunch Italian upbringing and ultra-conservative societal views at the time, Farina’s decision to marry created a deep divide in the family that never truly mended.  

 

Farina and his wife, Mary Ann, are still married after 56 years.

 

Farina also provides readers with a window into American society while growing up in post-war United States in Brooklyn and Queens from the 1940s to 1960s. 

 

Cultural influences such as Elvis Pressley and the arrival of other rock stars caused the younger generation during those years to question the status quo.

 

“For me and most other kids, it was the beginning of questioning the traditional attitudes,” he writes.

 

Farina shares many personal tales of facing everyday challenges, personal tragedy, and family conflict. 

 

“I Didn’t Always Like Calamari” is available for purchase in both print and e-book at BobFarinaLLC.com. The e-book format is also available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and most other online e-book sites.