The Matchbox Diary

“Instantly engrossing, free of self-pity, and resonant with resilience and gratitude . . . A powerful introduction to the American immigrant story.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

When a little girl visits her great-grandfather, she asks about the collection of matchboxes harboring objects she can hold in her hand, each one evoking a memory. Together they tell of his journey from Italy to a new country, before he could read and write: the olive pit his mother gave him to suck on when t...