Mark is passionate about his rich Sicilian-American heritage and the environment that he grew up in. This inspired him to produce two related books.
He grew up hearing the story about his great grandfather placing Mark’s grandmother in an orphanage and returning to Sicily to have another family there. He was vilified for this. Mark set out on a 10-year quest to discover if his great grandfather was a hero or villain for his actions. Most of the details resulted from interviews conducted with descendants of his great grandfather in the USA and his ancestral village in Sicily, Santa Margherita di Belice (AG).
An Immigrant’s Dilemma
“A brave, heart-wrenchingly honest story of immigration from Sicily to America. Mark’s memoir will capture and engage your sensibilities, as you travel with him as he unravels his grandfather, Giuseppe Tardi’s past. Along the way, he records the oppressive conditions that led Southern Italians to emigrate en masse to the United States during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.”
Luisa LoCascio Matarazzo, author of Between Two Worlds: Sicily and America
“Family lore painted Hehl’s great-grandfather Giuseppe as a villain for leaving his young motherless family in America while he returned to Sicily. His story haunted Hehl and sent him on a journey to discover the truth, and, ultimately, to bring to light the complexity and emotional cost of Giuseppe’s decision.”
Nancy McMillan, author of March Farm: Season by Season on a Connecticut Family Farm
After publishing An Immigrant’s Dilemma Mark realized that he did not do enough to pass down to his three children the rich Sicilian traditions that he grew up with. He suspected that other Italian Americans were also guilty of this. To preserve and pass down the Sicilian traditions and culture to future generations, Mark solicited inputs from other Sicilian and Sicilian Americans and published these in this book.
Ameri-Sicula: Sicilian Culture in America
Mark Hehl has accomplished a true labor of love of our Sicilian heritage in this absorbing collection of poignant stories and family lore. Many of the tales introduce customs and phrases that were new to me, while many, even from “paisi stranie” (other villages), bring sweet memories of the feelings, aromas, tastes, shouts and laughter that are fondly remembered from my youth.”
Angelo F. Coniglio, author of The Lady of the Wheel (La Ruotaia)
“Mark Hehl’s anthology of stories from the Sicilian diaspora centers around the collective history of Sicilian Americans growing up with their extended immigrant Sicilian families, and dovetails seamlessly with my many happy memories growing up with my father’s extended Sicilian family in a small suburb of Pittsburgh, PA. What explains the magnetic pull Sicily exerts on her expat sons and daughters? I didn’t fully understand myself until I starting traveling back to Sicily in the mid-1990s and experienced firsthand the beauty and mystery of the island. Beauty, because Sicily is like a glimmering jewel placed in the palm of your hand; and mystery because virtually every Sicilian family has a story of heartbreak – the heartbreak of a people departing this magical island and the family they left behind.”
Betsy Vincent Hoffman, author of Dreaming of Sicily: A Travel Memoir
LINKS TO RELEVANT PAGES
Contact Info
Email: mhehl@charter.net
Cell: +1 203 982 6231
Mark Hehl 