The Apple and the Shady Tree
Product Details
Publisher: O’Possum Press
Release Date: December 3, 2019
Formats: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-578-58513-0
Trim: 5.5 x 8.5
Page Count: 280
The Mafia, My Family, and Me
Lisa Novick Goldberg
The true story of how a Jewish New Yorker’s familial relations to the Mafia profoundly shaped her life.
They say that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” In Lisa Novick Goldberg’s memoir, she explores the veracity of this proverb by examining her complicated relationship with her father, whose closest friends happen to be bosses of the Genovese crime family.
Goldberg begins with a mob-related murder that forever alters the way she views the world. Through chronological vignettes, both riveting and humorous, she takes us behind the scenes into the glitzy and corrupt world of organized crime, where chaotic consequences wreak havoc on her fragile family. From her early childhood in Brooklyn, to growing up in the Five Towns of Long Island, to adulthood, Goldberg examines the fear, disappointment, and confusion that comes with a lifetime of negotiating identities as a privileged Jewish girl and a sort-of Mafia princess.
In The Apple and the Shady Tree, Lisa Novick Goldberg takes you on her intensely heartfelt journey as she uproots her family tree and explores its misshapen branches and weakened leaves.
About the Author
Lisa Novick Goldberg was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the Five Towns on Long Island. She raised her daughter, Maggie, in Ardsley, New York. Lisa received her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and her master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. She now lives in Coconut Grove, Florida, with her husband, Stan Blake.
Ms. Goldberg has been interviewed by The Daily Mail TV show, People.com and The Doctors tv show for her first book, The Apple and the Shady Tree.
Visit the author’s website at lisanovickgoldberg.com
Reviews
“An honest, funny, and thorough reflection on a complicated family. The memoir is full of details, anecdotes, and short profiles of colorful characters . . . Though the author’s memoir delivers on its promise to present a realistic look at her father’s ties to the Genovese crime family, the true success of the work is how well it encapsulates a time and place: New York of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Ms. Goldberg (tells) her story with the slant that a childhood surrounded by crime and mischief-making was as normal as every other nearby household—despite its dysfunctionality . . . it was hard to stop reading . . . I highly recommend The Apple and the Shady Tree: The Mafia, My Family, and Me to any person wanting an eye-opening and entertaining picture of the Mob.” —The Art is Alive Magazine
“An introspective look at the author’s dysfunctional family, recounting mob-related murders and stories of mob members . . . in 1960s and ’70s Brooklyn. Beyond these Goodfellas-esque anecdotes, Goldberg’s memoir is also a candid look at her family’s history of mental health issues and her complicated relationship with her father.”
—PEOPLE.COM
“Using riveting chronological vignettes from her own life—some horrifying, some hilarious, thanks to her sharp wit—Goldberg takes readers into the corrupt, chaotic, and sometimes glamorous world of organized crime and reveals how the mafia, who were her father’s closest friends and business associates, wreaked havoc on her family as a child and her mental health as an adult.” —Broadway World
“The Apple and the Shady Tree [is] a terrific book.” —Jewish Post and News