When I Am Weak, Then Strong

The fourth book in the Stanoli saga plumbs deeply into the social, political, and religious behaviors of key figures in and around the family over multiple generations from the United States to the old country and back. The main present-day character can be summed up by how he endeavors to live his life, tackling his days by reassessing his own deeply held beliefs, getting out of his comfort zone, and trying things he typically wouldn’t try. He is similar to his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather as a soul-searching thinker, conserving the customs with which he was raised. As the saga unfolds, some personalities seem born evil; others lean toward virtue. Some are eternal optimists, finding happiness even in the dark. Some are risk takers, putting their reputations on the line. The Stanoli patriarch was fond of saying, “There is nothing greater than loving God and loving your neighbor,” but such wisdom is not always simple through the twists and turns of modern life.