Rita Gigante and Natasha Stoynoff - The Godfather’s Daughter

review live on bookshow 11th October 2012 by Ro Bennett This book came out on 18th September, but it’’s still very expensive - £13.85 for hardback and £12.79 for Kindle. It’s a true story about Rita Gigante, whose father was Vincente Gigante, also known as "Chin," the Godfather of the Genovese crime family, in the American Mafia, from 1981 to 2005. Gigante who was officially recognized as the most powerful crime boss in the United States was dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the press, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself, in what Gigante later admitted was an elaborate act to avoid prosecution. The act worked for over 10 years and Gigante was determined to be mentally unfit to stand trial. However, by 1997 he was tried and convicted of racketeering and was given a 12 year sentence. He died while in prison custody in 2005. Although she had a priviledged and sheltered childhood in many ways, it was also very complicated and unstable. Rita had a difficult relationship with her father but she loved him and didn't really understand why he lived with her grandmother in Manhattan while she and her mother and other siblings lived in New Jersey. She was often ill and much of this was bought on by the secrecy and deception and unanswered questions which plagued her. Strangely, although Rita knew that her father was an authority figure in the community and held in awe and even feared, she did not know the truth about him until she was sixteen and that was a traumatic revelation for her. Her difficulties were exacerbated by her growing realisation that she was gay. This was an absolute anathema in her family and the Italian Catholic community and she came under a great deal of pressure and disapproval. Rita’s relationship with her father eventually improved in the latter part of his prison sentence. Despite the disclosures about his real life, especially one particularly heartbreaking and devastating family secret, gradually Rita found balance and healing in her life and then reached out to help and heal others. I found it an informative and enjoyable book with an interesting insight into how Gigante got drawn into his position of New York crime boss and what life was like for his family. It was intriguing following her journey from Mafia princess to reality and eventually to a place where she was capable of reaching out to others in pain. Rita Gigante has dedicated her adult life to healing people emotionally, physically and spiritually. She has a degree in exercise physiology and is a licensed massage therapist and Reiki master. In 2010 she formed the Collective Healing Network, a group of healers that conducts monthly sessions in New York and New Jersey. Rita also has a private practice outside of New York City.