Don’t Cry in America: A Memoir of Unexpected Journeys, Family Love, and the Sport of Wrestling: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with authors Antonio Russo & Tonya Russo Hamilton.
1. What is the name of the book and when was it published? Don’t Cry in America: A Memoir of Unexpected Journeys, Family Love, and the Sport of Wrestling. Published June 15, 2025.
2. What’s the book’s first line? Like most celebrated occasions in a large Italian family–weddings, holidays, the after-mass Sunday meal–my arrival into this world on October 8, 1940, was nothing short of loud and uproarious.
3. What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. When he was ten years old, Antonio Russo’s parents put him alone on a ship in the Bay of Naples headed to New York City. He had nothing but the shirt on his back and a suitcase filled with salami and provolone. Once in America, Tony was bounced from one set of relatives to another, eventually ending up in Oregon. Though the landscape of Portland felt more familiar than the streets of Brooklyn, his sense of displacement continued to grow, and he coped by getting into fights and run-ins with the law. Redemption came from an unexpected source—the sport of wrestling. It not only provided an outlet for his demons, but revealed a natural talent and a strong drive to excel, qualities that eventually led him to become one of America’s winningest high school wrestling coaches.
4. What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? We wrote this book together in an interview format. The moment I (Tonya) heard that my father was put on a ship in the Bay of Naples as a ten-year-old child alone, it sparked something in me that we just had to write this down. I didn’t know if it would be a published book, but that’s how it started. And we discussed it extensively before I began writing. My dad still says he doesn’t know why they put him on the ship alone; there seem to be other ways they could have gone about it where the family could have stayed together. But they chose to send him alone, and that was that.
He learned quickly how to be resilient and adjust to a new environment. Even though he was overwhelmed, frightened, and was being bounced around in his new living situation in the States, he was grateful to have a roof over his head and thankful for how his extended family was trying to provide for him.
During his first year in the US, he lived with four different extended family members in and around Brooklyn, New York. He was finally sent for by an uncle who had made his way out to Portland, Oregon. This is where he was able to find a stable home, but he wouldn’t see his parents or siblings again for another four years.
5. What’s the main reason someone should really read this book? Read it for inspiration. Tony could have easily given up or taken a destructive path in life, but he overcame the odds to become a successful wrestler and one of the winningest high school wrestling coaches in America. Read it also for a glimpse into the lives of Italian immigrants and Italian culture. It is also a snapshot of life in the 1950s and 60s. Tony’s dedication at the beginning of the book is “To all who have faced adversity both on the mat and in life. May your determination be a driving force with every challenge you encounter.” –Antonio Russo