Black Sheep And Kissing Cousins Summary

In the introduction to Black Sheep and Kissing Cousins, Elizabeth Stone proposed that “families everywhere have their stories, many of them entertaining, all of them meaningful, pertinent, and binding” (11). Stone defined a family story as any bit of lore about a family member that is significant. Stone opened the introduction with her family story; a story of her grandmother, Annunziata, following her heart. Stone said, “She wasn’t distant like a film star or imaginary like a fairy-tale heroine” (4). Stone found Annunziata easily relatable because she was real. The story was real and taken from the past rather than created from the figment of someone’s imagination. One of the most meaningful purposes that family stories have is to serve as
I never had any interest in listening to my family stories. I found them to be preachy and cheesy. Even then, I still wanted to hear stories about my parents’ past. My mother rarely told me anything about her past and usually diverted the spotlight on her mother and father. But one day, I sat her down and with a video camera, I asked her to tell me any story she liked. I asked her to tell me any story she wanted. With the camera rolling, she told me the story of how she became a doctor. Of how she was destined to work in the farm because her family was poor and there were no medical schools where she lived. Of how she walked the long way to elementary school everyday just to get a glimpse of the local hospital. Of how she worked multiple jobs in her twenties to save up to go to medical school. Of how she eventually was asked to work at Harvard and later here in Toronto. When she finished, I turn off the camera, gave her a hug and saved the video file on my computer. I always longed for a role model growing up, and even though my mother will probably not be there when I finally become a doctor, I will still have that video – I will still be able to tell her story to my