Presentation of Maria Laurino’s book The Price of Children (March 25, 2025)

Join us for the presentation of Maria Laurino’s most recent book The Price of Children: Stolen Lives in a Land Without Choice, the never-told story of how the Vatican and the American Catholic Church sent nearly 4,000 children of unwed Italian mothers to the United States for adoption between 1950 and 1970, falsely labeling them “war orphans” then later “orphans.” Laurino’s investigation began from a family discovery, developed through archives and meetings with people both in Italy and the U.S. to eventually turn into a call to defend the rights of women.

Maria Laurino was born and raised in northern New Jersey. She  is the author of the national bestselling memoir Were You Always an Italian?, an exploration of how stereotypes and class prejudice influenced Italian-American identity; the memoir Old World Daughter, New World Mother, a meditation on contemporary feminism; and The Italian Americans: A History, the companion book to a national PBS documentary.

Tue. March 25, 2025 6pm  – SBUS (School of Business) 140
For info and to reserve a seat, see webpage

Introduced by: Mark Rotella (Coccia Institute)
Moderated by: Teresa Fiore (Inserra Chair) and Erica Moretti (FIT – Fashion Institute of Technology)

Jointly organized and sponsored by the Inserra Endowed Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies and the Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America, in collaboration with the Italian Program (Department of World Languages and Cultures).