The joy that comes from success, the despair that arises from isolation and failure-these feelings will be familiar to anyone who has ever tried to pursue that elusive, time-honored thing, the American Dream. Mary E. Matury Gibson's first memoir, Remembering Strawberry Fields, beautifully captures the struggles of growing up as a first-generation American. Ranging from her father's fascinating life as a Sicilian movie star to Gibson's attempts to cope with feelings of isolation and loneliness in their rural Midwest town, Remembering Strawberry Fields presents an engagingly drawn portrait of one family, their daughter, and their attempt to chase the American Dream.