Robert Gaglio lost more than just his livelihood to the 2008 Great Recession.
After personal and financial losses left him feeling defeated, the Sarasota resident embarked on a journey to find meaning in his life. That story is told in his new book, "Freedom to Wander."
Gaglio recently spoke with WUSF's Cathy Carter about how his passion for Italian food and a trip to Sicily sparked a transformation.
Robert, you moved to Florida in 2005 and you were a banker. And then 2008 came around. Can you tell us what happened for yourself and in this industry at that time?
Sure. At that time, I was living in Cape Coral. And those of us who were here back then know that Cape Coral was the epicenter of the crisis with more foreclosures than any other city, and our bank was failing. We were being absorbed, and I didn't have a job. It was pretty devastating as a middle-aged guy pursuing the American dream. And then I got divorced, so those all happened within a three-year period. And so, from 2008 to 2009, I have to say whether were the worst years of my life.
I can't even imagine the existential crisis you were going through at that time. That's a lot. What happened after those events?
It was a long process to really heal. I was living in Sarasota alone. And I'm not ashamed to say, I was very depressed. And fortunately, I realized that and I ended up getting a therapist right here in Sarasota. I just needed to get better.
And Robert, as part of your healing journey, you really dived into educating yourself more about your Italian heritage.
Yeah, I had this interest in Italian food. So I would read books about the history of Italian food, not cookbooks, but they were like textbooks about where does this mozzarella cheese come from, or this noodle, tortellini — what's the story — and I just had fun doing it. And then I wanted to make the food. So, every Sunday in my little apartment, I would make the dishes that I was learning about. And as I started to get better in 2012, my son was coming up on his graduation from high school, and I was coming on 50 and something drew me to the hometown of my grandparents and that I needed to go there. My son came along and we did a trip to Italy together. And that was really the genesis of where I am today.
Well, your book is perfectly named then because it's called Freedom to Wander. After your career crisis and unfortunate family circumstance, you kind of rebuilt your life back through your journeys through Italy. Tell us a little bit how you got to the process of becoming a published author.
Well, that first experience in Sicily was life changing. We pull into this little town above Palermo, a little mountain town about 6,000 people. And there's a sign a street sign with my name on it. And I thought, well, this is a good place to start looking, right?
And you found some cousins who took you to the grave site of your great grandmother, and then they invited you back to their house for a big Sunday dinner.
Yes, it was at least 30 people coming and going and, you know, they were all excited that there was this American there. They couldn't understand. Why don't you speak Italian? Your name is Italian, you look Italian, what’s the deal? They really got a kick out of me because I love to cook and that was one of the things I wanted, to cook in Italy. They loved that I got up and helped them make the dessert. It just was such a moving experience and there's a lot more to those couple of days that are in the book, but it was an incredible experience.
These lovely stories might ignite some passion in some readers to kind of think about what they want to do. So what would you like readers to take away?
Oh wow. Well, if I can inspire one person to deal with their whatever, if it's mental illness, if it's depression, and make changes and go for what they want. All the effort of doing that book would be worth it.
A book launch party with Robert Gaglio happens Jan. 29 at the Westcoast Black Theatre in Sarasota.
