We live in a culture that worships extraordinary talent, assuming only the gifted can impact the world. This blockbuster-ready memoir completely shatters that myth, pulling you from the comforting nostalgia of mid-century Americana straight onto the volatile front lines of global history.
It delivers a deeply moving, firsthand chronicle of a life defined not by wealth or status, but by a relentless, lifelong commitment to a single, powerful principle: the responsibility of being present.
The journey sparks to life in Batavia, New York, amidst the rich, cinematic texture of post-war neighborhoods, legendary Little League rivalries, and a strict moral upbringing.
But the true turning point arrives when a young dental student leaves his Philadelphia clinic, boards a midnight train, and stands in a freezing blizzard to keep vigil at President John F.
Kennedy’s funeral. That single, impulsive choice to bear witness triggers a spectacular, forty-year odyssey spanning fifteen countries across Asia, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere.
With a narrative voice that masterfully balances laugh-out-loud neighborhood comedy with the profound gravitas of international relief work, you are given an eyewitness pass to the moments that shaped our world.
You will fabricate a life-saving medical device in an Army tent, serve meals to workers at Ground Zero, survive earthquakes in Nepal, and navigate relief efforts in war-torn Rwanda.
Ultimately, you will sit inside the high-stakes Khmer Rouge genocide tribunals in Cambodia, cooperating with heroic nuns to build rescue shelters for girls destined for human trafficking cartels.
This isn’t just a collection of historical events; it is a universal masterclass in human commitment that proves real power belongs to those who choose to step forward.
in 1971, Albert Repicci moved to Greenwich Connecticut to open his private practice in orthodontics and concurrently serve as a dental surgeon in the foreign missions in Africa, South America and Asia. Al‘s foreign service positioned him such that he became a special correspondent for the Greenwich Times reporting on the genocide trials in Cambodia of comrade Duch, the perpetrator of the killing fields; the Nazi war crime trials of Oskar Groening for atrocities in Auschwitz; and the devastating earthquakes in Nepal, where he got caught up in the aftershocks. He complimented his brush with journalism with creative writing and spawned several off Broadway and off off Broadway plays.
This blockbuster-ready memoir pulls you from the comfort of mid-century Americana straight onto the front lines of global history.
Follow a relentless dental student who drops everything for JFK’s funeral vigil, launching a forty-year odyssey across fifteen countries, healing hidden pain, confronting cartels, and proving that real power belongs to those who step forward.
