"The truth is, I wasn't even supposed to be born" ::::::: "I grew up convinced that I did not deserve anything" :::::: Modi's "Italian connections" gets into a book :::: "Now that time has passed, I am grateful to those idiots", writes Italian PM Meloni in her memoir

Bold, candid and  personal, 'I Am Giorgia - — My Roots, My Principles'  is the portrait of a Italy's only woman Prime Minister who came up the ladder after defying expectations, challenged the status quo, and has become a defining political figure of the contemporary setting.

“I have heard too many people talk about me and my ideas not to realize how different my life and I actually are from the way we are portrayed. 

So, I decided to open up, to show who I am, what I believe in, and how I got here.” 

In this deeply personal and revealing memoir, Giorgia Meloni shares her story in her own words. 

From her childhood in the working-class neighbourhood of Garbatella to her rise in Italian and European politics, I Am Giorgia is a journey of conviction, resilience and identity. 

With unflinching honesty, Meloni recounts her early struggles, the profound influence of her mother and sister, and the absence of her father. She reflects on her passion for politics, her leadership of the conservative party Fratelli d’Italia, and the challenges of being a woman in a world dominated by men. 

She offers insight into her life as a mother, a partner and a person of deep faith and national pride. 

Namo has penned the foreword for the Indian edition of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s memoir, 'I Am Giorgia — My Roots, My Principles'. 

 

Highlighting the friendship between the two leaders, PM Narendra Modi wrote in Foreword for Giorgia Meloni’s book that her life underscored “timeless truths” of resilience and rootedness. 

He praised the Italian leader's “belief in defending one’s cultural heritage while engaging with the world on equal terms mirrors our own values.”

Modi hailed Meloni as a “patriot and outstanding contemporary leader,” likening her autobiography to her own “Mann Ki Baat". 

PM Modi said it was a “great honour” to contribute, expressing admiration and friendship for Meloni and adding that her “inspiring and historic” story will resonate deeply with Indian readers. 

Even Donald Trump has penned his version of Foreword:

"If you want to truly understand the worldwide conservative revolution, then read this book," says Trump, 

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In a media interview ,,, after she developed differences with Trump -- Miloni had said:

“It’s evident that with Donald Trump, I believed things would be easier, given our convergence on immigration and woke culture ..... Things have turned out otherwise.”

Miloni also became the first of several insulted European leaders to hit back hard at the US President - whom she berated: “Italy and I never beg.”

The two leaders did not speak in several weeks, she revealed. 

Extract  from the book

Miloni says in the Introduction chapter - "I concluded my speech with these words -- "I am Goergia. I am a woman,  a mother, an Italian, a Christian. You will never take that away from me".  .... 

There was applause .... But I could never have anticipated the lasting impact those words would have in the months to come".

*** More extracts :  "In Italy, we always talk about politicians as though they are a separate species, as if they had suddenly landed on Earth from another planet. But politicians are also simply Italians, just like everyone else."    

$$$   

"The truth is, I wasn't even supposed to be born. When she was pregnant, Anna (her mom) was twenty three, already had an eighteen-month-old daughter, and was in a struggling relationship with my father --- and he already had his suitcase packed, one foot out the door. Theirs was a wounded family". 

-- Now that time has passed, I am grateful to those idiots -- they were the first to teach me that enemies can be useful. They spur you onto to overcome challenges, to push past your limits ....

The Italian PM also says

** I learnt the hard way that healthy eating habits are crucial for young people. not just for health but also for social lives.

**  I grew up convinced that I did not deserve anything. 

** Life is less what happens to us because of someone else's actions, and more about how we choose to react.

** If this is who I am today, it is thanks to my father - for better or for worse. When he died a few years ago, I felt nothing. Writing these words is still painful. 

*** I was a textbook Capricorn - not shy or distrustful, but fiercely and stubbornly protective of my personal space -- she notes.

 Meloni’s memoir is not like the literary works of other politicians, past or current. 

What emerges is a self-portrait of a serious thinker who knows where her beliefs come from. Her personal background is not what one may expect. This memoir begins with a story of a struggling young mother walking towards an abortion clinic. Her marriage was failing and her husband was preparing to leave: a second child simply did not appear to be an option. 

Had her mother Anna not decided to turn back, Giorgia Meloni would never have come into the world. 

A difficult childhood followed, as material circumstances changed significantly when her father left Italy and his daughters behind.

“The awareness of a father who is no longer there, who vanishes into thin air, is something that’s hard to explain. It may leave a deeper wound than a father’s death. At least then you can imagine him looking down at you from heaven. But when he chooses to leave, you’re left grappling with the ghost of a person ..."

ends