Why I wrote my story
Thousands of books have been written about kings, presidents, artists, entrepreneurs and people who have left their mark on history. I am not one of them. I am not a celebrity. I have never won a war, broken a world record or made an invention that earned me a place in the history books. I am simply Renato Rossi.
A son of Italian parents. A husband. A father. A grandfather. A brother. A friend. An entrepreneur. And above all, a human being who, like so many others, has tried to give meaning to his life. Why, then, did I decide to write my story? Not to put myself in the spotlight. Not to seek admiration. And certainly not because my life matters more than anyone else's.
I am writing this book because I believe every person carries a story within them - a story that risks being lost if no one tells it. No human life can be captured completely in a single book. Yet I felt an ever stronger need to preserve something of the road I have travelled and of the people who have shaped me. As long as someone remembers us and speaks about us, a part of us lives on.
I was born on 5 June 1948 in Loreto Aprutino, a small village in Italy's Abruzzo region. A few months later, my parents brought me to Belgium, where my father worked as a miner. Like thousands of Italian families, we left our homeland out of necessity, rather than in search of adventure. My parents left behind their family, their language and the life they knew, driven by the hope of giving their children a better future. Their courage forms the first page of my story.
The first thought of this book did not come to me at a writing desk. It came in January 2022, during the coronavirus pandemic, when I suffered a heart attack. In the emergency department, I was also found to have COVID. I was completely isolated in a separate ward. Because immediate treatment was not possible, I lay there between life and death. I could barely breathe, was extremely weak, could hardly move and felt constantly dizzy.
Only a week later were the first two stents inserted. Two more followed three months afterwards. My rehabilitation took a long time. During that vulnerable period, I understood more clearly than ever how suddenly a life can change, and how much remains unspoken when someone is unexpectedly no longer there.
Michael had asked me several times: 'Dad, how are we supposed to carry on when you are no longer here? We actually know so little about you. What are your final wishes?' Those questions were not easy to hear, but they came from love and concern. I realised that my children knew many events in my life only partly, and that some stories risked disappearing unless I told them myself.
So, day after day, I began writing down short memories. At first, I was not thinking of a real book. I collected everything on a USB stick and designated a special place where my family could find it when I was no longer here. That USB stick was my first way of leaving something behind: not possessions, but words; not a complete history, but the experiences and feelings I did not want to lose.
Slowly, those separate stories grew into My Life - In the Name of All My Loved Ones. Some memories are great because they changed a life. Others seem small: a hand on a shoulder, a conversation at the table, a glance between father and son. It is often precisely those moments that say the most.
This story is therefore not about me alone. It is about my parents, Antonio Rossi and Guglielmina Di Pasquale, who taught me the meaning of sacrifice and dignity. It is about my brothers and my little sister Lidiola, whose brief life nevertheless remained part of who I am. It is about Dorina, with whom I have built an entire life, about my sons Marco and Michael, my grandchildren, and the people who stood beside me at decisive moments.
My professional life is given space only when it reveals something of the person behind the business: my curiosity, my dreams, my mistakes, my perseverance and the people who helped me start again. I worked with coffee and espresso, ceramic tiles, software and innovation. I experienced wonderful successes and painful setbacks. Today, I know that my achievements are not my greatest wealth. My greatest wealth is the people I have met along the way.
Marco is the heart of this book. He was far more than the way his life ended on 27 August 2009. He was my son, Michael's brother, a father, friend, colleague, business partner and dreamer. I want to show who he truly was, while speaking honestly about the bipolar disorder and depression he struggled with. Not to reduce him to his illness, but to show how deep psychological suffering can remain hidden behind a smile. If these pages help someone listen, speak or seek help sooner, his story acquires an even deeper meaning.
This book is not an accusation and points no finger at anyone. It is my memory, told with the knowledge and feelings I have today. I do not present myself as a hero. The real Renato is curious and full of plans, but also stubborn, sometimes too trusting and not always ready to recognise his limits in time. Only when those sides are visible too can this story truly be mine.
In the later years of my life, I have thought more about the meaning of encounters and the quiet bonds that connect people. I sometimes call this the invisible thread through my life. I do not expect every reader to share that thought, and I do not want to present what I cannot prove as certainty. For me, that thread is mainly about love, memory, intuition, gratitude and the people who were close to me at just the right moment.
Above all, I wrote this book for my family: for my children, my grandchildren and the generations to come. One day, they may no longer be able to ask me who I was. I hope they will then find me in these pages. And if my story also brings recognition, opens a conversation or gives someone the courage to begin again, it will have fulfilled its purpose.
This is not the story of an extraordinary life. It is the story of an ordinary man who has had the privilege of meeting extraordinary people. That is why this book is called My Life - In the Name of All My Loved Ones. For ultimately, nothing of what we are belongs exclusively to ourselves. We are the living sum of all those who loved, helped, challenged and forgave us, and who gave us the chance to become the person we are today. To them I dedicate this book.
With deep gratitude, Renato Rossi