Author Bernadette Conte has lived a colorful life thus far — one that is rife with love, joy, fear, faith, and unwavering hope.
Her writings are deeply influenced by her rich Italian background as well as her passion for biographies, autobiographies, and spiritual books about those who endured hardships and triumphed through their perseverance and faith.
Born as the third child to a family of six children, this Rhode Island native owes her writing career to her mother who, like her, had a penchant for storytelling. Growing up, Bernadette took to heart her mother’s urging to scrivi e recorda — write and remember.
Her maternal grandparents, parents’ and many other Italian immigrants’ faith, courage, and hard work in the face of adversity left a lifelong impression on her, which gave her the impetus to one day tell their story and fulfill the promise she made to her mother.
Her first book, Eviva Maria, Madonna della Civita, is an interesting non-fiction about her church’s history, borne from a collection of documents and discoveries. Her second book, Under the Pear Tree, is a moving account of the trials, traumas, and emotional life surrounding the 19th-century Italian immigrant experience. Her third book, Trauma at the Border, is a gripping true story about her husband’s battle with cancer and their disturbing ordeal at the US–Mexico border, involving ICE and a certain drug cartel.
She is the founder of Mary’s Way, Women to Woman, a Christian spiritual group dealing with the spiritual, psychological, and physical needs of women. In earlier years, she initiated group inner healing services throughout the East Coast and has continued this ministry when called upon to groups and those in crisis.
When she is not writing, Bernadette spends her days doting on her two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson, as well as fondly remembering her husband, Ralph C. Conte, who passed in 2000, and her involvement with friends, church, and community activities. She is a member of the Rhode Island Author’s Association and is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island.