Like Shade, People Also Pass

As a child growing up in Ogden, Utah, in the 1930s and '40s, Fred Seppi realized his talent for eavesdropping on adult conversations, especially those in the Italian dialect of Nones, which he wasn't supposed to hear, much less understand. He and his family, as Catholics and members of the close-knit Trentini community, were outliers in the predominantly Mormon culture. Making matters worse was the fact that his father owned a saloon, The National Tavern, on notorious 25th Street and was friends with the madam whose establishment, the Shy Ann, occupied the floors above it. A lifetime later, Seppi's recollections-as well as his passionate study of science, the humanities, and the human condition-coalesced into his memoir, Like Shade, People Also Pass, a fierce and tender search for the truth and a sense of identity and belonging.