Katy Silver arrives in Positano paralyzed by the recent death of her mother, Carol, who was her primary emotional anchor. Having abandoned her husband in Los Angeles, she checks into the Hotel Poseidon alone to fulfill a trip the two women had planned together. The coastal landscape shifts when Katy encounters a thirty-year-old version of her mother, alive and vibrant, living at the same resort decades in the past. As they spend the summer together as peers, Katy discovers Carol’s independent identity, romantic history, and professional ambitions apart from her later role as a parent.
Readers of contemporary women’s fiction who enjoy magical realism and Mediterranean settings find a study of the complicated boundaries between mothers and daughters here. The book appeals to those interested in how parental legends differ from reality. Reading this provides a perspective on grief that emphasizes the necessity of seeing parents as flawed, individual people. It offers a visualization of the Amalfi Coast alongside a narrative about reclaiming personal agency after a significant loss.
Insights from One Italian Summer
“I am not her daughter here.”
Seeing Katy's mom as a young girl in Positano changed everything. It reminded me that our parents had entire lives before we even existed.
“My mother is the love of my life.”
Losing your best friend when she is also your mother feels like losing your North Star. You have to learn to navigate a world that has gone completely dark.
Carol chose joy and spontaneity during that summer in Italy. It made me realize I only knew the version of her that was already settled.
“I am a girl in a hotel room with a dead mother.”
Grief can feel like a physical weight that follows you across the ocean. Even the brightest sun in Positano can't melt that heavy feeling away.
- Published
- 2022
- Publisher
- Atria
- ISBN
- 9781982166816
- Language
- EN
