Book Recommendation – One Italian Summer – Rebecca Serle

Let me say right up front that this book is not one that I would have normally picked up to read. I tend to stick with mysteries, true crime, biographies, and historical fiction and non-fiction. There were two reasons that I decided to add this to my “to read” list. First, it was set in Italy – more on that in just a minute. Second, it was about a woman who had lost her mother.

I’m a member of Goodreads and I often check out their suggestions and look at what my friends are reading as well. This book came up more than once and I read a bit about it before adding it to my list.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

This was the selling point for me. My mother passed away in 2006.

So many things have transpired since then. I could always count on her to listen to me when I needed to talk. When someone you love passes away, you begin to live life always asking the “What if” questions.

For one brief moment, I put myself in the place of the main character of the story (Katy). What would it be like to run into my mother – and see her at such a young age? I had to read this story to see just how it all played out.

At one point in the story, Katy says this about her mother, “She made me in her image, but she forgot the most important part. She forgot that one day she’d leave, that she already had, and then I’d be left with nothing. When you’re just a reflection, what happens when the image vanishes?” Powerful thought.

I was completely unfamiliar with the town of Positano, where the book takes place. A brief Google search led me to some very beautiful and amazing photos.

I cannot even imagine just how beautiful this place is in person.

I was worried that this book might be one of those “romance” novels. Thankfully, it was not. It was a decent story and I felt that it had a decent conclusion. It was not a difficult read, and the author does an amazing job describing some of the sights of Italy.

As I read the book, there were little nuggets that one could sock away in a book of “life quotes.”

For example:

“There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won’t get you there.”

“Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.”

“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.”

“Nature has so much power if we just pay attention.”

“One of life’s most important challenges is determining what to hold on to and what to let go of. Do not be fooled into believing that you do not know which is which. Follow the feeling, follow it all the way home.”

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I’m not sure I would have read it, had I not read the synopsis and felt a bit of a connection to it. However, it was a good read and you might find it worth reading, too.