But the sisters soldiered on. Massages helped. During a tough day of filming in an empty hospital, Tembi left the set to meditate alone a few floors up. “I didn’t need to actually be there in the trenches seeing it frame by frame,” she says. “There wasn’t a dry eye on set sometimes, and I knew they were all there for my story, for all of our stories.”

The world continued turning as the author grieved, but she seems really annoyed that happened. We learn almost nothing about the years of her marriage, the life or death of her father in law, their life after their daughter joined the family, or anything else that isn't about the author, the author's feelings, how inconvenienced the author was by having to care for other people, and how upset the author was by being widowed because somehow she never seemed to notice it had ever happened to anyone else. But it was Aubrey who could see Saro’s love on view in plain sight. Later, after a walk through Florence, an afternoon of window browsing, and then dinner, she told my dad, “And don’t even think about objecting to their age difference. You and I are also twelve years apart. It’s plain as day how he feels, you do not have to worry about this.” She shot down any lingering doubt, assuaging my father’s concerns. Aubrey was Saro’s ambassador into my clan. I listened to this on audio which was narrated by the author herself. Hearing her story through her own voice made this book more impactful for me and I am glad I listened to it rather than read it.While I enjoyed this and appreciated learning of this couples story, I failed to fully connect. I did shed a few tears along the way, but I wasn’t as greatly impacted by the story as I had anticipated. I think part of this is due to the fact that I’m not one who enjoys cooking (although I LOVE eating!) and this book is largely centred around ingredients and cooking. The chef’s family shows their love through cooking and often has deep conversations through food where words are not necessary. Running alongside this is both Amy and Lino’s fraught relationships with their families; Lino has fallen out with his father ever since he left his motherland of Sicily to pursue his dreams of being a chef instead of a farmer, while Amy quit law school, much to her lawyer father’s disappointment. However, Amy also has to deal with the fractured relationship between her mother and father, who has since remarried. Tonight has been busy, I could not come down to say hello.” He was unguarded, his ease alluring. “I’ll come by your school tomorrow.” How do you know?” Lindsey asked with a wink. She was forever suggesting that Italian men had a predilection for danger. The idea of it thrilled her. How do I begin to write a review to do this beautiful book justice? I feel like I’ve gotten an education on Sicilian culture, cuisine, and a front row seat in Tembi’s experience of losing the love of her life. My heart is full, and aching with how real the fragility of life is, and how we should cherish every moment with our spouses and loved ones. To actually live life and do things instead of being absorbed in our phones.

Lino is unable to return to work and becomes a stay at home dad, while Amy is working long hours to provide for their family, including their adopted daughter Idalia. If I had to choose only one (which is hard), I would say to activate a brave heart in how we love and how we connect.However, three years after his passing I was seated in Sicily with Zoela and across from us was Nonna. We were at the dinner table at the end of what had been like the perfect summer day. And I had a thought:How did we get here, especially given where we started AND given that the only person connecting us is gone?That question felt like the makings of a book. Yet it was the fifth anniversary of his passing, before I felt ready to write it." Tembi finds comfort in the poetry of Rumi during Saro’s illness and after his death. Have each member of your book club choose a Rumi poem to read to the group and discuss why the poems resonated with them . I feel that the book started really strong and ended well, but it was quite repetitive and inflated through the middle.

Saro, in all his ease, openness, and attractiveness, was not the kind of guy I went for—stateside or in Italy. He seemed way too available, way too nice. My kind of attractive was aloof, noncommittal, and definitely hard to catch. After having had multiple on-campus affairs that had gone nowhere fast, I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I needed to focus on school, not men. But that was easier said than done. We rode through the streets of Florence that night in silent unison. We passed Michelangelo’s David and Donatello’s Judith Slaying Holofernes, and the play of shadows danced across his face. A nocturnal bike ride through the center of Florence on a foggy morning with an Italian chef at my side. I had not expected as much as this from my semester abroad. But maybe somewhere deep down inside I had hoped for it. I wanted to pinch myself. But I didn’t need to. This was too good to be real. Saro was too good to be true. This puff of Italian romance would implode in a moment. I knew it would. I didn’t trust what came easy. I certainly didn’t trust love or me at love. Over the years, Lino writes his recipes and precious moments in a notebook which he can pass on to his daughter, like his mother did for him. The reward of jet lag is a new set of coordinates, a new language, and local delicacies. Italy did not disappoint. Eating my pastries as I looked out the window, on the bus ride from the Rome airport to Florence, I watched the passing cypress trees, hills, and farmhouses. It was like seeing a place for the first time that you felt you had known your whole life. When we finally made it to Florence under the midday summer sun, we stumbled out of the bus near the church of San Lorenzo. By then I realized I couldn’t wait to get away from the bulk of the girls on the exchange program. One transatlantic flight and then a two-hour bus ride was enough. However, after struggling with a knee injury, Lino is diagnosed with a rare tissue cancer, leiomyosarcoma.

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Va bene,” I said, quietly exhilarated that my destiny with greatness might just begin with a good meal. After reading the book, Reese met with Zoe and they spoke about producing the Netflix series together.