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. But, Mom, I’m an art history major. My graduation requirement includes being proficient in either French, German, or Italian. Studying in Kenya—”

Sì, of course, I am off tomorrow.” It was effortless with him. “My friend is editing a film at a studio near the duomo. You like film and acting, no? Do you want to stop by the editing room and then have lunch?” He led the way, and the gust of wintry air that greeted me on the other side of the door sobered me instantly. I batted my eyes to buffer against the wind. Suddenly everything seemed harsh and in sharp focus. Shadows were elongated by the amber streetlight above. And there, just outside the door, leaning against the massive stone wall, was a bicycle. It was candy apple red with a basket and bell.What I loved most in the book was getting to know Saro’s mother. She was so much like my own mother, that it brought joy to my heart. My mother was from Southern Italy- Ischia, an island off the coast of Naples. Like Saro’s mother, she never drank, she never wore pants, she always had new nightgowns ready in case she ever had to go to the hospital. She loved to cook and feed people:) This beautiful memoir takes us on Tembi’s personal journey of love, parenthood, and ultimately the loss of her husband, Saro. She learns to heal in the most beautiful way—through the support of three generations of women—and yes, there’s Italian food!”

The couple head to Sicily for their honeymoon, so Lino can introduce his family to his new wife and show Amy his beloved home, but his father tells him not to bother visiting. When Lino passes, Amy and Idalia visit Sicily to see Lino’s mother and scatter his ashes. Despite some tension at first, Amy warms to Lino’s hometown, and vows to return as she feels her late husband everywhere she goes there. I have realized that anytime we write about an experience, it changes our memory of the experience. In writing From Scratch, I had to make sense of events and experiences that I once saw as separate. Drawing a line from one set of events to another, I saw connections that were previously hidden to me. Writing the book gave me the gift of perspective. After high school, Tembi lived in Italy for a period of time and this is where she met her first husband, Soro Gullo, a Sicilian chef. The couple eventually lived and worked inLos Angeles,California.

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After graduating from Brown University, student Amahle 'Amy' Wheeler, who is played by Zoe Saldana and based on Tembi, moves to Italy to study abroad. Once there, she meets Lino, played by Eugenio Mastrandrea, and the couple embark on a romantic love story consisting of fantastic food and gorgeous Italian scenery. Ciao, Tembi!” Her voice rang out as if we had just seen each other a couple of nights before over an aperitivo. “Connor told me about you. I knew you’d call. Where are you?” Did you write for a certain audience, or does an imagined reader not play a role in your writing process? By March, I was still renting a room in the penthouse apartment in Piazza del Carmine. One night I was waiting for Saro to get off work, and I sat up most of the night talking to a new American roommate, Cristina, from San Francisco who had filled me with stories like a tumbler of whiskey. By the time we adjourned, it was after midnight. My plan was to lie down just for a few minutes, rest, and wait for Saro to arrive in the piazza below sometime just after 1:00 a.m. It had been four months since he had bought me the bike and we had shared the ride across the Arno. We had a routine at this point that when he finished work at Acqua al 2, he left Florence’s center and rode across the river to Piazza del Carmine to wait outside my apartment. He would stand across the street from my building and wait for me to come to the front window. Upon seeing him, I would buzz him in. He couldn’t ring the bell because of one of my roommates, whom Cristina and I jokingly called “The Den Madame” but who was, in fact, a Canadian trust fund transplant whose name was on the lease on the rooms we sublet. She was famous for discontinuing the tenancy of any girl who took up with bothersome boyfriends. Ringing the bell after 10:00 p.m. qualified as bothersome. Just come outside, one moment. I want to make you a surprise.” English should always sound like this. I let him take my hand.