Adriana Trigiani – författare

From the beloved New York Times bestselling author Adriana Trigiani, a “dazzling” storyteller (Washington Post), and a “comedy writer with a heart of gold” (NYT), comes a novel about one woman’s quest to build her own life before it’s too late. Jess Capodimonte Baratta is not living the life of her dreams. Not even close.In blue-collar Lake Como, New Jersey, family comes first. Recently divorced from Bobby Bilancia, “the perfect husband," Jess moves into her parents’ basement to hide and heal. Jess is the overlooked daughter, who dutifully takes care of her parents, cooks Sunday dinner, and puts herself last. Despite her role as the family handmaiden, Jess is also a talented draftswoman in the marble business run by her dapper uncle Louie, who believes she can do anything (once she invests in a better wardrobe). When the Capodimonte and Baratta families endure an unexpected loss, the shock unearths long-buried secrets that will force Jess to question her loyalty to those she trusted. Fueled by her lost dreams, Jess takes fate into her own hands and escapes to her ancestral home, Carrara, Italy. From the shadows of the majestic marble-capped mountains of Tuscany, to the glittering streets of Milan, and on the shores of enchanting Lake Como (the other one), Jess begins to carve a place in this new/old world. When she meets Angelo Strazza, a passionate artist who works in gold, she discovers her own skills are priceless. But as Jess uncovers the truth about her family history, it will change the course of her life and those she loves the most forever. In love and work, in art and soul, Jess will need every tool she has mastered to reinvent her life. Fed by the author’s cherished Italian roots comes a bighearted, hilarious novel of the moment: the story of one woman’s determination to live a creative life that matters, with enough room left over for love. With a one-way ticket to Italy, Jess is determined to write a new story on her own terms--this time, in stone.

Ambitious, determined and passionate, Nella Castelluca dreams of achieving more than her humble roots allow - an education, and a good job. She lives on her family's farm on the outskirts of Roseto - a town of old world tradition whose annual centrepiece revolves around the Queen of the Big Time beauty pageant. When Nella meets the handsome, worldly, irresistible Renato Lanzara, she believes she has found the soulmate with whom to share her life journey, until an unexpected turn of events leaves her and her fellow townsfolk shaken and shocked.

Seismic changes are about to take place in Ave Maria's life. Her daughter, Etta, barely eighteen, is married and living in Italy; the health of her husband, the gorgeous and ever-dependable Jack Mac, is failing and she has scarcely noticed; friendships she has enjoyed forever are under threat. And then to town comes a mysterious stranger, revealing a long-buried secret. Her world shaken, Ave Maria must face up to the past in order to build a new life for herself and for Jack.