INSTANT
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
USA TODAY
Selected for CBS News New York's Book Club with Mary Calvi
As seen on
Good Morning America, The View, Good Day New York
and featured on Katie Couric Media and Read with Jenna Open Book podcast
PEOPLE
: BEST NEW BOOKS
An
Elle
Best Book of Summer 2025
USA Today
Most Anticipated Read of Summer 2025
Publishers Weekly
Most Anticipated Book of Summer 2025
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.