One Italian Summer: A Novel, published by Atria Books, blends magical realism with an intimate exploration of grief, love, and family. After the death of her mother Carol, Katy is unmoored. Her mother was her closest confidante, and their long-planned trip to Positano on Italy’s Amalfi Coast now feels impossible to face alone.

Katy decides to go to Italy anyway, retracing the steps of the summer her mother spent there decades earlier. Surrounded by sunlit cliffs, turquoise water, and rich food and wine, she slowly begins to emerge from her sorrow. Then the impossible happens: Carol appears in Positano, alive and thirty years old.

Over one extraordinary summer, Katy gets to know her mother not as a parent, but as a young woman still figuring out her life. As their bond deepens, Katy must reconcile the wise, dependable mother she remembers with this complex, imperfect person standing before her—and decide how to move forward when the past feels so vividly present.

Features and themes

• Evocative setting on Italy’s Amalfi Coast and in Positano
• Emotional mother–daughter relationship at the heart of the story
• Blend of contemporary fiction with a touch of the fantastical
• Focus on grief, healing, identity, and second chances

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