by Tembi Locke
First published 2019
Tembi Locke fell in love with Saro, a professional chef, on a Florence street. His traditional Sicilian family rejected their interracial marriage, but the couple persisted. They created a fulfilling life in Los Angeles, adopted daughter Zoela, and eventually reconciled with Saro's family. Then cancer struck Saro, destroying their dreams. After his death, Tembi spent three summers in Sicily with Zoela, learning to rebuild without her husband. In the small farming hamlet where Saro grew up, his mother welcomed Tembi to her table. The Sicilian community embraced them both. Through simple fresh meals and local traditions, Tembi found spiritual nourishment and a path forward. She reflects on her epic romance with Saro while discovering that food can serve as an act of remembrance. In Sicily, stories begin with marriage or death. Tembi's story contains both, plus the search for home and the pursuit of big love.
Genres: family-life, memoir, biography-memoir, 21st-century, food-writing
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Florence, Los Angeles, Sicily
Period: 21st Century
339 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: death, terminal-illness