Based in the South Carolina low-country, the book is a mixture of the here-and-now description of a father who is raising his daughter alone in Italy and the past that was the mans childhood, raised in a seriously dysfunctional family. The book tells of his journey home to be with his dying mother, his daughter’s introduction into American, and more specifically, low country South Carolina life. The book describes the issues faced as the young girl learns about her father’s childhood and her mother’s life and death. Surrounded by a host of Uncles and Grandparents that spoil her endlessly, she learns to fit right into her new life as a young American.
There are parts of the book that will make you stop and think. There are parts that make you laugh out loud. There are parts that make you mad, sad and cry. I have read it every summer for the past 6 years or so (maybe more) and every time I see a copy at the Thrift store I buy it because I wear my copies out so fast! You can read this book over and over and read it differently each time, and walk away a changed person with a different outlook on living, dying, family, friends, and love.
