The Review

In One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, Katy grapples with the sudden loss of her mother, Carol, who was not only her mom but also her best friend. Determined to embark on their planned mother-daughter trip to Positano, Katy finds herself alone in the picturesque Italian town. However, her grief takes an unexpected turn when she encounters a young and vibrant version of her mother. As Katy delves into her mother’s past and discovers a side of her she never knew, she must reconcile her idealized image of Carol with the flawed and mysterious woman standing before her. Set against the backdrop of the enchanting Amalfi Coast, this emotional and magical journey explores love, loss, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships.

This novel had me crying within the first 30 minutes of the book. Maybe I wouldn’t have cried as much if I read it, instead of listening to Lorelei Gilmore (Lauren Graham) narrate. Maybe my mother should have given me a larger “Trigger Warning” when she mentioned to me she was also reading this as part of her book club¹, and I responded, “Mine too! However, I haven’t started it yet…” Although in reality, it was my own fault. I didn’t even read the synopsis of the book, and they make it pretty clear Katy’s mother, Carol, is dead.

A lot of reviewers hated the beginning of the novel because they didn’t like how Katy described her mother as “her one great love.” For me, it hit way too close to home. Like Katy, my mother is my one great love. Growing up, we would move every 2-3 years. Each time I moved, I would make one friend, only to leave them behind the next time we would relocate. Eventually, Facebook was invited -so last time we moved, it was easier to stay in touch. But still, the majority of my life, the only true constant I had throughout my childhood and into adulthood was my mom. However, I really would not have described her as such until after she was diagnosed with cancer – for the third time – when I was an adult.

The first time my mom got cancer was just Basal Cell Carcinoma. It was caught quickly and easily removed, no questions asked. The second time was worse: Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. At this point I was a junior in high school and my coping method was by ignoring the idea of her having cancer completely. Non-Hodgkin’s has a higher survival rate than other lymphomas, so the idea of her not making it wasn’t something I wanted to put in my mind in fear I would manifest it. It was simply, “my mom was sick, and now she is not, and everything is fine.” The third time my mom got cancer, I was around the same age I calculated Katy to be (if she got engaged/married at 22 and has been married 5 years, she would be 27 when she goes to Italy). This time it was breast cancer. Those of you who were around in 2018 probably remember I had, a now deleted, blogger’s note in which I expressed my mom’s illness and was stepping away from the blog to focus on family. When you know exactly how chemotherapy affects someone, and the fact my mom already maxed out the “lifetime use” of some of the better drugs during her last chemo, it is harder to ignore. I was feeling exactly what Katy was feeling during that time—to the point I even thought I needed to break up with my boyfriend, now husband, or quit my new job which was 2 hours away, so I could drive her to her appointments because I didn’t want to waste a single second with her. Instead, I cried every day at work until I got word that the oncologist could no longer detect the tumor. Thankfully, my mom is now in her 5th year of remission, and I was only left with trauma that therapy, and multiple post-work phone calls to ensure she is still here, can’t fix.

I say this because if you haven’t experienced this level of grief, it is easy to write it off as Katy being too annoying as “their decision making process lacks logical sense” or because “Katy maroons endlessly about her love for her mother being the ultimate & only love that mattered, ever” as one review so eloquently put it. Based on my own experience, I strongly feel that Katy’s claim that her mother was “her one great love” was not something she felt before her mother’s diagnosis and impeding death; but something she decided on upon during mourning, as she reflected on what she now no longer has. Grief is a hell of a beast. It encompasses emotional, physical, behavioral, and social aspects. It can be triggered by not only the death of a loved one, but the diagnosis of a significant illness, a missed experience, the loss of normalcy (eg. CoVID lockdown), or loosing a job. When faced with the impending loss of a loved one, known as anticipatory grief, we may begin to contemplate how our lives will change without them and the role we may assume as a caregiver. During a period of grief, there is no logical decision making, and for me, that is what I think this novel does perfectly. On top of being a fun cutesy Chick Lit story about a daughter and mother in exploring the beautiful Italian coast, post-mortem, it is a deep reflection on the grieving process and what it takes to get out the other side: still full of melancholy but a survivor.

Overall, I found One Italian Summer to be a heartwarming and poignant read. The story of Katy and her mother’s journey through Italy was beautifully described, and I felt like I was right there with them as they discovered new places and experienced new things. But what really stood out to me was the way the novel dealt with grief. It was clear that the author, Rebecca Serle, had firsthand experience with the subject matter, as the descriptions of grief and loss felt raw and authentic. I appreciated most about One Italian Summer was that it didn’t shy away from the messiness of grief. Katy’s emotions were all over the place, and she often found herself lashing out at those she loved the most. There is a reason the publisher wanted Lauren Graham to be the voice for the audiobook. I feel they made this decision because this novel is for the “Rory Gilmores” of the world. The girlies who grew up way too sheltered and have (potentially detrimental) co-dependent relationships with their mothers, or the ones who have experienced an intense level of grief, and wish they could have a magical two-week vacation in Italy to get through it.

I give One Italian Summer 4 out of 5 stars.

---

Short Review (AKA TLDR)

In ‘One Italian Summer’ by Rebecca Serle, Katy’s journey through grief and self-discovery unfolds against the backdrop of the enchanting Amalfi Coast. This emotional and magical tale explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships and delves into the profound impact of loss. As Katy navigates the picturesque town of Positano, she encounters a young and vibrant version of her mother, leading her to uncover a side of Carol she never knew. Serle beautifully captures the essence of grief and the tumultuous process of healing. Through Katy’s experience, readers are reminded of the transformative power of love and the resilience of the human spirit. ‘One Italian Summer’ is not only a delightful summer read but also a poignant reflection on life, loss, and the enduring bonds that shape us.

---

Authors Note:

After writing this review, I attended the Era’s Tour in Philly on Mother’s Day. Andrea Swift, Taylor Swift’s mother, is a two-time breast cancer survivor, and metastatic cancer survivor. Leading up to the performance of The Best Day, and the few other times Taylor mentioned that it was Mother’s Day during the 3-hour long set list, Taylor described her mother very similar to Katy, and myself in the passage – referring to her mother multiple times as her best friend. This isn’t to say that it is a common trend among adult daughters of cancer-surviving mother’s; but if you are a Psychology/Sociology student, this may be an interesting point of topic for a dissertation.

1. I have actually confirmed with my mother that since writing this, she actually was reading “Our Italian Summer” by Jennifer Probst not “One Italian Summer” by Rebecca Serle ↩︎