Author Flanagan, supported by her co-author and niece Orlowski, presents a vibrant memoir focusing on a deeply significant visit to her parents' Italian homeland. Eighteen years after a migration to America from Italy, her family sailed back to explore the region's possibilities for their future. The author was immediately immersed in the charms of the culture of Bari, a settlement on the southeast coast, with its time-honored language, customs, and wisdom. She was amazed by her parents' former homeplace—a virtual mansion. Through their eyes, by contrast, she came to understand that the homestead had been destroyed by years of warfare and neglect. Still, grandmothers cooked delightful indigenous foods, and many heartwarming gatherings were initiated by the extended clan.

Having lost her suitcase on the voyage from New York, the author was taken to a seamstress who made lovely dresses for her, taking advice from the girl about her preferences. This would lead to her notable career as a clothing designer. The sojourn in Bari ended after a few months, her parents realizing that the economic collapse in their native land would make the pursuit of a new life there impossible. They returned to New York, but Flanagan never forgot, always cherished, the life lessons she encountered in Bari.

Collaborating with her niece—an educator, writer, and advocate for those with special needs—Flanagan effectively arrays her youthful observations and looks at her career in the fashion industry, during which she acted as the founding executive director of the New York Association of Women Business Owners. Her book contains vivid memories and quotations translated from the Bari language, underpinning the well-constructed, deeply personal narrative, with a central message encouraging readers to persist in pursuing excellence in all endeavors, so that, like her, they may construct an adventurous, successful life pathway.

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