I love the "arc" that Linda Dini Jenkins creates in her latest book, Becoming Italian: Chapter and Verse From an Italian American Girl. In this collection that weaves memoir and poetry, Jenkins recounts her actual and emotional journey as a half-Italian Protestant on Long Island, to New York City in the 70s and 80s, to the mezzogiorno (Southern Italy), and finally, to Salem, Massachusetts. Like braided Easter bread, the words and imagery create a golden heat, speckled with Rosary beads, inherited knives sharp enough to slice a tomato thin enough to see through, a gold-leaf frame. Jenkins explores what Mario Cuomo called "ethnic self-hate" by answering the question, "Were you always an Italian?" This is a book of discovery, where the speaker stares clear-eyed at class distinctions, misogyny, regret, and ultimately, love. Becoming Italian is a book that resonates; it is a book that deals with truths; and a book that completes the circle, that assures us, "All will be well. All will be well."

- -Jennifer Martelli, author of My Tarantella, The Queen of Queens

A touching, heartfelt story of growing up in a home of secrets and silence. Linda Dini Jenkins bravely probes deep into her past to understand the complex legacy of her Italian father and English-Irish mother. Slowly, sometimes painfully, she finds understanding and strength in her Italian roots. Her struggle and ultimate self-acceptance will inspire all-not just Italian-Americans-who have experienced stigma and even shame because of their ethnicity. By choosing to "become Italian," Linda chose to grow into her fullest self.

- Dianne Hales, author of La Bella Lingua, La Passione, Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered