In this meditative and flavorful essay, Alexandra Johnson visits Viggiano and the large, extended Italian family that would have been her own—had she married the youngest son, Giorgio, her old boyfriend. Now married to another man, she returns to the house to help Giorgio improve his English as he thinks about leaving southern Italy and its struggling economy behind. Immersed in the Italian traditions of food and family, Johnson comes to appreciate her would-be mother-in-law, Anna, all while exploring and absorbing the age-old virtues and rituals of a difficult land.