From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

The island of Sicily at the southern tip of the Italian mainland symbolizes home, family, community, heritage, and belonging. Saro was born and raised in Sicily. His parents, sister, and most of his extended family remain on the island while he moves to Florence to pursue his career as a chef. Although Saro leaves Sicily as a young adult, the island remains central to his identity, and after his death, Tembi fulfills Saro’s dying wish to have his ashes scattered in Sicily. During this first summer visit, Tembi and Zoela forge new connections to Saro’s family and community. These connections grow stronger over the following two summers. Consequently, Sicily becomes a second home for Tembi and Zoela, one that keeps them close to Saro. Croce reinforces these connections by signing her house over to Tembi and Zoela, and by the end of her third summer in Sicily, Tembi feels as though she belongs on the island and refers to Sicily as her “stone inheritance” (279).

Descriptions of Sicily abound in Tembi’s memoir, attesting to its symbolic importance. The descriptions are so numerous and vivid that they transport readers to the island. In Chapter 7, for example, Tembi recounts being drawn to Sicily from the moment her plane landed, saying, “Sicily beckoned with her sapphire blue sea, her rocky arid terrain that, without warning, offered up verdant fields of poppies” (151).