My Renaissance: A Widow's Healing Pilgramage to Tuscany

by Rose Marie Curteman

Rose Marie Curteman's moving account of becoming a caregiver to her once vibrant husband as he battles and succumbs to disease is followed by an inspiring story of healing and renewal. My Renaissance... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1892123916
• ISBN13: 9781892123916
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Capital Books (VA)
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

the transforming power of the beautiful

For the reader who has encountered tragic loss, Rose Marie Curteman in MY RENAISSANCE: A WIDOW'S HEALING PILGRAMAGE TO TUSCANY presents a genuine alternative to the talking cure of psychoanalysis or the silence of the Zen monastery. We follow her mid-life journey into Tuscany and are awakened to the transforming power of the beautiful to be found, for instance, in the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Florentine Renaissance, or in the lush and haunting autumn landscapes of Chianti, or in the exuberant celebration of life in Florentine kitchens and dining rooms, or in the expressive tunings and turnings of the Italian language. In a style which is remarably lucid and engaging, Rose Marie Curteman charts a path through memory and mourning into wonder and joy. In this incisive work it is death which comes to stand impotently before life, and not the other way around. The vibrant, playful, refreshing and healing energies of the beautiful as portrayed in Rose Marie Curteman's journey exert their transforming effect also on the reader. This book does not belong in the inflated genre of popular literature on visits to Italy. It is in a class of its own, marking a profound mid-life search for self after the tragic loss of a beloved spouse.

As beautiful a journey as the beauty of Tuscany

Rose Marie Curteman's My Renaissance: A Widow's Healing Pilgrimage to Tuscany is as beautiful as the journey on which beauty was her guide. I haven't read many books all the way through lately and I did hers. Even when one knows the outcome, one wants to keep reading. She told the story with such gentle depth with just the right touch of humor. We know as we read that even in grief, we will laugh again. Great characterization and wonderful pacing. Well done, well done. I hope it sells tons. I mean to buy a few copies as gifts.

Wisdom and optimism.

"Brevity is the soul of wit." And this book is a marvel of compressed wisdom and optimism. A unique read.

Engaging and inspirational

One of the better first person accounts I have ever read. Theexperiences of Ms. Curteman move along without side meanderings. Significant life issues are presented in a positive, life affirming manner. I was constantly going into my own insights regarding life, death and selfless service. The book left a vivid impression and I am looking at my life more carefully now.I read the introduction first. Later I read the entire book in one sitting. It was too engaging and uplifting to set aside. A great primer on making one's life "new" again.

Moving, Interesting Story!

Rose Marie Curteman leads us into the heartbreaking, then joyful journey of her middle age, when she loses her husband to Parkinson's/ Alzheimer's and then rediscovers life in Italy.I couldn't put this book down because it was such an interesting story. This book would make a great movie.