It Takes a Lifetime to Learn How to Live is, in some respects, a love story about family and forgiveness. It tells the story of traveling to my family’s ancestral village in Italy to understand, first-hand, what my heritage looked like and felt like.

This book is not about researching the village on social media or following a trail on Ancestry (although I did that, too). What mattered was being there: talking with villagers, tasting the food, walking the same streets as my grandparents. That physical presence led me to understand, in a deep and personal way, the challenges they faced when they left their home and all they knew to begin again somewhere else.

Social media plays an important role in sharing this book with a wider audience. But a live presentation takes the story where it can be best heard and appreciated in person. Gathering together conveys the intimacy it deserves.

This is a deeply human tale of why understanding my heritage mattered to me – and, perhaps, why your heritage matters to you, too. That idea lives best in conversation, in a shared moment when we are all participating and present. When voice matters. When the nuances of language dance and play. When the room gets quiet, slower, more generous.

This isn’t about rejecting online spaces. It’s about showing up for people who want to know more. It’s about seeing one another.

I would love to see you and be with you on March 5 in Calvert County, Maryland, a community where important parts of this journey took place.