Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The Laundress by Barbara Sapienza for Suzy Approved Book Tours!

About the Book:

Release Date : May 19, 2020

Twenty-six-year-old Lavinia Lavinia is burdened by her unknown heritage—but her uncle Sal, who raised her in San Francisco, has always kept silent, refusing to reveal the devastating secret of her origin. And now, following the death of his wife, he’s left for Italy.

In the wake of her uncle’s departure, Lavinia has quit school. Now she works as a personal laundress to a diverse cast of San Francisco residents—people with stories as complicated as her own. As time progresses, through the sacred ritual of washing clothes—and with the help of a friend and her nurturing, flamenco dancing mother—Lavinia begins to recover memories of her past. Gradually, her gifts of receptivity multiply, and she communes with nature, finding messages from birds and the leaves of her garden’s fig tree. And when she recovers Raggedy, a beloved doll that accompanied her from Naples when she was four years old, she experiences a tangible connection to her own mother.

Even as Lavinia makes these discoveries, she is busy building new relationships—discovering healing dance with her lover, a barista in a North Beach coffee shop; learning to understand Time and forgiveness with an elderly client; and even getting to know her father, a man who has never been a part of her life. Poetic and poignant, The Laundress is a coming-of-age story for anyone who’s ever sought to understand where they came from in order to figure out who they’re meant to become.

Miss W’s Review:

4 Stars!

The Laundress is a heartfelt story . We meet Lavina who was taken in by her Aunt and Uncle after her mom died when Lavinia was only four years old. As Lavina gets older she wants to know the details of her mothers death which have been a secret. She is searching for answers but there seems to be secrets that the family want to stay hidden.

I enjoyed this well written book. I too wanted to know what the secrets were. The characters were complex and well fleshed out. I felt for Lavinia, and was also desperate for answers.

The pacing was perfect with pieces of the story revealed at just the right time. The story kept my attention and I just wanted to know more.

About the Author:

Barbara Sapienza, PhD, is a retired clinical psychologist and an alumna of San Francisco StateUniversity’s creative writing master’s program. She writes and paints, nourished by her spiritual practices of meditation, tai chi, and dance. Her family, friends, and grandchildren are her teachers. Her first novel, Anchor Out (She Writes Press, 2017) received an IPPY bronze medal for Best Regional Fiction, West Coast. Sapienza lives in Sausalito, CA, with her husband. http://www.barbarasapienzanovel.com/

Until the next chapter,

Wilfrieda