On Tour 5/19/20 – 8/5/20 ”The Laundress” by Barbara Sapienza

Release Date : May 19, 2020

About The Book:

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.

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/

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Writer/Barbara-Sapienza-Author-612790595864543/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/barbara.sapienza

Book Blurbs:

“Lavinia has never known her parents and her search for identity is bittersweet. Barbara Sapienza unfolds the tale with the same sensitivity and insight we saw in her previous novel Anchor Out. With complex characters, and a strong sense of place, Sapienza has created a world where Lavinia’s memories are recovered with as much intuition as recollection. But it’s her relationship with one of her customers that takes her far beyond the streets of San Francisco.”—Kathy Andrew, author of The Creative Zone

“Barbara Sapienza, the author, draws the reader into the life of the “Laundress”, Lavinia Lavinia. She has been abandoned in San Francisco by her guardian, her uncle Sal, who has returned to his family home in Naples; Lavinia is left without family to find her way in San Francisco. We follow her as she interacts with her clients and friends and meets the challenges of the life of a young single woman in San Francisco. Ultimately, Lavinia prevails, and in the end her future looks rosy.Barbara Sapienza has provided a blueprint for living and prevailing in the modern world of the 21st Century.”—John D Bredehoeft, PhD, member of the National Academy of Engineering

“So beautiful and loving. A bittersweet odyssey of self-discovery from Naples to North Beach.”—Steven A. Foreman, M.D., author of Breaking The Spell, Understanding Why Kids Do the Very Thing That Drives You Crazy

A talented psychotherapist and author, Sapienza introduces us to the Lavinia Lavinia, a dancing, bubblegum chewing, laundress lost and searching to understand her roots. With smart and compelling writing she weaves a rich, psychological accurate and complex tale of love, curses, loss and redemption. Lavinia will remain in your thoughts long after completing this wonderful book.”—Dr. Jessica Broitman, Psychoanalyst, Author and President of the International Control Mastery Therapy Group

Bloggers On Tour:

May 19th-Well Read Traveler https://instagram.com/wellreadtraveler

May 19th– Reading With Nicole https://instagram.com/reading_with_nicole

May 20th – Nurse Bookie https://instagram.com/nurse_bookie

May 20th – Wild Sage Blog – https://www.facebook.com/wildsagebookblog/

https://instagram.com/wildsageblog

May 21st – Lindas Book Obsession https://www.facebook.com/lindasbookobsession

May 22nd– David L Morgan https://instagram.com/david_l_morgan

May 25th – Dog Eared Days Of Summer https://instagram.com/dogeareddaysofsummer

May 28th – Novels and Latte Book Club –https://www.facebook.com/groups/357651988042629

June 7th – Carol Doscher https://instagram.com/carol_doscher_reader

June 9th – My Reading Chronicles https://instagram.com/myreadingchronicles