I watched this woman sketching in Gamla Stan, the old town district in Sweden. Do you think her parents supported her dream to be an artist when she was young?


What Connects The Following People?

a) Harriet Tubman

b) Mahatma Gandhi

c)  Mother Teresa

d) Steve Jobs

e) Bill Gates

I believe the answer is their dreams.

What Has The Power To:

a) spur us to take a stand on a controversial issue?

b) express an unpopular opinion?

c) step outside our comfort zone?

d) tap into our inner strength?

e) give us the potential to achieve our goals.

I believe the answer is our dreams.

What Force Can:

a) create tension in relationships?

b) produce turmoil between spouses?

b) ignite parent-child conflict?

c) alter family dynamics?

d) spur social revolutions?

I believe the answer is conflicting dreams.

Dreams are central to The Inheritance and my novel explores their impact on individuals, family dynamics and society at large. Even though the story is set in Calabria, a region in southern Italy during the time period 1897 to 1913; the theme is timeless and relevant to all readers.

Santo Marino, a pivotal character in The Inheritance, is a successful businessman and owner of the Villa San Michele Estate in Cetraro, a fishing village on the Tyrrhenian coast. He is married to Anna and they have three sons, Caesare, Benito and Lorenzo.

Caterino Romano, whose life is chronicled in The Inheritance, is intertwined with the Marino family from birth.

Santo and Caterina have conflicting dreams and their refusal to compromise results in disastrous consequences for all whose paths they cross.


What are your dreams? Have they ever conflicted with those you love? How have your dreams impacted family dynamics? I welcome your comments.

The following photographs reflect the subject of this blog and I hope you enjoy them.

Open-air fish market in Bergen, Norway

These men are working at the open-air fish market in Bergen, Norway. I wonder how the dynamics would change if they were brothers and one had just decided to leave the family business.

Father and child in Stockholm, Sweden

I saw this boy and his father on Drottninggaton Street in Stockholm, Sweden. They were looking in opposite directions and I thought them a perfect image of conflicting dreams between a parent and child

Handmade crafts in a market

What happens when there is no one left to continue family traditions? How does this change the family dynamics?