When Frankie brings a special friend home to her conservative Italian-American family, the two encounter a myriad of cultural obstacles, make an unexpected ally, and try to open stubborn minds in 1970s New England.

Growing up in a big, rowdy, Italian-American New England family myself, Sundays were always noisy, cousins were always rowdy, and food was always plentiful. I wouldn't change my family or my childhood for the world.

However, as I grew up and ventured out into the rest of the world, I began to see the imperfections and flaws in my warm, loving extended family as well. I noticed culturally inherent racism, bias, and homophobia, especially in the older generations, and even among some of the relatives I love the most. It's been an ongoing struggle to reconcile my intense love for my extended family with our sometimes diametrically opposed world views.

To write this story, I took parts of my own history - the Sunday dinner at basement picnic tables was my parents' first date, for example - and intertwined it with experiences shared by friends and colleagues. My hope was to create a relatable, loving, deeply flawed family narrative to use as a tool to shed light on some of the various biases - both subtle and glaring - still common in our society today, and start a conversation about how to move forward.

Thank you so much for reading!