Where You End, I Begin

by Rossana Weitekamp

Spurned by his true love as a young man in Procida, Italy, Nico Dioguardi decides to abandon his life there and enter the U.S. through unknown relatives residing in Brooklyn, New York. His past, however, haunts him in unexpected ways, forcing several returns to his native village as he attempts to start anew in America.

Nico's reappearances in Procida prompt new choices and emotional complications, greatly impacting his wife and two children in America, who fall victim to his struggles. The family’s grief, hope, and survival are narrated through the voice and perspective of Nico's young daughter, Ana, who soon learns that a well-kept family secret is waiting to be discovered.

Where You End, I Begin is a sweeping multi-generational saga detailing the challenges of several Italian immigrant families and how their choices affected the lives of those who loved them.

View the locales that served as an inspiration for the story at

350 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2022

Reviews

[Nicole Ouellette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is one that sucks you in from the get go, complete with heartache, family strife, and so many details that you are convinced that it is a completely true story (I have been informed that it is not). The prose is well done, lending you insight to the characters’ internal states without feeling invasive. I recommend making a character diagram to keep everyone straight, but I loved the Agatha Christie-esque method of introducing so many characters at once. I especially liked the transition named by the title; Where you End, and Where I Begin was the perfect way to divide a book like this. My only wish is that the first person narrative had stayed until the end of the book, as it was slightly jarring to switch back to third person after getting to know Ana so intimately. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!

[Raymond Saltini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Special

Where You End, I Begin is an authentic reliving of struggle and survival across generations, continents, and cultures and how the enduring violence of war and betrayal destroys spirits and exposes the most vulnerable to abuse and despair. Pivotal moments come to life with palpable dread from honest storytelling and precision crafting of time and place even as the reader is propelled through a tangle of familial mysteries and their unraveling. Through its darkest chapters and strongest vernacular, Where You End, I Begin reasonates with cathartic universal experience and understanding.

[Seamusjr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!

I absolutely loved it. It's a multigenerational saga starting with a family immigrating from Italy. How they acclimate to America but still the father's heart is in his homeland. Her description of Procida was beautiful. Makes you want to go there. I can't wait for her next book!