To Sicily with Love Summary, Characters and Themes

To Sicily with Love by Jennifer Probst is a heartfelt journey of self-discovery, healing, and connection set against the vibrant backdrop of Sicily. 

The story follows Aurora, a driven woman grappling with grief, loneliness, and the collapse of her personal and professional life. When faced with profound loss and emotional upheaval, she embarks on a transformative trip to Sicily—her mother’s homeland—where she uncovers family secrets, builds new relationships, and learns to listen to her inner voice. The novel explores themes of love, identity, and belonging, weaving a tender narrative that celebrates the power of roots and renewal.

Summary

Aurora begins the story as a successful, ambitious woman whose polished exterior hides deep emotional pain. After her mother’s death, Aurora struggles privately with grief she hasn’t fully confronted, while publicly maintaining her podcast and career.

Her relationship with her boyfriend, Jason, is strained; their emotional distance comes to a head at a public event where Aurora’s carefully constructed confidence unravels. Jason suggests a break, believing Aurora must face her challenges alone to reclaim her strength. This leaves her devastated, compounded by the setback of her book’s publication being delayed due to concerns about her instability.

In the aftermath of these losses, Aurora feels isolated and unmoored. While sifting through her belongings, she finds a DNA testing kit Jason once gave her—a chance to uncover unknown family connections.

With little left to lose, Aurora sends off the test and contemplates the possibility of reconnecting with her roots, hoping it might fill the void she’s been carrying.

Her journey takes her to Sicily, the land of her mother’s birth, where she is both nervous and hopeful. Upon arrival, she meets her cousin Catena and chooses to stay in the coastal town of Sciacca, seeking both proximity to family and the solitude she needs for reflection.

Initially, Aurora wrestles with writer’s block and the pressure of rebuilding her public image. Yet, as she immerses herself in Sicilian culture, the island’s rhythm begins to stir something inside her.

Aurora’s exploration reveals complicated family dynamics, including long-standing estrangements. Despite initial feelings of overwhelm and alienation, she slowly earns the tentative acceptance of relatives and uncovers fragments of her mother’s history, which deepen her emotional connection to this new place.

With encouragement from her therapist, Aurora begins to question her old life—her past love, her relentless career ambitions—and listens more closely to her own needs and desires.

During her stay, Aurora forms a close bond with Quint, a local chef tied to the family, whose warmth and understanding offer a welcome contrast to her life in New York. Their growing friendship gradually turns romantic, symbolizing Aurora’s slow but steady healing.

Through shared meals, stories, and time spent in the Sicilian landscape—such as an evocative visit to an olive farm—Aurora starts to experience a profound sense of belonging she has never felt before.

As her emotional wounds begin to heal, Aurora’s writing also gains clarity and passion, reflecting her evolving self. Yet the approaching return to New York fills her with anxiety.

At a farewell dinner surrounded by her newfound family, she feels transformed—both by love and the deep roots she has discovered. The experience gives her renewed purpose and courage to embrace an authentic, fuller version of herself.

Back in New York, Aurora feels disconnected from her old life. Though she resumes work and reconnects with friends, the warmth and meaning she found in Sicily linger in her heart.

Jason reaches out again, but Aurora knows their paths have diverged irreparably. When Quint unexpectedly arrives in New York, their reunion is passionate and meaningful, a testament to the changes Aurora has undergone.

Together, they navigate her life in the city and discuss their future. Aurora experiences a moment of clarity, listening deeply to her inner voice, which guides her back to Sicily—a place that now feels like home.

Meanwhile, her manuscript inspired by her transformative journey receives early acceptance and critical praise, marking both a professional and personal triumph. The novel closes on this note of healing, hope, and the promise of a new beginning anchored in love, family, and self-acceptance.

Characters

Aurora

Aurora stands at the emotional center of To Sicily with Love. From the outset, she is portrayed as ambitious, driven, and outwardly successful, having built a career around her podcast and writing.

However, beneath this façade, Aurora is deeply vulnerable and carries unresolved grief over the loss of her mother. She also bears lingering wounds from a fraught relationship with her family.

Her journey begins in New York, where her tightly controlled life starts to unravel following a series of personal and professional setbacks. These include the death of her mother, the end of her relationship with Jason, and a delayed book release.

These crises force Aurora into a state of introspection, revealing her emotional fragility and her longing for authentic connection. Her trip to Sicily, catalyzed by a DNA test, becomes the crucible for transformation.

In Sicily, she confronts her mother’s past, forms new familial bonds, and experiences genuine belonging for the first time. Aurora gradually sheds her defensive armor, embracing vulnerability, romance, and the traditions of her ancestral home.

By the novel’s end, she emerges not only as a woman healed by love and self-acceptance but as an artist inspired by her own story. She is now ready to embrace a life shaped by purpose and authentic connection.

Jason

Jason is initially presented as Aurora’s boyfriend and emotional anchor in New York. However, his role shifts as the story unfolds.

He is pragmatic and caring but also recognizes the limits of their relationship. Aurora’s unresolved grief begins to affect her ability to function and engage with life.

Jason’s decision to step back—insisting that Aurora needs to find her own strength without relying on him—marks a turning point for Aurora. Though his actions may seem harsh at first, Jason’s intentions are rooted in love and a desire for Aurora to experience genuine growth and independence.

He represents the stability and routine of Aurora’s old life. His eventual exit allows her to explore new possibilities.

Their breakup, while painful, is depicted as necessary for both their personal evolutions. Jason ultimately becomes a symbol of Aurora’s past rather than her future.

Catena and the Sicilian Family

Aurora’s cousin Catena, along with other extended relatives in Sicily, embodies the warmth and complexity of family bonds that have been long neglected or misunderstood. Catena is welcoming yet cautious, navigating her own feelings about Aurora’s mother’s estrangement from the family.

Through Catena, Aurora is gradually drawn into the rhythms and rituals of Sicilian life—shared meals, communal gatherings, and the nuanced legacy of their shared past. The family’s initial hesitance gives way to acceptance.

Their presence helps Aurora piece together her mother’s history and understand intergenerational wounds. They also help her experience a profound sense of belonging.

Catena and the broader family dynamic challenge Aurora’s assumptions about heritage, love, and forgiveness. They provide both the support and the context necessary for her personal healing.

Quint

Quint enters the narrative as a local Sicilian chef closely connected to Aurora’s family. He quickly becomes a catalyst for her transformation.

Quint is warm, grounded, and deeply tied to the traditions and landscape of Sicily. He offers Aurora not just romance but a new perspective on life itself.

Their relationship begins with a tentative friendship that gradually deepens as Aurora lets down her guard, allowing herself to be seen and supported. Quint’s patience and empathy help Aurora rediscover joy, creativity, and passion—both personally and professionally.

Their love story is woven through shared meals, honest conversations, and moments of vulnerability. Quint symbolizes Aurora’s willingness to embrace the unknown and trust in the possibility of happiness.

Quint’s eventual journey to New York to reunite with Aurora further demonstrates his commitment. Their relationship culminates in a bond built on mutual respect, shared dreams, and the courage to forge a new path together.

Aurora’s Mother

Though Aurora’s mother is physically absent for most of the novel, her presence looms large over the narrative. The complex, sometimes fraught relationship between mother and daughter shapes Aurora’s worldview, her fears, and her ambitions.

Through memories, letters, and stories uncovered in Sicily, Aurora gradually comes to understand the choices and sacrifices that defined her mother’s life. This retrospective journey allows Aurora to reconcile with her mother’s legacy, heal old wounds, and find compassion for both her mother and herself.

In this way, Aurora’s mother serves as both a haunting reminder of unresolved pain and a guiding force. She ultimately leads Aurora toward reconciliation, forgiveness, and self-discovery.

Themes

Struggles of Identity, Grief, and Self-Reclamation in a Modern Woman’s Journey

At the heart of To Sicily with Love lies a profound exploration of identity that is both fractured and yearning for wholeness. Aurora’s journey is not just a physical relocation but an emotional excavation where grief over her mother’s death and the collapse of her relationship with Jason catalyze a deeper reckoning with who she is beyond her career and public persona.

The narrative probes the way grief can disrupt the fragile masks people wear, revealing hidden vulnerabilities that demand confrontation. Aurora’s inability to process her mother’s death initially traps her in denial and emotional isolation, reflecting a universal struggle where mourning becomes entangled with self-worth.

Her eventual decision to seek connection through a DNA test symbolizes a yearning to reclaim lost parts of herself and piece together a fragmented identity. This theme is rendered with subtlety as it ties personal loss with a broader quest for belonging, challenging the protagonist—and by extension, the reader—to redefine identity beyond external success and relationships.

Dynamics of Familial Estrangement and the Redemptive Power of Cultural Roots in Healing Emotional Trauma

Another deeply woven theme is the intricate relationship between familial estrangement and the healing potential embedded in cultural heritage. Aurora’s initial alienation from her Sicilian relatives and her mother’s fractured past set the stage for exploring how family can both wound and heal.

The narrative highlights how long-held silences and unresolved conflicts within families complicate identity and emotional stability. Yet, the story also illuminates the transformative power of reconnecting with one’s roots, both culturally and emotionally.

Aurora’s immersion in Sicilian life, traditions, and community awakens dormant parts of herself, allowing her to experience belonging and acceptance that she lacked in New York. This reconciliation with heritage acts as a salve to her trauma, underscoring a theme that identity is not merely self-constructed but profoundly shaped and restored through connection to place and lineage.

The Sicilian landscape and traditions become metaphors for regeneration, suggesting that healing from emotional wounds requires embracing the full spectrum of one’s origins, however complex or painful they may be.

Interplay Between Self-Discovery and Romantic Reawakening as Catalysts for Personal Empowerment

Aurora’s romantic evolution with Quint is far more than a subplot; it functions as a mirror and catalyst for her internal transformation. The theme here explores how intimate relationships, when grounded in authenticity and mutual respect, can ignite personal empowerment rather than dependency.

Aurora’s initial co-dependency on Jason and her career’s validation contrasts sharply with the nuanced, gradual romance with Quint, which reflects a healthy intertwining of self-love and connection. Their relationship encourages Aurora to listen to her inner voice, trust her emotional needs, and redefine love on her own terms.

This thematic thread challenges conventional romantic narratives by positioning love not as a rescue but as a supportive force in the protagonist’s autonomous growth. The gradual build of trust and vulnerability with Quint symbolizes the healing power of healthy intimacy and how it can help individuals reclaim their agency and rewrite their life stories.

Tension Between Public Persona and Private Truth in the Pursuit of Authentic Creative Expression

A compelling undercurrent throughout the novel is the tension between Aurora’s public persona and her private truth, particularly as it pertains to her creative work as a podcaster and writer. This theme examines the challenges modern creatives face when their art is tied to external validation and social image.

Aurora’s initial attempt to maintain composure and project confidence crumbles under the weight of her emotional pain, exposing the vulnerability that often lurks beneath polished facades. Her writer’s block and career setbacks serve as metaphors for the dissonance between superficial success and genuine self-expression.

As Aurora embraces her emotional journey and cultural rediscovery, her creative voice gains clarity and authenticity, culminating in a work that resonates deeply both personally and professionally. 

This theme resonates with anyone who struggles to balance the demands of public life with the need to express one’s true self, highlighting that true artistic fulfillment emerges from honesty and emotional courage.