Hello yall! So most of you already know that over the past few years I’ve been working on a book and I finally finished and now the hardcover and ebook of Naked (in Italy) is available for pre-order on Amazon (oh! And for those of you asking, yes, it is also available on Amazon in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, etc). If you’re in the US and prefer the indie route (support your local bookstores!) You can order it on through IndieBound or in stores on October 1 when it’s officially released. This is definitely the most exciting/terrifying thing that has happened to me since pushing my son out of my lady garden. Publishing a book is like birth, right? Kind of?
Official Description of Naked (in Italy)
New author M.E. Evans debuts with a profoundly intimate and wildly entertaining portrait of a young woman trying to cope with life’s lemons by drowning in limoncello.
If you’ve ever set foot in a foreign country or picked up a travel memoir you probably think you already know what M.E. Evans’ Naked (in Italy) is about: a dreamy personal account of the life-altering beauty that is Italy. And sure, that’s in there, nestled somewhere between the bruised ego, chronic depression, vagina paintings, a boyfriend with billowing chest hair and a mother-in-law who forcibly irons your underwear.
When she studies abroad in Florence after her brother’s death, Evans envisions starting over and becoming the kind of woman known for some vague unnamed success, like the ones in movies who have cocktail parties with friends named Gregory Something the Third, instead, she realizes that personal growth isn’t rainbows and unicorns because unfortunately no matter where you go, there you are.
With Naked (in Italy), Evans questions the myth of la dolce vita and reveals the struggle of fitting in and being an outsider when all you really want is a seat at the table (preferably one where your new mother-in-law isn’t hurling pans nearby). But this isn’t a sad book: Evans’ journey is incredibly funny as she marries the tragedy and hilarity of the human condition as only she can. Evans’ wit, compassion, and vulnerability make reading this book a rarely authentic experience. You’ll cry, you’ll cackle, and you’ll want Evans to be your best friend.
This is a memoir for people who crave honest storytelling and who like a little laughter with their pathos. Naked (in Italy) is heartbreaking, brilliantly funny, and the perfect book to read on holiday.
Unofficial Description
This is a book about what it’s like to move to Italy, fall on your ass, destroy the language, get married, and wrestle your panties away from your mother-in-law who has never heard of personal vagina boundaries. It’s also about anxiety, depression, daddy issues, general issues, relationships, vulnerability, growth, regression, poodles, and pirating. As in, “Ahoy, captain.”
Flash-forward almost twenty years later, to the day that I told Dad,
Naked (in Italy) Chapter One
against my better judgment, that I wanted to go to graduate school. It was at our usual place, a café that overlooked an organic market in downtown Salt Lake City. I got there first since I lived nearby, but it didn’t take me long to spot him over the aisles of cricket-gut protein bars and essential-oil douches.
If you buy the book and enjoy it, please leave a review and tell your friends, sister-wives, and brother-husbands. Ask your local library to carry it and local bookstores. Probably don’t tell your grandma unless she’s a big fan of the majestic capybara, swearing, and general debauchery.
I’m so excited/scared. [Deep breath] LET’S DO THIS!
Questions or comments about the book? Put it in the section below.
