Lucia Maniani is one of six daughters born to Italian immigrants in the 1960s. Her history and her own mother's account are translated through the memories of stories told to her daughter. The past, the present, and the future have similar voices filled with faith, fear, and humor. Strength combats betrayal, imagination rescues from depression, and love does battle with apathy. Three generations of Manianis present their faces to the world, and discovering who one woman is can't be done without learning who she has come from and who she leaves behind. The anchor in this swirling storm of personhood is memory. Ancora makes a case for the importance of telling stories and of remembering them.