LOVING & LEAVING

This first installment of a memoir focuses on a young man’s rocky coming-of-age in America and abroad.

Debut author Lucci hails from a “small town, mostly known for its wine and wheat fields,” in southeastern Washington state. When he eventually moved to Chicago (referred to as “the Land” throughout the book) for college, life in the city was an eye opener. But first the author transports readers to Italy. In Florence, he made a half-hearted attempt to learn Italian in a language school. His real priorities for the trip turned out to be wine, cigarettes, and carousing with different women. He managed a lengthy stay in Italy by working as a farmhand. He learned the ways of horses and gained insights into the struggles of life. Back in the United States, he attended Roosevelt University, a place “built on the concept of social justice.” Alluring Chicago offered endless avenues of excitement and substances. Much of this volume covers his indulgences with Adderall, cocaine, and alcohol. Nevertheless, he managed a serious relationship with a woman named Alina. Yet their liaison proved to be a volatile affair full of drug use and heated domestic spats. Throughout it all, he would come to understand how “life is a continual process of learning.” The candid series opener moves along quickly. If readers become bored by, say, a meditation on the “meaningless conversations” found in Washington state, the scenery soon changes. While many developments are typical of such a work (a young person experimenting with city life and different drugs), the engrossing memoir offers rich details. Take Lucci’s summary of an education from Roosevelt University: “I left there thinking I knew everything. I did not know how to run a business, but I felt I knew how to run a country. I was so sure I possessed all the knowledge I would ever need, and it was no thanks to my professors. I thought I was finished, but I was only just beginning.” Ultimately, readers will appreciate the various lessons that the author learned about life, whether they came from a spilled wheelbarrow in the Italian countryside or the all-consuming effects of substance abuse.

Engaging and nuanced recollections from a restless young man.