It's not always easy to see the glass as half full when life throws difficulties your way. Yet Guido Marangoni has a gift for finding the positive in the unexpected—and an equal gift for capturing that optimism in his book Anna Smiles in the Rain.
Anna is the third of three daughters born to Guido and Daniela. Her arrival brought an inevitable upheaval to family life: Anna has Down syndrome. But this upheaval did not bring despair or depression. Instead, Guido discovers (and shares) the joy of living in the perfectly ordinary moments he spends with his daughter. Without resorting to sentimental clichés, the book takes the path of genuine reflection on life and its challenges—large or small—in a simple, conversational voice.
What emerges is a delightful story, one that sometimes seems almost too perfectly crafted to be true. Yet a glance at the Facebook page BuoneNotizieSecondoAnna, where Guido regularly shares photos and videos of his daughter, makes it clear that every word rings true—and filled with the quiet optimism of someone who can smile even in the rain.
Matteo Cinti, 2017