A mother tells the story of her bond with her daughter Fiorangela, a young woman with Down syndrome. Her gaze extends outward—to her husband, her two older sons, relatives, friends, the whole world that shaped this life. Yet Fiorangela herself is the heart of it. Her enthusiasm, her gentleness, her love for life and for the people around her—these made her the center of the family, a source of consolation and joy to all who know her. The author is an elementary school teacher, actively involved in her parish, the Red Cross, and a nursing home.
Fiorangela's early years were hard and painful. She went on to attend preschool and elementary school. Today, at twenty-seven, she trains at the Bresciana Handicapped Sports Center, where she specializes in swimming. Her parents built a large pool near their home, where Fiorangela trains and where neighbors and friends are always welcome. Fiorangela thrives in their company. Friendship pushes her to grow, to give all her energy, all the thoughtful and joyful parts of herself.
Her smile runs through every page of this book. It moves us deeply—perhaps because her family has known real suffering and loss, most tragically the death of her beloved older brother Paolo, killed at twenty-three in an accident at work. It is Fiorangela who, in those dark days, "invites everyone to look up, to where true happiness dwells." And it is she who, when her mother visits elderly people, disabled people, the sick, knows with simple grace how to approach someone in pain and whisper: "You know, I prayed for you last night." These passages are moving. They demand reflection. The mother says: "Fiorangela and I came to see that shared suffering—that is the great force that binds us to all our friends who suffer. Because we have suffered too, we can truly understand them, we stand with them, sharing in the joys and sorrows life offers, accepting each day as it comes, without making tragedy of it." And then, speaking to a mother frightened because she has just had a child who is "different," she writes words of searing gentleness, words that hold the whole story of her life with Fiorangela. She ends: "Whatever your little one's condition, you will come to see more and more clearly that to him, more than to others, the Father has revealed the mysteries of the Kingdom."
— Natalia Livi, 1998