Incontinent on the Continent : My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy

To smooth over five decades of constant clashing, determined daughter Jane Christmas decides to take her arthritic, incontinent, and domineering mother, Valeria, to Italy. Will being at the epicenter of the Renaissance spark a renaissance in their relationship? As they drag each other from the Amalfi Coast to Tuscany — walkers, shawls, and a mobile pharmacy of medications in tow — they find new ways to bitch and bicker, in the process reassessing who they are and how they might reconcile. Unflinching and often hilarious, this book speaks to all women who have faced that special challenge of making friends with Mom. The Author And Her Strong-willed Mother Embark On A Month-long Road Trip. As The Two Zip Along The Winding Amalfi Coast, Traverse St. Peter's Square In Rome, Bounce Over The Wavves To Sicily, And Pad Around A Rented Trullo In Alberobello --walker, Biscuits, Shawls, And Medications In Tow -- The Bickering And Bitterness Of Years Past Bubble To The Surface.-- Cover, P.4. Extending The Olive Branch -- En Route To Italy -- Alberobello, Martina Franca, Locorotondo -- Alberobello -- San Mango D'aquino, Reggio Di Calabria, Taormina -- Sicily: Racalmuto, Agrigento -- Messina, Catanzaro Marina -- Castel Del Monte, Potenza -- Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Capri - Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius -- Viterbo -- Foligno, Montefalco, Santa Maria Degli Angeli -- Civita Castellana, Siena, San Gimignano -- Pisa, Florence -- Rome -- Venice -- Making The Effort. Jane Christmas. Offers a travelogue about the author's trip through Italy with her mother, the series of misadventures they experienced along the way, and the lessons she learned from her mother about being one after the trip.