Reviews of A Place Called Grace

Cathartic tales of pain and pleasure; lean and authentic

January 5, 2020

Candid. Flowing. Direct. I felt her frustration. Alison has courageously written a story of struggle against forces of life not of her own making. I wanted to keep reading because I wanted her to win. I felt the pain of her youth. I wanted life to make it right, to balance the scales. It kept me going.

A beautiful woman. Italy. Intimacy. Handsome men. Movie sets. Acting. Sex. But what of it? On the surface, it sounded like a life of glamour. She revealed it to be a myth. To a guy, it sounded sexy. But to the woman living it… it wasn’t. How does that work for her? Will that help her find the key to unlock her anxieties and insecurities?

She didn’t lose me by writing about layers of mental gyrations looking for an unlocked door in her mind. No, the words and actions were real and lean and paced in a cadence that kept me guessing when the next cycle of pain and pleasure would turn. And when her words took me into another day of disappointment I wanted to reach out and hug her. For in her candor she made me care for her because she was authentic. The gift she gave me with this book is the feeling of compassion.

This book is a find!

December 3, 2019

Alison Rand has crafted a beautiful memoir about her time in Italy. It is about throwing caution to the wind, climbing out of one’s comfort zone, and exploring what life has to offer — the good and the bad. Told with honesty and wit, there are set backs and successes (such as life), but one is always carried away with the force of her prose. I look forward to reading the sequel.

“…during this trip, she met an urbane, Italian man, and this relationship led her to move to Italy to start a new life. It’s in that country that the bulk of the memoir unfolds. There, Rand’s “existential loneliness” only temporarily relented when she expanded her circle of friends, landed acting gigs, or had the attention of a man. After three years, Rand returned home to New York City, at which point the story veers sharply from a fish-out-of-water journey to a brief exploration of grief and self-improvement. Rand writes in a matter-of-fact style throughout the memoir, which makes for a smooth read.”

Sincere and readable memoir

March 21, 2019

From the time she was a child, Alison experiences tragic loss and challenges that seem to toughen her up for what is to come. In this eminently readable memoir, Alison confronts her parent’s divorce, separation from her siblings, notably from her beloved brother, and an ill-fated marriage which ends in divorce. As a single actress from New York, in her early thirties, she decides to start a new life in Rome. Without a lot of confidence, a job, a place to live, or comfort in Italian, the adventure begins. She reveals ingenuity, a sense of humor, willingness to make many new friends and pure grit. The combination of delightful stories of obstacles and successes in Rome and her personal problems give this memoir its strength.