On December 30, 2021 I began and read in three days the book La Rete – which translates to “The Net” – written by an Italian author, Sara Allegrini. The book deeply struck me for its beauty and meaning, but especially for a third reason. It addresses the dramatic question I was personally facing at that time when a dear person in our family was not well: “How can you save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?”

This is the introduction to the book:

Daniel is left abandoned in the middle of the woods by a father who no longer knows what to do with him. Magdalena wakes up in a hut, confused, with the vague recollection of having ended up in hospital again after spending the evening in a nightclub. Elijah is convinced that he has been arrested, but he also finds himself in a wood, without a clue how he ended up in such a place. Why are they there? How can they escape? And who sends the strange messages which they find around them, pushing them to do things they never dreamed of doing?

The story will show that the answers to the above questions can only come from a greater presence, like that of an adult who has a true care for the other person, just the way they are, and is not afraid to challenge and embrace their free response, even when it’s negative.

Now, after two years and thanks to our friends at Human Adventure Books who also read the book and found it striking, the book has been translated and published.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone, especially teenagers and young adults. The Net will be available at the HAB book table at the New York Encounter and is already available for purchase on Amazon.

Matteo, Miami FL