Finding My Bella Vita (Pia Miranda, Hachette)

Pia Miranda’s memoir, Finding My Bella Vita, is like a long phone call with a friend. Based in Melbourne, Miranda is an actor best known for her role as Josie Alibrandi in the film adaptation of Melina Marchetta’s coming-of-age novel Looking for Alibrandi. Josie grapples with her Italian Australian identity and seeks to define her place in the world; here, too, Miranda mirrors that quest. Finding My Bella Vita offers an intimate monologue from a talented storyteller with a self-deprecating and light touch. It is Miranda’s cathartic journey towards understanding who she is and where she’s going as she turns 50. While there are no deep revelations, her story is interesting: the travails of the acting life, auditions in a brutal LA, a very near miss with Harvey Weinstein, the tribulations of a profession based on appearances, the reality of long stints without work and the difficulty of moving on from a role that made her so well known. Miranda also discusses her experience on the reality TV show Survivor through the lens of suburban motherhood. The book’s strengths include Miranda’s reflections on her grandparents, connecting to her Sicilian roots (with plentiful food references), and contracting the autoimmune skin condition vitiligo. Finding My Bella Vita may appeal particularly to readers interested in acting or Italian Australian heritage and women in their 40s and 50s who grew up with Alibrandi.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Joanne Shiells is a former editor of Books+Publishing and a current high school teacher. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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Category: Reviews