I often thought about the right moment to tell this story, and I've come to understand that life makes you write when you're truly ready. I didn't do it sooner because it took time — and experience — to truly understand Karpathos.
It's called "The Island I Wasn't Looking For", and it will go on sale at the end of September 2026.
What it's about
It's about Karpathos. But it isn't a travel guide: you won't find itineraries, recommended hotels or lists of restaurants. It's a first-person account of four precise moments of my life: 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2024. Four times I came back to this island in the Dodecanese — and four times the island gave me back something different.
In 2014 I arrived there by chance, for work, without even knowing where it was on the map. I thought I'd stay one season. I came back every time I could.
The book tells the story of the people I met — the Karpathians, the colleagues, the passing travellers who became part of this story. It tells of the landscapes, but above all what those landscapes made me understand: about life, about work, about what it means to choose a place and keep coming back to it.
It's a book for those who love real travel — not the postcard kind, but the kind that changes something in you.
The book's website
In the meantime I've built something to introduce the book before it comes out: it's called lisolachenoncercavo.com, and it's the right place to understand what to expect from these pages. On the site you'll find:
- The characters of the book. Every day I add a new profile dedicated to the real people who appear in the story — not just names, but stories.
- The passages and the thoughts behind them. For every meaningful line in the book, I tell you what I was going through when I wrote it: what I felt, where I was, what led me to choose those words.
- The blog about Karpathos. Curiosities, places, food, traditions — for those who don't yet know the island and want to understand what I'm talking about.
Why September
Late September isn't a random date. It's the month when Karpathos empties of tourists and goes back to being itself. It's the month when, in 2014, I left the island for the first time — with the precise feeling that I would never stop coming back. It's the right moment to put this story into the hands of whoever wants to read it.
I can't wait.