Linda Cardillo

As a little girl, I sat in my grandmother's kitchen and listened to her chant the spells that cast out the headaches and the heartaches of the women of the neighborhood who sought her help. Years later, I discovered a different kind of my grandmother’s magic—a packet of letters written in the same limpid Italian that had mesmerized me in childhood. Those letters became the seeds from which my first novel, Dancing on Sunday Afternoons, emerged, nurtured by forays into the unrelenting sunshine of southern Italy and nourished by my own memories of growing up Italian in America.

Someone once asked me if I had learned the spells from my grandmother. While I didn’t become a healer in the sense that she was, I hope that I am casting my own magic with the stories that I tell.

Bid on My Baskets in Brenda Novak's On-line Auction for the Cure of Diabetes

As many of you know, many members of my family (including my father and my nephew) suffer from diabetes.  That is why I'm honored to participate in the annual fundraising auction conducted by my friend and fellow author Brenda Novak.  This year, I'm offering one of my Italian baskets, "Sit Down to Dinner with the Dante Family," and have also shared in donating an Amish-themed basket from the Three Glindas (Geri Krotow, Ann DeFee and me). I hope you'll stop by the auction and contribute to a cure for diabetes!

Praise for Across the Table

“With its realistically complex characters, persuasive plot anchored around life’s joys and sorrows, and abundance of lusciously described food, Across the Table is a splendidly nourishing tale.”

--John Charles, Chicago Tribune

Reader Groups

Click here for a list of questions to guide your discussion of Across the Table. I'm happy to join the conversation, either in person or by phone, depending on your location.  Contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested.  I am also collaborating with Reader's Circle, which supports reading groups.