About the Author

Susan Fish is a writer and editor living in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada with her husband and dog and sometimes with her adult children. She has two Masters degrees, one in Religion and Culture, one in Theological Studies. Her writing has appeared in various literary and trade publications, and she has written widely for the nonprofit sector. On her first visit to Italy, Susan learned to make pasta and almost wandered into a prison while looking for the opera house. On her second trip--a whirlwind 24-hour solo research trip--she accidentally drank from the wrong water fountain, and lived to tell the tale. At home, she gets around by bicycle, hosts play-reading parties, and stays up too late reading and writing. Renaissance is her third novel.

Reviews

"In Renaissance, Susan Fish gives us a rare combination of two journeys: a vivid external tour of Florence, Italy, and a deep interior path through a woman's struggle. With exquisite detail and brave authenticity, she portrays protagonist Liz Fane's established view of herself and along the way takes us on yet another journey...into our own too-sure identities. Grazie, Susan. Grazie." --Nancy Rue, Christy Award-winning author, speaker, and teacher "A book to transport you--inside the walls of a convent in the hills above Florence, where ancient olive trees await rebirth after necessary pruning, where nuns chant the holy hours and, from the nunnery kitchen, churn out delectable Florentine soups and stews and pastas and breads, all of which begin to fill an insatiable hunger. Thousands of miles from home and heartbreak, a woman brought to her knees by an unspoken sorrow, slowly, slowly comes to the dawning knowing that love--and only love--is the necessary force for any chance at rebirth. Renaissance, indeed. Susan Fish's fluency in all things Florentine, from the twists and the turns in ancient streets to the tabacchi (convenience store) where bus tickets are bought, is part of the magic in this novel that will carry you far from whatever might otherwise weigh you down. But so, too, is the realism and the fine-grained brushstroke with which Fish paints her portraits of friendship and one woman's struggle to let go of her pain and open herself once again to the love that had never really gone away. You'll be grateful for the overseas journey without ever having to leave your coziest armchair. And you'll consider deeply, perhaps, the hurts in your own life that you, too, might have clung to for far, far too long." --Barbara Mahany, author of The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God's First Sacred Text "Fish is at her best in her creation of memorable characters, and they're everywhere in Renaissance."
--Jessica Walters, radixmagazine.com "Susan Fish tells the story of a woman seeking her own renaissance, trying to find her way through a dark wood where all the familiar trail blazes are missing... A profound story of a mid-life renaissance."
--Bob Trube, bobonbooks.com "Besides well-drawn and interesting characters and plot, the writing is as luminescent as Florentine Renaissance artist Filippo Lippi's Adoration in the Forest from 1459. Renaissance is a lovely read and a portrait of Elizabeth Fane's renaissance." --J. Brent Bill, Englewood Review of Books