On December 27, 2023, Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, one of Italy’s leading experts in international politics, is suddenly struck by an aortic dissection. Within hours, his former life is over—a life that had just been turned upside down by his encounter with Tiziana Panella — journalist, television host, and writer — a meeting that revealed to both of them the quiet beauty of mature love.

The incident throws them into a journey of fear and pain: the coma, intensive care, the long rehabilitation. Alongside all this come the waiting, the anguish, the disorientation. It’s a difficult road, but also one marked by empathy, courage, and determination, which ultimately leads them, transformed, into a new life. A life filled with greater awareness and deeper happiness. Not a diminished version of what once was, but a new dimension — an “augmented reality.”

Panella and Parsi don’t set out to give lessons, only to share an honest account of what first seemed unutterable, and then slowly found the words to be told. In doing so, they turn a private, intimate experience into a story that speaks to anyone whose life has been put to the test.

Do you want to know more about the authors?

Visit Tiziana Panella‘s page!
Visit Vittorio E. Parsi‘s page!