Identity &
Belonging
"Home isn't a place. It's the people who don't ask you to explain yourself."
The most fundamental question in the book: Where is home?
And the answer: home isn't found. It's built.
What This Theme Explores
When you leave your country at 25 with a suitcase and a dream, identity becomes a question you carry with you. In Italy, Elio was simply Italian. In the USA, he was “the Italian guy.” In England, he changed his accent and realized he was changing his skin.
Each country stripped away a layer of assumed identity and added a new one. The book traces this evolution not as a loss, but as a deepening. Multicultural identity isn't about choosing one culture over another. It's about holding multiple truths at once.
For the 281 million international migrants worldwide, this is not an abstract question. It's daily life. And for their children — like Giulia — it's the water they swim in.
Milan, Italy
How It Appears in the Book
🇮🇹 Italy
The first home is never just a place — it's a voice you carry inside. The smell of grandma's kitchen. The sound of the church bells.
🇬🇧 England
Elio changes his accent to fit in, then realizes he's changing something deeper. Language shapes identity more than we think.
🇳🇴 Norway
After 15 years, belonging isn't about being accepted. It's about accepting yourself — all the versions of yourself.
Paris
Dublin
New York
Norway
Reflection Questions
- • Where is home for you? Is it a place, a person, or a feeling?
- • Have you ever changed something about yourself to fit in? What happened?
- • Can you belong to more than one culture at the same time?
- • What would you pack if you had to move tomorrow?