At sixty-six, Lorenzo Carcaterra finds it easier to reflect on the past than ruminate on the future. “By the time you reach my age,” he writes, “you have witnessed too much loss to not be aware of what lies ahead.” Best known for his #1 New York Times bestseller Sleepers, Carcaterra has had a lengthy career as a writer. His two most recent novels Tin Badges and Payback centered on a retired NYPD detective who solves crime around the city with the help of his cyber genius nephew.

In addition to writing for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times Magazine, Details, and Maxim, he is also a former writer/producer for Law & Order. With THREE DREAMERS: A Memoir of Family (Ballantine Books; On Sale: April 27, 2021), Carcaterra shows a softer, more personal side to himself, aiming his natural storytelling prowess at his own life and the women who defined it.

His Italian grandmother, Nonna Maria, gave Lorenzo his first taste of a loving home during the summers he spent with her as a teenager on Ischia, an island off the coast of Naples. With her kindness, humor, and the same formidable strength she employed to make secret trips for food when the Nazis occupied Ischia during World War II, she instilled in him the importance of community, providing shelter for a boy whose home life was difficult.

His mother, Rafaella, dealt with daily hardships: a loveless and abusive marriage, the burden of debt, and a life of dread. Though the lessons she taught were harsh, they would drive Lorenzo from the world they shared to the better one she always prayed he would find.

And then there is his wife, Susan, a gifted editor and his professional champion. Their marriage lasted three decades before her death from lung cancer in 2013. While their upbringings were wildly different, their love and friendship never wavered—and neither did her faith in Lorenzo’s talent and potential as a writer.

Standing with his children near Nonna Maria’s grave on a recent trip to Ischia, Lorenzo realized how much of his life has been shaped by the women who taught him how to look for joy and overcome sorrow. THREE DREAMERS is his tribute to them. In the vein of books like Kelly Corrigan’s Glitter and Glue or George Hodgeman’s Bettyville, this memoir from Carcaterra is by turns funny, thoughtful, and poignant. While the stories are deeply personal, they’re also a celebration of the universal truths – about the importance of family, community, and love, and how each of us is shaped by the people in our lives. I look forward to discussing this beautiful memoir with you for coverage this spring. 

About the Author:
Lorenzo Carcaterra is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Safe Place, Sleepers, Apaches, Gangster, Street Boys, Paradise City, Chasers, Midnight Angels, The Wolf, Tin Badges, and Payback. He is a former writer/producer for Law & Order and has written for National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times Magazine, Details, and Maxim. His next novel is about a detective based on his grandmother, Nonna Maria. He lives in New York City.

Early praise for THREE DREAMERS:

“Elegantly and sensitively written, a book that forges strong connections across four generations.” —Kirkus Reviews 

“With keen perception and even-keeled acceptance, Carcaterra shares the stories of his grandmother, mother, and wife as he traces how their relationships encouraged him to pursue his dream of becoming a writer.” —Booklist 

“Engaging…this reflective memoir gives nuance to the dark world [Carcaterra] portrays in his novels.” —Library Journal

“Lorenzo Carcaterra looks back over his life and writes of the women that shaped his world view. From boyhood summers on Ischia, Lorenzo's Italian grandmother fed him stories and great meals, which built his imagination. His mother, Raffaella, through grief and hardship, sharpened the edges of his ambition, while his wife, Susan, an important journalist, served as the first reader of his bestselling books and a champion of his work. This deeply personal memoir weaves beauty, hilarity and loss into a glorious tapestry.” —Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of Tony’s Wife 

“I loved Lorenzo Carcaterra’s Three Dreamers, a poignant, unflinching, and uniquely powerful memoir that tells the story of the three women in his life - his grandmother Maria, his mother Raffaela, and his late wife Susan. Carcaterra paints a fascinating, moving, and page-turning portrait of these unforgettable women, each a product of her time, culture, and even location, whether Hell’s Kitchen in New York City or the beautiful island of Ischia, in Italy. But even more than that, through his transcendent talent, honesty, and emotional intelligence, Carcaterra has created a work that explores what women mean to the men in their lives, writ large. This is a book about love, about family, and about forgiveness. Every mother should read this book.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline  

“Three Dreamers is a stunning triptych—a plaiting together of the lives of three powerful women who, together, have shaped the life and outlook of one man. This beautiful memoir is Lorenzo Carcaterra’s tribute to the most important women in his life, and a paean to joy, sorrow, and love.” —Elissa Altman, author of Motherland