READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Do you relate to Holstein’s mysterious and powerful connection to a place—whether it’s a place you’ve been before or never visited—that has captured your imagination or similarly influenced your own understanding of yourself? Where and why? Discuss.

2. Holstein recounts the powerful experience she had reading Dante in her high school English class. Why do you think the Inferno made such a deep impression on her? Can you recall any work that has left an enduring mark on you and what it felt like to discover it for the first time?

3. An encounter with a certain teacher or mentor at a pivotal time can have a profoundly transformative effect on our lives. Is there a figure in your own life who offered guidance, introduced you to a new path or place, or significantly influenced your interests or trajectory in your youth? 

4. Holstein intertwines her narrative with stories of historical figures like Dante, Petrarch, Cola di Rienzo, and Freud. How do these figures and their connections to Rome enhance your understanding of her experiences and the city itself?

5. Throughout My Roman History, Holstein reflects on the reasons we study history. Do you find her reasons compelling? Are there any others that you would add?  How has your history education influenced your understanding of the world and yourself?

6. What does it mean to Holstein to be “romana”? How does she navigate the complexities of cultural affinity and identity throughout her memoir? If you’ve experienced living between cultures, discuss how you’ve approached those differences and, if applicable, how you’ve navigated the tensions between them and how they’ve enriched your life.

7. How did the famous photograph “American Girl in Italy” help to mold Holstein’s ideas about Italy and about being a young woman in the world? And how did those perceptions change over time? Are there any images that have defined your perceptions or aspirations?

8. Holstein recalled that, as an undergraduate student in the 1990s, she had naively thought that women’s fight for equality had essentially been won, but her subsequent experiences in graduate school challenged those perceptions. How do you relate to the woman’s story at the center of My Roman History? Do you see her story as a cautionary tale or as something you might wish to emulate? Discuss.

9. Holstein narrates the autobiographical portions of My Roman History using first-, second-, and third-person points of view, as well as past, present, and future tenses. How did these different narrative approaches change your experience of different chapters or passages? Was there a style that resonated with you in particular?

10. What lessons do you take from Holstein’s story about the process and nature of coming of age? Do you see parallels between her journey and your own? What has your path to self-discovery taught you about life and learning? What other versions of yourself might exist?

11. In what ways did My Roman History expand or deepen your knowledge of Rome? What was the most interesting thing you learned about the city or its history?