Today on Up+Adam, we’re joined by powerhouse actress and author Marianne Leone. You may know her as Joanne Moltisanti on The Sopranos, or from working with legendary directors like Martin Scorsese, John Sayles, and Nancy Savoca. But today, she’s with us as the author of one of the most irreverent, heartfelt, and hilarious novels to come my way in a long time.

In this episode, Marianne opens up about her new book, Christina the Astonishing, a coming-of-age tale set in 1960s Boston where sainthood, sarcasm, immigrant grit, and Catholic guilt all collide. It’s fiction, yes, but it’s rooted in real truth, real grief, and real girlhood. Adam and Marianne go deep on what it means to write through pain, the sacred power of humor, and why rebellion can be holy when it comes from the heart.

This one’s for the readers and the rebels, the mothers and the misfits, and for anyone who’s ever tried to be “good” in a world that made them feel wrong.

• Get Christina the Astonishing: Buy on Amazon

• Read Marianne’s memoir Knowing Jesse: Buy on Amazon

• Visit Marianne Leone’s website: marianneleonecooper.com

• Follow her on Instagram: @strega54

• Learn more about the Jesse Cooper Foundation: jessecooperfoundation.org



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