It's 1975 and Jo Nowd is escaping to Italy with a suitcase full of paints and a broken heart. Working-class, feisty and sometimes inarticulate, she entertains wild dreams of becoming a great artist and a woman of the world, showing people back home, especially ex-flame Eamonn, exactly what she's capable of.
Jo's soul yearns for something deeper and her passionate love for the medieval art of Sienna leads her on a journey of discovery and a year of unexpected revelations.
Deceptively simple, yet profound and funny, a wiser girl is an original and fascinating read.