As a forty-year-old Italian American woman is going through the painful and transformative process of saying goodbye to her mother who is losing her battle against breast cancer, her life takes an unexpected turn. What comes next is something no one can be prepared for. As a butterfly, she will transform into the woman she was meant to be, and this book speaks eloquently of that transformation. 

Nocero goes through a journey of self-discovery through grief as she takes readers along on her grieving process and her toxic workplace, where she works as a federal prosecutor. Her career becomes the reason for the intense stress she faces in life, causing her anxiety and depression and even tinnitus, a somatic nervous disorder. Nocero resigns from her post in the end due to the toxic administration at her workplace after a tumultuous emotional journey. After being freed from the burden of working in an emotionally draining environment, Nocero sets out to see a lighthouse in El Camino de Santiago in Spain —  the same one she saw in a dream after her beloved mother’s death.

An emotionally charged memoir with a moving narrative, Butterfly Awakens: A Memoir of Transformation Through Grief by Meg Nocero is exceptionally well-written, raw, and an inspiring tale detailing the metamorphosis of a woman as she journeys from grief to a place of healing, meaning, and personal transformation. Her spiritual connection with her mother and her transformation process is authentically elaborated in this beautiful memoir. A must-read for those struggling with the loss of someone dear, this book tells us how to cope with loss, how to move past our pain while holding on to the memory of those who have left us. This story offers a plethora of lessons learned through Nocera’s transformation through grief. This is a book that will change you as Meg Nocero deals with love and loss while exploring themes of complex relationships, personal development, finding purpose, and more. It is told in a gripping voice and filled with insights about life and suffering that will guide readers through some of the dark moments in their lives.