★ First Prize, UNPUBLISHED FICTION, GROSSETO LITERARY CONTEST 2023.
★ Second Prize, PUBLISHED PROSE, ASCIANO LITERARY CONTEST 2023.
★ Mention of Honor, UNPUBLISHED FICTION, LONDON INTERNATIONAL LITERARY PRIZE 2024.
★ This book tells of two ancient and peculiar customs in the Balkans: blood feud and sworn virgin, and it narrates the true story of the loss and search for female identity in an extreme and realistic situation.

Alida is from the mountains of northern Albania, where she grows up with her family: her father, her mother, and two twin sisters.
The book is set in the historical period of Enver Oxa, but in the northern countryside of Albania people are raised and live according to the rules of Lek Dukagjin’s Kanun. Alida’s father falls victim to a revenge sanctioned by the Kanun: a bullet in the back, which causes a severe injury and makes him lose the use of his legs. This given, one of his daughters has to become a Burrnesh, or ‘Sworn Virgin’: a man. The chosen one is Alida, who is forced by her mother to undergo a transformation that makes her lose her life as a woman. Such operation follows an archaic ritual in which any aspects of womanhood are erased in front of the leaders of the Twelve Clans, and it is her own mother to perform it: she cuts Alida’s hair very short, she binds her breasts until they disappear, and then Alida has to wear her father’s clothes. Alida is now allowed to drink, smoke, and handle weapons as if she really were man, since the ritual and her vow of chastity have transformed her into a man—on the surface. And she will actually deal with all male typical duties, but never giving up her femininity, or the desire to become a mother. It thus begins an incredible journey that will bring her to the United States, where Alida will be reborn and become again the woman she was.

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p.s. Two ancient customs in the Balkans: blood feud and sworn virgin.
The Kanun is a true code of death, a set of traditional oral laws and customs mainly prevalent in the northwestern part of Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, covering religion, family, marriage, property, crime, honor, revenge and other aspects. The Kanun is renowned worldwide for its unique and notorious "blood feud system" and "sworn virgin".
"Blood feud system": In the ancient period when law and order were lacking, if one family committed murder against another (the victim was male), then that family had to kill a male member of the former family to settle the hatred. But if the act of revenge was successful, the former family could use it as a reason for new revenge, thus creating a situation of "revenge begets revenge", and the hatred could last for generations. However, if the male members hid in their private homes, the avenger was not allowed to break in and kill them.
"Sworn virgin": Since the 15th century, women in Albania have been bound by the Kanun. Women's status was extremely low, completely as the appendage and property of men. They were not allowed to work or inherit property. If the male members of a family were killed by their enemies or had to hide at home all day for fear of being killed by their enemies, the responsibility of maintaining the normal operation of the family fell on the female members of the family. Women were regarded as the private property of men and had a very low status. To gain the status of men, these women had to swear in front of the elders to become "sworn virgins". They would remain unmarried and chaste for life. After taking the oath, these "sworn virgins" would wear men's clothes, carry hunting guns, smoke and drink like men, and support the family like men. From appearance to mentality, they would transform themselves into men.

Gabriella Guidi
Gabriella Guidi is from Italy and a woman full of interests who has always been a reading and books enthusiast. During one of her trips, she has met Alida, the protagonist of A cursed life.