Josie's family is part of the Italian community in Sydney. Her grandmother settled in Australia with Francesco, a man that was 15 years older than she was and with whom she had been forced into a marriage with. When they did reach Australia, the way that the Australian women behaved and their attitudes to men shocked Josie's grandmother.
Josie understands that her Nonna's early years were fraught with difficulty and loneliness, as she was isolated from what she had known. Josie in her discovery comes to find a parallel between certain parts of her life and that of her grandmothers. Her insecurities are essentially those of her grandmother.
The traditions of the Italian community have refused to die in Josie's family and she often questions some of the particular on-going ways. She says "culture is nailed into you so deep you can't escape it". Josie's journey of discovery essentially teaches her not to be ashamed of who she is, and to cherish the old ways of family. She comes to the realisations that her Nonna is too old to adopt new habits, and that she be appreciated for who she is. Josie realises that her Nonna went through a number of trying experiences that were not completely her own doing. In some sense she understands that fate and external factors have as much to do with the way that we live our lives as our own decisions do.
Josie, however in her journey of discovery fails to make a complete understanding of tolerance of others. When she overhears a girl at her school complain about "wogs" she breaks her nose. This act demonstrates that Josie does not understand that the Anglo girls have also inherited much tradition, good and bad, from their parents. Parents who knew an Australia that was predominantly white have influenced the Anglo girls at the school. Only since the 1950's has Australian become the multicultural society that it is today. The girls who make racist statements are only learning this behaviour from their parents.