BY THE TIME native Sicilian Mariagrazia Buttitta turned twenty-six, she’d planned out the perfect life. After finishing her residency in Buongiorno Medical School, she’d be primed for a job at the prestigious Roma Hospital, the first step toward becoming an Italian Dr. Oz. And what life is complete without a handsome prince by her side, gracing the face of Italian People Magazine as one of Italy’s “Most Beautiful Couple”?

Instead, she wakes up to discover a medical diagnosis that leaves her almost completely blind. Her...