Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Inside The Spaghetti Bowl by Frank Zaccari



Inside The Spaghetti Bowl by Frank Zaccari
Published by CreateSpace
Paperback and eBook Release Date: September 27, 2011
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
ISBN: 1463650032
ASIN: B005XDBWT2
Genre: Memoir / Family Relationships


About The Author:




Frank Zaccari is a native of western Nee York. He earned a degree in finance from California State University at Sacramento after serving as a military medic in the U.S. Air Force. He spent over 25 years in the high-tech industry holding positions from account representative to CEO, and for nearly 20 years specialized in turn-around management of companies under 100 million dollars. After becoming a single, custodial parent after nearly 25 years of marriage, he left an industry that he loved to buy a small business in order to be home to raise his children. He is currently the owner of an insurance agency and resides in Sacramento, California.

On nights when his emotions would not let him sleep, he started to write books. Today, he has written and published three books.

His first book is When The Wife Cheats. He decided to write this book about infidelity from the perspective of the husband and children. It is based on actual situations told to him by many men faced with the devastation of their wives' infidelity. Their stories and his were woven into one story. All the characters are fictional.

His second book, From The Ashes: The Rise of the University of Washington Volleyball Program, goes back to his turn-around management background. Working together with Head Coach Jim McLaughlin, they tool this program from the worst in the PAC-10 conference to National Champions. Washington volleyball has continued to be one of the truly elite programs in the nation.

Like many of the "baby boomers" his family faced the difficult task of burying their mother. His latest book, Inside The Spaghetti Bowl, is based on the last eight days of their mother's life. It is a celebration of life, family, culture and tradition. This is a book about family and unconditional love through the good times and bad. It is about a family who is and always will be there for each other no matter what. They hope you see your family in this book and the memories make you smile.

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOODREADS
AMAZON.COM - INSIDE THE SPAGHETTI BOWL


Disclaimer: At the request of the author and publisher, a paperback ARC edition of this book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review.


Virtual Book Tour Event: On Thursday and Friday, November 17-18, 2011, in association with Pump Up Your Book!, Frank Zaccari participated in a virtual book tour event with an Author Interview and Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/11/author-interview-with-frank-zaccari.html
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/11/author-guest-post-frank-zaccari-author.html

Amazon.com Book Description:


Like many of the "baby boomers" my family faced the difficult task of burying our Mother. The book is based on the last eight days of our mother's life. It is a celebration of life, family, culture and tradition. As my relatives came to pay their last respects, we heard so many wonderful stories about the trials and sacrifices made by our parents and grandparents so we could live the American dream. This is our story, this is your story. It is a story for every beating heart that has loved or has been loved. It is the story about the struggles and pains endured by those virtuous individuals who poured their lives into ours and filled our years with intimate memories and a gladdened heart. It is the story you will want to pass down to your children and grandchildren. This is a book about family and unconditional love through the good times and bad. It is about a family who is and always will be there for each other no matter what. We hope you see your family in this book and the memories make you smile.


My Book Review:


Inside The Spaghetti Bowl is a beautifully written memoir by the Zaccari family, documenting the final eight days of their matriarch, Carmela's life. Carmela was dying from a failing heart valve, and was hospitalized under hospice care, when the entire Zaccari family and friends came together to say their final goodbyes to the woman they dearly loved. Over the final eight days of her life, the family shared stories and their memories with a mixture of laughter, tears and fine Italian food. Out of this sad time in their lives came a celebration of their matriarch's life, legacy and love of family.

Inside The Spaghetti Bowl was written from collecting stories about their family and their Italian heritage. The most important message that the family wants to share with everyone is that it is all about family and the unconditional love that comes with it, through the good and bad times, for friends and acquaintances may come and go, but family is forever. Throughout the book, the Zaccari family shared stories of their family's heritage, values and traditions. "The best way to honor someone is to listen and pass on the stories about their life." The most powerful message in this book is the family motto that is on the bottom of Zaccari family coat of arms: "Life With Integrity." In other words, live your life with integrity, what a powerful way to live one's life!

I knew I was going to love this truly inspiring and beautiful memoir when I read the following poem that was on the dedication page: "And when you remember me: remember me laughing not crying, remember me singing not sighing, remember me living not dying; or don't remember me at all." There comes a time in everyone's life when we have to bury a loved one, and for me this book brought back my own mother's passing in March 2007. As I read the Zaccari family's stories, I was drawn into thinking about my own family's memories and traditions. I laughed, cried, and smiled while I read this book, but more importantly, I came away with a sense of thankfulness for being reminded of what belonging to a family is really all about.

RATING: 5 STARS *****
















3 comments:

  1. This sounds like a truly moving book -- and, as the author says in his guest post, one that will undoubtedly resonate with alot of people as the baby boom copes with aging parents.
    Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathleen, Thank you for the wonderful review and for letting me share my family's story with your readers. I am happy the book made you smile.

    Frank Zaccari

    ReplyDelete
  3. This really is a wonderful book, thank you for the comments. Frank, it was my pleasure to read and review your family's story, and to host your virtual book tour event on Jersey Girl Book Reviews. :)

    ReplyDelete