Acknowledgments

This book would not be without the kindness of strangers, the help of my friends, and the support of my family. First, and most importantly, a debt of gratitude goes to my parents, Anthony Battista and Frances Battista, for having lived and survived a life that gave me something incredible to write about. They honestly shared their story with me and provided their unwavering love and support. Simply, without them this book would not have been possible.

To my husband, Brian Frazee, and my daughter, Grace Frazee, for their love and forgiveness for the hundreds of hours they let me steal away from their lives to write. I love you both and I don’t think there are enough words to say thank you. I hope this endeavor makes you both proud. To Grace, thanks for thinking it’s cool Mom wrote a book but remember, this a story about your family heritage—learn all you can from it.

Thanks to everyone at Skyhorse Publishing and my editor, Holly Rubino. Holly, your funny and light-hearted approach to our work made every second of the editing process enjoyable. Thank you for taking on this project and for just being you.

To Craig Kayser, my literary agent, thank you for lighting my path to becoming a storyteller and writer. You always told me the truth, even when I didn’t want to hear it, which improved our work. I’m grateful for your insight, intelligence, and devotion to this project.

Jeremy Hawkins, The Distillery Editing Services, thanks for lending your skills to fine-tune this book. I learned so much from you, and I’m grateful for your efforts to make the words on these pages sing. Your book, The Last Days of Video, is going to be excellent and I can’t wait to buy it.

To my writing group: Six Great Books, Molly Mahoney Matthews, Janet Hall Warner, Kelly Hand, Donna Drew Sawyer, and David Bonck, you all provided the best guidance, sounding board, and collective wisdom to help me keep this project going. You erased any self-doubt that crept in from time to time and you are each gifted writers. I am so fortunate to have you in my life.

I’m indebted to the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the wonderful teachers and other aspiring writers I met there. Rick Walter, thank you for being the first to tell me this story had the qualities of becoming a book and that I could accomplish this task. Your early encouragement and mentoring set me on the right path to making this book a reality. Barbara Esstman, thank you for impressing upon me the importance of improving my writing craft. You were so right.

I’ve been fortunate to have Steve Barnett and David Koechner as champions in our effort to create this story into something great for television. I could not have found better guardians for this project. Both of you have both artfully conceived the rich potential of this story and have true vision. To Steve Barnett, your enduring excitement and dedication has made all the difference in the world and for this I am forever grateful.

To my family for their love and excitement about this book; Jerry Parrotto, Sandra Parrotto, Connie Parrotto Hudson, Chris Battista, Stephen Battista, Alexis Battista, Rose Martini, Angie Battista, Carol Frazee, George Frazee, and Leanne Frazee Tellam. Your words of encouragement always inspired me.

To my aunt, Dolores Parrotto Giesman, thank you for being the first true writer in the family and for the many hours you spent editing my graduate school papers. You helped me become a writer by your example and your insistence on excellence was never forgotten.

To my grandmother, Maria Parrotto, thank you for being so unforgettable and ballsy, and although you will never read this, I hope you know how much you inspired the women in our family. In these pages, you’ll inspire women everywhere to be as loyal, brash, outspoken, and loving as you are. Without you, this story wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting. You’re truly unforgettable.

Many thanks to Tara Fort, Eric Danville, Chris Conrad, Danny Miller, Theresa Flynt, Belisa Vranich, Kelley Wyatt Mautz, Brian Scott Gross, Jeannie Campbell, Gabe Doppelt, and the many friends and work colleagues who stood in my corner and taught me so many things that will lend to the success of this book.