Frank Zaccari has self-published his third book. This one is set in Dunkirk, and deals with the very difficult process of the death of a parent. His mother, Carmela, died in 2009. She was a secretary at Holy Trinity School and also participated in the Circle of Love.
Zaccari does not call this book sad. Instead, it is a celebration of life, family, culture and tradition, focused on the last eight days of his mother's life. During this time, the family visits with Carmela, sharing memories. Zaccari was inspired to write the book because of the wonderful stories he heard.
Zaccari's family is rooted in Dunkirk. He said, "Both sets of grandparents settled in the Dunkirk-Fredonia area when they arrived from Italy and Sicily in the early 1900s. The first generation of Zaccaris (my parents' group) lived their entire lives in the area.
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Frank Zaccari
They worked at the steel plants, on the railroad or at Brooks Memorial Hospital. My grandmother Zaccari was the head of housekeeping for years."
Up until age nine, Frank's family lived on Franklin Avenue across from the railroad tracks between Talcott and Wright streets. They then moved to King Street where his father still lives.
When Frank was 12, he had an OBSERVER paper route, which was then passed on to his brothers, first Anthony and then Steve. The brothers also played Little League baseball and Midget Football in Dunkirk. Frank said his claim to fame is consecutive Little League Champion-ships, (He played with Dave Criscione and said that helped a lot.)
Frank stated that education was very important to his parents and this is reflected in the book.
"Despite a very challenging financial situation with five children in eight years, we all attended Holy Trinity School and Cardinal Mindszenty. I was in the very first group of students to attend Holy Trinity. It was a great source of pride for Father Bernardo and the parish when that school opened. My brother Steve was in the last Mindszenty graduating class. It was very sad when that school closed," he said.
Frank graduated from Cardinal Mindszenty in 1971, and spent two years at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. Because his number in the military draft lottery was 10, he spent the next four years in the military. He was honorably discharged from the military in California and stayed out west, finishing his degree at California State University in Sacramento.
He cooperated with members of his family to write this book, and his brothers Anthony and Steve as well as his nephew Nick Heeb are listed as authors.
Commenting on the process, he said, "It is very challenging working with multiple people, particularly when I am in California, Steve is in Phoenix, Anthony is in Rochester and Nick is in West Seneca. Lots of emails, text messages and phone calls. For this book, working with my brothers (Anthony and Steve) was priceless because I was able to get additional details and different perspectives on family events."
Frank's nephew Nick Heeb did covers for all three of Frank's books, "When the Wife Cheats," "From the Ashes" and now "Inside the Spaghetti Bowl."
Frank said, "His art is always far beyond what I imagined and he really captures the essence of the book. I just tell him what the book is about and he creates amazing covers."
His first book was "When the Wife Cheats." This is a fictionalized story of infidelity from the perspective of the husband and children. It was based on actual situations related by men whose wives were not faithful as well Frank's own experience.
His second book, "From the Ashes: The Rise of the University of Washington Volleyball Program," draws on Frank's managerial training and experience. Head Coach Jim McLaughlin and Frank took the volleyball program from the worst in the PAC-10 conference to National Champions.
All books are available online at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. The books are available in paperback and also can be uploaded to a nook or kindle.
Locally, the Book Nook can order the books.
Frank said, "My dad and aunt go to the Book Nook since they don't like doing the 'online' thing."
Comments on this article may be directed to dchodan@observertoday.com
