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Vita's Will: Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Debbie Gisonni (Author)
Key Phrases: Real Life Lesson, New York, Vita's Will (more...)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
At age twenty-three, Debbie Gisonni had everything. She was on her way to becoming one of the top paid and youngest executives in Silicon Valley. She had found true love…and she could make a mean cannoli! Then in 1984, her mother Vita developed a brain tumor that left her permanently disabled. A few years later, her younger sister suddenly committed suicide. Within months her father was diagnosed with bone cancer and breast cancer struck her favorite aunt. Between 1990 and 1994, all of them died.

Vita’s Will: Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On is a chronicle of Gisonni’s unimaginable experiences. One day she was on the corporate fast track; the next she left it all so that she could stop and smell the red sauce.

Called Tuesday’s With Morrie meets Chicken Soup for the SoulÂ®, Vita’s Will brings humor and sorrow into the horrors of hospitals, the lost dreams of her parents, and the shock of her sister’s suicide. Through these four deaths, Gisonni learns to squeeze the sweetest wine from a bunch of sour grapes without wallowing in self-pity. Her practical wisdom and sage advice works for any traumatic situation. You’ll be moved to tears and laughter by her forty-four inspirational real-life lessons and her nightly chats with God.

Ten percent of the author’s proceeds from this book will be donated to the following institutions: Y-me National Breast Cancer Organization, National Brain Tumor Foundation, International Myeloma Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

From the Publisher
High tech exec finds humility, humor, and heart when four family members die in four years.

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Product Details

Paperback: 196 pages
Publisher: IUniverse; illustrated edition edition (October 3, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0595142044
ISBN-13: 978-0595142040
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #374,644 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Real Life Lesson, New York, Vita's Will, Aunt Yo, Pat Foyder, Catholic Church, Somewhere Over the Rainbow

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

2 books cite this book:

Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business That Gives You a Life by Mark Henricks on page 80
Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business that Gives You a Life by Mark Henricks on page 80

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Really Will Laugh AND Cry, December 8, 2000

By	Michael Azzara (Wantagh, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Debbie Gisonni has written a scarily honest book about the emotional struggles she suffered in losing four close family members in four short years. But ultimately, her heart-wrenching story has a triumphant spirit. She takes us inside her mind and her heart with a raw honesty rarely, if ever, seen. Like everyone else, you'll likely recognize your own guilty thoughts, "inappropriate" jokes or laughs, things you've done or said that you hate yourself for. Thus, she holds a mirror up to our humanity in all its pain, humor and wonder. Oh yeah, and glory.

And even though it's a first book, she does all this with a simple, powerful writing style that drives you through the book. And she throws in an uncannily accurate description of the culture inside a New York City Italian-American family (that is NOT mob-connected). Trust me; been there, done that. She nails it.

If you've ever struggled with emoitonal loss, or just felt overwhelmed by circumstances beyond your control, this is an important book for you. Internalizing its "Real Life Lessons" will help put you back on track.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When life serves you lemons...., February 10, 2001

By A Customer

make lemonade. An old saying but one that surely fits this book and this authors amazing spirit. Debbie Gisonni doesn't just scratch the surface of emotions as she encounters some heartbreaking setbacks. You don't read about the characters, you meet them. You can smell Vitas cooking, sense her fear, and become strengthened by her courage and Debbie's determination. I found myself in shock, as I read about Debbie's sister. I thought about how I would feel if this happened to one of my sisters. I understood Debbie's frustration with her fathers acceptance of his disease. I recalled some wonderful memories of my own favorite aunt as Debbie brought her to life on the pages.

Since I lost my mother and father by the time I was 30, I was able to relate to so much in this book. The experiences may have been different but the emotions are similar and the lessons you learn mark every fiber of your being. At the end of each chapter Debbie included her real life lesson. Some simple, others more complex. They are daily reminders of what really matter. I was relieved as I read about Debbie finding it near impossible to stay somber at her mothers service and the overwhelming need to start laughing. Thank goodness that has happened to someone else! This is where Debbie achieves her greatest accomplishment in writing this book - making the reader a part of the story. There were many days I was going about my life and I would think of Vita or Martha. I literally craved some of Vita's cooking. This book stayed with me long past the time I put it down.

I purchased additional books and gave them to friends as gifts. Everyone who read her story shared with me their insights. But what I found most interesting, was how many of my friends went one step further and shared how this story reminded them of someone in their life. That is when a book is more than pages and words. It touches the spirit.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vita's Will, March 22, 2001

By	Terri A. Dufore (Half Moon Bay, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You'll laugh, you'll cry but most of all you will be touched by this honest, insightful look at family and coping with loss.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical advice about what matters
Everyone who has a big job and a big salary ought to read this book. Too many people spend time worrying about nothing, and it can all disappear in a moment, as Debbie eloquently... Read more

Published on August 27, 2001 by Mitchell N. York

5.0 out of 5 stars Coincidence?? Or "Vita's Will"
I went ... on April 13, "Good Friday" with the sole intention of purchasing "Joseph Girzone's" "Never Alone". Read more

Published on July 7, 2001 by Vita Rotchford

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Perspective
This is a good one. I found myself recommending Vita's Will before I finished reading it. The Real Life Lessons at the end of each chapter, are helpful "words of... Read more

Published on June 18, 2001 by Michael Duranko

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Vita's Will
Vita's Will was a very enjoyable read loaded with wisdom and insight. I appreciated the author's honesty in relating what her family went through and how she personally dealt with... Read more

Published on May 21, 2001 by Ellen

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