Official Press Release for Oh Brother! The Life & Times of Jeff Fazzolari

TO ORDER A COPY OF OH BROTHER! THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JEFF FAZZOLARI
SEND AN E-MAIL TO CLIFFORDFC@ROADRUNNER.COM WITH YOUR ADDRESS.

THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL-FAZZOLARI BOOKS IT IS HYSTERICALLY FUNNY, TRAGICALLY SAD, AND SPEAKS OF A LIFE THAT WAS WORTHY OF A THOROUGH EXAMINATION.

Here is one story where it is impossible to separate the author from the subject matter. Clifford J. Fazzolari, as an author of nine books previous, has written this memoir about his very best friend and brother, Jeffrey Frank Fazzolari, and has said time and time again, “He is the greatest character I will ever write about.”

The family has come to refer to Jeffrey as a “walking celebration” despite the fact that he suffered from constant back pain and walked with a noticeable limp.
When Cliff asked me to think about writing the Foreword for this book, I did not hesitate and responded “Absolutely.”

The original title of the story was Life, Laughter and Love after all, and as the youngest sister in the Fazzolari family, I am one of the eight members of this family who has been profoundly blessed with all three of these things.

On January 27, 2009, Bruce Springsteen released his latest cd, Working on a Dream, and because we share a great love of any and all Springsteen, all the brothers and I woke that day like it was Christmas. “This is going to be a good day, Bruce is out!”

I believe that Jeff had talked with Cliff early that morning about some of the songs that he had heard and during a break from work, he was going to sit in his car and listen to the rest of it. Shortly thereafter, he had a hemorrhagic stroke and was hospitalized for nearly six weeks until his untimely death on March 4, 2009.

Was it because of his back problems that he had the stroke? Was it fate? Some cosmic mix-up? At some point in the book Cliff asks the difficult question of Why? Why did Jeff have a stroke? Why did our best friend die? Why, when he was at the peak of his young life?

Take a moment to look at the collage of pictures included in this book. Breathe in all the details and look at the laughter in the eyes of those surrounding Jeffrey. Finally, allow yourself to recognize him as a father, a son, a brother, a friend and a husband.

Fortunately, these pictures are only a small portion of his life. I am sure that his oldest sister, Corinne, has a picture in her mind’s eye of Jeffrey as he sat across from her, flicking bingo chips at her as they gambled endlessly. And anyone who has tasted his gravy or his stuffed hot peppers has a picture of him in their mind’s eye as they remember the taste on their tongue.

I am quite positive that his laughter rings in the ears of those who had been a receiver of one of his innocent pranks – like walking into your house and finding that the drawers in your kitchen have been moved – the forks and spoons in the drawer where the plastic wrap should be; or after a weekend visit with him and his family, finding a dirty diaper in your shower, your closet, and on top of your refrigerator.

Upon reading this book, I am certain that you will conclude that it was no coincidence that he was a chef. After all, his main ingredient in all of his recipes was love. It was love, written by his own hand.

In the throes of sorrow, it is difficult to grasp the concept that the way Jeffrey lived his life will forever resonate with those who knew him, personally or after reading this book. And perhaps, his death is a reminder to everyone that how he lived his life is how we should all live our lives. Perhaps Cliff’s question of why is answered in this way. Perhaps he had to die so that one, even one of the readers of this book, could begin to live, laugh and love.

At the age of 38 years, at the top of his career as an executive chef at a school where he was a hero, mentor and friend, in the tenth year of his marriage, as a best friend to his siblings, a helpful hand to his parents every weekend, a fantastic generator of family functions, with three children under the age of eight years old, and as a constant source of laughter, one would expect that not only would Jeff have been able to hear every song on the Working on a Dream cd, he would have been able to philosophize on one of the greatest choruses of the cd: “Life itself, rushing over me. Life itself, the wind in the black elms. Life itself, in your heart and in your eyes. I can’t make it without you.”

As it goes, the rest of the family was left with the daunting task of hearing these words play in their minds over and over because losing a sibling or a son or a husband or a father or a friend like Jeff is kind of like suffering an amputation, and now it seems, we’re all walking with a noticeable limp. Yet, like Jeff did every day of his life, we’ll walk on; walk on and into life itself, with our hearts and minds open to treasure the laughter and love that this life provides.

Enjoy the journey.

Carrie Lynn Fazzolari

TO ORDER A COPY OF OH BROTHER! THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JEFF FAZZOLARI
SEND AN E-MAIL TO CLIFFORDFC@ROADRUNNER.COM WITH YOUR ADDRESS.

THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL-FAZZOLARI BOOKS IT IS HYSTERICALLY FUNNY, TRAGICALLY SAD, AND SPEAKS OF A LIFE THAT WAS WORTHY OF A THOROUGH EXAMINATION.

A SIGNED COPY WILL BE SENT ALONG WITH AN INVOICE FOR $15.00 INCLUDING SHIPPING AND HANDLING.