Need someone to talk to or a friend to lean on?
Call Best Friend for Hire.
Jersey Girl Jessie DeSalvo has her dream job at one of New York’s top publishing companies. After ten years of hard work the day of her big promotion has arrived. Unfortunately, her company has other ideas. Instead of a corner office, Jessie is handed her pink slip.
Left with little more than her cell phone and an unusable contact list, Jessie retreats to less-than-fashionable Hoboken, New Jersey, to figure out her life—and deal with the attentions of her loving but inquisitive Italian-American family. Then she accidentally stumbles into a career as a professional best friend—by helping friends and strangers straighten out whatever is wrong with their lives. Her jobs include planning the New Jersey wedding of the year and saving a bankrupt rock club in town. Soon, things get complicated when she falls in love with the club manager—and promises an appearance by Bruce Springsteen.
In the end, Jessie realizes that not even “The Boss” can make things right—and that she needs to become her own best friend to be truly happy.
Best Friend for Hire, a fiction debut by Mary Carlomagno, is the perfect beach read this summer. You will laugh out and root for the main character, Jessie. As an Italian-American myself, I found myself laughing out loud and saying “yes!” when she was describing her Sunday dinners at her parents’ house. For example, Jessie and her brother, James, have to go to their parents’ house. Prior to their arrival, the siblings make a pact to not reveal the other persons’ secret. At one point during the dinner, each of their secrets gets blurted out by the other and the family becomes quiet and shocked. Finally, silence is broken. “The room was quiet for the next several moments and then Pop broke the silence and asked the only question anyone at the table really cared about: “Is he Italian, at least?” I honestly couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Through out the book Jessie is trying to put what she knows from her prior job into the new venture she has going for herself. How many of us do this? I can many of you can relate. It’s what we know to do. In the end, we hope it works and just like Jessie, she feels the same way. She learns to be determined and believe in what she puts her mind to. Being able to help others with their problems (which a lot of us do), she learns even more about herself. She realizes that in order to continue to help others and be their ‘friend’ or ‘confidant’, you need to learn to be your own best friend first. Once that happens, the rest will all fall into place.
About the Author
Author Mary Carlomagno is the author of three previous books about organizing, a nationally recognized spokesperson and owner of order (orderperiod.com) a company that helps busy people get organized and live more balanced lives. She has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC’s Today, and National Public Radio. She was born and raised in New Jersey and currently lives there with her husband and two children.
Book goes on sale June 20, 2017
Happy Summer Reading!!
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