Debbie Belmessieri was born in 1953 in San Francisco, California, a third generation Bay Area native on her mother's side. Her paternal grandparents immigrated from a small village near Florence in the 1920s and established their new home in San Francisco. With many "sweet" childhood memories of visiting her grandmother's candy plant and her grandfather's chocolate factory, she would be the first to tell you that anyone's path to healing should include lots of chocolate! Working for a major airline for over twenty-five years has afforded her the opportunity to travel extensively and to li