In September of 1989, Peter M. Franzese chose to write the life story of his Brooklyn Nana, Nettie Boniface, for a sixth grade English class assignment. While he sat with a spiral notebook and pen in hand over the course of a month, Nana reflected on and shared the events that shaped the woman she was. Born at the onset of World War I, she told him the stories of her life during both world wars and the Great Depression, leading right up to the end of the 1980s. Over a pot of tomato sauce simmering on the stove, Nana, a Brooklyn born daughter of Italian immigrants, shared the joys and sorrows...

In September of 1989, Peter M. Franzese chose to write the life story of his Brooklyn Nana, Nettie Boniface, for a sixth grade English class assignment. While he sat with a spiral notebook and pen in hand over the course of a month, Nana reflected on and shared the events that shaped the woman she was. Born at the onset of World War I, she told him the stories of her life during both world wars and the Great Depression, leading right up to the end of the 1980s. Over a pot of tomato sauce simmering on the stove, Nana, a Brooklyn born daughter of Italian immigrants, shared the joys and sorrows...