Joanna M. Leone is a proud Trumbull resident who has   traveled extensively throughout Italy, Greece, Switzerland,  many tropical islands and throughout the Northeast. During her travels, she was able to connect with her heritage in Italy while exploring new and exciting destinations. Also, she was able to encounter many adventurous and passionate people during her journeys.
Although her first passion is writing and exploring traditions, Joanna has an interesting background.  For instance, Joanna said that  life's most valuable lessons are learned simply by meeting new people and spending time with them. She thinks that her passion for meeting new people and speaking with them began when she was the President of the Debate Society at Sacred Heart University where she had won several debate competitions and public speaking awards. Joanna has fond memories of competing at many colleges in the Northeast, including the World Debate Championship at Princeton University. Her debate record at Sacred Heart University remains undefeated as she won several public speaking awards and made it to a final round of debate at Fordham University while competing the top debaters from Columbia University. Joanna said, "I am a "little bit of everything rolled into one. Some nights, I love to watch comedy movies, especially movies such as Caddyshack while other timesI want to pop a "retro" movie in, such as Barefoot in the Park"or the movie, The Odd Couple. Living a well-balanced life while keeping my priorities straight is always my focus. Joanna added, "Family always comes first." Sometimes she enjoys being at a restaurant beach or taking overnight trips to Rhode Island and Boston. There are many nights that she enjoys sitting on the deck at a friend's house listening to music and chatting. Although she enjoys going out to "paint the town red" and having fun, the best times are the simple times. She can be out on the town having a blast, while at other times, she like to appreciate the outdoors. In May of 2011, Joanna published her own book, "Slices of Life" Italian-American Stories which includes collective memoirs of Italian-Americans throughout the Northeast. The book was written to explore the special memories, traditions, romance and travel stories. Most of all, the book is about love, devotion, family, struggles and celebrations. Joanna enjoys hearing about special memories.  Her You Tube Video production, "Slices of Life," features some of the people in the book. Please go to You Tube and search "Slices of Life" Italian-American Stories to enjoy this fabulous video. Simply click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXCWmD9Dl6Q. The book is available for purchase on amazon.com, barnes&noble.com, and Authorhouse.com. You may simply go to www.bookfinder4u.com and find a list of many other online sites where you may purchase the book in the U.S.A, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, and other countries.   People from all ethnic backgrounds will be able to connect to the stories and it will remind them of their own traditions and special memories. Her personal memoirs are about her life She first started to write when she was 13 years old, in an orange spiral notebook, usually after company had left and the house was quiet. The beautiful landscapes of Trumbull such as the trails and lakes have created the right atmosphere for her to write. Her grandmother's house in the Frosinone Region of Italy is engraved in her heart as she often wrote while sitting on the beautiful balcony which overlooked her grandparents' fruit and nut trees under the stars. Most importantly, it is the people in her life who have shown love, support and positive words which encouraged her to write her book.