Boardman family identifies with story by best-selling author
BOARDMAN — Members of the Vechiarelli family relate so much to the characters in the books of best-selling author Adriana Trigiani that they’ve forged a friendship with the writer.
Carol, the mother of the family, was the first to read one of Trigiani’s books, and she told the rest of the family about them.
“It was ‘Lucia, Lucia’ and it just jumped out at me,” Carol said.
From there, the whole family — parents, Carol and Dominic Vechiarelli of Boardman; son, Dominic of Cleveland; and four daughters, Beth Vechiarelli-Cooper of Canfield, Gina Vechiarelli of New York City and Amy Mancini and Nanette Ungaro, both of Poland — have read all of Trigiani’s books.
Though the Vechiarellis share the Italian heritage of Trigiani’s characters, family members say the books resonate across cultural lines.
“Youngstown is all about family, and for the people in the books, it’s all about family,” Ungaro said.
Trigiani creates characters that are laugh-out-loud funny and those that bring tears to your eyes, Carol said.
For the complete story, see Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com