Jessica (Jesse) Lucci, Memoir and Poetry Author
At the age of 43, Jessica, refers to herself as, “A typical ‘Masshole’ with a bit of a smart-aleck attitude.” Lucci has lived all around the country but says she, “…can't give up New England. Swimming at Castle Island, kayaking on the Charles, biking on the Rail Trail... I love it all. Except the snow. I do not ski.”
Jessica finds that song anthems such as, "So what, I'm still a rock star," lyrically voiced by the singer, Pink, motivates her. The few worded, but strong statement, she says, “Brazenly picks me up when I’m feeling less than stellar.” Jessica admits that she respects a nonmaterialistic lifestyle, but she has a weakness for heels and silky dresses.
That’s the lighter side of Lucci, who you will discover to have a deep dark past that she reveals in her book. While shedding her life with words, she found the mission to be therapeutic. But she knows that she’s not alone in this world of hurt and pain and hopes to use her gift to inspire and uplift others, mainly women.
Lucci’s new book, Justice for the Lemon Trees, that’s due to release October 13, is her personal memoir. The book articulates her painful experiences as a child who survived sexual abuse, occurrences of rape, domestic violence, family estrangement, mental illness, and incarceration. As horrid as her life experiences shock the thought, Lucci is able to find amusement in the midst of the pain and transfer the humor throughout the pages of her book that she says will make you “laugh-out-loud”.
Not only a writer, Lucci finds reading books as a “holy” pleasure. Like a “…desert for a depressed soul”, fiction and particularly historical fiction, were her go-to passage to another world. When she did not have books to help her escape the spell of loneliness, she found her freedom in her own words. Thoughts and ideas that played out like movies in her mind. She put pen to paper and the visions in her head became a passion which she now describes as “A part of my soul.”
Lucci has also written Person Numbers, a collection of poetry that freed her mind while incarcerated. She believes that her poetry will comfort the lonely heart and become a haven for individuals who feel shut out due to being bullied, abused and neglected. People who are hiding behind the walls of isolation because it’s easier than facing the pain that relationships offer. Her simple verses are applicable and she declares that any reader will leave her pages feeling uplifted.
Writing has not only been an outlet for Lucci, but an expanding growth of creativity. She finds that the more she writes, the more ideas she discovers. She has aspirations to eventually own a quaint, yet modern bookshop, but that’s in the future. Right now, she’s focused on her Indie Woods business.
Her company, Indie Woods, provides new independent authors with a “…la carte of choices for what they need to attain their version of success.” Lucci’s business offers a host of services, from proofreading essays to editing an entire manuscript and any literary assistance in between, including formatting. She says she truly enjoys corresponding with new authors and that it’s a great way to meet different people.
A people person, Lucci finds that she is inspired by like-minded authors. Those who did not set out to become writers, but gravitated to it after a change in their personal circumstances inspired them to become relatable vessels. Authors such as Beryl Markham, who wrote one book, West with the Night, Lucci says, “She wove stories with literary beauty and created a fascinating memoir of her unconventional escapades. No other book has inspired me like hers.”
Today, Lucci spends a great bit of her time dedicated to her business and she’s also writing another memoir, all while penning another book of poetry. Her memoir has been a great help to other women and family and in her new book, she will focus primarily on her experience as a survivor of domestic violence. By sharing those painful events of her past, she hopes to tap into the world of the silenced lips of abused women, those who feel alone in their abuse and she’s even hoping to elicit a giggle or two.
Life has molded Lucci into the secure person she is today, but her complex past and the joys of her now requires special measurements. She believes that if her story was endorsed for the big screen, the only actress who could embody her pains and joys would be no one other than Angela Bassett. Why? “Because she is a bad-ass and gorgeous in ways I could only wish to be. She would capture and portray the strength and tenacity which is inherent in my story.”
When asked how she researches information as a memoir writer, Lucci said the following:
“Writing a memoir is not as simple as writing everything about yourself. I found that sharing my work in progress and talking with people from a variety of areas relating to my books, such as police officers, parole officers, nutritionists, psychotherapists, and other former inmates led me to excellent fact-checking and improved my writing on Justice for the Lemon Trees. No matter what story you are telling, whether it is fantasy or reality, without research it becomes non-believable, and readers do not respect that.”
Lucci’s work of literature came at a pivotal time in her life. While resting on her bunk during a seemingly endless prison lockdown, she went over scenes in her mind; times in her life that were both good and bad. She closed her eyes and imagined things differently, she changed dialogue and invented future scenes of prosperity outside of the beige confines of incarceration. She continues, “My daydream became the inspiration of a new life. I managed to obtain a two-inch pencil from one of the other women I shared a roof with, and deftly folded up a menu from the common room bulletin board. My first words were written this way.”
Lucci’s writing style is unique, quite different from other authors. She explains it this way, “When I am focused on a project, I use a clipboard and a pen. The sensory experience of writing, crossing things out, diagramming sentences, and watching words grow across a page is satisfying to me in a way that typing is not. Dictation can't handle my Boston accent. Of course, as most writers can relate, I get flashes of brilliance in the weirdest moments, so I always have a pen and paper handy. The notes section of my phone is very handy for those times in the middle of the night when I just need to jot something down without tripping in the dark.”
Jessica is also an active blogger who writes articles to broaden her horizon and stay sharp. When does this busy author and business owner take a break? On the weekends. She accepts the weekend’s downtime to free her mind. Breaks are also used for practicing her mental health therapy, but after a session, she says she takes the remainder of the day off just for herself. “It refreshes me emotionally and gives my brain a chance to recharge and create new ideas.” When she’s not working, writing, and catering to clients, to help her relax, Jessica crochets. She finds that the mundane repetition involved in this hobby soothes and appeals to her senses.
Although Jessica writes mostly memoirs, her ideas are often inspired by simple aspects of nature that her eyes take in on daily basis. She doesn’t see life in the norm of others, for her, her sight creates an entire production that magnifies her creativity. She describes it as such:
Autumn leaves become hair,
Which becomes my sister,
Which becomes a memory,
Which becomes a reminder,
Which in turn becomes a story.
She went into details to help us understand. “At times my thoughts are linear; they are words following behind one another neatly on a page. Other times they are circular: one leads to another, which reminds me of something else, and then I see how seemingly random moments are actually intimately connected.”
Lucci finds the hardest thing about writing to be certain subjects that she truly desires to write about, but they are too painful to extract. For her book Justice for the Lemon Trees, a few people commented that there was a hole in the story. She was told that the unmentioned parts caused distracting questions that disrupted the storyline. Lucci said she intentionally left out key parts of her story because they were too emotionally grieving for her to face on paper. However, after the feedback, she felt she owed it to her readers to "...fill in the blanks with my sorrow."
Many writers face a unified problem, the issue of the dreadful writer’s block. Lucci offers her advice on the nagging subject. She says, “As a writer, at some point, the fingers will come to a halt and the mind will fight to find words to fill the pages, when this happens,” Lucci encourages the writers to “Not force it.”
Lucci, encourages other aspiring writers to “Just write. Whatever you want, however you want. Don't worry about making mistakes, or spelling, or not being good enough. That can all be fixed later. Your words are your words, and are already good enough.”
Lucci’s books will be available on Amazon in both Ebook and paperback formats on October 13, 2017.
Join Jessica Lucci on her website and social media, she would love to connect with you.
