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Between the Sauce, Stars and Heaven is a lushly told memoir of one family's century-long climb from a sun-baked village in southern Italy to the Sunday-scented kitchens of New Jersey-and the sky-wide promise of America. From twelve dollars sewn into a steerage coat to a panoramic front porch that became the Basenese command center, Lou Basenese Jr. traces four generations of grit, garlic, and grace. He introduces readers to: Gabriel & Donata-the Ellis-Island newlyweds who traded olives and poverty for factory whistles and freedom. Uncle Angelo-roguish charmer, porch pick-pocket, legend gone too soon. Louie & Eva-parents who stitched faith into every meal and discipline into every heartbeat. Christopher-a son lost to fentanyl poisoning, whose final letter still rewrites the author's soul. Along the way Lou survives Wall-Street boardrooms, a shattering business collapse, and a twelve-minute death on a California sidewalk-revived only by the relentless CPR of his wife, Laura. Threaded through with handwritten recipes, small-town football nights, and a near-audible chorus of Italian-American aunts, Between the Sauce, Stars and Heaven is a testament to second chances, table-wide forgiveness, and the stubborn belief that even the heaviest stories can rise-like a ladle of Sunday sauce-toward heaven.

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Lou Basenese Jr. grew up in the one-square-mile town of Netcong, New Jersey, where Sunday sauce, church bells and front-porch storytelling shaped his DNA. The grandson of southern-Italian immigrants who landed at Ellis Island with twelve dollars and a dream, Lou learned early that faith and hard work were non-negotiable. He left those narrow streets to helm divisions of Fortune 500 companies, launch national consumer brands, and-after a near-fatal cardiac arrest that left him clinically dead for twelve minutes-re-orient his life around service and second chances.Today Lou co-owns On-Site Fleet Services of Florida, a fast-growing, woman-owned heavy-duty repair company he runs with his wife, Laura-the same woman whose relentless CPR brought him back to life. Under their stewardship On-Site has tripled revenue while proving that culture and profit can share the same toolbox.Lou writes to preserve the stories-and recipes-that held his sprawling Italian-American clan together: a rogue uncle who could lift a wallet and a heart in the same motion; parents who balanced Marine-grade discipline with basement-wine generosity; a son lost to fentanyl who still teaches the family about grace. His debut memoir, Between the Sauce, Stars and Heaven, braids those tales with board-room victories, bankruptcy-level setbacks, and the faith that carried him through both.When he isn't speaking about resilience, immigrant grit, or ethical entrepreneurship, Lou can be found simmering a 12-hour ragù, mentoring young business owners, or sharing espresso on the porch with four grandchildren who believe Nonna can fix anything-except perhaps how fast they grow. He lives in Orlando with Laura, a refrigerator full of leftovers, and a filing cabinet of half-started stories that someday may rise, like good dough, into new books.

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