The Naked Truth: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewife of New Jersey--In Her Own Words (23 page)

Sarai Salinas, my energist and dearest friend, thank you for helping put together the broken pieces of my spirit. I believe in angels and I have one in you.

Ronnie Arthur Merrill and all of my deceased brothers, you may have lost your battle with cystic fibrosis, but I feel you helping me in my life every day.

Dorothy and Bill, you have been like a mother and father to me. Rest in peace, Mom Staub.

Tom, thank you for being part of my life and sharing in the births of our two beautiful daughters.

Danny Williams, my cousin and friend, who has been like a brother to me. Thanks for giving me a place to lean when we were kids.

Father Michael Lombardo of Our Lady of Consolation, I’m very blessed to have you in my life. You teach me through love and patience how to cope with some of life’s trials. You have shown me in so many ways how to be a better person, mother, and friend. My kids and I look forward to Mass every Sunday, mainly because of you. Thank you and God bless.

Tommy DeRosa, you are now and always will be my best friend. You’ve been there through it all and never changed your position in my life. Thank you for giving me a place to rest my head and being Uncle Tommy to my daughters. Love to Rob as well.

Jorge, you are and always will be an example of what a
true gentleman represents. Thank you for being a part of my journey.

Norman Elliott Kent, thank you for giving me back my freedom and believing in me throughout all of these years and beyond.

Theresa Van Vliet, thank you for risking it all to stand firmly by my side. Instead of prosecuting me, you recommended freedom.

Judge Eugene Spellman, may you rest in peace. I will never forget your words to me.

Maureen Beirne, a special thanks to my very best childhood friend. You will always be a part of me.

John Molinelli, thank you for your guidance, advice, and friendship during this past year.

Joe Kilmer, thank you for proving to me that friendships can last a lifetime.

Peter Flint, thank you for being not only my acting coach but one of my dearest friends till this day.

Vinnie Potestivo, you inspire me to be my very best. Thank you for loving my children as well.

Eric Alt, thank you for being a wonderful friend and my brilliant hair colorist.

Andrew Capone, thank you for being my first breakout mentor and advising me, and I quote, “Before you save the world, feed your children.” The children are fed. Can I save the world now? Special thanks to your wife, Cynthia.

Ivan Bart, thank you for recognizing Christine’s beauty and
using your expertise in developing her career. My daughter is in great hands.

Brian Nash, thank you for being an inspiration to my daughter Jillian and helping her to develop her art and voice in music into something more than fabulous.

Jacqui “JJ” Phillips, thank you for being a good friend and my talented makeup artist.

Mary Jane Piccinich, thank you for being a constant calm energy in my family’s lives and for doing the best nails ever.

Frank Vincent, thank you for patiently guiding me in the right direction and reminding me to enjoy the ride.

Maria L. Gattuso, thank you so much for the laughter and positive energy.

Kim Schumann, my attorney, thank you for giving me back the ability to express my life experiences in this book. For defending me and my honor, I’m eternally grateful.

Mark Turner and Maura Teitelbaum at Abram Artists, thank you both for recognizing my potential and helping me bring it to fruition. I’m a work in progress.

Thank you to the entire team at Simon & Schuster. Anthony Ziccardi, thank you for your enthusiasm right out of the gate in our first meeting. Patrick Price and Emily Westlake, my editors, thank you for understanding me on so many levels and staying true to
The Naked Truth.

Sirens Media Group, Rebecca Toth, and Lucilla D’Agostino, special thanks for finding me a few years ago and asking me to do a show called
The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

To the team at Bravo, thank you for recognizing that I had a little something extra to give and supporting my decision to write my life story. A special thanks to Lenid, Gil, Jacob, Dave, and the entire crew on season 2 of
RHONJ.
Christian Barcellos, thank you for supporting me from the start. Kristen Anderson, thank you for your professionalism and for always treating me as an equal. Andy Cohen, thank you for knowing that I believe in you as you believe in me.

Ian Drew of
Us Weekly,
thank you for being in my corner right from the start, and I am proud to call you my friend.

Kathy, Emil, and Patrice Innocenti, thank you for being so supportive of me and all my endeavors.

Danny Provenzano, thank you for your friendship.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), you are helping to make changes every day to strive toward a better tomorrow for those who are affected by this debilitating disease. Live, love, and breathe.

A special thank you to all my friends in Wayne, New Jersey, where I have lived since 1993.

All of my friends and fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter, thank you to each and every one of you.

DANIELLE STAUB is the breakout star of Bravo’s hit reality television series
The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
She has numerous projects in the works, including a fitness and nutrition video, T-shirt line, and another book, perhaps. When she’s not working on her own career, she manages her two daughters’ careers. During her downtime, she loves being a mom as well as staying busy with her local parish and various charities. For more information, visit
www.danielle-staub.com
.

STEVEN PRIGGÉ is a New Jersey-born entertainment journalist as well as an author and coauthor of numerous books. For more information, visit
www.stevenprigge.com
.