Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Carnegie Deli in New York was a landmark for more than 79 years. It served its loyal customers oversize portions of pastrami and corned beef slathered in Russian dressing, and in 1986, it served my mother and father a late-night postcoital feast. #2 My mother, Barbara Peck, was a once-in-a-generation type of person who gave very few fucks. She was pregnant, unmarried, in her early forties, and ready for whatever came next. My father, on the other hand, was not excited about this cosmic confluence. #3 My mother did a good job of obfuscating the reality of my father and what she went through after she found out she was pregnant. She told me the good things about him, that he was successful, a charming businessman, and a handsome raconteur. #4 I was born in New York Hospital, weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces. My mother took my father to court, asking for child support, but he didn't want any record of the transaction.