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The Daily Dish

Exclusive: Caroline Manzo Talks About Her Upcoming Book

The 'Wife spills on what you will (and won't) read in 'Let Me Tell You Something.'

By Mike Hess



Caroline Manzo has become the go-to NJ Housewife when it comes to parental or marriage advice, and now her knowledge and sage wisdom will be hitting the bookshelves, as it was announced Monday that she'll be publishing her first book.

Let Me Tell You Something, Caroline's first-ever book, will be available on March 26, 2013 via Harper Collins, and The Dish was able to catch up with Mrs. Manzo today just hours after the announcement. Caroline told us all about how the book came to be, what readers can expect, and if it'll contain any jabs or not-so-pleasant stories about her fellow Housewives (Answer: Nope).

Congratulations on the book! At what point are you at in the writing process?

It's pretty much done. I just have to get a few sidebars in. I've been working on it for at least six months -- probably more. It's exciting. I never thought it would happen, and I just saw it online on Amazon.com for presale and I almost fell off my chair. I was crying. It's amazing.

What topics will you be hitting on?

I didn't think I had the right to write a memoir or a book preaching about anything. All I am is a 51 year old woman that's had a lot of experiences in life and has managed to carve out a wonderful family and career and all that stuff. It's just basically telling stories of things in my life that maybe people can get something out of. I get so many questions about my kids and how they're so well-grounded and respectful, and how did you keep them so close. It's stories that speak to that subject matter and how I handle them or Al and I handle them together. There'll be a story about Albie and his learning disability and Lauren with her weight challenges and Christopher because he was such a cut-up in school. Stories about what they went through, how we went through it and the lesson learned at the end -- and maybe half a dozen recipes in there. It's not a cookbook at all, but after telling a story about the kids, it's more like 'here's their favorite recipe.' It's an easy, light read I hope people will embrace.

Was there anything off limits when it came to what you'd write about?

I absolutely refused to do anything negative about any of the other ladies. I did speak to being on Housewives and how it changed my world in so many ways, but it's just about me. It's about my kids and my marriage and my world now. Again, at 46 at the time [when I joined Housewives], taking that leap of faith. It's a positive thing -- nothing negative at all. I hate negative -- it makes me insane. Nothing negative about any Housewives -- franchise-wide.

What are you hoping fans will gain from reading it?

I want them to be happy that they bought it. I don't want them to feel like they wasted their money [laughing]. I still just can't wrap my head around this -- there are so many things that have changed over the past few years. From the bottom of my heart, everyone who buys it ... I was watching today with everyone preordering it and I was crying. I can't believe everyone is so excited about it and is willing to take that leap of faith with me. It's one of those things where I want people to read this book and say 'I can do anything. Her kids have gone through so many things, and they've gone through so many things as a married couple.' I want people to know don't be afraid to take the leap of faith, don't be afraid to have faith in yourself and believe in the impossible.

And what about the possibility of adding New York Times Best-Seller author to your resume?

That's wishful thinking. That would be wonderful. I always was an avid reader, as a young child my mom took us to the library every Tuesday morning. I remember being five years old and getting Beatrix Potter books. I can read a 400-500 page book in a night, so for someone who has such a passion for books, to be able to say I've written one, it doesn't get better than that. If it goes bigger and better than that, I'll probably be sitting somewhere crying that day, too. But for now, I just want to make Harper Collins happy and everyone who bought it happy.

What kinds of books do you like reading?

The only kind of book I won't read is like Stephen King -- I'm afraid of crazy stuff. But I love historical novels, I love biographies. I love to read about people's lives. When I'm on the beach, I love a good trashy romance novel. The Help, I loved, The Room, I loved -- I read 50 Shades of Grey because my daughter was going crazy about it. I read all three in two days. I just love to read.

Let Me Tell You Something will hit the shelves March 26, 2013 -- but you can preorder it on Amazon now!

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