Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Rosemary Neri Villanella attended her local public schools and Brooklyn College before pursuing a career as a teacher. An avid reader since early childhood, her interest in writing first took shape while attending Lafayette High School.
Duck and Cover is a memoir born of Rosemary’s desire to transport readers back to the beloved 1960’s Brooklyn of her youth, with its familiar streets and stoops, during a more innocent time in this fabled borough. Yet Duck and Cover is also a coming-of-age tale, spotlighting the universal struggle of a young girl forging an individual identity – and trying not to attract too much attention—while carefully navigating her way across that crucial border between childhood and adolescence.