Malverne's Jessica Puzzi turns personal journey into children's book

     It is sometimes said that writing is healing; that it is therapeutic and can help one grow or overcome difficulties. That seems to hold true for Jessica Puzzi, a 26-year-old Malverne resident who wrote away her troubles and ended up with a book deal.
    The book, Rosy and Simon's Front Yard Adventure, tells a story that reflects Puzzi's own about the struggle to leave home and conquer fears of the unknown. Following her parents' divorce in 2004, Puzzi experienced a rough patch. To find herself, she decided to pick up her belongings and move with her boyfriend to Las Vegas where she created Rosy the ladybug and Simon the caterpillar, who would soon become true emotional companions to her.
    Throughout the last six years, Rosy and Simon have gone from being fictional figures to figurative friends for Puzzi, who created them to send a message to children about the importance of trying new things. "The moral of the book," Puzzi told the Herald, "is that friendship is something you should take hold of and also, don't be afraid to venture out ... to break out of your bubble and do things, because you'll always find your way home."
    In the book, which is for children ages three to six, the title characters suddenly realize they're no longer in their long-time home, Lilly Lane. The must journey together through the front yard and all it has to offer in order to find their way back home to friends and family. Just as Rosy and Simon finally return home, so did Puzzi, who moved back to Malverne three years ago.
    "I went there, tried to make something of myself, tried to find myself there, and it kind of came out in a book," Puzzi said of her move to Las Vegas. Noting that her parents' divorce triggered the entire adventure, she added, "They always say you write your best stuff when you're at your worst."