Quitting the Mob

Jefferson Center for Character Education

Dary Matera is the author of eleven books, including QUITTING THE MOB, WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?, TAMING THE BEAST, CHILDLIGHT, and the New York Times bestseller ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? His books and subjects have been featured on 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, Primetime Live, Larry King Live, Nightline, Expose, Donahue, Oprah, Regis and Kathy Lee, Good Morning America, A Current Affair, Inside Edition, The E True Hollywood Story, Hollywood Insider, PM Magazine and Personalities among others. Matera, 45, was formerly a reporter for The Miami News and worked as an editor in the book division of Rodale Press, the publishers of Prevention magazine. At Rodale, he was responsible for the writing and editing of selected chapters in six health and fitness books with sales of more than four million.

THE INTERVIEW

EE Q #1: “A Cry For Character” is your recently published book from Prentice Hall Press. Why did you get interested and excited about writing this book?

Matera: When I heard the remarkable story of what this small group of students accomplished — not just in their one school but the example they set for schools around the nation — I was hooked. The news has been full of tragic stories of high school kids gone horribly bad. Shootings, bombings, mass murders, you name it. I saw this as the flip-side of the coin. What happened at Mundelein is every bit as historical and newsworthy as what happened at Columbine