"I hope you'll find this book by my friend Joe Jacoby as rewarding as I did." (Martin Scorsese, from the Introduction)

Joseph Jacoby, screenwriter, director, producer and NYU Film School classmate of Martin Scorsese, began his career as a writer and creator of television game shows and as a professional puppeteer. Jacoby, who worked in the early days of live TV and went on to become a pioneering filmmaker, has until now never revealed that most of his early years were spent as a ward of the state.

He survived a childhood shadowed by his mother's unpredictable and dangerous behavior, which forced friends to commit her. Jacoby then grew up in seven foster homes in Brooklyn, and two institutions. Yet, propelled by the power of his dreams, Jacoby went on to realize his passion for the moving image and made his first theatrical feature at the age of 27.

This is the moving story of what a person can achieve, without regard to so-called reason, facts, or the odds. It will be cherished by everyone concerned about neglected children, and by readers searching for an inspirational true story.

"Joseph Jacoby combines a compelling narrative of parental abandonment with a vivid account of his experiences as an independent filmmaker in New York in the 1960s and 70s - a uniquely 20th century story recalling the glory days of exploitation on 42nd Street and the struggles of a maverick in a dying Hollywood system." (Ron Magliozzi, curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art)

"Engrossing, offbeat...account of Jacoby's lonely childhood and how his imagination led him into the world of film and television." (Library Journal)

"There is a fundamental truth here, and a universal humanism." (Albert Maysles, Recipient of The National Medal of Arts, and described as "The Dean of Documentary Filmmakers" by The New York Times)

"Triumphant!" (Judith Crist, Noted American Film Critic)