INTRODUCTION
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM THE GET-GO
Shortly before I turned sweet 16, I begged my mother to take me on a trip to Los Angeles. Most girls my age had their sights set on the junior prom. I was thinking about my future career as a TV writer.
Why my mother actually agreed to this crazy cross-country jaunt is still somewhat of a mystery to me. Whatever her reason, a few months later we left our small Cape Cod town, hopped on a westbound 737 and headed for Southern California. Once there, we drove along the Sunset Strip, strolled the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and marveled at the footprints outside Grauman’s Theatre. A few days later, we took the Universal Studios tour. I remember standing in the hills above the studio, looking down at ...
