Sailing, Storytelling, and Surviving

“Live life like it’s your last breath.” — Antoinette Truglio Martin

Native Long Islander Antoinette Truglio Martin was born in Amityville and has called Sayville home for decades. She married her high-school prom date — a love story still going strong after 46 years — and together they raised three daughters. Today, she is “Nonny” to three grandchildren who fill her life with energy, perspective, and endless story material.

Antoinette always knew she wanted to be a writer. But like many daughters of hardworking parents, she was encouraged to choose a “practical” path. Writing, they said, was a dream — not a profession. So, Antoinette became a speech therapist, special-education teacher, and early-intervention specialist working with handicapped infants, preschoolers, and elementary students. She poured her heart into her work yet never stopped filling notebooks.

Her journals captured the extraordinary moments inside ordinary days — the courage of her students, the humor of childhood, and eventually the magical observations of her grandchildren.

Those journals became the seeds of her writing life.

In 1993, she released her first children’s book, the now-beloved “Famous Seaweed Soup”, and later joined the Long Island Children’s Book Writers group. Her career continued to flourish, and she eventually republished Seaweed with updated content in 2023. Her website, Stories Served Around the Table, beautifully captures her passion for stories rooted in heritage, resilience, and family — a creative flame first lit by her Sicilian grandmother, a gifted storyteller whose voice still echoes through Antoinette’s pages.

But life brought storms, too. In 2007, Antoinette was diagnosed with breast cancer. She endured chemo, surgery, and radiation, fought hard, and survived. Then, in 2012, she was rediagnosed — this time with Stage 4 breast cancer.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she shares quietly. It is a tender, difficult part of her journey, one she prefers to keep low-key. “My way is not everybody’s way.” Between scans and appointments, she chooses to live fully — to write, teach, research, love, and breathe freely. She copes by not dwelling on her condition until she must. “Good now” is how she describes her current state.

Out of this deeply personal chapter came her 2017 memoir, “Hug Everyone You Know”, a raw and beautifully written account of her first year in treatment. It is her way of speaking openly while protecting her peace.

Her message is simple and profound:

“Be vigilant. Don’t postpone mammograms. And live life like it’s your last breath.”

Today, Antoinette’s writing spans historical fiction, children’s literature, memoirs, and richly researched tales that honor the grit and bravery of earlier generations. Accuracy matters to her. Truth matters to her. Stories that teach us where we came from matter to her.

And when she’s not writing? She’s sailing.

Antoinette and her friends meet at the bay with their 14-foot Sunfish boats, where the wind and water offer a kind of freedom and renewal no classroom or computer screen could ever replicate. Out on the water, she feels calm, rejuvenated, and alive.

When asked what she hopes other senior women might take from her journey, her advice is gentle and wise:

“Find something that resonates with you. Be grateful. Welcome new people and new adventures.”

Antoinette Truglio Martin is proof that a life can be both tender and powerful — that you can honor your past, love your family fiercely, weather unimaginable storms, and still choose joy, creativity, and courage every single day.

Her stories nourish, her resilience inspires, and her spirit reminds us all to savor the moments that make life worth living.

For a complete list of Antoinette Truglio Martin’s published works, visit: www.storiesserved.com