A Summer Story Six Decades in the Making: Jackie Balestra’s The Rockaway Chronicles
KP Publishing has announced The Rockaway Chronicles, a nostalgic and deeply personal new book by longtime writer and storyteller Jackie Balestra. In this vivid memoir, Balestra invites readers into six decades of summers spent on the Rockaway Peninsula—a place that shaped her childhood, her family’s history, and her enduring love for coastal life.
A Portrait of a Vanishing Time
In The Rockaway Chronicles, Balestra traces her family’s enduring connection to Rockaway Beach, where generations of memories unfolded in sandy courtyards, tight-knit bungalow communities, and along the windswept Atlantic shoreline. Her story spans 60 summers—years marked not only by sun-soaked joy but by the profound challenges that transformed the Rockaway landscape.
Through the lens of the Farish family, readers witness the shifting fortunes of the iconic beachside community: urban planning decisions that reshaped neighborhoods, economic downturns that tested its resilience, and storms whose raw force left physical and emotional imprints on the peninsula. Yet even in its most difficult seasons, Rockaway remains the beating heart of Balestra’s story.
A Rediscovered Legacy
The seeds of this book were planted more than 20 years ago.
“I initially recorded these stories in 2001 and 2002,” Balestra shares. “I believed they were worth documenting, if only for my family.”
Those early chapters were tucked away in a drawer for two decades—until 2021, when Balestra uncovered two shoeboxes of old slides in her mother’s apartment. Most captured Rockaway’s beaches, bungalows, and quiet moments of everyday life. The images, paired with her long-preserved narrative, reshaped the project into a timeless portrait of a community that, in many ways, no longer exists.
A Lifelong Storyteller
For readers in the South Bay and beyond, Balestra is a familiar voice. Since 2008, she has contributed to numerous local, regional, and national publications. She is best known for her widely-read website South Bay by Jackie and as co-host of The South Bay Show podcast, which ran for a decade.
Now retired from her blog and podcast, Balestra travels the country in an RV with her husband, sharing their adventures on her current blog, Ramblin’ Jax. Still, she remains drawn to the shoreline where her story began.
A Love Letter to Rockaway
Though life took her across the country, Balestra’s bond with Rockaway Beach never faded. Her family’s annual summer migrations—from rented bungalows to an apartment overlooking the water—created a tapestry of traditions that continue to echo through her writing.
The Rockaway Chronicles is more than a memoir; it is her tribute to the community that shaped her childhood and left an indelible mark on her heart. With its blend of personal reflection and rare photographic history, the book offers readers a window into a place and time that feels both familiar and unforgettable.
The Rockaway Chronicles is available on Amazon.
To learn more, visit the official website or Facebook page, and follow Jackie Balestra’s ongoing travels on her Facebook blog, Ramblin’ Jax.