A New Billboard on Times Square: How One Woman’s Adversity Became The Spark That Changed Everything

High above the chaos of Times Square, Rita Montalto’s face looked down from a billboard announcing her novel ‘Adversity’s Gift’ as a critically acclaimed bestseller. For the women watching from the street below—mothers juggling work and family, immigrants chasing their own American dreams, anyone who’d ever felt invisible—that image carried a message more powerful than any advertisement. Here was proof that the quiet voice whispering ‘what if’ in the back of your mind deserves to be heard.

The woman on that billboard had spent years cutting hair in salon chairs, never imagining her story would one day light up the most famous intersection in the world.

The Spark That Started Everything

Rita Montalto’s path to literary recognition began not with grand ambitions, but with a single worn paperback. Working as a hairdresser, she picked up a copy of Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’—a book that would fundamentally shift how she saw her own potential. That moment of reading sparked what she calls ‘a fire of self-belief and possibility.’

What followed wasn’t an overnight success story, but years of quiet determination. Rita committed to personal development work, confronting limiting beliefs and choosing to believe her experiences mattered enough to share. The salon became her classroom for human nature, listening to stories of struggle and resilience while she worked. Each conversation, each moment of connection, was unknowingly building the foundation for the character who would eventually captivate readers across the globe.

Writing Through The Pain

When Rita finally sat down to write, she drew from a well of personal loss and emotional devastation. ‘Adversity’s Gift’ tells the story of Bobby Jo Russo, a young woman rising from financial and emotional ruin between rural Australia and New York City. Bobby Jo wasn’t just a fictional character—she was Rita’s way of processing her own journey through suffering.

The writing process began with handwritten notes, fragments of thoughts and feelings that eventually coalesced into a manuscript. Rita was channelling something deeper than plot and character development; she was turning her scars into a roadmap for others navigating similar darkness. The soul of Bobby Jo Russo—her resilience, her refusal to let circumstances define her future—reflected Rita’s own hard-won wisdom.

Women who read the book often say they see themselves in Bobby Jo’s struggles. The character’s journey from devastation to becoming ‘a beacon of courage and compassion’ resonates because it doesn’t shy away from the messiness of real change. It’s not about finding a quick fix, but about the long, sometimes painful process of rebuilding yourself from the ground up.

The Tour That Became A Movement

Rita’s multi-city book tour revealed something unexpected about the hunger for authentic stories of change. Starting in Los Angeles and moving through Las Vegas, Dallas and New York City, each stop became more than a signing—it became a gathering of women seeking hope and validation for their own unwritten chapters.

Audiences packed venues as Rita shared the journey that led from personal loss to published author. The rooms filled with women overcoming adversity, coaches, mentors and thought leaders who recognised the book as what one called ‘a healing experience in literary form.’ Another described it as ‘the next big thing in fiction that heals.’

Women weren’t just buying a book—they were investing in the idea that their own stories of overcoming could matter just as much. Rita’s vulnerability on stage, her willingness to share the details of her journey, gave permission for others to believe in the possibility of their own reinvention.

A Hollywood Mentor Sees The Bigger Picture

What caught the attention of Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award-winning producer Phillip B. Goldfine wasn’t just Rita’s story, but the way she told it. Goldfine, whose credits include ‘The Hurricane’ with Denzel Washington, ‘Walk the Line’ with Reese Witherspoon and ‘King Richard’ with Will Smith, recognised the cinematic potential in ‘Adversity’s Gift.’

In his opening note for the book, Goldfine wrote: ‘A powerful story that reflects the resilience and passion of the author herself. Rita’s voice carries both the scars and the strength of someone who knows what she wants and is willing to go the lengths to go after it.’

Goldfine’s mentorship style, influenced by his own mentor Bob Proctor, emphasises action and persistence over dreams without follow-through. He’s now guiding Rita through the process of adapting her novel for film, joining what he calls ‘a pioneering cohort of visionary authors’ who are bringing authentic stories to Hollywood for consideration.

Rita is learning screenwriting and stepping into executive producing roles, maintaining creative control over how her story translates to screen. The partnership reflects Hollywood’s growing appetite for authentic voices telling real stories of overcoming.

The Ripple Effect In Readers’ Lives

The recognition from The Los Angeles Tribune as a critically acclaimed bestseller validated what readers had been saying all along. Ava V. Manuel, Editor-in-Chief of The Los Angeles Tribune, called it ‘a masterclass in resilience’ and praised Rita’s voice as ‘fierce, feminine and unforgettable.’

Reader testimonials describe it as ‘a literary blueprint for healing through hardship.’ One wrote: ‘I saw myself in Bobby Jo—and I walked away changed.’ Another called it ‘not a story—it’s a soul ignition.’

From therapists using it in their practice to mothers rebuilding their lives after major changes, the response has been consistent: this book matters because it doesn’t promise easy answers. Instead, it offers something more valuable—proof that change is possible, even when you can’t see the path forward.

The reach extends beyond individual readers too. Personal development literature has found a hungry audience, with stories of authentic change resonating particularly strongly with women seeking their own reinvention.

What It Means To Have Your Story In The World

Standing beneath that Times Square billboard, Rita Montalto represented something bigger than her individual success. For women, immigrants, underdogs and anyone who’d ever been told their story didn’t matter, that image sent a clear message: the world is ready for your voice.

The journey from salon chair to Times Square speaks to the possibility that exists in quiet moments of self-doubt. Rita’s story suggests that the woman cutting your hair, serving your coffee or sitting beside you in the waiting room might be harbouring a story that could change lives—including her own.

What makes Rita’s success particularly meaningful is that she didn’t abandon who she was to become who she is. The empathy she developed listening to clients, the resilience built through personal loss, the authenticity that comes from knowing what it feels like to rebuild your life from scratch—all of these elements inform both her writing and her approach to sharing her message.

As she moves forward with Phillip Goldfine’s mentorship into screenwriting and film adaptation, Rita carries with her the voices of all the women who saw themselves in Bobby Jo Russo’s journey. Her story has become proof that personal reinvention isn’t just possible—it’s necessary, valuable and worth sharing with the world.

The billboard may have come down, but the message remains: your story matters, and somewhere, someone needs to hear it.