Memoirs Books

Book SynopsisIn China, girls are bad luck and are often drowned. But Angela and her sisters are lucky. They are born in America and allowed to live two lives in one world: eating dim sum and praying the rosary; studying hard at school and playing make believe with their dolls. With a Chinese father who loves consumerism and an American mother determined to give her daughters the opportunities she was denied, Angela and her sisters grow up celebrating both their Chinese heritage and their American culture. But when their father suddenly becomes ill, Angela begins to question the limits of luck and the power of prayer—and to wonder whether she will ever find the courage to be herself.Trade Review“A master of figurative language, Lam deftly describes her life in a multicultural family and the pressures they face from both their Chinese and American societies. Readers will enjoy the transformation of each dynamic member of the family and find themselves rooting for the protagonist again and again. This book celebrates the power of resilience and a young girl’s determination to chase her dreams. Lam left me wanting more.” —Amanda Zieba, author of Breaking the Surface and the Orphan Train Rider Series “In opening up Angela Lam's story one soon feels a settling down, a savoring of scenes similar to the placid detail of Van Gogh's 'Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries.' Hasty though I am by nature, I'm almost tempted to just settle into that prose-verging-upon poetic passage of time, of images.” —Geoff Wood, author of Living the Lectionary “Red Eggs and Good Luck is the kind of honest, beautifully written memoir that will have you staying up way too late turning pages.” —Jennifer Fulwiller, bestselling author of Something Other Than God “Do yourself a favor. Read [Red Eggs and Good Luck]. Get it for your book club (are you paying attention, mom?). Give it away as Christmas presents. If nothing else, get it from the library... If your experience is anything like mine, the only thing you won’t like about this moving, little gem, the only thing about it that will make you really angry is that it ends.” —Brian O'Neel, Editor-in-Chief, The North Coast Catholic

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Book SynopsisDespite growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area as the daughter of four lesbians, Kellen Kaiser envisioned her life working out, fairy tale–like, with a Prince Charming. When her possible prince did arrive, however, it was not without complications. Home on leave from the Israeli army, the man Kaiser picks doesn’t seem like a sure bet. Starting with some casual sex gone awry, they face a number of obstacles, not the least of which are war in the Middle East, long-distance romance, and differing views on sexuality and their approaching adulthood. But they find themselves most challenged by a more mundane concern: the upkeep of a relationship between two people. Funny and keenly observed, Queerspawn in Love is a story about identity, family, and figuring out, through loving someone else and failing, how to love yourself.Trade Review“In this wry, wise, and thoroughly terrific memoir, Kaiser handles the kind of thorny identity politics that make lesser writers quail with a light, lovely and seemingly effortless touch -- and she's hilarious to boot.” —Rachel Shukert, author of Everything's Going to be Great “Kaiser’s descriptively compelling, sweetly sensual, coming-of-age story transcends religions and geography.” —Booklist

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Book SynopsisAs featured in MariaShriver.com * MindBodyGreen * BooksByWomen * Named “Spring Book Pick” by Redbook Magazine * POPSUGAR * Chico’s Inside Chic * San Francisco Book Review * Buzzfeed * The Berry In 1998, after having been married to Duncan―a bully who'd been controlling her for the fourteen years they'd been together―Karen E. Lee thought divorce was in the cards. But ten months after telling him that she wanted that divorce, Duncan was diagnosed with cancer―and eight months later, he was gone. Karen hoped her problems would be solved after Duncan's death―but instead, she found that, without his ranting, raving, and screaming taking up space in her life, she had her own demons to face. Luckily, Duncan had inadvertently left her the keys to her own salvation and healing―a love of Jungian psychology and a book that was to be her guide through the following years. In The Full Catastrophe, Karen explores Jungian analysis, the dreams she had during this period, the intuitive messages she learned to trust in order to heal, and her own emotional journey―including romances, travel adventures, and friends. Insightful and brutally honest, The Full Catastrophe is the story of a well educated, professional woman who, after marrying the wrong kind of man―twice―finally resurrects her life.Trade Review2017 NYC Big Book Award Distinguished Favorite in Relationships 2017 Chanticleer, Journey 2017 Award Shortlist in Narrative Nonfiction 2017 Readers' Favorite Silver Winner 2017 Book Excellence Award Finalist 2017 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Non-Fiction 2017 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite in Women's Issues 2017 Best Book Award Finalist in Women's Issues 2016 Next Gen Indie Awards Finalist in Women's Issues "The Full Catastrophe is a thought-provoking story that gives a brutally honest view on self-resurrection.” —PopSugar “The perfect mix of a psychological study paired with inspirational self-help." —Redbook “A book you’ll definitely want to read this Spring.” — The Berry “Lee’s memoir is part Jungian philosophy, part dream analysis, and all-around compellingly true story about a woman’s ability to heal and resurrect her life after the death of her abusive husband.” — Inside Chic “Honest and raw with an empowering message for women who are in abusive relationships of any kind.” —San Francisco Book Review "[The Full Catastrophe] will have you wanting to start your own dream journal as you follow Ms. Lee on her journey!” — Buzzfeed “[Lee] became a strong woman by overcoming what she went through and not letting it hold her back.” — Crossroad Reviews, 5 star review "Written in retrospect, Lee's plight may help other women in similar marriages find the strength to leave a toxic relationship.” — Kathy Nester, Penny for My Thoughts “For those who are willing to learn, to grow, to look at themselves and to (at least try) to change where necessary, astrology can be extremely valuable, even in its simplified, sun-sign form. I’d like to say that those amazing coincidences between Karen’s life and the readings I gave her are entirely proof of astrology’s veracity.” —Jonathan Cainer, astrologer, Daily Mail “Karen Lee has laid bare the isolating reality of living in an abusive relationship. Her experience of feeling conflicted about wanting a loving connection with Duncan, while at the same time recognizing the unhealthy nature of her relationship, is a common experience for women in abusive relationships. This book also sheds light on ‘upscale domestic violence’—an insidious, misunderstood, and often not talked about situation that happens to women who appear to have financial and social resources. I applaud and am grateful to Karen for writing this book and sharing her experience. It will help other women experiencing domestic violence and will help all of us to support victims of domestic violence, whatever their socioeconomic background.” —Andrea Silverstone, Executive Director of Peer Support Services for Abused Women “A beautifully written, frank, thought-provoking portrayal of a difficult and at times harrowing journey through uncertainty, fear, and abuse. This honest and courageous self-reflection will lead readers to re-think and re-examine their assumptions and beliefs about their own life stories.” —Dr. N. Ogden, PhD, Professor, Mount Royal University, and Co-Director, Centre for Child Well-Being “Captivating and often profound, Lee’s The Full Catastrophe eloquently expresses the complex journey of her marriage to a larger-than-life, charming, yet violent man who dies before she’s ready to let him go. Wise and full of gorgeous detail, this is a brave, self-aware, and compulsively readable memoir. In it, Lee has done something rare: she’s told her story with an unflinching eye to her own accountability and with a depth of hard-earned wisdom.” —Lauren Carter, author of Swarm “The Full Catastrophe conveys the story of a person who overcame serious adversity of an invisible kind, and not only was able to recover, but also to gain from the ordeal. Through the lines of this book the authentic voice emerges of the unutterable suffering, of the resilience and of the inspirational transformation. A unique document of the indomitable human spirit.” —Renos Papadopoulos PhD, Jungian Analyst, Prof. Analytical Psychology, Univ. of Essex.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Gold Medal in the 2016 Living Now Book Awards In the course of their lifetime, one out of two men and one out of three women will be diagnosed with cancer. Many of us watch in desperation as our friends and loved ones fight for their lives. But after seeing several of her patients and her dearest aunt engage in a battle with cancer, Dr. Christine Meyer decided to embark on a quest for hope—and through happenstance and love, a team of runners emerged that empowered a community to make a difference, not only in the lives of cancer patients, but in one another’s lives. Along the way, Meyer learned that the true measure of a doctor’s success is not the number of lives saved but the number of lives touched.Trade Review2017 Living Now Awards Winner in Inspirational Memoir, Female 2017 Reader Views Second Place in Health and Fitness 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Memoirs 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in Motivational 2016 Best Book Award Finalist in Social Change “Meyer's animated account of her successful efforts exemplifies how one woman imbued with infectious zeal can make a difference.” —Booklist “Heartbreaking, inspiring, and empowering. You'll be left feeling you can make a difference in the world.” —J. R. Wagner, author of The Never Chronicles series “At its core, The Longest Mile is a convincing memoir with vivid storytelling and an uplifting (and often humorous) message that left me inspired and ready to take action myself.” —Heather Schugar, PhD, Associate Professor of Literacy, West Chester University of Pennsylvania “In a simple and honest voice, Christine Meyer, MD, recounts her journey in developing a fierce and effective fundraising platform for cancer research and support for local cancer-affected families. Her story will make you cry, laugh, and sit in awe of what she was able to accomplish. At its center, The Longest Mile reveals what I now come to believe is the most potent tool in fundraising: the power of human connection. When I turned over the last page, I was left moved, inspired, and ready to do more.” —Bhavna Shyamalan, PhD, co-founder and vice president, M. Night Shyamalan Foundation

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Book SynopsisThis compelling memoir of one woman’s journey of enchantment, tragedy and romance unfolds against the backdrop of a stunning mountaintop in rural Virginia. Purchased on a lark for weekend camping by a clueless suburban couple, the mountain brings Marcia Mabee and her husband Tim surprising wildlife encounters, dramatic botanical discoveries, and a passion for conservation that leads to its dedication by the state as the Naked Mountain Natural Area Preserve. Naked Mountain veers in an unexpected direction when Marcia faces a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. Struggling with energy-sapping treatments, she continues to battle environmental threats to the beloved mountain where her ashes are to be spread. Just as her prognosis brightens, the story takes a darker turn, extinguishing the couple’s hopes for the future and throwing Marcia into the depths of despair. But in a surprising twist, she confronts the divergent forces of deep grief and new love to remake a life. Naked Mountain is an amazing personal journey that explores the joys of discovery, the uncertainties of life and the enduring bonds of marriage.Trade Review“Keep the Kleenex handy, for Mabee’s tribute to Tim’s love and life is so profound and poignantly rendered that it is impossible not to be moved to tears. Yet for all the tragedy that engulfed their lives, what endured was the mountain, and what sustained them was the serenity and beauty found within its hills.” —Booklist “…intensely personal and compelling. An honest depiction of a courageous, difficult journey.” —Kirkus Reviews “A highly engaging memoir, a fine blend of life’s images and passages. Her redeeming discovery of the Southeast's remote Blue Ridge outback enfolds a journey through joy and family tragedy. Marcia Mabee's pace doesn't falter, but she knows when to slow the story, for vivid details about both personal and natural history. Deeply felt, well told.” —Stephen Nash, 2015 winner, American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award for Virginia Climate Fever: How Global Warming Will Transform Our Cities, Shorelines, and Forests. “Conservationists, bird-lovers, healthcare advocates, and cancer patients will be touched and educated by this love story composed by a cancer survivor, a cancer caregiver, and a woman on a road to recovery.” —Susan Gubar, author of the Living with Cancer blog for The New York Times “A passionate conservationist, Mabee finds her commitment to survival of the endangered cruelly tested as she battles her way through ovarian cancer, only to have news of her hard-won remission upstaged by a shock bulletin: her husband has pancreatic cancer. As she navigates the onslaught of illness, death, and grief, Mabee offers a compelling portrait of love, tenacity, and resilience that will inspire both those who ail and those who mourn.” —Jill Smolowe, author of Four Funerals and a Wedding “Marcia Mabee is a professional working woman, wife, environmentalist, stepmother, entrepreneur, and cancer warrior. She provides an honest and raw account of both the successes and the limitations of cancer treatment. This is a book worth reading for anyone who has struggled with grief and personal challenges. I highly recommend it.” —Deborah K. Armstrong, M.D., Professor of Oncology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center "What starts out as one man’s romantic gesture to impress the woman he loves, the purchase of a mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, eventually turns into a shared love of another kind. What emerges is an enormous challenge to preserve the unique botanical treasures of the land they acutely love and then the challenge to survive cancer. Mabee’s grit and resolve are a source of wonder, a haunting testament to the fortitude of the human spirit." —Barbara Donsky, author of Veronica’s Grave "This is a memoir of love, place and a chance to love again.” —Northern Virginia Magazine

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Book SynopsisOne of the 20 Best Books of 2016, Redbook Magazine Readers’ Favorite Award: Honorable Mention Millions of people watched sportscaster George Michael each week on the Sports Machine, including his daughter Cindi. Cindi Michael appears to live a charmed life: she’s happily married, has a successful career, and is a loving mom to two wonderful children. Yet she longs for a father who hasn’t spoken to her in twenty years, and even secretly watches him on TV when the longing becomes unbearable. When Cindi was eleven, her father fought for sole custody of her and her siblings, raising three children on his own despite being a bachelor and rock ’n’ roll DJ in New York in the 1970s. But with his rising fame as the host of the popular show Sports Machine, his 80-hour-a-week work schedule, and his second marriage, the close relationship Cindi shared with her father began to crack; she did everything to earn his love and attention, but for perfectionist George, it was never enough—and when she was eighteen and a freshman in college, in a burst of anger he told her never to come home again. As the years went on, Cindi struggled to steel her heart while still remaining hopeful that they would one day reconcile, just as her father did with his own dad, and transcend painful family patterns that span generations. Candid, moving, and ultimately hopeful, The Sportscaster’s Daughter is a family story of forgiveness, faith, and strength.Trade Review"In this memoir, Michael meticulously traces the agonizing course of a fractious relationship that still haunts her. There is, of course, no shortage of memoirs about benighted families, but the author is unflinching in her self-analysis. Now a mother of two herself, she provides the insight that 'the past—a difficult one anyway—can only be laid to rest when we have examined and understood it.' A remembrance that effectively captures the author’s emotional pain and her attempts to come to terms with it." —Kirkus Reviews “This memoir combines sports, a woman’s unbreakable spirit, and the strength of family. If that isn’t the American dream, we don’t know what is.” —Redbook Magazine, 20 Best Books of 2016 “Michael's memoir, Sportcaster's Daughter, cozies up to you and breaks your heart. It's a long, deep look at family dysfunction in the suburbs and the devastation of an unrequited love for a family. You'll find echoes of Karr and Walls--read it.” —Stephanie Jay Evans, author of Faithful Unto Death “Cindi Michael’s memoir does not end on the last page. The Sportscaster’s Daughter lingers. It makes you question how a young girl, barely out of middle school, assumes the role of family caretaker... and survives. Thrown out of her house—twice—she manages to go to college, marry, divorce, and finally find unconditional love while trying to heal from her father’s refusal to see her for twenty years. As the daughter of a celebrity sportscaster, Michael engages the written page as if it were her last chance. Woven delicately, this memoir will break your heart until understanding and forgiveness emerge. Then you will cheer.” —Julie Maloney, Director, Women Reading Aloud “The Sportscaster’s Daughter is a compelling story about the special love a daughter has for her famous and at times unapproachable father. This is the true story of Cindi Michael, a strong, hardworking, young girl who is at first surrounded by her father’s love, and then, for inexplicable reasons, is cast from the house to live in isolation, confusion and heartbreak. Cindi does not give up. She is a fighter. This is an important story of a daughter’s love for her less than perfect father, about overcoming the childhood pain of being raised by parents who have no tools to help themselves, let alone guide their children to healthy relationships.” —Leslie Nack, author of Fourteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival “In The Sportscaster's Daughter, Cindi navigates and reexamines her bittersweet past, the ties and pains of family, her parents' divorce, and life and love in the shadow of a famous father. This is a clear-eyed, affecting look back, and in the end our heroine emerges into the light.” —Cullen Thomas, author of Brother One Cell and memoir teacher at New York University and Gotham Writers’ Workshop “I enjoyed this book tremendously on many levels. I haven’t read a book that is this open, revealing, and personal in quite a long time.” —Ed Kalegi, America Weekend Radio host “The Sportscaster’s Daughter is candid and deeply touching as it reveals one family’s struggle with forgiveness and faith.” —BuzzFeed “While George Michael was navigating a highly successful radio career during the 1970s, he was living a rather unconventional life as a single dad with custody of his three children, often putting his oldest daughter in charge. Cindi is not simply telling the story of her dad, but also revealing in great detail her own choices that tested the bonds of a once close father-daughter relationship. This is a story of faith, family and forgiveness and demonstrates how that effort continues long after her childhood and father have both passed away. Cindi’s is a remarkable journey which presents an honest look at the man she proudly calls dad while simultaneously revealing her own story of courage and strength. Both are compelling and unique. It’s a book worth reading.” —Matt Ward, New York area traffic reporter “The Sportscaster's Daughter by Cindi Michael is a tale of forgiveness and self acceptance. I'm not an avid sports listener by any means so I feel that I was able to dive into The Sportscaster's Daughter without any preconceived notions of the man who for a time was such a dominant figure in her life. Still, I found myself rooting for Cindi at every turn, hoping that she would find the stability and love she so desired, to find her own triumph despite the rejection she faced. The Sportscaster's Daughter by Cindi Michael is a great read for anyone looking to dig deeper into the legend, to find not a god, but a man with flaws like everyone else.” —Readers’ Favorite

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Book SynopsisPeggy Garrity began her life as a small-town Irish Catholic girl in the Midwest. Initially convent-bound, she became determined to escape a life like her mother’s, and in the mid-1970s she reinvented herself as a high-profile Los Angeles trial lawyer and single mother of four. At a time when there were virtually no women solo practitioners, she represented David against Goliath—and risked it all in the process. Including compelling courtroom dramas featuring would-be presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore, celebrities Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, and Cheryl Tiegs, and some of Los Angeles’s most notorious murder cases, In the Game is the groundbreaking story of a thrill-seeking solo trial lawyer—and single mother—who beat the odds at a time when working mothers, especially those in male-dominated professions like the law, faced the gauntlet of discrimination.Trade Review“When Peggy Garrity began her career, fewer than 3 percent of lawyers were women, and fewer than 1 percent of lawyers were brilliant—and she was in both categories. A single mother, and a singular force in the courtroom, Garrity litigated cases with one would-be assassin, several murderers, many movie stars, and far too many domestic violence perpetrators. In the Game tells her stories the way Garrity does everything: compellingly.” —Gavin de Becker, best-selling author of The Gift of Fear “In the Game offers an insight into a high stakes legal world and a lawyer who fought in the trenches.” —Geri Spieler, author of Taking Aim At The President “You won’t be able to put this fast-paced memoir down. Garrity has you hooked by the first page with her exploits as one of the few female litigators in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Her humor and searing honesty reveals what it takes to stay In The Game in a legal system that underestimates women with a resolve like Garrity’s. A brilliant read.” —Maureen Murdock, author of The Heroine’s Journey “If you think that Courtroom trials are dull and boring, you haven't experienced the epee-like skills of Peggy Garrity, acting as a powerful legal advocate for her clients! In covering hundreds of trials, I have seen the many degrees of lawyering and legal wrangling, and Ms. Garrity is one of the best. In the Game is a great read, and a great ride . . . with a look into the many facets of a well-lived life and career.” —Mona Shafer Edwards, Courtroom Illustrator and author of Captured: Inside the World of Celebrity Trials “In the Game will shed light on the injustices of the justice system and the ways a strong, determined trial lawyer can make a difference in her client's life. When I first met Peggy Garrity, I was a broken woman fighting to protect my severely autistic child. Where other attorneys saw only obstacles and endless litigation, Peggy found opportunities and even showed me I could laugh again. To this day if she told me to 'do cartwheels in the courthouse hallway,' I would. Peggy Garrity saved our lives.” —Elaine Hall, author, Now I See the Moon: a Mother, A Son, and the Miracle of Autism, star of the Emmy –award winning HBO documentary Autism: The Musical “Peggy Garrity is a force of nature, one that has defied expectations her entire life. While she may best be known for single-handedly winning the toughest headline-grabbing cases against all odds, her real mark may well be in shredding all the stereotypes we have of lawyers as uncaring and manipulative mercenaries. Her story, In The Game, is a funny, and exceptional chronicle of how one brilliant woman, driven by an unerring drive for truth, can and does fight for and win at both law and life.” —Rod Stryker, author of The Four Desires and founder of Parayoga "In the Game is the riveting memoir of a trailblazing woman who blasted down the locked doors that had effectively shut women out of the practice of law since the writing of the Ten Commandments. Her strength, her spirit, and her brilliance shine through these pages and show how it took all of that to overcome the enormous obstacles put in her way.” —Marcia Clark, author of crime novel Blood Defense and former O.J. Simpson prosecutor “Garrity is further proof that women really do run the world.” —Redbook.com

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Book SynopsisWhen Miriam Weinstein’s good friend died unexpectedly, and other losses followed close behind, it led to a year of introspection and black outfits. All Set For Black, Thanks ditches the sanctimony to give us the help, and the laughs, that we actually need in times of mourning and grief. She explores such topics as how we keep our dead with us even as we learn to let them go; why we should not bring casseroles; how to write the Best Eulogy Ever. Part memoir, part how-to, this book will help you get through the rough bargain of human existence: none of us gets out of here alive, but we live as if the lives of our loved ones had no end.Trade Review“Who knew I’d find a collection of essays about death to be shockingly funny? I should have known—given the collection’s title, All Set for Black, Thanks, and the cover, which is a Vogue-ish drawing of some little-black-going-to-a-funeral dresses. But of course Miriam Weinstein’s new book is also touching, for the what-to-wear dilemmas she addresses are surrounded by evocative descriptions of how loved one’s react at life’s passing. These are intensely personal essays about death written by an introspective woman with a keen gift for outré and, dare I say ‘cheering,’ gab.” —Rebecca Coffey, author of Hysterical “With grace and keen wit Miriam Weinstein provides a survivor’s manual for all who face loss. Colleagues, friends, and loved ones die frequently in her account. This book is a love letter to them, as well as a guide to those left behind. Weinstein teaches us how to mourn as well as how to embrace the gift of life that is still ours.” —Daniel Jacobs, Director, Center for Advanced Psychoanalytic Studies "All Set for Black, Thanks is an important contribution to grief literature. By nimbly straddling memoir and self-help, Miriam Weinstein reveals both the universal and personal road we all must travel when we lose someone we deeply loved.” —Allison Gilbert, author of Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents "All Set for Black, Thanks takes mourning out of the closet as we follow Miriam Weinstein through a year of funerals, shivas, casseroles and eulogies. We see loss and the rituals that surround it through her wry, resilient, wise lens, feeling almost guilty when we can't help laughing. Weinstein's little black dress allows you to be your true vulnerable self in the face of what we fear the most. Put it on! You'll be surprised.” —Sally Ryder Brady, Author, A Box of Darkness

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Book SynopsisWhen she was twenty, Patricia Reis’s mother asked, “What about your spiritual life?” Years later, this question drives her midlife quest to reconcile the desires of her body with the mandates of her spirit. Motherlines is a candid and compelling story of sex with men and with women, of celibacy, illegal abortions, making vows and breaking them, dreams, body wisdom, creative ambition, and inspiring relationships with memorable characters. This unflinching memoir illuminates the unvarnished truth of growing up female in the 1980’s a rich and fertile period in American history when gender roles were undergoing a revolution, a time that includes feminism, the women’s spirituality movement and liberation theology. In her soul-searching quest for meaning, and longing for maternal connection, Reis discovers an unlikely confidante in her aunt, a free-spirited Franciscan nun. Their letters and relationship are a thread that weaves throughout this memoir – an increasingly intimate and honest exchange between two women who are living very different lives yet are both kin and kindred spirits. A spiritual journey and a creative tour de force, this memoir is a potent and tender love song to the Motherlines that connect us all.Trade Review“Motherlines is a deep treasure written in the inimitable voice of a woman whose work was a lighthouse for me when I first wrote Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom. There is pure gold healing in these pages. Let it touch and heal you.” —Christiane Northrup, MD, OB/GYN physician and author of the New York Times bestsellers Goddesses Never Age; Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom; and The Wisdom of Menopause “Dreams, body wisdom, sexual awakening, inspiring relationships—Patricia Reis possesses a deep capacity to hear the soul’s call and the courage to follow it. A spiritual journey and a creative tour de force, this is a potent and tender love song to the motherlines that connect us all.” —Tina Stromsted, PhD, Jungian analyst, dance/movement therapist, and cofounder of the Authentic Movement Institute in Berkeley, California “Looking for a book that will feed your mind and your heart? Insight waits on every page of Patricia Reis’s Motherlines —as do real-life characters who will inhabit your memory and remain friends and advisors long after you close the cover.” —Mary Johnson, author of An Unquenchable Thirst, named one of the Best Books of the Year by Kirkus Reviews “A maternal aunt—a nun—who, on three continents and in a series of socio-political challenges, becomes an unexpected hand for Reis to hold. Despite leading very different lives, the two women are surprisingly similar in their yearning and search for what matters most to heart, soul, and spirit.” —Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of This is Paradise and the New England Book Award–winning Sundays in America “Motherlines is a riveting memoir. Patricia Reis’s masterful telling of her soulful experience of being lost and found in the dark and light mysteries of midlife is a remarkable story. Motherlines is soul food for all.” —Sister Karol Jackowski, author of Forever and Ever, Amen: Becoming a Nun in the Sixties “This memoir of a searching American woman and her aunt, a liberationist Franciscan nun living in Central America, tells an intertwined story. In tandem they move through layers of spiritual exploration and women's truth to arrive in a knowing sense of fulfillment.” —cofounder of the US Green Party movement “Patricia Reis is a fierce and fearless writer. Motherlines is an intimate, movingly honest story about women who seek and yearn for the fullest expression and connection. Grounded and transcendent.” —Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner award-winning author of The Great Man and Blue Plate Special

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Book Synopsis2017 Gold Medal IPPY Award in Autobiography/Memoir They first meet in Paris in the spring of 1996. David is a divorced American attorney living on a converted barge moored on the banks of the Seine; Roni Beth is an empty-nested clinical and research psychologist working from her home in Connecticut. Now in their fifties, both have signed off on loving again—until they meet each other. Miracle at Midlife tells the inspiring story of Roni Beth and David’s intense and transformative transatlantic courtship. Along the way, David the loner, living amid the beauty, freedom, and pleasures of Paris, brings Roni Beth, a responsible and overextended professional haunted by earlier loss and trauma, back to her core as a woman, while she helps him reclaim connections that tie him to a larger world. They wrestle internal demons (mostly hers) and external threats (friends, family and different perspectives) as they share adventures in their respective worlds. Throughout their journey, stories of courage, joy and integrity bring hope and delight to those who wonder how romantic love appears and evolves; inspiration to people in mid-life who, knowingly or unknowingly, have completed a chapter in their lives and are ready to move on; and comfort to anyone who longs to wrestle and conquer the demons of fear, born of history or of the unknown, and win. Testimony that love is real.Trade Review“A wonderful, thoughtful and inspiring story of love and courage—the kind of tale that teaches us to take chances, and that we CAN overcome our own obstacles. ” —Betsy Stone, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of Happily Ever After “Roni Beth Tower shares her journey through life with wit, warmth, and insight. Miracle at Midlife is written with an eye for detail and for the ability to make the reader feel like a participant in this adventure. Following a romantic meeting in Paris, the author describes events that involve two continents. Subsequently, she was able to overcome many obstacles, and to reinvent herself as someone open to love and affection.” —Dorothy and Jerome L. Singer, Yale University “Miracle at Midlife is an honest, thoughtful and authentic memoir about a real love affair, in which the intimacies, conflicts, misunderstandings and resolutions of new love are explored. Roni Beth Tower writes with a compelling command of psychological process and insight, while ably injecting humor in the story of her transatlantic romance.” —Jeanne Bodin, author of We, the American Women and Women Who Work “Miracle at Midlife is a captivating memoir of a courageous woman’s physical and emotional journey from Connecticut to Paris, where a sometimes challenging love affair awaits. Roni Beth Tower’s vividly detailed story is candid and insightful about the joys of finding love in middle age, and the resilience required to voyage down new paths to personal fulfillment. Drawing on her experience as a clinical psychologist, she describes the passionate attraction that moves both lovers to modify and unite their lives. Tower’s gifts of lyrical language, emotional resonance, and psychological sensitivity offer a memorable narrative about achieving happiness at any age." —Sybil Steinberg, Former Forecasts Editor, Publishers Weekly “Conquering the dual challenges of parenting herself as well as her adult children, Roni Beth Tower lives her transatlantic romance with consciousness and insight, as she decides to leave the safe shore of her home in Connecticut to create a new life with a man she meets in Paris when she is in her early 50's. Miracle at Midlife is a classic love story set in modern times that draws on the author's background as a psychologist as well as her wisdom as a woman. It is also a wonderful and moving story that will inspire everyone who reads it." —Shefali Tsabary, PhD, New York Times bestselling author and clinical psychologist “Roni Beth Tower’s Miracle at Midlife transports the reader across time and the Atlantic to the sights, tastes, and heady romance of Paris. Through a meeting of the minds, and with great passion, Roni rebirths herself and finds her soul mate. Her journey is at once moving, humorous, candid, and a gift." —Traci Stein, PhD, MPH, integrative medicine expert and award-winning author of The Everything Guide to Integrative Pain Management “A wonderful story (that) needed to be told… demonstrates triumph for all of us who aspire, regardless of our age or doubts, and is a reminder to take life by the coat tails and fly. Miracle at Midlife by Roni Beth Tower, is a testimonial to pursuing a passion, to doing, completing, persevering, and to embracing life." —Camille Mancuso, Chatterbox column, Bucks County Herald “REMARKABLE! Roni Beth Tower starts with that most romantic ideal—an unexpected romantic encounter in Paris—and completely rediscovers and re-creates her own life as a result. In prose both literary and analytic, she glides us through this whirlwind courtship, which upends not only her own life, but that of many around her. Throughout this remarkable life transformation, Roni Beth remains a clear-eyed observer of this phenomenal occurrence, the chance for not just love, but a bold new chapter in one's own life story. A thrilling story from beginning to end, one that reads like a beautiful novel." —Jack Thomas, Broadway Producer “Roni Beth Tower shares a remarkable story about the renewal of hope after loss, and the elegance of destiny in love. Beautifully crafted and narrated, her story will captivate the senses and awaken the reader to the power of living with courage, vulnerability and most of all integrity." —Jennifer Lee, PhD, Clinical Psychologist & Co-Author of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Anxious Children “A page-turner from beginning to end, Roni Beth Tower’s remarkable memoir, Miracle at Midlife: A Transatlantic Romance, offers the reader a chance to experience both the sexual intensity of the romance novel and a clinician’s clear-eyed insights into the difficulties besetting many a cross-cultural relationship. The author would have it that we do not fall in love; rather we remove the obstacles to being in love. And the obstacles are everywhere! From contradictory styles of interaction to differing styles of parenting adult children and managing complex professional and social lives. This Francophile couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended." —Barbara Bracht Donsky, author of Veronica’s Grave "Miracle at Midlife, a memoir, tells the inspiring tale of finding love after all hope is lost. Roni Beth and David are far past the point of searching for love, until it finds them. Both struggle with internal demons and threats to their relationship, but their love is a testimony that it is never too late for a second chance at finding true happiness. Romantic and real." —Inside Chic "[Tower] writes expansively, honestly, and joyfully [of the] blissful moments as well as the struggles that come with being part of a couple again after loss, divorces, and years of independence. . . . This is a thoughtful chronicle of taking risks and overcoming fears that offers readers hope of experiencing love later in life." —Publishers Weekly "An insightful and introspective account." —Akron Beacon Journal "An honest and inspiring journey. The poignant and memorable journey of their transatlantic romance will have readers of all ages hunting for their passport and planning an adventure to the city of love." —Buzzfeed “She’s haunted by past loss and trauma in her life and she’s an overextended professional. [This is] a story about the renewal of hope after loss.” —2014 and Beyond "Her journey felt like a dance or a song. Her history and daily life were the background music, the constant throughout the story, while her relationship with David was the back and forth, the push and pull of the music that kept you wanting more." —Midwest Ladies Who Lit “Makes you think about how one person that you meet on the street could become your soul mate, it's truly the perfect love story. You could feel the emotions from Roni Beth from the time she meet David to where their future was headed. This book goes to prove that you have to take that leap of faith in order to find true love!!" —Holly Flora, Country Girl Bookaholic “An inspiring and authentic love story. Through times of joy and hardship, the couple’s pure devotion to each other shines through in Tower’s effectively emotional writing. This moving memoir will bring hope and comfort to those who wonder how romance appears and evolves as we grow older.” —Westchester Magazine "Her background as a psychologist makes Dr. Tower uniquely qualified to reflect on internal experience, interpersonal dynamics, and challenging choices. A passionate midlife love story will appeal to educated members of the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and Gen X-ers who came of age before rap music became the default for radio stations and MTV changed our experience of music forever. The National Center for Education Statistics counted over 30% of this portion of the US population in 2012 as college graduates – that is, over 94 million Americans." —24symbols.com "Fabulous Things: Top 5 Winter Reads: A memoir of raw and real romance, David and Roni, both in their fifties had signed off on love – that is, until they meet each other. A transatlantic tale set in Paris and Connecticut, this memoir is uplifting, inspiring and heart-warming. It tells a relatable story about overcoming personal demons and threats, courage, joy and integrity. A romantic autobiography, you’ll love reading this for its emotional honesty." —blackpepper.com.au

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Book SynopsisShani Raviv is a misfit teen whose peer-pressured diet spirals down into full-blown anorexia nervosa—something no one in her early-nineties, local South African community knows anything about. Fourteen-year-old Shani spends the next six years being “Ana” (as many anorexics call it), on the run from her feelings. She goes from aerobics addict to Israeli soldier to rave bunny to wannabe reborn, using sex, drugs, exercise and, above all, starvation, to numb out everything along the way. But one night, at age twenty, Shani faces the rude awakening that if she doesn’t slow down, break her denial, and seek help, she will starve to death. Three years later, her hardest journey of all begins: the journey to let go of being Ana and learn to love herself. Being Ana is an exploration into the soul and psyche of a young woman wrestling with anorexia’s demons—one that not only exposes the real horrors of a day in the life of an anorexic girl but also reveals the courage it takes to stop fighting and find healing.Trade Review“A fascinating window into the frightening and relentless world of anorexia and, equally, young womanhood.” —Katherine Boyle, Veritas Literary Agency “Ms. Raviv is a fabulous writer and did an amazing job of simultaneously showing how her eating disorder functioned to keep her from being conscious of the underlying issues while in the depths of it, and showing the reader how all of her behaviors, thoughts and feelings were directly related to those underlying issues.” —Susie Roman, MA, Director of Programs, National Eating Disorders Association “Shani’s openness and clarity in sharing her experience with anorexia gave my students a unique opportunity to gain empathy and understanding for the living of an eating disorder. I know it will make them better therapists.” —Dr. John Deninno, clinical psychologist and eating disorder elective instructor, Bastyr University “Shani Raviv is a great inspiration to the many millions out there struggling with eating disorders. Her book Being Ana is honest, sensitive, witty, brutal, and so much more.” —Graham Alexander, MA (Clin.Psych.)(UCT), Director of Crescent Clinic Eating Disorders Unit “Being Ana is not only an insightful, raw, and thought-provoking memoir detailing a subject most people know little about, it is also a work by an author who understands how to present a difficult subject with humor and aplomb. Even though the book took her eight years to complete, there is an aching immediacy within these pages.” —Leighanne Law, Elliott Bay Book Co.

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Book SynopsisThe true story of a German-Jewish love that overcame the burdens of the past. Finalist for the 2017 Book of the Year Award by the Chicago Writers Association “A book that is hard to put down.” —Jerusalem Post “This book confirms Annette Gendler as an indispensable Jewish voice for our time." —Yossi Klein Halevi, author of Like Dreamers "The ghosts of the past haunt a woman’s search for herself in this thoughtful, poignant memoir about the transformative power of love and faith.” —Hillary Jordan, author of Mudbound, now a Netflix movie “An exquisitely written conversion story which expounds upon personal and collective identity.” —Washington Independent Review of Books “A compelling, gracefully written memoir about the impact of the past on the present.” —Michael Steinberg, author of Still Pitching History was repeating itself when Annette fell in love with Harry, a Jewish man, the son of Holocaust survivors, in Germany in 1985. Her Great-Aunt Resi had been married to a Jew in Czechoslovakia before World War II―a marriage that, while happy, put the entire family in mortal danger once the Nazis took over their hometown in 1938. Annette and Harry’s love, meanwhile, was the ultimate nightmare for Harry’s family. Not only was their son considering marrying a non-Jew, but a German. Weighed down by the burdens of their family histories, Annette and Harry kept their relationship secret for three years, until they could forge a path into the future and create a new life in Chicago. Annette found a spiritual home in Judaism―a choice that paved the way toward acceptance by Harry’s family, and redemption for some of the wounds of her own family’s past.Trade Review2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Relationships (Non-Fiction) “Interwoven with the story of Gendler's great-aunt and illustrated with family photographs, the author's story offers an intimate and interesting . . . look at one woman's life choices and their outcomes . . . [a] candid and heartfelt memoir.” —Kirkus “Piercing. The silver lining of hope, faith, and healing will leave readers stirred.” —Redbook Magazine “Jumping Over Shadows is a timely and thought-provoking book, one that I urge people of all faiths and backgrounds to read and reread.” —Windy City Reviews “Gendler skillfully integrates the history of her family, which she meticulously researched, with her own modern love story.” —Jewish Book Council “Is it a fair comparison when the author weaves her love story with that of her great-aunt who married a Jew in Czechoslovakia fifty years before? It turns out it is.” —Story Circle Book Reviews

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Book SynopsisIt was 1969, and all the rules were changing, when Betty, a woefully single French teacher on Long Island, met the handsome but edgy new teacher at her school, a hippie just back from Woodstock. His vitality opened up a new world to her—but when they married, his rages turned against her, and often ended with physical violence. Like millions of women who discover they’ve married an abusive man, Betty was forced to make daily decisions—to suppress her feelings or risk confrontation, to keep it secret or report, and ultimately, to live with it or leave. Part memoir, part warm-hearted look at the ’70s, and part therapeutic journey, Not Exactly Love: A Memoir is an intense and inspirational story of a woman who grew from her experience.Trade Review2017 Readers’ Choice Book Award, Gold, in Relationships 2017 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) in Sexuality/Relationships 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Finalist, Relationships 2017 Independent Press Award: Distinguished Favorite, Memoir 2017 International Book Award: Finalist, Women’s Issues “Prose that vividly and courageously articulates a cautionary tale of abuse." —Kirkus Review "Exceptionally well written, brutally candid, and ultimately inspiring, Not Exactly Love: A Memoir is especially recommended to the attention of anyone having to deal with an abusive spouse or friend." —Midwest Book Review “Betty Hafner eloquently writes about an abusive relationship . . . a powerful example of how people can gather the courage and insight to create a better life." —Rosalind Wiseman, Creating Cultures of Dignity, author of the New York Times bestseller Queen Bees and Wannabes “Breaking the silence about the complex dynamics of abusive relationships is the most powerful act anyone—victim, bystander, or perpetrator—can take. Bravo to Betty Hafner!” —Leslie Morgan Steiner, author of the New York Times best seller Crazy Love “Why do women stay—and how do they gain the courage to leave? Betty Hafner's memoir is both a courageous portrait of a woman and her will, and a moving guide for women who are also dealing with the horrors of domestic violence. Her story will resonate with some and give spirit to others, and is an indelible document for readers and feminists everywhere.” —Lizzie Skurnick, author of Shelf Discovery “Betty Hafner’s intelligence is on display throughout. She shares such piercing insights that burst the bubble of attraction, enabling, love and marriage, family repression, the complexity of domestic entanglements—and her atmospheric elements do a wonderful job of giving fullness to the scenes.” —Matthew Klam, author of Sam the Cat and Other Stories “Hafner's deft prose puts the reader inside the story, revealing in intimate detail the anguish of ongoing physical abuse, the slow building of a victim's agency, and, finally, the redemptive power of boldly taking back one's freedom.” —Robin Rinaldi, Author of The Wild Oats Project “Not Exactly Love is a brave and honest account of a domestic violence victim's tense, unpredictable world. Illustrating many of the early warning signs that batterers typically display, it accurately describes the complex dynamics of an abusive relationship. Betty's story offers a raw, unflinching description of the tough choices and sacrifices survivors are often forced to make, but ends with an inspiring lesson on the cathartic power of letting go.” —Lynn Fairweather, MSW, Author of Stop Signs: Recognizing, Avoiding, and Escaping Abusive Relationships “For the literally millions of women who are physically abused and emotionally terrorized Not Exactly Love clearly explains the attachments, fears, and rationalizations that keep a woman trapped in a toxic relationship. Better yet, Betty Hafner writes beautifully about how she took charge of her life and grew strong enough to break free. Both a gripping story and a manual for survivors.” —Barbara Esstman, author of The Other Anna, Night Ride Home, and Sure Thing "In Not Exactly Love, Betty Hafner captures the very essence of what it can be like living in an abusive relationship. We get an intimate view into Betty’s world in an honest, compelling way, and we find ourselves rooting for her to regain control of her body, her mind, and her life. As a clinician who works with victims of domestic abuse every day, I would recommend the book to anyone seeking to understand, and perhaps to help, a loved one or friend facing that situation.” —Stacy Lang, PhD, LCSW, Director of Outreach/ Clinician at The Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA)

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Book SynopsisTo honor her mother's deathbed advice to head off breast cancer to “be there” for her boys, Krista Hammerbacher Haapala chose to trade healthy breasts for longevity and peace of mind. In Body 2.0, Haapala chronicles the personal research, medical process, bodily changes, and the emotional toll involved in the more than two-year odyssey of what she referred to as her “Body 2.0 vision quest.” Through it all, Haapala shares her insights for living awake during even the darkest times, and captures the raw ebbs and flows she and her family experience in the face of her wrenching decision. She takes on body image, the sexualization of breast cancer, motherhood, and maternal relationships, as well as how to sustain an intimate, loving partnership. An unflinching, irreverent take on preventative double mastectomy, Body 2.0 is a guide to reframing adversity, finding inspiration, and shaping your own life.Trade Review"A little transcendentalist, a little bit rock and roll, Haapala made her decision and stuck with it…Recommended for most patient health collections.” —Library Journal "Body 2.0 is a touching exploration of body image, motherhood, and the sexualization of breasts and breast cancer.” —Bustle, "12 Memoirs by Badass Women to Add to Your Wishlist in Fall 2016” "From redefining her body image to sustaining a steamy intimate relationship in the face of health drama, the scenes of this moving memoir will reawaken every woman’s soul to the power of existence and stir a yearning to hold on to it forever." —Working Mother Magazine "This emotionally raw memoir captures the authentic the struggle between physical health and the mental strain of bravely choosing a preventative double mastectomy, redefining sexiness, and overcoming society's dangerously shallow dogmas of what it means to be beautiful.” —YourTango, "10 Fall Memoirs That Will Make You Believe In Love Again” “A courageous and passionate diary of transformation. Anyone facing medical trauma will find resilience in this first-person account of what it means to be a mother, a partner, and a fully embodied woman in the face of body-altering surgery.” —Gina Ogden, PhD, LMFT, author of Expanding the Practice of Sex Therapy “In Body 2.0, Krista reaches out, grabs a hold of the reader’s hand, and walks you through her transformative journey in which she faces her fear, pain, loss, anger, and grief with exceptional honesty and courage. Witnessing Krista allow the power of love, joy, gratitude, and hope become her ultimate guides will inspire every reader to trust your own power and be brave in your decisions, and honor yourself, your body, and your spirit, each and every day.” —Julie Burton, author of The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother’s Must-Have Guide to Health and Well-Being, JulieBburton.com “Author Krista Haapala beautifully documents her emotional trajectory, along with her physical journey, through a major medical procedure in the wake of grieving, and learning from, her mother's death. She explores what it means to be a wife, mother and, most of all, herself: a woman intent on making the best choices possible for her present and her future. In the process, she challenges much of the conventional wisdom about breast cancer as she makes pro-active decisions and comes to know her body and mind more intimately. Body 2.0 is a heartfelt memoir that will speak to anyone who cares about those touched by breast cancer.” —Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor, Best Women's Erotica of the Year series “Books can be life-altering. Fewer are life-saving. This book offers the gift of both . . . you can’t help but feel intoxicated with the power of her journey and her vulnerability and relate it to your own. With her passion for debunking myths, exposing culture, and sharing her deepest truth, Krista challenges her inner critic and limits, and welcomes you to consider your own. This book will be at finger’s reach in my therapy practice for all women experiencing a cancer diagnosis, seeking a prophylactic approach to their health choices or body image dissonance, and couples who probably could never imagine that a medical crisis could ever bring them closer.” —Jennifer A. Wiessner, LCSW, AASECT Sex Therapist “Although inspired by her body and her mastectomy, Body 2.0 is about the journey to find power in both. Krista, by sharing her path, gives us permission to explore our own feelings, and make our own decisions about or bodies, and our future. It's not about choosing life, it's about choosing to live. As one who coaches both the minds and bodies of people all day long, this book, with its mixture of prose and poetry, will be a great tool.” —Alyssa Royse, Life and Body Coach, Seattle, WA “Body 2.0 is an inspirational memoir about breast cancer that is full of beauty and honesty while facing doubt, denial, and control head on. A woman consciously making a challenging decision to cut breast cancer off at the pass and sharing her experiences along the way, Krista's unending positivity and strength shines throughout.” —Lanae St. John, DHS, ACS, TheMamaSutra.net

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Book SynopsisOn a bus trip to a Catskill Mountain ashram, Rifka Kreiter recollects her past as she travels to meet Swamiji, another new guru on the scene in the bustling spiritual marketplace of 1976. Memories abound of an eventful childhood with an unstable mother on New York’s Upper West Side and in LA, of dancing the Twist at Manhattan’s Peppermint Lounge, and of sitting in against the war—as well as getting tear-gassed in Mississippi, surviving broken love affairs, and more. A checkerboard ride through the fifties, sixties, and early seventies, Home Free is powered by Kreiter’s passionate drive for pleasure, self-knowledge, and—above all—freedom from limitations, whether psychological, political, or spiritual. Ultimately, it is a joyful trip, as she strives to bust free, be it with drugs, therapy, political activism, or meditation. At last, she arrives at a destination as unexpected as it is transformational.

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Book SynopsisEver since she was a child, Linda Joy Myers felt the power of the past. As the third daughter in her family to be abandoned or estranged by a mother, she observed the consequences of that heritage on the women she loved as well as herself. But thanks to the stories told to her by her great-grandmother, Myers received a gift that proved crucial in her life: the idea that everyone is a walking storybook, and that we all have within us the key to a deeper understanding of life—the secret stories that make themselves known even without words. Song of the Plains is a weaving of family history that starts in the Oklahoma plains and spans over forty years as Myers combs through dusty archives, family stories, and genealogy online. She discovers the secrets that help to explain the fractures in her family, and the ways in which her mother and grandmother found a way not only to survive the great challenges of their eras, but to thrive despite mental illness and abuse. She discovers how decisions made long ago broke her family apart—and she makes it her life's work to change her family story from one of abuse and loss to one of finding and creating a new story of hope, forgiveness, healing, and love.Trade Review2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Women's Issues 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Relationships (Non-Fiction) "Linda Joy Myers has written a remarkable, heartbreaking, and hopeful story. Song of the Plains is a memoir of fierce longing and a quest to understand the fragile bonds of family. Myers stitches together her past, finding solace in the landscape of the Great Plains and weaving in elements of story like a poet, detective, artist, therapist, mother, daughter, and historian. The fascinating and fractured women in this memoir will continue to whisper their songs for generations to come." —Melissa Cistaro, Author of Pieces of My Mother “Linda Joy Myers, already an established thought leader in the memoir genre, solidifies her legacy with this meditation on ancestry, place, generational pain, healing, and redemption. The author’s consistently braided themes of memoir as art, craft, and psychological process are enhanced by her longstanding career as a marriage and family therapist. The writing is cohesive and evocative, the research impeccable, and the ultimate triumph over both nature and nurture compelling.” —Kathleen Adams LPC, Director, Center for Journal Therapy, Inc., author of Journal to the Self, and editor of Expressive Writing: Foundations of Practice “Linda Joy Myers’s search for continuity in her family history brings to mind E. M. Forster’s quote, ‘Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted.” Her search for connection deeply resonates in a time when social media makes connections that are broad but shallow. Rooted in place and personal stories, Song of the Plains is an antidote to the superficial and the faux. Myers’s writing plumbs the depths of real experience. This important narrative is crafted to last.” —Sue William Silverman, author of The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew “Intelligent, heartfelt, and tenderly observed, Song of the Plains is a memoir about identity, storytelling, and the healing power of telling the truth. Raised in a family haunted by secrets, Linda Joy Myers set out on a journey to discover what the women in her clan were hiding—and why—as a way to untangle the legacy of inherited-but-hidden trauma. As Myers writes, ‘If we hide or don’t tell our stories, part of who we are goes missing.’ If you’ve ever puzzled over your own missing pieces or questioned who you might be without your own secrets, this beautiful book will help light your way.” —Mark Matousek, author of Sex Death Enlightenment and The Boy He Left Behind “Song of the Plains is an emotional and captivating read. From the very first page, Linda Myers leads the reader on a journey into the inner landscape of a complex family dynamic that invites curiosity and empathy. Myers is a brilliant storyteller, weaving together well-researched details with answers to plaguing life questions that reveal the reality of ‘home’—turning a preconceived definition on its head. This story touches readers in a way that stirs compassion for the complexity of people and their role in a larger framework known as ‘family.’ It makes one wonder about their own sense of home and what they’ve come to believe about it.” —Tina M. Games, author of Journaling by the Moonlight: A Mother’s Path to Self Discovery “The descriptions in Song of the Plains are downright elegiac. I felt I was standing on the red earth in Oklahoma, feeling the wind in my face. This next volume of Myers’s quest for understanding and forgiveness of her foremothers and family will inspire anyone seeking to understand their roots.” —Sharon Lippincott, author of The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing “We all have stories that change our lives. Sometimes we remain silent, but the silence only gives the story more power. In Song of the Plains, memoir expert Linda Joy Myers goes deeply into her own life story and reveals how she transformed it into a new one that helped her move forward with hope and love. Another moving healing journey related to family relationships from Myers, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to explore—and heal—the past.” —Nina Amir, best-selling author of Creative Visualization for Writers, The Author Training Manual, and How to Blog a Book “For years, as I considered the mystery of my childhood, I wondered, ‘Who were these people who molded me?’ Song of the Plains asks that question and explores the decades-long saga of the author’s search for answers. Like an ancestral detective, Myers peers into the evidence and follows historical bread crumbs, attempting to make sense of her family’s earlier lives.” —Jerry Waxler, author of The Memoir Revolution

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Book SynopsisAfter a lifetime of strained bonds with her aging parents, Patricia Williams finds herself in the unexpected position of being their caregiver and neighbor. As they all begin to navigate this murky battleground, the long-buried issues that have divided their family for decades—alcoholism, infidelity, opposing politics—rear up and demand to be addressed head-on. Williams answers the call of duty with trepidation at first, confronting the lines between service and servant, guardian and warden, while her parents alternately resist her help and wear her out. But by facing each new struggle with determination, grace, and courage, they ultimately emerge into a dynamic of greater transparency, mutual support, and teachable moments for all. Honest and humorous, graceful and grumbling, While They’re Still Here is a poignant story about a family that waves the white flag and begins to heal old wounds as they guide each other through the most vulnerable chapter of their lives.Trade Review2019 Eric Hoffer Award Honorable Mention in Memoir 2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist in The First Horizon 2018 IPPY Bronze Medal Winner in Aging/Death & Dying 2018 IBPA Ben Franklin Awards Gold Medal winner in Autobiography & Memoir 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Aging 2018 Readers' Favorites Book Awards Honorable Mention in Non-Fiction—Memoir 2017 Caring.com Best Books on Caregiving selection “ . . . amazing stories with captivating details surface, from the deeds both heroic and horrific her father witnessed in the Navy to her mother’s days as a singer, nightclub dancer, and model, along with the poverty both faced growing up in the Depression. The end result is an intimate oral history of a blue-collar, postwar American family revealed by the author in the same touching and heartbreaking manner it was disclosed to her. Both crushing and uplifting; an account nearly as emotional as the caregiver’s trials it vividly outlines.” —Kirkus Reviews “With compassion and honesty, Williams shares how she navigated the complex journey with her parents during the last chapter of their lives.” —Booklist “Where do I even begin after walking down such a beautiful, heartbreaking, inspiring, terrifying, and hopeful Memory Lane with the author? I would like to try to jot down all the thoughts that crossed my mind and heart while reading this amazing memoir. While They're Still Here: A Memoir is more than just a book. It is a mirror that will encourage you to cherish your parents while they are still here.” —Reader's Favorite “A refreshingly candid, poignant memoir that lays bare the physical and emotional costs of care, While They’re Still Here powerfully demonstrates the lengths we go to ensure the health and safety of our aging parents. Williams’ writing is stark and lucid, her well-crafted anecdotes filled with compassion even as her life is upended and her caregiving duties mount. Her book reminds us of the ability we all have to redefine our lives and our relationship with our parents—and to savor the time we have left with them.” —Jana Panarites, author of Scattered: My Year As An Accidental Caregiver “Trish Williams is unwilling to let her parents’ lives slip away uninspected. Her journey through caretaking balances her family credo, “get over it,” with doses of compassion, self-examination, and humor. While They’re Still Here is a love letter to the author’s parents and a deep examination of aging. The daughter of two avid storytellers, it’s clear that Williams is a good listener. It’s a pleasure to watch as she discovers her own power to spin a tale and finds solace and self-worth in the power of story.” —Tanya Ward Goodman, author of Leaving Tinkertown “No matter how different our families may be, one thing’s for sure: they all come with plenty of baggage. Common themes abound, including impossible expectations, unmet dreams, and issues of identity, vulnerability, and a few family secrets tossed in for good measure. In this beautifully written memoir, we see how author and daughter Patricia Williams carefully unpacks it all while caring for her aging parents. The journey is a bumpy one, yet she manages it with grace, good humor, and most assuredly, love.” —Judith Henry, author of The Dutiful Daughter’s Guide to Caregiving “Patricia Williams’s compelling debut memoir, While They’re Still Here, is a smart, insightful, honest, poignant, and delightfully told story of the years Williams was her parents’ caretaker. As Williams traverses the difficulties inherent in caregiving, we witness her brilliant insights into reframing situations and self-talk in a way that makes any situation more manageable. I fell in love with her parents and you will too. This is the book I wish had existed when I was caretaking my own mother. A definite must-read!” —Virginia A. Simpson, PhD, FT, award-winning author of The Space Between: A Memoir of Mother-Daughter Love at the End of Life “Trish Williams, as a responsible and dutiful daughter, weaves an engaging story of the struggles and painful moments in caring for her aging parents. But she doesn’t stop there. With humor and insight, she gives the reader a clear and compassionate view of their lives, including those sweet moments that make them more lovable in spite of themselves. She also shares her difficulties and frustrations in her role as ‘the responsible one.’ Of course, the irresponsible child would never have written the book!” —Rosalie Thomas, RN, PhD “In her new memoir, While They’re Still Here, author Patricia Williams writes about the ultimate role reversal. Her role as a loving daughter is slowly upended as she becomes a lifeline and caregiver for her aging parents as they try to negotiate the daily challenges that overturn their lives and hers. The role of caregiver is one many of us must face. Williams candidly shares the intimate and rewarding moments along with the fears and unexpected burdens that go along with this complex relationship. The reader will empathize and learn from her experience and will take away familiar themes they can learn from and that will stay with them.” —Iris Waichler, MSW, LCSW, patient advocate and award-winning author of Role Reversal: How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents “The emotional roller coaster of caring for an aging parent is not an easy ride. Baby boomers—the population riding that train right now—often find themselves trying to balance respect for a parent’s intelligence and independence with providing for his or her safety and security. It is a juggling act of epic proportions. In While They’re Still Here, that juggling act is an emotional tribute to self-sacrifice and a daughter’s unfailing love for her parents. To the author’s credit, it also glimpses the depth of understanding of her family and self that Williams achieved during this formidable experience. This book is written with honesty, humility, and love, and will remind anyone involved in caring for an elderly parent that you are not alone in your labor of love.” —Sandra Bullock Smith, award-winning author of Trading Places: Becoming My Mother’s Mother “This poignant memoir is a wonderful example of a caregiving experience, in that it doesn't shy away from the difficult truths. The reader can't help but admire the elderly couple as they face one medical crisis after another, or the author as she comes to their aid. By book's end, it is clear that despite the difficulties inherent in caregiving, the author looked at those years as a gift. This book is a must-read for anyone facing a similar situation, but you don't have to have cared for an elderly parent to appreciate this author's journey.” —Mary Potter Kenyon, Story Circle Reviews “It is just so beautifully written. Her mom and dad emerge as fully drawn, loving, endearing, exasperating, complex, wonderful people. Trish has a real gift for storytelling and dialogue. She is funny. She can be dead serious. I laughed. I cried. I just loved this book and everyone in it and everything about it. I can’t praise it enough. With every single evocative description, every hilarious and fresh turn of phrase, and every authentic and powerful scene of dialogue, she is drawing us closer and closer in to her world and creating a tribute to her loving family. She writes with a singular grace and passion.” —Ben Franklin Award Review

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Book SynopsisLife in a middle-class Italian American-Catholic neighborhood in the 1950s Bronx was not supposed to include divorce, Judaism, classical music, political discourse, or poverty in the social construct. So, in the absence of friends, young Barbara takes comfort in the minutiae, the small details available to her in her everyday life that seem to be overlooked by others. But that appreciation for the inanimate world leads her on a path to the acquisition of objects and a quest for identity that dominates her choices—from her marriage and family life to her constant striving for more and more. Barbara’s chosen nursing career offers validation and some affirmation, but falls short of providing her what’s most elusive—self–esteem—until finally, at age fifty, she abruptly abandons her conventional role of mother, wife, nurse, and neighbor to attempt a three-hundred-mile bike ride from Boston to New York. Poorly prepared, she takes only what she needs to flee her life, and a fierce determination that finally allows her to discover her place in the world—and to find true belonging.Trade Review“A witty and thoughtful account that’s a portrait of a mother-daughter bond as much as it is a search for love. The drama alone (a broken engagement, angry creditors, infidelity) keep the reader engaged . . . ” —Kirkus Reviews “One woman’s challenging tale to fi nd herself is full of emotion and stark, uncomfortable truths . . . revealing a vulnerability that is as painful as it is endearing. The conversational, relatable writing style is enough to captivate readers and keep the pages turning.” —BookLife “Santarelli’s memoir is like a friend telling you a good story. Her conversational voice draws you in and keeps you there. The plucky kid from the 1950s working-class Bronx stays nestled in the heart of the protagonist as she makes her way into adulthood—always keenly observing, yearning to belong, resilient —and at last finds her true place in the world. Full of humor and heart.” —Sarah Saffian, LMSW, MFA, author of Ithaka, A Daughter’s Memoir of Being Found “Barbara Santarelli’s character development is excellent. You’ll find yourself identifying with her search for self-esteem and freedom from her past.” —Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers and author of Song of the Plains and Don’t Call Me Mother “Nurses will be captivated by Santarelli’s fascinating memoir of courageous self-exploration and fulfillment in life as a nurse.” —Joan Edelstein, R. N, M.S.N, Dr.PH, President,National Association of School Nurses

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Book SynopsisLaraine Burrell gets the call to come back to England from the United States just in time to visit briefly with her father before he passes away. Following his death, she is overcome with grief, feeling that she has squandered the time she had with her father. Instead of staying close, she chose to travel the world and seek her own goals as a young woman, always thinking there would be time later on to tell her dad all the things she wanted to tell him—how much she loved him, and how he was her hero. Now, she realizes, it’s too late. Wanting to do something significant for her father to make up for her neglect, Burrell reflects on the fascinating life her father, a Royal Yachtsman, led—and decides that the one thing she can do for him is to tell his exceptional life story and make sure he is not forgotten. Our Grand Finale is the culmination of that effort—an exploration of both the author’s and her father’s unusual life experiences, and a reminder that “later” doesn’t always come.Trade Review2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Relationships (Non-Fiction) 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Book Cover Design (Nonfiction) 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Memoir "Burrell has enough vivid material for several books here: a lonely childhood, an exotic career, a difficult motherhood, and belated feelings of familial love and guilt. A curious and complex life story.” —Kirkus "Sometimes it takes losing someone we love to fully claim the love that was always there. In Our Grand Finale, Burrell thoughtfully honors the inner geography of family love." —Cheryl Rice, author of Where Have I Been All My Life? "It often takes a significant loss in our lives to wake us up to what truly matters. This memoir starts with a daughter’s experience of her father’s death and moves into an exploration of her own past as well as his. It weaves the story of both a precocious young child and of a father she loves but really doesn’t know. Burrell discovers, when going through her father’s treasured possessions, a greater understanding of her family and causes her to reflect on her own journey to adulthood. And what a trip it is." —Rita Gardner, author of Coconut Latitudes

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Book SynopsisAntoinette Martin believed herself to be a healthy and sturdy woman—that is, until she received a Stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis. Cancer is scary enough for the brave, but for a wimp like Martin, it was downright terrifying. Martin had to swallow waves of nausea at the thought of her body being poisoned, and frequently fainted during blood draws and infusions. To add to her terror, cancer suddenly seemed to be all around her. In the months following her diagnosis, a colleague succumbed to cancer, and five of her friends were also diagnosed. Though tempted, Martin knew she could not hide in bed for ten months. She had a devoted husband, daughters, and a tribe of friends and relations. Along with work responsibilities, there were graduations, anniversaries, and roller derby bouts to attend, not to mention a house to sell and a summer of beach-bumming to enjoy. In order to harness support without scaring herself or anyone else, she journaled her experiences and began to e-mail the people who loved her—the people she called My Everyone. She kept them informed and reminded all to 'hug everyone you know' at every opportunity. Reading the responses became her calming strategy. Ultimately, with the help of her community, Martin found the courage within herself to face cancer with perseverance and humor.Trade Review2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Non-Fiction: Narrative 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Women's Issues (Non-Fiction) “Hug Everyone You Know is a compelling memoir about the importance of community while navigating a life crisis such as cancer. As an oncology nurse and a cancer survivor myself, I found Martin's writing to be a refreshingly real depiction of life as a cancer patient. Her writing is a testimony to the endurance of the human spirit, the importance of love and community, and the need for hope every day of the journey.” —Story Circle Reviews "This book will show readers the power of human connectivity and how sharing our experience can become an inspiring journey, not only for those who listen to us, but for us who live it. Hug Everyone You Know: A Year of Community, Courage, and Cancer is a painful and empowering journey, a book that will speak to those undergoing any hopeless situation; it?s a gift to receive, use and pass on. This book will give readers the strength and the inspiration to name their suffering and to triumph over it. It?s exciting, informative and, above all, entertaining." —Reader's Favorite "This is a great story: inventive, informative, and irresistibly readable. Quite an accomplishment when the subject is cancer. Brava." —Odette Heideman, Editor, Epiphany Magazine "Hug Everyone You Know captures beautifully the terror and anxiety—as well as the awkwardness and occasional humor—that follow a diagnosis of breast cancer, and the salvation to be found in the love and support of family and friends. Peering deeply into the experience through a detailed assessment of her fears, the bonds she shares with others, and hitherto unknown reserves of courage, Martin shares revelatory insights about her willingness to go to any lengths to fight the disease because of what she has learned about the preciousness of life." —Andrew Botsford, Editor and Visiting Professor, Stony Brook Southampton University "This is a beautifully and honestly written account of the challenges that face women and families confronting a breast cancer diagnosis. It passionately illustrates the ability of women and their 'Everyone's' to find their strength and demonstrate their love." —Karen Schmitt, MA, BSN Director, Cancer Services Program of Manhattan New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia Executive Director, CARE Shared Resource Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center "I am inspired by Antoinette's courage and spirit. She is blessed—blessed with her husband and children, blessed with her family and friends, and blessed with her doctors and nurses. Being in the medical field, it's a shot of reality seeing it from the patient's point of view, with the day in and day out struggles of life compounded with the diagnosis. This book brought a face to breast cancer and I feel privileged and honored that she shared it with me. I will hug everyone I know, now and forever." —Barbara M. O?Brien RN, Director of Cancer Services Program of Staten Island Staten Island University Hospital "Filled with fresh air, light, and life, Hug Everyone You Know is an intimate conversation with an intelligent, funny survivor. The voice rings true, and the insights resonate well beyond the cancer moment." —Joni Rodgers, NYT best-selling author of Bald in the Land of Big Hair "Martin has a way of writing that really captured my attention and brought me into her story. I felt like her best friend." —Kathryn Gates-Ferris, MS, MPA, CHT, Avon Project Director CAI Global "I picked up this book on a early Sunday afternoon and did not set it down until I was finished. The writing is like being with a long-time friend. It is honest and you can feel the love that the author exudes and surrounds her. Being an escapist, I was reluctant to read a journey on cancer because it hits too close to home. However, quite the opposite is the effect the book had on me. It is not clinical and if you are going through treatments I would imagine you would find it comforting. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a very enjoyable read." —Monique Abel, GHT Book Club "Hug Everyone You Know is more than a memoir of combating cancer head on—it is a personal account of the love of family and friends; Antoinette's 'Everyone' who supported her and witnessed her bravery over an arduous year. As Antoinette retells her story, she tries not to give a voice to cancer. Yet, she reveals her innermost thoughts, sharing experiences and fears through the journal she kept during her year of treatment. The author's narrative is carefully woven together with the e-mail exchanges she has with her loved ones. Long after the book is finished, its message continues to linger: life is bigger than itself when fueled by determination and love." —Janice Gatta, MS/CCC-SLP, Babes Against Cancer Fundraising Committee-Southward Ho Country Club

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Book SynopsisAt the age of thirty-nine, Sarah Kowalski heard her biological clock ticking, loudly. A single woman harboring a deep ambivalence about motherhood, Kowalski needed to decide once and for all: Did she want a baby or not? More importantly, with no partner on the horizon, did she want to have a baby alone? Once she revised her idea of motherhood—from an experience she would share with a partner to a journey she would embark upon alone—the answer came up a resounding Yes. After exploring her options, Kowalski chose to conceive using a sperm donor, but her plan stopped short when a doctor declared her infertile. How far would she go to make motherhood a reality? Kowalski catapulted herself into a diligent regimen of herbs, Qigong, meditation, acupuncture, and more, in a quest to improve her chances of conception. Along the way, she delved deep into spiritual healing practices, facing down demons of self-doubt and self-hatred, ultimately discovering an unconventional path to parenthood. In the end, to become a mother, Kowalski did everything she said she would never do. And she wouldn't change a thing. A story of personal triumph and unconditional love, Motherhood Reimagined reveals what happens when we release what's expected and embrace what's possible.Trade Review“A debut memoir traces one woman’s pregnancy quest…..An insightful read for single-by-choice mothers interested in alternative therapies.” —Kirkus Reviews "Sarah has provided a gift to all women considering becoming a single mother with a beautifully written book that is both achingly painful and humorously honest. In her description of all that she had to go through to ultimately achieve her dream of having a child, her book reads like a novel that you can’t put down. In the end, you realize that the peaks and valleys that she went through were in many ways a metaphor for life, one that she had no idea at the time would prepare her for her new role as a loving and patient mother." —Toni Weschler, MPH, author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility "In Motherhood Reimagined, Sarah Kowalski speaks to a generation of women who were told that they could have it all—only to discover that career success often comes at an emotional and physical cost. This honest, often heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting memoir chronicles Kowalski’s race against the ticking clock of infertility. The discoveries she makes about her body and mind translate into a compelling and poignant read . . . This book is a must-read for any women who hears the ticking of her biological clock.” —Marika Lindholm ,CEO and founder of ESME.com (Empowering Solo Moms Everywhere) "'In the end, life dashed every expectation I had about how I would become a mother.' And yet, Sarah Kowalski did become a mother—just not in the way she had imagined. In this powerful, timely, and important memoir, Kowalski reveals how difficult it is to become a mother in your forties, and yet also how the journey has served as a beautiful and transformational process for her. Best of all, she helps anyone interested in becoming a parent who might be struggling with infertility, confused about reproductive options and technology, psychologically and emotionally distressed, and/or lost in the vast jungle of online information about IVF, adoption, sperm/ egg donation, and so on to navigate their way to motherhood. This book fills a gap in the literature on modern parenthood by offering wisdom, insight, and practical advice that will help you realize your dreams—one way or another." —Mei Mei Fox, New York Times best-selling author and contributor at Forbes "Motherhood Reimagined is a courageous journey through familiar life lessons. Using her embodied spiritual practice, author Sarah Kowalski faces her demons with vulnerability, humility, humor and insight." —Elena Brower, author of Art of Attention and Practice You “This very readable story of the author’s journey to single motherhood by choice is a must-read for anyone contemplating becoming an SMC. It feels like a good friend is letting you join her on the trip as she shares her ups and downs, disappointments and celebrations. Informative, emotionally moving, and hard to put down.” —Jane Mattes, psychotherapist and Founder Single Mothers by Choice (SMC), author of Single Mothers by Choice “Brave pioneers come in all sizes, shapes, ages and genders. Make no mistake, Sarah Kowalski is one of them. In her courageous memoir she opens up new territory, illuminating fresh possibilities for what it is to be an authentic dignified human being in the midst of probably the most profound life-changing event, becoming a mother, (in her case while being a single woman). She warmly, confidently and firmly draws the reader into the felt experience of all she faced, physically relationally, psychologically, financially and so on. Funny, inspiring, thought-provoking all at once. Sarah holds nothing back and opens up the chance for us to do the same in whatever we are facing in our own lives. A book for anyone living in our time and place.” —James Flaherty, author of Coaching, Evoking Excellence in Others and Founder of New Ventures West, Integral Coaching "Motherhood Reimagined is a fascinating and intimate look inside the world of becoming a modern-day mother. An honest look at the emotional labor and physical challenges that arise on one woman's path to motherhood. Kowalski is relentless in her pursuit of becoming a mother, and grants us passage through her very own thick jungle of neuroses and tangles of self doubt while she bravely sharpens a machete of insight and truth to carve out her own path. A heroic and emotional journey that pulls you in and won't let you go until both the author and reader have found complete surrender." —Madison Young, author of Daddy: A Memoir and The Ultimate Guide to Sex Through Pregnancy and Motherhood “In the years that I've been communicating with Choice Moms, there are two things that stand out as true: 1) We don't realize how difficult it might be to conceive, which is exhausting to discover in our late 30s and 40s; 2) We underestimate our ability as strong-minded women to "get it done," whatever it takes. Sarah is admirably able to openly capture both the vulnerability and the strength of her story of becoming a mother — a journey that never goes according to plan, and that teaches us more about ourselves than we can ever detail on our To Do lists.” —Mikki Morrissette, founder ChoiceMoms.org, and author of Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Woman's Guide “In Motherhood Reimagined Sarah Kowalski has accomplished what most memoir writers can never do. She has written two memoirs seamlessly woven together. One is an amazingly informative story about infertility and what one woman did to get pregnant. You will laugh and cry at Sarah's ability to capture the ups and downs of this saga. But she has also written a narrative about her spiritual struggles that is as interesting as her journey toward motherhood. This is one of those rare books that is not only replete with important information but it might even slip you onto your own path toward enlightenment.” —Roy M Carlisle, Senior Editorial Consultant, The Crossroad Publishing Company “From the moment we meet Sarah Kowalski, a successful corporate attorney ignoring her biological clock, through her passionate quest to overcome infertility, to her early days of solo motherhood, one thing is for sure: nothing will go as planned. But Kowalski proceeds with determination, dissolving every physical and emotional barrier that dares stand in her way. This book is a must-read for anyone charting an unconventional path toward parenthood.” —Cheryl Dumesnil, author of Love Song for Baby X: How I Stayed (Almost) Sane on the Rocky Road to Parenthood "Motherhood Reimagined is a beautifully written book about one woman’s journey to have a baby on her own. It’s an insightful and moving story that will inspire other women who face similar obstacles to becoming a mother. Well worth the read." —Jacqueline Mroz, Journalist and author, Scattered Seeds: In Search of Family and Identity in the Sperm Donor Generation "Kowalski’s emotionally raw descriptions of her struggles will strike a familiar and comforting chord with other would-be parents.” —Clarion, 5 out of 5 "As a fellow single mother by choice, I really enjoyed this memoir. For so many women, we think the road to motherhood will be easy . . . This is an honest book about the path you never think you’ll take, but it’s the one that’s just right." —BookRiot, "Books About Parenting That Tell It Like It Is"

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Book SynopsisHave you ever felt a call from somewhere deep within telling you there must be more to life? For Meredith Rom, this call came at age twenty-two while she was lying in savasana on the floor of a packed New York City yoga studio. It came on the heels of an unpleasant breakup and an unforeseen turn in the economic market―so, with no job offers in sight, she chose to listen. Rom followed her intuition across the country to San Francisco, and soon after, halfway around the world to India. This coming-of-age memoir takes you inside the ashrams of gurus and sages of the far East, where one woman learns to heal her heart, believe in the magical happenstance of the universe, and find an unshakable love and trust within herself.Trade Review“Rom’s self-searching leads to India, where she meets gurus and lovers and makes inroads into the wilderness of her deepest heart. Her story inspires me to question my own habits of being. She says ‘yes!’ to life, with all its mysterious and unexpected turnings. This is a courageous adventure and love story.” —Lindsay Fleming, contributing writer at the Baltimore Fishbowl “Just Be so beautifully shares a journey of self-love and the willingness to explore this mysterious life. Meredith Rom delicately guides us to trust in our all-knowing selves, bringing us out of our own darkness and into the light with her. This memoir holds nothing back as she allows us to witness her rites of passage into a new-found maturity. Through this twenty-something heroine’s journey, all will be inspired to open our hearts to the synchronicity life is always offering, on this endless path of self-discovery.” —Luna Love, Women’s Alignment & Leadership Mentor + Social Justice Advocate At its heart, Just Be is the story of a young woman seeking a sense of purpose that moves her, quenching her thirst for adventure, and yearning to fully inhabit her body and soul. That quest in itself makes the memoir a poignant read, but the discoveries and connections Rom makes along the way transcend twenty-something wanderlust and have the power to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds. Anyone with a curious mind and an open heart can find meaningful insights and delightful surprises in these pages." ―Kimber Simpkins, author of Full and 52 Ways to Love Your Body "Part Siddhartha and part Through the Looking Glass, Rom's finely told story of her six-month solo journey through India (at age 23!) gently takes the reader along on her quest for spiritual meaning and real love." ―Clare Meeker, award-winning children's book author

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Book SynopsisFighting midlife inertia, Sherry Stanfa-Stanley chose to stare down fear through The 52/52 Project: a year of weekly new experiences designed to push her far outside her comfort zone. These ranged from visiting a nude beach with her seventy-five-year-old mother in tow to taking a road trip with her ex-husband—and then another one with his girlfriend. She also went on a raid with a vice squad and SWAT team, exfoliated a rhinoceros (inadvertently giving him an erection), and crashed a wedding (where she accidentally caught the bouquet). While finding her courage in the most unlikely of circumstances, Sherry ultimately found herself. For midlifers, fatigued parents, and anyone who may be discontent with their life and looking to shake things up, try new things, or just escape, Finding My Badass Self is proof it's never too late to reinvent yourself—and that the best bucket list of all may be an unbucket list.Trade Review2018 International Book Awards Winner in Health: Aging/50+ 2018 IPPY Silver Medal Winner in Humor 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Self Help (Non-Fiction) "Finding my Badass Self is like a cozy catch-up chat with a zany friend. Stanfa-Stanley’s writing is conversational, peppered with juicy encounters, honest insights, and lots of laughs. Most would be hard-pressed to duplicate her energetic and courageous Badass Year, but it is encouraging to have her reminder about how rewarding it can be to push one’s self-imposed limitations." —Foreword Reviews "An uplifting, fun, quirky, and most of all, thought-provokingly powerful memoir highly recommended for any woman who would gain new perspective about her life and its direction and choices." —Midwest Book Review "Stanfa-Stanley has a cheeky writing style and is happy to turn that sarcasm on herself, all the while gently admonishing the reader to come out of their own shells. Highly recommended for the memoir-lovers out there, and for any seeking to learn how to push their own boundaries." —San Francisco Book Review “In this debut memoir, a woman devises a plan to yank herself out of a midlife malaise. A delightfully breezy read about experimentation, often humorous and companionable.” —Kirkus Reviews “Sherry Stanfa-Stanley's book is a riot! At fifty-two, she spent the year re-creating herself and reimagining the possibilities of life, to the delight and enlightenment of those who cheered from the sidelines. Forget the bucket list: This book is a barrel of laughs. Honest, revealing, and warm-hearted, Stanfa-Stanley gives her readers a whole new way to put ‘life’ into midlife crisis.” —Gina Barreca, syndicated columnist and author of Not That I’m Bitter and If You Lean In, Will Men Just Look Down Your Blouse? “Kiss your comfort zone good-bye! Sherry Stanfa-Stanley challenges herself on the eve of her fifty-second birthday to shake up the status quo of a middle-age life. In fifty-two chapters, you can live vicariously or, better yet, get motivated to get out there. Stanfa-Stanley is funny, real, maybe a little crazy, and totally wonderful.” —Betsy Lerner, author of The Bridge Ladies and The Forest for the Trees “Sherry Stanfa-Stanley is funny, and smart, and brave. If you love funny, smart, brave writing, you will love this book. She does things I would never dream of doing, and tells the stories of her unusual adventures in a very entertaining, and always honest style. Enjoy!” —Cathryn Michon, screenwriter of A Dog’s Purpose “Stanfa-Stanley faces the terrifying reality of midlife inertia with courage and spontaneity, humor and humility, proving that life is either a bucket list full of someday or a reality full of right f*cking now. Her story is bold, touching, and relatable. You will laugh and cringe as she takes fifty-two first steps toward embracing no less than the life she always knew she was capable of living.” —Nicole Knepper, MA, LCPC, clinical therapist/gerontologist and author of Moms Who Drink and Swear “Most people crave a settled life of comfort and safety. Not Sherry Stanfa-Stanley. Finding My Badass Self is a compulsively readable, hilarious account of Stanfa-Stanley’s adventures in middle age, her story of becoming a woman of bravery, style, and substance.” —Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed

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Book SynopsisWounds fester and spread in the darkness of silence. The First Signs of April, explores the destructive patterns of unresolved grief and the importance of connection for true healing to occur. The narrative weaves through time to explore grief reactions to two very different losses: suicide and cancer.Trade Review2019 IPPY Silver Medal Winner in LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction “Reading First Signs of April is like sitting in front of a fire with an old friend: Briscoe starts telling her story and all of a sudden the sun is up and you feel as if you haven't blinked once. This book will become that friend who stays with you for life.” —Melanie Braverman, author of East Justice and Red “The First Signs of April is an inspiring story of about life, death, and how connected we all remain—but only if we're open to listening to the wisdom waiting for us. Mary-Elizabeth Briscoe shows us the power of friendship, and the ways we can heal by embracing all life has to offer. —Linda Joy Myers, president National Association of Memoir Writers, and author of Song of the Plains: A Memoir of Family Secrets and Silence “By living and writing her truth, Briscoe shares her healing journey of loss and love. A compelling read that grabs your attention and will not let you leave.” —Priscilla A. Hutchins, licensed Psychologist-Doctorate, retired

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Book SynopsisWith captivating lyricism, Amazon Wisdom Keeper transports us into the multicultural upbringing and transformation of Loraine Van Tuyl, a graduate psychology student and budding shamanic healer who’s blindsided by startling visions, elusive drumming, and her inseverable mystical ties to the Amazon rainforest of her native Suriname. Is she in the wrong field, or did her childhood dreams, imaginary guides, and premonitions somehow prepare her for these challenges? Did Suriname’s military coup and her family’s uprooting move to the US rob her from all that she knew and loved at thirteen to help reveal her soul’s purpose, or is she losing her mind by entertaining far-fetched questions and hunches that can’t be answered or proven—like wondering if her perplexing life story is shedding light on the double-binds in her field on purpose, and suspecting that her soul’s daunting blue print was plotted long before she was even born? Van Tuyl wrestles with these questions and more as she embarks upon her risky quest, enduring test upon test in search of her true self and calling while enrolled in a rigorous academic program that regards intuitive healing methods as unscientific—and even unethical.Trade Review2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Multicultural Non-Fiction 2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Health: Psychology/Mental Illness 2017 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Best Cover Design: Non-Fiction "In a memoir that’s braver than most, Loraine Van Tuyl shows how personal and ancestral stories and gifts breathe vitality into our life force. While taking us through a memory portal, she invites us to retrace our steps through our jungles of experiences, and dares us to recognize our own instinctual reactions at interesting crossroads in our lives. Her story of reclaiming and nurturing her awakening life force as a student, in the face of strong resistance, is valuable because it opens the door to how personal, cultural and spiritual truths and traditions can transform traditional Western psychology as well as individual lives." —Maria P. P. Root, PhD, Award-winning Psychologist, Reiki Master, artist, and author of The Multiracial Experience: Racial Borders as the New Frontier “Loraine Van Tuyl's debut memoir, Amazon Wisdom Keeper, weaves personal and political truths with poetic mastery. By daring to break from limiting conventions—in the field as well as writing—Van Tuyl has forged a liberating path for those at the margins just as her ancestors once did. It is an absolute must for psychotherapists and healthcare providers seeking to make conscious social change and expand the purview of traditional psychology through their multidimensional practice.” —Tala Khanmalek, PhD, Research Associate, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Princeton University "A passionate journey into spirituality that's unique, compelling, well-told . . . written with admirable conviction." —BookLife "A triumph of the heart! Amazon Wisdom Keeper reminds us of the essential need to connect to our authentic wholeness in order to provide service in the world. Loraine Van Tuyl has vulnerably and powerfully laid out her own journey along this path, inspiring growth, faith, and hope along the way." —Anne Lowe, MSW, social work instructor, Salish Kootenai College "Loraine Van Tuyl's memoir vividly places the reader in magical and exotic settings, while at the same time navigating a magical and exotic inner landscape. The narrator is very likeable and relatable, and her fierce energy is enticing. For me, the biggest gift of the book was the camaraderie with a like-minded soul and being with a narrator who not only understood the 'reality' of magic and intuition, but stood in its power." Laraine Herring, author of On Being Stuck: Tapping into the Creative Power of Writer's Block. "Amazon Wisdom Keeper will 'accidentally' fall off the shelf at the opportune time for many readers. It's truly a gift that will contribute to the next phase of humanity. In this important book, Loraine Van Tuyl captivates us with her personal journey and offers a revolutionary message about the human experience and what it means to be whole. Her story coherently weaves together so many levels of being, cultural issues, and forgotten truths, producing a true page turner that touches the heart and the mind. Read this book as a compelling personal memoir, a profound spiritual message, or as complimentary reading for cross-cultural psychology, counseling, feminism, ethics and spirituality." —Megan Cowan, Co-Founder, Mindful Schools “Amazon Wisdom Keeper richly mirrors the incongruence I experience as a sensitive psychotherapist working within a mental health paradigm that at times clashes with my own intuitions about healing and instilled in me a sorely needed dose of validation, inspiration, and spiritual camaraderie. This book will catalyze and energize the visionary process of other sensitive, spiritually inclined healers, researchers, teachers, creators, innovators, and change-makers who also hear the call.” —Krista Harrison, MFT, CHT, intuitive and shamanic healer “Loraine Van Tuyl has drawn on an extraordinary multicultural background and a career as a professional healer to produce a beguiling and insightful work of wisdom and compassion . . . Highly recommended!” 
 —Mark Plotkin, PhD, President, Amazon Conservation Team, author of Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, Medicine Quest “Loraine Van Tuyl has written a memoir that spans time and space, memory and pre-cognition. She bridges cultural landscapes of nations and mindsets with a breezy and natural writing style, and escorts the reader across the bridges she creates with skill and purpose, showing what is required to move from one realm to another and maintain equilibrium and balance. We can all learn from the courage and commitment to meaning and understanding so poignantly demonstrated in Amazon Wisdom Keeper.” —Isa Gucciardi, PhD, primary teacher at the Foundation of the Sacred Stream, author of Return to the Great Mother "As we are poised at this critical time to evolve our consciousness, Loraine Van Tuyl has every reason to bring Amazon Wisdom Keeper forward to the public and especially therapists to open ourselves up to the multidimensionality of our beings." —Donna Morrish, MFT, Founder, Paths of Grace "All the tales are so validating and inspiring." —Denise Colby, PhD, Founder of Integrative Wellness “What a wonderful book! Loraine Van Tuyl is a clear voice to follow in the vastness of the mystical journey within to discover the sacred and the divine." —Lisa Tahir, LCSW, Host of "All Things Therapy" radio show "From the very beginning, Amazon Wisdom Keeper is a feast for your inner child as well as your growing and developing spiritual indweller. Loraine Van Tuyl draws the reader into a sacred setting that is, for most of us, far away and unknown, yet so richly and succinctly described that the plentiful allegories hang ripe, sweet, and waiting to be plucked and savored. The journey Van Tuyl reveals in dewy, saturating, and powerful language renders her intensely personal experiences into savored, exotic delicacies that are somehow as welcome and familiar as a beloved family recipe. I devoured." —J. R. Schumaker, author of Diana’s Dragons: the Awaited

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Book SynopsisReclaiming Home is the diary of Lesego Malepe’s travels in South Africa in 2004, the 10th anniversary of South Africa’s democracy. The book begins with Malepe taking the bus from Pretoria, where she grew up, to Cape Town, where she visits Robben Island—the prison where her brother served a life sentence during apartheid days. She interrupts her travels to return to Pretoria, where she attends the ceremony marking the official settlement of land claims for her parents’ property and her grandmother’s property in Kilnerton, Pretoria, which were confiscated by the apartheid government when Malepe was four, forcing her family—along with the rest of their community—to move to Mamelodi township for Africans. Over the course of her travels, Malepe traverses much of her home country, visiting locales including Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Thohoyandou, the University of Venda, and Giyani. Ultimately, hers is a sprawling, revealing journey that illuminates the ways South Africa has changed—and the ways it has remained the same—since the end of apartheid.

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Book SynopsisIn The Trail to Tincup: Love Stories at Life’s End, a psychologist reckons with the loss of four family members within a span of two years. Hocker works backward into the lives of these people and forward into the values, perspective, and qualities they bestowed before and after leaving. Following the trail to their common gravesite in Tincup, Colorado, she remembers and recounts decisive stories and delves into artifacts, journals, and her own dreams. In the process the grip of grief begins to lessen, death braids its way into life, and life informs the losses with abiding connections. Gradually, she begins to find herself capable of imagining life without her sister and best friend. Toward the end of the book Hocker’s own near-death experience illuminates how familiarity with her individual mortality helps her live with joy, confidence, and openness.Trade Review“Yes, grief is personal, grief consumes, grief comes in uncontrollable waves, and grief fades, but everyone experiences grief at some point in their lives, and this book should be your guide. Hocker’s writing is inspiring, her reflections brave and wise.” —The Missoulian

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Book Synopsis“Who do you thank you are, the Quane of Anglund?” That’s what Grace Marie’s father used to say to her whenever he thought she was getting out of her place. In her fifties now, Grace Marie is a college professor living in a beach town in California, and when she gets a phone call telling her that her father is dead, she is glad. She hopes her return for his funeral will be her “last trip home.” As a young girl Grace Marie struggled to escape from poverty, her father's lecherous, controlling grip, and a husband in the Klan. Determined to get an education, she clawed her way to a comfortable life and a home with indoor toilets—but her most unexpected struggle turned out to be survivor’s guilt, so she kept returning home to “fix” her family and the sharecropper shack. After her father’s funeral, Grace Marie burns down the family home—only to discover that she has unexpected ties to both the land and the people in her community. She realizes she will never have a “last trip home.”Trade Review"An emotionally astute account of the oppressive confines of an unhappy family life." —Kirkus Reviews “With a writer’s voice that is sassy and vibrant, Wanda Maureen Miller’s gripping narrative took me by the heart and the scruff of my neck into regions I would never otherwise have explored.” —Nancy Bacal, creator and leader of The Writer’s Way workshops, editor of Leonard Cohen’s anthology, Stranger Music, and writer/producer of RAGA, starring Ravi Shankar and George Harrison “An outrageous story of love and redemption set in the not-so-gracious South, from an exciting and completely original new voice. Last Trip Home is for people who like their sanity skewed.” —Terri Cheney, author of the New York Times bestseller Manic and blogger for Psychology Today “A candid, piercing, and often funny reveal of how kith and kin in an Arkansas sharecropper shack can both maim and love. Miller is a literary sharpshooter whose memoir of her impoverished family eking by on squirrel provides riveting redneck rubbernecking.” —Gali Kronenberg, former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union Tribune “In post–World War II Arkansas, Grace Marie escapes her insular past with its strict behavior codes for females. Scrubbing away drawl and shame, she is now an emancipated woman in California. Yet she feels compelled to return home repeatedly when her family desperately needs help. The tone is often dark, yet there is redemption in her rise above poverty, shameful secrets, and a violent, out-of-bounds father. The story takes the clichéd ‘you can’t go home again’ theme and turns it into a more complicated look at community bonds, family love, and sense of duty.” —Sharon Steeber, professor of English at Santa Monica College, author of The Jews, and coauthor of the Reading Faster and Understanding More series “As a black American, I approached Last Trip Home with trepidation but couldn’t stop reading. I remember my parents’ stories about violence from the Texas Ku Klux Klan. The characters are gut wrenchingly real, presented with both brutal honesty and humor. I got an insight into a way of thinking and living diametrically opposed to all that I’ve known and respected; yet I felt pity and empathy. I cheered when Grace Marie burned her husband’s KKK sheet. This book shows how the world of reading can open up a young mind. I profoundly appreciate the insight and hope represented.” —Judy Francis, former diplomat for the US Department of State

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Book SynopsisWhat could be cooler, thinks teen Elizabeth Garber in 1965, than to live in a glass house designed by her architect dad? Ever since childhood, she’s adored everything he loves—his XKE Jaguar, modern art, and his Eames black leather chair—and she’s been inspired by his passionate intensity as he teaches her about modern architecture. When Woodie receives a commission to design a high-rise dormitory—a tower of glass—for the University of Cincinnati, Elizabeth, her mother and brothers celebrate with him. But less than twenty years later, Sander Hall, the mirror-glass dormitory, will be dynamited into rubble. Implosion: Memoir of an Architect’s Daughter delves into the life of visionary architect Woodie Garber and the collision of forces in the turbulent 1970s that caused his family to collapse. Soon after the family’s move into Woodie’s glass house, his need to control begins to strain normal bonds; and Elizabeth’s first love, a young black man, triggers his until-then hidden racism. This haunting memoir describes his descent into madness and follows Elizabeth’s inspiring journey to emerge from her abuse, gain understanding and freedom from her father’s control, and go on to become a loving mother and a healer who helps others.Trade Review2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist 2018 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Memoirs (Other) 2018 International Book Awards Finalist in Autobiography/Memoir 2018 Kirkus Best Books “…poetic and incisive…Many readers will see aspects of their own family histories in this powerful saga of trauma and healing. An alternately wistful and searing exploration of a troubled legacy.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Garber’s extraordinary debut memoir tells the story of her abusive father, architect Woodie Garber….and steadily charts his and her family’s descent into chaos and madness, as Woodie’s commissions dry up and he ceases to receive the recognition he believes he deserves….Recommended for survivors of abuse and those interested in knowing more about the ways in which great professional success often comes at the sacrifice of one’s own family and private life.” —Library Journal “I was riveted by this story of an adoring daughter struggling to escape the dominance of her brilliant, charismatic father. Garber writes beautifully about the layered complications of family love.” —Monica Wood, author of The One-in-a-Million Boy, When We Were the Kennedys, Any Bitter Thing, and Ernie’s Ark “In Implosion: The Architect's Daughter, Elizabeth Garber has voyaged far into the complexities of memory, navigating the treacherous currents of shame and confusion, and returned, rowing stroke by stroke, sentence by sentence, with a beautiful, clear, heartbreaking tale. Courageous, horrible, terrible, and wonderful, this is a dark and tragic beauty of a memoir that could only be written by someone determined to be fiercely honest in her remembering and her art.” —Richard Hoffman, author of Half the House and Love & Fur “Few books have narrated the personal dimension of modernism like this one. The contradictions that bedeviled modern architecture—a passionate yet impersonal elegance—were played out in a glass house dominated by Elizabeth Garber's father, Woodie, a midwestern modern architect extraordinaire. How his daughter made her way through the tangles of his imperious faith makes for fascinating reading. What was it like to live from day to day in the self-conscious embrace of the modern? Elizabeth Garber has the insight and tenacity to tell us that and more.” —Baron Wormser, former Poet Laureate of Maine, author of ten books of poetry, books on writing craft, two novels, and one memoir, The Road Washes Out in Spring: A Poet's Memoir of Living Off the Grid “This poignant, very personal memoir by the daughter of one of Cincinnati’s premier modern architects traces his ascent and decline, as they parallel those of his style and discipline at the same moments in time. Elizabeth Garber’s exquisite prose compliments the love of art and architecture she learned from her father. Her forthrightness and honesty resemble the direct, unpainted, and undecorated aesthetic her father promoted, but her gentle sensitivity is all her own. This is a book about something even more complicated than the most difficult art—family life.” —Jayne Merkel, architectural historian and author of Eero Saarinen “Implosion is a remarkable feat. Garber allows us to revile her brilliant and destructive architect father as fully as she did when she was coming of age in the 1960s. She also allows us to forgive him as she ultimately does in this wise, searching book. Her story is an echo of the tumultuous cultural revolutions that define her generation. As an architect does, Garber constructs her story room by room, filling the space with both shadow and light. This is a beautiful book, written by a new and exciting writer.” —Meredith Hall, author of Without a Map “Elizabeth Garber writes with searing clarity about the years she spent living under the oppressive reign of her father. But this isn't just a book about a deeply troubled father-daughter relationship. Rather, it's a story about a family, an art form (architecture), a generation, and a decade in American history that we're still trying to understand. By reading Implosion, one not only gains access to the intimate, tragic details of Garber's broken youth but also to the public world outside her father's realm: one of parallel turmoil, complexity, and yes: implosion. A finely wrought narrative by a brave, unflinching writer.” —Jaed Coffin, author of A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants: A Memoir “Elizabeth Garber’s memoir drives as well as her dad’s fine sports car: sleek, modernist sentences, high-power clarity of perception, bold telling it like it was. Garber never loses touch with the forms of pain caused by her dad’s illness. She honors the vulnerability of the whole family in the grips of it, including him. In the end, at the heart of the matter is compassion and the kindness of unconditional love, in spite of it all. And the simple beauty of gathering stones found on a clean, sandy beach.” —Alexandra Merrill, international women’s leadership consultant "…un-put-downable….Elizabeth, a poet, acupuncturist, and mother, has, like an architect—ecologically using salvage materials—taken the shock and trauma of the family’s disintegration and built from them a powerful narrative you are reluctant to leave." —The Architectural Record

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Book SynopsisOne summer afternoon in northern England in 1946, when Ann Colley was a child, she met a man from Czechoslovakia named Dr. Novak. This encounter launched her lifelong fascination with Central and Eastern Europe, one that resulted in her spending two years, in 1995 and 2000, teaching at universities in Poland and Ukraine. In The Odyssey and Dr. Novak, Colley records personal experiences, interactions with colleagues, and descriptions of the landscape, creating a composite portrait of these countries at a time when each is struggling to chart its course after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. She recalls moments that are disturbing, absurd, discordant, frustrating, humorous, and endearing—a missing parrot flying in through the window; a robber on a train threatening her life; clouds of smoke from Chernobyl hanging over Kiev. Colley’s journey ends with her return to the figure of Dr. Novak when she searches in the archives of the Harvard Divinity School Library for letters sent from Prague in 1945—letters which, just like her memoir, speak of a past that pursues the present.Trade Review“A highly informative memoir that explores Poland and Ukraine; the book should appeal to those who revel in the poetry of intricate prose.” —Kirkus Reviews “Often lyrical, Ann C. Colley’s personal Odyssey exposes the reader to historical and political facts as well as to other aspects of East European cultures. Her sharp eye for detail, her candor, and her illuminating insights will benefit readers interested in studying and traveling to that part of Europe.” —Regina Grol, Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature, SUNY-Empire State College “Ann C. Colley’s The Odyssey and Dr. Novak brilliantly combines an insider’s perspective with an outsider’s objectivity. She tells an adventurous story of teaching , living, and traveling throughout Poland and Ukraine at a time between the fall of the Soviet Union and the resurgence of the Russian threat.” —Joyce Gleason, Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska “The Odyssey and Dr. Novak is a profound, poignant, and important journey through history, lands, and times too powerful to forget. A Sensory delight.” —Kim Chinquee. Professor of Creative Writing, SUNY College at Buffalo. Author of Oh Baby and Pistol and Veer. "This is a nuanced, subtle, and luminous reading of a region whose past is full of suffering. Colley only wrote her book after the times veered back towards despair, notably in Ukraine, where the conflict with Russia of the past four years has lost the country not only Crimea and the industrial east but also many citizens' lives. Colley writes with elegance. She has an impressionistic, magpie way of building up her story—a joke here, a street encounter there. [The memoir] is never far away from a considered reflection on where politics is going." —Times Literary Supplement

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