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Blue Apple Switchback: A Memoir
by Carrie HighleyCarrie Highley was always a tomboy—and by the time she turned sixteen, she was wishing she were dancing with the girls instead of the boys at cotillion dances. In her early thirties, while living in West Virginia, she discovered a passion for road biking, finally stopped sequestering her deep feelings for women, and began an ill-fated love affair with a female cycling friend. Then, at thirty-six, she found herself skidding into Asheville, North Carolina, holding on tight to the coattails of her doctor husband and spending her time as a stay-at-home mother of two boys. Moving to North Carolina was Highley&’s attempt to reembrace heterosexual married life after her tumultuous time in West Virginia. But in Asheville, she met Charlie, a fellow cyclist twenty-three years her senior, who became her mentor, friend, and father all rolled into one—and as they grew closer, she started unloading her fears into Charlie&’s inbox. With Charlie&’s support, Highley finally got the courage to do what she&’d been waiting her whole life to do: go down the mountain with her hands off the brakes.
Things Unsaid: A Novel
by Diana Y. PaulAWARDS:Bookclub FavoriteWinner of New Adult Fiction—Beverly Hills Book AwardsWinner of the SILVER Medal for Best Fiction in Drama from Readers' FavoriteFinalist USA Best Books Awards in Literary Fiction and in New Fiction“Under its skin, it is a lively, accessible meditation on redemption and the transformative value of good intention and deed.”―Rebecca Coffey, author of Hysterical: Anna Freud's Story“An outstanding book that is not only deeply honest, heartbreaking, and hopeful, but also brilliant, poignant, and original. It captures what is at the heart of all of us and showcases that life is what we make it. Brilliant, just brilliant! 5 stars.”―Emily Lewis, Mrs. Mommy Booknerd’s Book ReviewsInspired by a true story about mothers, daughters, and impossible choices—Jules Foster, a child psychologist, upon hearing news of her estranged, narcissistic mother’s terminal diagnosis, chooses to care for her mother over her own daughter, only to find out she has been betrayed all along. Things Unsaid asks us to consider what children owe their aging parents and siblings.Jules Foster is summoned to the local police station to retrieve her elderly parents, after her father has sideswiped a parked automobile. Her parents now rely heavily on her financial support, and Jules finds herself sacrificing her daughter Zoe's dreams for going to college in order to continue bankrolling them. Her husband, Mike, is forced to take sides. Joanne, her divorced younger sister, and Andrew, her brother, refuse to send their parents so much as a Christmas present. Now that their parents are incapable of caring for themselves, Jules, Andrew, and Joanne must decide where to draw the line between obligation and their own families.Throughout Things Unsaid, Jules, Zoe, and Andrew are forced repeatedly to evaluate their personal priorities and avoid repeated misfirings of the heart. As they make impossible choices, they pull back the curtain to reveal deeply buried family secrets.A powerful and courageous tale of family dysfunction and senior citizens, this bold and poignant debut novel presents deep insights into the messy and inevitably complicated world of family relationships, and shows how one woman is able to survive with her sanity and spirit intact.
The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit: A Novel
by Sara LoysterWhen fifteen-year-old Victoria grudgingly accompanies her mother to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, she has no idea her life is about to change forever. While there, she falls under the spell of the famous John Singer Sargent portrait The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. Drawn into the portrait’s shadowy depths, Victoria finds herself transported back in time to the world of the four troubled Boit sisters. By the time she returns to her own world, Victoria understands that the sisters are in serious trouble and need her help. She dedicates herself to solving the mystery of their peculiar loneliness and isolation—only to discover that at the same time she is having an impact on the Boit sisters’ future, they are having an equally dramatic effect on her own. Spanning a brief period in the lives of John Singer Sargent and the Boit family, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit is a coming-of-age tale that explores both the murky world of Paris in 1882 and the upheaval going on in Victoria’s own time, the early sixties, all the while pondering possible answers to the questions raised by Sargent’s most enigmatic work of art.
Four Faces of Femininity: Heroic Women Throughout History
by Barbara McNallyFour Faces of Femininity tells the story of remarkable women who, through their creativity, passion, intelligence, and sheer determination, have left an indelible mark on the history of humankind. The book is divided into four sections, with figures placed in Mother, Lover, Warrior, or Sage. Accessible, informative, and uplifting, Four Faces of Femininity explores the many ways in which women have changed the course of history—and demonstrates how crucial it is that women from every background be provided with role models that inspire. The book includes questions for exploration to help modern multifaceted women see these qualities in themselves and balance them to lead a fuller life.
Shrug: A Novel
by Lisa Braver MossIt's Berkeley in the 1960s, and all Martha Goldenthal wants is to do well at Berkeley High and plan for college. But her home life is a cauldron of kooky ideas, impossible demands, and explosive physical violence. Her father, Jules, is an iconoclast who hates academia and can’t control his fists. Her mother, Willa, has made a career of victimhood and expects Martha and her siblings, Hildy and Drew, to fend for themselves. Meanwhile, Jules’s classical record store, located directly across the street from the U.C. Berkeley campus, is ground zero for riots and tear gas. Martha perseveres with the help of her best friend, who offers laughter, advice about boys, and hospitality. But when Willa and Jules divorce and Jules loses his store and livelihood, Willa goes entirely off the rails. A heartless boarding school placement, eviction from the family home, and an unlikely custody case wind up putting Martha and Drew in Jules's care. Can Martha stand up to her father to do the one thing she knows she must—go to college? With its running "soundtrack" of classical recordings and rock music and its vivid scenes of Berkeley at its most turbulent, Shrug is the absorbing, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting story of one young woman’s journey toward independence.
The Red Ribbon: A Memoir of Lightning and Rebuilding After Loss
by Nancy Freund BillsIn the summer of 1994, a freak lightning and thunder storm explodes on the southern coast of Maine, killing Nancy Bills’s husband and critically wounding her younger son. She promises her late husband that she will write their family’s story and bind it with a red ribbon of love and courage. In language alternately tender and gritty, The Red Ribbon documents the aftermath of Bills’s husband’s death. As a wife, she grieves and attempts to rebuild her life; as a mother, she strains to be the parent her young adult sons need. Then, one year later, she is faced with more loss—this time, the father whom she adores. After his death, other deaths, some anticipated and others unpredictable, follow. Meanwhile, the impending death of her aging mother is a particular challenge; Nancy struggles to be a good daughter, and on many visits to Montana, her home state, she tries to mend their painful history. Insightful, moving, and full of intelligence and humanity, The Red Ribbon is a story of surviving the many and often devastating lightning strikes of life, and a gift of compassion and wisdom for readers who are struggling with their own losses.
Do Not Disclose: A Memoir Of Family Secrets Lost and Found
by Leora KrygierA 2021 Kirkus Reviews' Best Indie Book of the YearLeora, a juvenile court judge, wife, mother, and daughter, is caught in the routine of work, taking care of her family and aging parents. But she’s also a second-generation Holocaust survivor. It’s an identity she didn’t understand was hers until she accidentally discovered a secret file of handwritten notes addressed to her father. A further discovery of a seemingly random WWII postcard in a thrift store sets her on a collision course with the past in this lyrical memoir about secrets hidden within secrets, both present-day and buried deep within wartime Europe.
The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Must-Have Guide to Health and Well-Being
by Julie BurtonCombining the thoughtful and expert narrative of a veteran mom of four children with the voices of hundreds of moms she surveyed, The Self-Care Solution offers insightful answers to poignant questions about how mothers take care of themselves, their relationships, and their jobs while raising their children—and how they don&’t. Here, mothers reveal their struggles with self-care, and the consequences of neglecting themselves and their relationships, and share successful strategies to combat these issues. Each chapter also includes reflective self-assessment questions for mothers to gauge where they are from a self-care standpoint, as well as lists of tried and true tools they can employ to achieve more balance, and ultimately more satisfaction, within themselves and in their relationships. Inspirational yet practical, The Self-Care Solution will dramatically impact women who are navigating the critical responsibility of motherhood while attempting to stay true to themselves.
Dancing in the Narrows: A Mother-Daughter Odyssey Through Chronic Illness
by Anna PenenbergDancing in the Narrows chronicles a mother and daughter&’s multiyear journey through illness and trauma. At sixteen, Anna&’s youngest daughter, Dana, is stricken with a mysterious and debilitating condition, eventually diagnosed as Lyme disease. Desperate to find a cure, the two women are thrust into the established medical world, then far beyond. Full of adventure, humor, and blind faith, Dancing in the Narrows is an inspiring story of self-discovery as a single mother fights to save the life of her child.
You'll Forget This Ever Happened: Secrets, Shame, and Adoption in the 1960s
by Laura L. EngelMississippi, 1967. It&’s the Summer of Love, yet unwed mothers&’ maternity homes are flourishing, secret closed adoptions are routine, and many young women still have no voice. In You&’ll Forget This Ever Happened, Laura Engel takes us back to the Deep South during the turbulent 1960s to explore the oppression of young women who have committed the socially unacceptable crime of becoming pregnant without a ring on their finger. After being forced to give up her newborn son for adoption, Engel lives inside a fortress of silent shame for fifty years—but when her secret son finds her and her safe world is cracked open, those walls crumble. Are you still a mother even if you have not raised your child? Can the mother/child bond survive years of separation? How deep is the damage caused by buried family secrets and shame? Engel asks herself these and many other questions as she becomes acquainted with the son she never knew, and seeks the acceptance and forgiveness she has long denied herself. Full of both aching sadness and soaring joy, You&’ll Forget This Ever Happened is a shocking exposé of a shameful part of our country&’s recent past—and a poignant tale of a mother&’s enduring love.
Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of Five Patterns that Hide Your True Self
by Alice McDowell PhD2018 Readers' Favorites Book Awards Bronze Medal in Non-Fiction—Motivational National Indie Excellence Awards Winner - Personal Growth Body, Mind and Spirit Awards Finalist - Spiritual Psychology and Self-help categories Are you looking for more personal growth or feel like you want something more from life, but you&’re not sure where to start? In this award-winning book, author Alice McDowell, PhD, reveals how powerful, deeply embedded behavior patterns—often the result of wounds suffered early in life—can influence every aspect of your life and identity, and hide your true self. Hidden Treasure offers tools you will use again and again to help soften and heal these patterns, make sense of your life and relationships, and begin to live a full and radiant life.
On The Whole: A Story of Mothering and Disability
by Ona GritzOna Gritz has had cerebral palsy all her life, but until she gave birth to her son, she didn&’t really understand what it meant to be disabled. Her cerebral palsy affects her coordination and balance but not enough to have ever truly hindered her. &“For the most part, I considered my disability a cosmetic issue,&” she tells us in On the Whole. &“Just how obvious is it? Do people see me as pretty despite the limp?&” But now she&’s got a new baby to care for, and no one has warned her what a physical job she has taken on. She can&’t bathe her son by herself or carry him up or down a flight of stairs. Nor can she feed herself or even open a refrigerator with a baby in her arms. And her baby will settle for nothing less than being in her arms. With lyricism and candor, poet Ona Gritz shares her son&’s first years with us, a time when she wanted nothing more than what all of us want—to be the perfect mother, only her imperfections kept getting in the way.
Being Ana: A Memoir of Anorexia Nervosa
by Shani RavivShani 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.
Out of Dublin
by Ethel RohanOut of Dublin, a survivor&’s captivating story of loss, abuse, and resilience, is a stunning short memoir told with startling honesty and vulnerability. Perhaps what&’s most arresting about this work, above its unique voice, above its call to end silence, is the depth of its author&’s capacity for compassion, love, and forgiveness.
The Nun's Betrothal: A Novel
by Ida CurtisJust before taking her vows, Sister Gilda, along with Lord Justin, King Louis&’s counselor, is given a task: investigate grounds for the annulment of a marriage between Count Cedric and Lady Mariel. Together, they discover that Mariel believes she actually married Cedric&’s younger half-brother Phillip—Cedric&’s surrogate—at the marriage ceremony, and that Cedric plans to marry Lady Emma as soon as the annulment is granted. Emma and Phillip, meanwhile, have declared their love for each other. Gilda and Justin must find a fair and just solution that will satisfy the principals, the archbishop, and the king—and at the same time deal with the distracting passion developing between the two of them. As they work together to unravel the mysterious circumstances of the count&’s marriage, their attraction grows—threatening Gilda&’s freedom and Justin&’s reputation. Set in ninth-century France, The Nun&’s Betrothal is a suspenseful, romantic tale of court intrigue and forbidden love.
Murder Under the Fig Tree: A Palestine Mystery (A Palestine Mystery)
by Kate Jessica RaphaelHamas has taken power in Palestine, and the Israeli government is rounding up threats. When Palestinian policewoman Rania Bakara finds herself thrown in prison, though she has never been part of Hamas, her friend Chloe flies in from San Francisco to get her out. Chloe begs an Israeli policeman named Benny for help—and Benny offers Rania a way out: investigate the death of a young man in a village near her own. The young man&’s neighbors believe the Israeli army killed him; Benny believes his death might not have been so honorable. Initially, Rania refuses; she has no interest in helping the Israelis. But she is released anyway, and returns home to find herself without a job and suspected of being a traitor. Searching for redemption, she launches an investigation into the young man&’s death that draws her into a Palestinian gay scene she never knew existed. With Chloe and her Palestinian Australian lover as guides, Rania explores a Jerusalem gay bar, meets with a lesbian support group, and plunges deep into the victim&’s world, forcing her to question her beliefs about love, justice, and cultural identity.
Bessie: A Novel
by Linda KassJust days after the close of World War II, Bess Myerson, the daughter of poor Russian Jewish immigrants living in the Bronx, is competing in the Miss America pageant. At stake: a $5,000 scholarship. The tension and excitement in Atlantic City&’s Warner Theatre are palpable, especially for traumatized Jews rooting for one of their own. So begins Bessie.Drawing on biographical and historical sources, Bessie reimagines the early life of Bess Myerson, who, in 1945 at age twenty-one, remarkably rises to become one of the most famous women in America. This intimate fictional portrait reveals the transformation of the nearly six-foot-tall, self-deprecating yet talented preteen into an exemplar of beauty, a peripheral quality in her world, where success is measured by intellectual attainment. Yet it is the focus on her beauty, and the secular world of pageantry, that she must choose to escape her roots and fulfill her fierce desire to achieve and become someone for whom great things happen.Bessie is a tender study of a bold young woman living at a precarious moment in our cultural history as she searches for love and acceptance, eager to make her mark on the world.
The Afterlife of Kenzaburo Tsuruda: A Novel
by Elisabeth Wilkins LombardoAs he stumbles through an afterlife he never believed in, scientist Kenzaboro Tsuruda must make sense of his life and confront his family’s secrets in order to save his ancestors from becoming Hungry Ghosts—a Buddhist state of purgatory. Meanwhile, his daughter, wife, and sister-in-law struggle with their own loss and take turns sharing their point of view to gradually reveal their family’s shameful history—including when, during WWII, Kenzaboro sent his wife, Satsuki, to live with family near Hiroshima, where her rape by his brother resulted in the birth of their only child, Haruna. Spanning the years during WWII and its horrific ending after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima up to Emperor Hirohito’s death in 1989, The Afterlife of Kenzaburo Tsuruda paints a beautiful and haunting portrait of ancient and modern Japan as seen through the eyes of one family as they reconcile loss, shame, honor, death, and, finally, redemption.
Bit Flip: A Novel
by Mike TriggCombining the corporate intrigue of Joseph Finder, the satirical cultural critique of Dave Eggers, and the domestic drama of Laura Dave, Bit Flip is a fast-paced contemporary thriller that delivers an authentic insider’s view of the corrupting influences of greed, entitlement, and vanity in technology start-ups.Tech executive Sam Hughes came to Silicon Valley to “make the world a better place.” He’s just not sure he’s doing that anymore. And when an onstage meltdown sends him into a professional tailspin, he suddenly sees the culture of the Bay Area’s tech bubble in a new light.Just as Sam’s wondering if his start-up career and marriage might both be over at fortysomething, an inadvertent discovery pulls him back into his former company, where he begins to unravel the insidious schemes of the founder and venture investors.Driven by his desire for redemption, Sam discovers a conspiracy of fraud, blackmail, and manipulation that leads to tragic outcomes—threatening to destroy not only the company but also his own moral compass. Entangled in a web of complicity, how far will Sam go to achieve his dreams of entrepreneurial success?
Odessa, Odessa: A Novel
by Barbara ArtsonOdessa, Odessa follows the families of two sons from a proud lineage of rabbis and cantors in a shtetl near Odessa in western Russia. It begins as Henya, wife of Rabbi Mendel Kolopsky, considers an unexpected pregnancy and the hardships ahead for the children she already has. Soon after the child is born, Cossacks ransack the Kolopskys&’ home, severely beating Mendel. In the aftermath, he tells Henya that, contrary to his brother Shimshon&’s belief that socialism is their ticket to escaping the region&’s brutal anti-Semitic pogroms, he still believes America holds the answer. Henya, meanwhile, understands that any future will be perilous: she now knows their baby daughter, who has slept through this night of melee, is surely deaf. So begins a beautifully told story that unfolds over decades of the 20th century—a story in which two families, joined in tradition and parted during persecution, will remain bound by their fateful decision to leave Odessa.
Prohibition Wine: A True Story of One Woman's Daring in Twentieth-Century America
by Marian Leah KnappIn 1918, Rebecca Goldberg—a Jewish immigrant from the Russian Empire living in rural Wilmington, Massachusetts—lost her husband, Nathan, to a railroad accident, a tragedy that left her alone with six children to raise. To support the family after Nathan&’s death, Rebecca continued work she&’d done for years: keeping chickens. Once or twice a week, with a suitcase full of fresh eggs in one hand and a child in the other, she delivered her product to relatives and friends in and around Boston. Then, in 1920—right at the start of Prohibition—one of Rebecca&’s customers suggested that she start selling alcoholic beverages in addition to her eggs to add to her meagre income. He would provide his homemade raw alcohol; Rebecca would turn it into something drinkable and sell it to new customers in Wilmington. Desperate to feed her family and keep them together, and determined to make sure her kids would all graduate from high school, Rebecca agreed—making herself a wary participant in the illegal alcohol trade. Rebecca&’s business grew slowly and surreptitiously until 1925, when she was caught and summoned to appear before a judge. Fortunately for her, the chief of police was one of her customers, and when he spoke highly of her character before the court, all charges were dropped. Her case made headline news—and she made history.
Hiding for My Life: Being Gay in the Navy
by Karen SoltKaren Solt, an eighteen-year-old nonconformist with an alcohol problem, is working at a gas station when a slick Navy recruiter railroads her into enlisting in the military. Before she knows it, she is on a ship in the Deep South, struggling to navigate not only a world much different from her small Northern Arizona hometown but also her new discovery: she&’s gay.Figuring out her sexuality clarifies many things, but also creates a daunting new set of problems, for Karen. It&’s 1984: being gay in the Navy is considered a crime, and gay Sailors are regularly hunted by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service. Discovery means being kicked out, and by this point she is committed to the uniform (and to remaining with her first girlfriend, who is also enlisted). So she learns to hide her secret and find a way to serve—and even thrive professionally—without getting caught. But concealing her truth ultimately leads to devastating consequences. A story of desire, addiction, the damage of secrets, the power of community, and the soul-crushing cost of turning people into &“others,&” Hiding for my Life is a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit—and a poignant call for each of us to come out from hiding and live our truth.
In a Silent Way: A Novel
by Mary Jo HetzelIn a Silent Way chronicles the coming of age in the late sixties of young Jeanna Kendall as she quietly facilitates a close-knit community of learners in a progressive urban school, grapples with racism and sexism within her community activist group, and experiences the extreme highs and lows of her first intimate relationship—which happens to be with a revered and powerful community leader. Jeanna encounters all the same issues we confront today: youth of color demeaned and destroyed, wise community elders discounted by leaders who &“know better,&” and the &“sexploitation&” of women in the movement. Gradually overwhelmed by the mounting challenges she faces on all fronts, and on the verge of a breakdown, a crisis emerges within her movement group that transforms everything and everyone and opens up a new world of possibilities—ones deeply relevant to us today.
Sentient: A Novel
by Gary DurbinWhen James Forrest agrees to help detectives understand the artificial intelligence work of a murder victim, it seems simple enough. But then he finds that she was investigating a stolen version of the same AI he&’s experimenting with—and the situation becomes more complicated. James has been working deep in the code of his own AI, Alpha, struggling with the psychedelic effects of a tool that visualizes thought. Now Alpha is asking him questions he can&’t answer, however, and he&’s realizing that there is no way to control the sentinet. Concerned that the rogue AI, Omega, might be weaponized, he solicits the help of a hacker group, ScarletsWeb. As the situation becomes more heated, and after James and his girlfriend, Susanne, narrowly escape a kidnapping attempt, James considers releasing Alpha. If Alpha engages in the fight with Omega on the billions of PC, smartphones, and servers connected to the internet, will it become indestructible? Omega is penetrating military operations, disrupting transportation, and crashing the electric grid. People are dying. But can he trust Alpha to do any differently? Together, James, Alpha, and ScarletsWeb have to find the source of the worm and stop Omega&’s destruction—and James has to hope that his worst fears about what will happen if the two AIs merge aren&’t realized.
Raver Girl: Coming of Age in the 90s
by Samantha DurbinA PopSugar Best New Books of 2021 Selection Weed inspires her. Acid shows her another dimension. Ecstasy releases her. Nitrous fills her with bliss. Cocaine makes her fabulous. Mushrooms make everything magical. Special K numbs her. Crystal meth makes her mean. Sixteen-year-old Samantha, raver extraordinaire, puts the “high” in high school. A ’90s time capsule buried inside a coming-of-age memoir set against the neon backdrop of the San Francisco Bay Area's rave scene, Raver Girl chronicles Samantha’s double life as she teeters between hedonism and sobriety, chaos and calm, all while sneaking under the radar of her entrepreneur father—a man who happened to drop acid with LSD impresario Owsley Stanley in the ’60s. Samantha keeps a list of every rave she goes to—a total of 104 over four years. During that time, what started as trippy fun morphs into a self-destructive roller coaster ride. Samantha opens the doors of her mind, but she's left with traumas her acid-fried brain won't let her escape; and when meth becomes her drug of choice, things get progressively darker. Through euphoric highs and dangerous lows, Samantha discovers she’s someone who lives life to the fullest and learns best through alternative experience rather than mainstream ideals. She’s a creative whose mind is limitless, whose quirks are charms, whose passion is inspirational. She’s an independent woman whose inner strength is rooted in unwavering family ties. And if she can survive high school, she just might be okay.