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Life and Other Shortcomings: Stories
by Corie AdjmiLife and Other Shortcomings is a collection of linked short stories that takes the reader from New Orleans to New York City to Madrid, and from 1970 to the present day. The women in these twelve stories make a number of different choices: some work, others don&’t; some stay married, some get divorced; others never marry at all. Through each character&’s intimate journey, specific truths are revealed about what it means to be a woman—in relationship with another person, in a particular culture and era—and how these conditions ultimately affect her relationship with herself. The stories as a whole depict patriarchy, showing what still might be, but certainly what was, for some women in this country before the #MeToo movement. Both a cautionary tale and a captivating window into women&’s lives, Life and Other Shortcomings is required reading for anyone interested in an honest, incisive, and compelling portrayal of the female experience.
When Happily Ever After Fails: A Novel
by Courtney Deane"A witty, well-paced, and original story—gimme all the Courtney Deane books with a big glass of rosé, please!” —Lizzy Dent, author of The Summer Job and The Sweetest RevengeTwentysomething Abigail Gardner’s life is circling the drain. Her parents are dead, her “like a brother” is in love with her, and her nascent career as an art teacher was fully squashed by an unfortunate viral incident involving sophomores and Spanx.But just as that whirlpool feels poised to suck her down completely, she’s granted a second chance: she lands a teaching job at Excelsior Primm, one of Philadelphia’s oldest and most prestigious preparatory academies. Only problem is, instead of teaching art she’ll be stuck teaching her least favorite subject—literature—and her least favorite theme: tragedy.Tired of being stuck in her own tragic tale, Abigail starts rewriting every sad ending she can get her hands on, in and out of the classroom. To her surprise, her life soon starts to resemble the fairy tales she adores—great job, hot guy, a career gaining recognition. But when an unexpected plot twist threatens to derail her happy ending, Abigail begins to realize why these conclusions are so hard to come by.
A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You
by Donna Cameron2020 New York City Big Book Awards Winner in Self-Help: Motivational2020 14th Annual National Indie Excellence Award-Winner in Self-Help Motivational2019 IPPY Gold Medal Winner: Self Help2019 Nautilius Book Awards Gold Winner in Personal Growth & Self-Help2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Motivational2019 Readers&’ Favorite Awards: Gold Medal Winner in Nonfiction Self-Help2019 Eric Hoffer Award Winner: Self-Help2019 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards: First Place in Self-Help2019 Chanticleer I & I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight Finalist2019 International Book Awards: Finalist, Self-Help: General2019 Nancy Pearl Best Book Award: Finalist in Memoir2019 Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal: Finalist2019 Foreword Indies Finalist: Adult Nonfiction—Self-HelpKirkus Reviews Best Books of 2018Being kind is something most of us do when it&’s easy and when it suits us. Being kind when we don&’t feel like it, or when all of our buttons are being pushed, is hard. But that&’s also when it&’s most needed; that&’s when it can defuse anger and even violence, when it can restore civility in our personal and virtual interactions. Kindness has the power to profoundly change our relationships with other people and with ourselves. It can, in fact, change the world.In A Year of Living Kindly—using stories, observation, humor, and summaries of expert research—Donna Cameron shares her experience committing to 365 days of practicing kindness. She presents compelling research into the myriad benefits of kindness, including health, wealth, longevity, improved relationships, and personal and business success. She explores what a kind life entails, and what gets in the way of it. And she provides practical and experiential suggestions for how each of us can strengthen our kindness muscle so choosing a life of kindness becomes ever easier and more natural. An inspiring, practical guide that can help any reader make a commitment to kindness, A Year of Living Kindly shines a light on how we can create a better, safer, and more just world—and how you can be part of that transformation.
All the Sweeter: Families Share Their Stories of Adopting from Foster Care
by Jean MintonAll the Sweeter tells the stories of families who have adopted one or more children from the US foster care system. Each of the twelve families interviewed has a dedicated chapter in which at least one representative tells their family&’s adoption story. Woven through these stories are topical chapters that explore the common challenges these families face, including the complications that accompany transracial adoptions, helping children understand adoption, relationships with birth parents, and raising a traumatized child. Each year, over 50,000 children are adopted from the US Foster Care System. Informative and diverse in scope, All the Sweeter provides a resource to families considering adoption, families in the process of adoption, and families who have already adopted children from foster care—with the ultimate goal of facilitating a better life for the children they bring into their lives.
Ferry to Cooperation Island: A Novel
by Carol Newman CroninLoner James Malloy is a ferry captain—or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a girl named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island&’s daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored. When he discovers a private golf course staked out across wilderness sacred to his dying best friend, a Narragansett Indian, James is determined to stop such &“improvements.&” But despite Brenton&’s nickname as &“Cooperation Island,&” he&’s used to working solo. To keep rocky bluffs, historic trees, and ocean shoreline open to all, he&’ll have to learn to cooperate with other islanders—including Captain Courtney, who might just morph from irritant to irresistible once James learns a secret that&’s been kept from him for years. This salt-sprayed fourth novel by 2004 Olympic Sailor Carol Newman Cronin celebrates wilderness and water, open space and open-mindedness, and the redemptive power of neighborly cooperation.
Bedside Manners: A Novel
by Heather FrimmerAs Joyce Novak&’s daughter, Marnie, completes medical school and looks ahead to a surgical internship, her wedding, and a future filled with promise, a breast cancer diagnosis throws Joyce&’s own future into doubt. Always the caregiver, Joyce feels uncomfortable in the patient role, especially with her husband and daughter. As she progresses through a daunting treatment regimen including a biopsy, lumpectomy, and radiation, she distracts herself by planning Marnie&’s wedding. When the sudden death of a young heroin addict in Marnie&’s care forces Marnie to come face-to-face with mortality and her professional inadequacies, she also realizes she must strike a new balance between her identity as a doctor and her role as a supportive daughter. At the same time, she struggles with the stark differences between her fiancé&’s family background and her own and comes to understand the importance of being with someone who shares her values and experiences. Amid this profound soul-searching, both Joyce and Marnie&’s futures change in ways they never would have expected.
After Midnight: A Novel
by Diane ShuteAs far as Alix is concerned, she has no past—only today, and her plans for the future: creating a dynamic stable of Thoroughbreds that will take the 1830s British racing world by storm. When forced into assuming the role of Lord Griffon's wife in London, her plans are threatened by disturbing images of a castle from her past that fight to resurface. Alix is determined to find a way to take control of her life and fulfill her dreams. This women's historical fiction novel is the first in the Midnight Series.
The Phantom Glare of Day: Three Novellas
by M. LaszloIn this trio of novellas, three game young ladies enter into dangerous liaisons that test each one&’s limits and force them to confront the most heartrending issues facing society in the early twentieth century. The Phantom Glare of Day tells of Sophie, a young lady who has lived a sheltered life and consequently has no idea how cruel public school bullying can be. When she meets Jarvis, a young man obsessed with avenging all those students who delight in his daily debasement, she resolves to intervene before tragedy unfolds. Mouvements Perpétuels tells of Cäcilia, a young lady shunned by her birth father. She longs for the approval of an older man, so when her ice-skating instructor attempts to take advantage of her, she cannot resist. Not a month later, she realizes that she is pregnant and must decide whether or not to get an abortion. Passion Bearer tells of Manon, a young lady who falls in love with a beautiful actress after taking a post as a script girl for a film company—and is subsequently confronted with the pettiest kinds of homophobia. Specific to their time yet unquestionably relevant for women today, The Phantom Glare of Day is a compelling interrogation of who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong.
Redeemed: A Memoir of a Stolen Childhood
by Penny LanePenny is just four years old when she is snatched away from her all-American home by the Hungarian father who abandoned her when she was a baby. After facing isolation and neglect in a strange, dysfunctional household where heartache, rejection, and physical abuse rule her life, she escapes—only to find herself in a relationship with a man who&’s just converted to fundamentalist Christianity. Penny&’s road is long, winding, and often painful, but gradually she begins to listen to her inner voice, stand up for herself, and refuse to bow to the pressures of either her family or society—freeing herself to build a life on her own terms and find her way to happiness. A rise-from-the-ashes hero&’s story of overcoming abuse, trauma, and unbearable odds, of being waylaid by both family and religion&’s promise of love, and harnessing the resilience to find the way home, Redeemed offers a rare window into Eastern European immigrant culture and reads like a page-turning thriller. Especially relevant today—a time when marginalized people are increasingly finding a voice—this memoir will serve as an inspiration to women everywhere, encouraging them to overcome their obstacles and go after their dreams.
Drawing Outside the Lines: A Julia Morgan Novel
by Susan AustinMeet the brilliant, fearless, and ambitious Julia Morgan. In 1883, eleven-year-old Julia visits the amazing new Brooklyn Bridge—an experience that ignites within her a small but persistent flame. Someday, she decides, she too will build an astounding structure. Growing up in horse-and-buggy Oakland, Julia enjoys daring fence walks, climbing the tallest trees, and constantly testing her mother&’s patience with her lack of interest in domestic duties and social events. At a time when &“brainy&” girls are the object of ridicule, Julia excels in school and consistently outsmarts her ornery brothers—but she has an even greater battle ahead. When she enrolls at university to study engineering, the male students taunt her, and the professors belittle her. Through it all, however, Julia holds on to her dream of becoming an architect. She faces each challenge head-on, firmly standing up to those who believe a woman&’s place is in the home. Fortunately, the world has yet to meet anyone like the indomitable Miss Morgan. Drawing Outside the Lines is an imagined childhood of pioneering architect Julia Morgan, who left behind her an extraordinary legacy of creativity, beauty, and engineering marvels.
The Buddha at My Table: How I Found Peace in Betrayal and Divorce
by Tammy LethererCan you come sit at the table? Tammy Letherer’s husband of twelve years spoke these words on a Tuesday night, just before Christmas, after he had put their three children in bed. He had a piece of paper and two fingers of scotch in front of him. As he read from the list in his hand, his next words would shatter her world and destroy every assumption she'd ever made about love, friendship, and faithfulness. In The Buddha at My Table, Letherer describes―in honest, sometimes painful detail―the dismantling of a marriage that encompasses the ordinary and the surreal, including the night she finds a silent, smiling Thai monk sitting at the same dining room table. It’s this unexpected visitation, this personification of peace, that sticks with her as she listens to her husband reveal hurtful, shocking things―that he never loved her, he doesn’t believe in monogamy, and he wants to “wrap things up” with her in four weeks―and allows her to find the blessing in her husband’s betrayal. Ultimately, it’s when she realizes that she is participating in her life, not at its mercy, that she discovers the path to freedom.
Changed By Chance: My Journey of Triumph Over Tragedy
by Elizabeth BarkerElizabeth Barker spent years planning and working hard to achieve her version of the American dream - one that is supposed to culminate in parenthood and the role of supermom. But when her first child is born with Down syndrome and a fatal heart condition, her dream suddenly becomes a nightmare. And that&’s only the beginning… Liz&’s new reality is a detoured obstacle course of life altering encounters, medical mishaps, a breast cancer diagnosis, and cruel hardships. From the moment of her daughter&’s birth, she is pummeled with life lessons that no schooling or formal education could have ever taught her. Can Liz keep her sanity and some semblance of her former self alive and well through all of this? Changed by Chance is a courageous story of soul searching introspection about how this champion acquired the necessary life skills to Triumph over Tragedy. Her inspiring journey offers a roadmap to others who may face their own bumps in the road.
Feeling Fate: A Memoir of Love, Intuition, and Spirit
by Joni SenselAs her sweetheart&’s body lies cooling on the living room floor, Joni Sensel—shattered but not surprised—revisits her premonition about this moment. From nearly the start of their fairy tale romance less than four years ago, she knew she would lose Tony, the man she considered to be her soul mate. He was in great health, but fate had other plans—a hard truth that visited Joni in the form of a startling vision during their second weekend together. Though she kept the premonition a secret while Tony was alive, upon his death she&’s compelled to share it with his spirit in the form of a letter. A grief memoir with a paranormal twist, Feeling Fate explores how a dark intuition magnified Sensel&’s love and gratitude in the time she and Tony had together before her premonition came true. Faced with evidence of a grand design alongside her grief, she&’s torn between faith and skepticism. While she&’s nearly undone by the pain of her loss, she eventually discovers that a sassy imagination and the irrational insights of the heart can both defeat despair and transform her grief into meaning.
Girls' Night Out: A Mystery
by Kate FloraKate Clark Flora is the master of the mystery and true crime genres. Author of seven &“strong woman&” Thea Kozak mysteries and three gritty police procedurals in her star-reviewed Joe Burgess series, Girls' Night Out is her first novelette, only in Shebooks. In this delicious tale of revenge, when the man who date-raped a friend is found not guilty, the women in her book group decide to take matters into their own hands.
Rudy's Rules for Travel: Life Lessons from Around the Globe
by Mary K. JensenMost honeymoons, Mary knows, do not start this way. Lying outside on the sloping attic roof in Edinburgh, listening to the soft snores of her groom, she realizes that Rudy&’s number one rule, &“adapt," once again reigns. Rudy&’s Rules for Travel takes you across the twentieth-century globe with intrepid, frugal Rudy and his spouse Mary, a catastrophic thinker seeking comfort. Whether stalled in a Spanish car tunnel, stranded atop a runaway elephant, or held at rifle-point at a Soviet border, Rudy has a rule for every occasion—for example, &“Relax, some kind stranger will appear.&” Mary, meanwhile, has her deep breathing and her own commandment: &“Expect the worst.&” The two are a picture of contrast. As Mary was being born, Rudy was a new American citizen flying US Air Force missions over his homeland, Germany. His father was a seaman, hers an accountant. And when this marriage of opposites goes traveling, their stories combine laugh-out-loud humor with poignant lessons from the odyssey of a World War II veteran. So start packing—you&’ll want to join these two.
A Story That Matters: A Gratifying Approach to Writing About Your Life
by Gina L. CarrollNo matter who you are, your story is a part of something big—the fabric of history and the human experience. Once written and shared, your story will change someone. And that someone is most likely you. A Story that Matters offers an accessible and simplified way to get your stories written. Each chapter is divided into three sections: the first discusses memoir writing in the context of themes—motherhood, childhood, relationships, professional life, and spiritual journey; the second provides basic writing and editing prescription, with a focus on common beginner mistakes and roadblocks; and the third provides a sample story related to the life theme discussed in the first section of the chapter. Chock full of writing and editing lessons that focus on how to get a first draft written and how to craft the draft into a compelling story, A Story That Matters explores our ability to help, heal, and connect to others through story, reminding us of the greater need for a broader array of authentic voices in the story-sharing universe.
Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
by Renee HodgesWhen Renee Hodges invited her nephew, Bobby, to come stay with her for a few weeks so he could visit a doctor about his back pain, she knew he was recovering from an addiction to prescription painkillers. She believed that if he could address his back problems, he would have a better chance of staying clean—but she had no idea what a roller coaster ride she was getting on. Unlike other books about addiction, Saving Bobby begins after rehab is over. Told in part through journal entries, e-mails, and personal recollections, this raw, honest, deeply moving memoir—begun to keep the family accountable—describes the sixteen months that Hodges, her husband, and their community struggled alongside Bobby as he attempted to successfully re-enter the day-to-day world. Using a holistic and open approach, the shame and stigma associated with addiction was lessened—and ultimately, Bobby learned he had to save himself. A gripping and heartrending story of survival, Saving Bobby is an essential, timely read for those concerned about America&’s most pressing epidemic.
Catch Me When I Fall: Poems of Mother Loss and Healing
by Donna StonehamLosing your mother is a transformational event at any age, and yet the number of books on the subject of adult children grieving a mother&’s death is meager. In this moving collection of poems and letters, Donna Stoneham chronicles the healing power of love between an adult daughter and her elderly mother—across the boundaries of this world and the next, and over the course of four years—and how that connection teaches her to love more deeply, to fully forgive, and to grow into her authentic self.An embracing solace for anyone recovering from the loss of a loved one, Catch Me When I Fall reveals how our grief journeys can be a powerful transformative force and offers readers a courageous, healing path to the other side of sorrow&’s dark passage. Through the conversations between mother and daughter that take place in these lyrical pieces, readers are provided with the opportunity to explore a beautiful notion: as long as we keep our hearts open to the mystery and transformational power of transcendent, eternal love, it will always be possible to heal and continue our most pivotal relationships—even after death.
Beyond Jesus: My Spiritual Odyssey
by Patricia A. PearceIn the crucible of grief following a friend's death, Presbyterian pastor Patricia Pearce sensed a dimension of existence beneath her ordinary perception-and became resolved to discover it. She soon found herself in a vortex of revelatory dreams, synchronicities, energy openings, and insights that shattered her worldview, exposed a unified Reality of Love, and unveiled the illusory nature of the ego and the world it has created. Faced with these discoveries, she struggled to remain in a religion that, she now realized, has been shaped by the very ego consciousness Jesus transcended and urged others to abandon. Enlightening, revelatory, and bold, Beyond Jesus reveals how our political and religious institutions are an outward manifestation of the inner beliefs we hold about who we are, and that beneath the layers of dogma about Jesus lies a key to our spiritual evolution and the astonishing possibility it holds for the future.
Valeria Vose: A Novel
by Alice Bingham GormanValeria Vose: A Novel takes a reader deep inside the cultural and emotional life of a 1970’s southern woman. Privileged, approaching age forty, her “perfect” life is shattered. Determined to survive, she’s forced to confront all preconceived values and expectations in order to find a path toward creative, spiritual independence and her true identity.
Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix
by Erin SeidemannThe aviation world is a man&’s world—it always has been, and it continues to be so today. In fact, women make up a mere 5 to 6 percent of the total pilot population worldwide. But from the first time Erin Seidemann experienced what it was like to see the world from a small plane&’s perspective, she was hooked—and she&’s spent much of her time since then fighting her way into becoming one of that 5 to 6 percent. Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix tells of the struggles and adventures one encounters as a woman in the male-dominated space of aviation. With humor and equanimity, Seidemann recounts her varied experiences as a female pilot—from the chauvinistic flight instructor she makes the mistake of falling in love with to the many, many customs agents who insist she can&’t possibly be her plane&’s owner (&“Where&’s your boyfriend?&”)—while at the same time giving insight about just what makes flying so incredible . . . and so very addictive. Frank, funny, and full of adventure, Postcards from the Sky is an entertaining foray into a world few women have dared enter.
Walk the Web Lightly: A Novel
by Mary PascualNaya&’s family is all about heritage: their art, their traditions, their secret ability to see time. They expect her to follow in their footsteps, creating art and keeping their powers concealed. But she wants to be a doctor—and you can&’t do that if you&’re hiding all the time! When a chance to go to medical science camp comes up, her family disapproves, but Grandmother challenges her to a contest: if she can weave her soul wrap before the camp begins, she can go; if she fails, she has to say good-bye to her science dreams for good. With all of the knowledge of time at her fingertips, Naya is sure she can win. But someone is rigging events to learn her family&’s secrets—and it turns out that what she doesn&’t know could jeopardize everyone she loves.
Marriage Minded: An A to Z Dating Guide for Lasting Love
by Marcia Naomi BergerFrom single to happily ever after . . .Any woman who wants to marry can . . . once she learns how. Marriage Minded's A to Z format, packed with warmth, wisdom, and humor, makes the process fun and informative. You will learn how to overcome obstacles, meet men, and date constructively; you&’ll read about single women of all ages who became happily married; and in Marcia Naomi Berger, you&’ll have a sensitive guide to creating the lasting, loving union you&’ve always wanted. After her parents divorced, Berger became a long-term commitmentphobe who stayed single for many years. Now happily married for more than thirty-three years, this psychotherapist and clinical social worker&’s mission is to help others create marriages that fulfill them—emotionally, spiritually, physically, and materially.
The Bus to Beulah: A Novel
by Eldridge HanesOn her way to a new job in America, Maria Puente accidentally discovers a human trafficking ring. Fearing exposure, the American company that manages the operation—with the help of their Mexican partners—kidnaps Maria. Maria&’s disappearance triggers a desperate search, by her family and local law enforcement, to find her before the kidnappers can permanently dispose of her. As the investigation unfolds, long-time Hogg County high sheriff Will Moser confronts Albert Waters, a powerful businessman who Will suspects knows about Maria&’s disappearance—but Albert and his Mexican cartel partners prove to be brick walls. At the urging of his wife, Lana, Will calls on Elijah Kahn, a man he got to know while serving in Vietnam who now runs one of the largest international security firms in the world. The idea of working with men who are rightly known as mercenaries troubles Will, but he knows he&’ll never find Maria without Elijah&’s help—and when Lana reminds Will of the debt they owe to Tomas Delgado, Maria&’s uncle, his hesitation evaporates. Organized in an hour-by-hour structure, The Bus to Beulah is a taut thriller that culminates in a massive, heatrt-pounding chase to save Maria—before she disappears forever.
No Rules: A Memoir
by Sharon DukettIn this coming-of-age memoir, Sharon takes you with her on a nail-biting adventure through the early 1970s after leaving her sheltered home life at sixteen years old to join the hippies. Yearning for freedom, she lands in an adult world for which she is unprepared, and must learn quickly in order to survive. As Sharon navigates the US and Canada—whether by hitchhiking, bicycle, or the back of a motorcycle—she experiences love and heartbreak, discovers whom she can and cannot trust, and awakens to the growing women’s liberation movement while living in a rural off-grid commune. In this colorful memoir, she reflects upon the changes that reshaped her during that decade, and how the ways in which she and her peers threw off the rules meant to keep women in their place has transformed and empowered the lives of girls and women today.