“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
The 86th Village by Sena Desai Gopal
Fiction.
Throughout Southern India, eighty-six villages are set to completely submerge due to a government-sanctioned dam across the Krishna river. Nilgi, one such village on the banks of the mighty River Krishna, has so far escaped unscathed from the illegal iron-ore mining and floods that have ravaged the rest of the district for decades. The village believes itself to be indestructible and incorruptible despite residents warn of impending doom. With whole mountains disappearing from the mining around Nilgi over time, the threat of a big flood submerging the entire village is imminent.
One night, Reshma, a young orphan girl appears in the village, alone and without any possessions. The villagers, not knowing what else to do, take her to Raj Nayak―the patriarch of the leading family in the village who has been organizing and leading anti-dam movements. For several years he’s been lobbying the corrupt government for fair compensation to be paid to the people who will lose their livelihoods and property to the mines and the flood. But Reshma’s presence, and the mystery of her origins, sets off a chain of events threatening the protests, the family, and Nilgi itself. Soon, secrets and corruption flood the village along with the waters.
In this poignant and beautiful debut, the reader discovers the damage―both to people and the environment―wrought by human hubris and greed, and asks whether it is ever too late to right a wrong?
Description from Goodreads.
“A moving debut.” – Criminal Element
“This atmospheric and extremely poignant debut is beautifully told and heart-rending on many levels.” – Booklist
Acitivites of Daily Living by Lisa Hsiao Chen
Fiction.
How do we take stock of a life—by what means, and by what measure? This is the question that preoccupies Alice, a Taiwanese immigrant in her late thirties. In the off-hours from her day job, Alice struggles to create a project about the enigmatic downtown performance artist Tehching Hsieh and his monumental, yearlong 1980s performance pieces. Meanwhile, she becomes the caretaker for her aging stepfather, a Vietnam vet whose dream of making traditional Chinese furniture dissolved in alcoholism and dementia.
As Alice roots deeper into Hsieh’s radical use of time—in one piece, the artist confined himself to a cell for a year; in the next, he punched a time clock every hour, on the hour, for a year—and his mysterious disappearance from the art world, her project starts metabolizing events from her own life. She wanders from subway rides to street protests, loses touch with a friend, and tenderly observes her father’s slow decline.
Moving between present-day and 1980s New York City, with detours to Silicon Valley and the Venice Biennale, this vivid debut announces Lisa Hsiao Chen as an audacious new talent. Activities of Daily Living is a lucid, intimate examination of the creative life and the passage of time.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] thoughtful and thoughtfilled meditation on time… Elegiac and revealing, Chen’s debut illuminates the clock in our hearts.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“Highly recommend for: fans of Chen’s poetry; fans of Olivia Laing and/or Ben Lerner; anyone who’s ever found themselves consumed by art; anyone who’s fighting the very nature of time (and, really, who isn’t?).” – The Millions
“Chen wows in this tender debut novel… [She] develops an intelligent and deeply empathic portrayal of Alice witnessing her stepfather disappearing inside himself, and in doing so offers careful and illuminating observations on issues of cultural difference, productivity, family, and freedom. Chen’s own project is masterly and memorable.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
At the Edge of the Woods by Masatsugu Ono, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Fiction / Fantasy / Horror.
In an unnamed foreign country, a family of three settles into a house at the edge of the woods where they hope to make a life. But something is off. A sound, at first like coughing and then like laughter, emanates from the nearby forest. Fantastical creatures, it is said, live out there in a castle where feudal lords reigned and Resistance fighters fell. When the mother, fearing another miscarriage, returns to her family’s home to give birth to a second child, father and son are left to their own devices in rural isolation. Haunted by the ever-present woods, they look on as the TV flashes with floods and processions of refugees. The boy brings a mysterious half-naked old woman home, but before the father can make sense of her presence, she disappears. A mail carrier with a menacing disposition visits to deliver nothing but gossip of violence. A tree stump in the yard refuses to die, no matter how generously the poison is applied.
An allegory for societal alienation and climate catastrophe unlike any other, At the Edge of the Woods sees the Mishima Prize-winning writer’s trademark understatement used to brutal, brilliant effect. A psychological tale where myth and fantasy are not the dominion of childhood innocence but the poison fruit borne of the fear, paranoia, and violence of contemporary life.
Description from Goodreads.
“A haunting fable about the disturbing strangeness of modern life… Some readers might think At the Edge of the Woods has perfectly captured the mood of the times.” – Shelf Awareness
“A surreal tale of a world torn apart by disaster… Written in startling, imaginative vignettes, At the Edge of the Woods is an evocative, terrifying story about a family’s efforts to survive a crisis.” – Foreword Reviews
“Ono’s immersive narrative accrues insights about the nature of violence and mercy… an accomplished work by a masterful writer.” – Publishers Weekly
Constructing a Nervous System: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson ★
Nonfiction / Memoir.
Margo Jefferson constructs a nervous system with pieces of different lengths and tone, conjoining arts writing (poem, song, performance) with life writing (history, psychology). The book’s structure is determined by signal moments of her life, those that trouble her as well as those that thrill and restore. In this nervous system:
– The sounds of a black spinning disc of a 1950’s jazz LP as intimate and instructive as a parent’s voice.
– The muscles and movements of a ballerina, spliced with those of an Olympic runner: template for what a female body could be.
– Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Topsy finds her way into the art of Kara Walker and the songs of Cécile McLorin Salvant.
– Bing Crosby and Ike Turner become alter egos.
– W.E.B. DuBois and George Eliot meet illicitly, as he appropriates lines from her story “The Hidden Veil” to write his famous “behind the veil” passages in The Souls of Black Folk.
– The words of multiple others (writers, singers, film characters, friends, family) act as prompts and as dialogue.
The fragments of this brilliant book, while not neglecting family, race, and class, are informed by a kind of aesthetic drive: longing, ecstasy, or even acute ambivalence. Constructing a nervous system is Jefferson’s relentlessly galvanizing mise-en-scène for unconventional storytelling as well as a platform for unexpected dramatis personae.
Description from Goodreads.
“A tour de force.” – Vanity Fair
“A thoughtful mélange of criticism and memoir… [Jefferson’s] roving intelligence and refusal of pat conclusions make this a nuanced, thought-provoking read.” – BuzzFeed
“Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Margo Jefferson reflects on some of her most intimate memories in Constructing a Nervous System… [she] excels at deconstructing American culture, and her raw self-examination makes her work riveting.” – Time
“Constructing a Nervous System breaks the conventions [of memoir] apart: figuratively, in the frequent eclipse of the remembering ‘I’ by a roving and interrogating eye, and literally, in the reliance on fragment as the dominant form. The result is an engaging mixture of candid self-examination and brilliantly original criticism.” – The American Scholar
Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker, 1965-2000 by Alice Walker, edited by Valerie Boyd
Nonfiction / Memoir / History.
For the first time, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered together to reflect the complex, passionate, talented, and acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winner of The Color Purple. She intimately explores her thoughts and feelings as a woman, a writer, an African-American, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a lover, a sister, a friend, a citizen of the world.
In an unvarnished and singular voice, she explores an astonishing array of events: marching in Mississippi with other foot soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.; her marriage to a Jewish lawyer, defying laws that barred interracial marriage in the 1960s South; an early miscarriage; writing her first novel; the trials and triumphs of the Women’s Movement; erotic encounters and enduring relationships; the ancestral visits that led her to write The Color Purple; winning the Pulitzer Prize; being admired and maligned, sometimes in equal measure, for her work and her activism; and burying her mother. A powerful blend of Walker’s personal life with political events, this revealing collection offers rare insight into a literary legend.
Description from Goodreads.
“…contains copious, intimate details about her life. And as with all of Walker’s writings, the stories found in these pages are beautifully told.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“…impressive… Taken together, the entries offer a moving look at Walker’s process and milieu… Walker’s fans are in for a treat.” – Publishers Weekly
“An intimate glimpse into an important writer’s life… Readers will look forward to the planned second volume.” – Kirkus Reviews
Growing Up Biden: A Memoir by Valerie Biden Owens
Nonfiction / Memoir / Politics.
In this revelatory, engrossing memoir, Valerie Biden Owens shares stories from growing up in Delaware as the only daughter of the close-knit Biden family. Later, after the tragic accident that killed her niece and sister-in-law, Valerie moved in to help raise Beau and Hunter while then-Senator Biden commuted to Washington, DC.
But beyond their deep sibling relationship, Valerie has been in lockstep with her brother throughout both of their political careers. She has run almost all of her brother’s political campaigns—starting from his run for high school class president. From speechwriting to debate preparation, Valerie has played an integral role in shaping her brother’s message and strategy.
Growing Up Biden details Valerie’s decades-long professional career in politics, and her fundamental presence in her brother’s life as a close confidante. This memoir, full of candor and warmth, brings readers into the Biden home, watching as the siblings were raised to live with deep empathy, to work hard, and to help wherever they can.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] touching account of life with her oldest sibling… the best moments are Biden Owens’s intimate recollections, such as her awkward first meeting with the future Jill Biden over a tuna salad lunch (‘I gestured toward it, calling to her as if she were a scared cat’). Politics aside, this shines with heart and humanity.” – Publishers Weekly
“[An] eminently readable memoir… If you’re curious about the Biden family from their own perspective, this is a perfect choice. It’s also the story of a woman at the dawn of the feminist movement who forges her own path, despite significant obstacles.” – The Bibliophage
Hello, Molly!: A Memoir by Molly Shannon with Sean Wilsey
Nonfiction / Memoir / Comedy / Television.
At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.
From there, Molly ventured into the wider world of New York and Los Angeles show business, where she created her own opportunities and developed her daring and empathetic comedy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories involving everyone from Whitney Houston to Adam Sandler to Monica Lewinsky, many told for the first time here, Hello, Molly! spans Molly’s time on Saturday Night Live–where she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cheri Oteri, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon, among many others. At the same time, it explores with humor and candor her struggle to come to terms with the legacy of her father, a man who both fostered her gifts and drive and was left with the impossible task of raising his kids alone after the loss of her mother.
Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, Hello, Molly!, written with Sean Wilsey, sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers.
Description from Goodreads.
“Introspective, poignant, heartbreaking and hilarious, Shannon’s memoir is sensational.” – Katie Couric Media
“Told in Shannon’s bright, irreverent voice, this memoir is equal parts touching and hilarious, a real insight into the mind of a comedic genius.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] surprisingly raw and personal account… While she packs in plenty of details regarding her SNL stint, what’s most resonant is Shannon’s unflagging story of perseverance, perhaps best embodied by her beloved sketch character Mary Katherine Gallagher… Supremely inspiring, this will leave fans astonished.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
Fiction / Suspense / Mystery.
Emma Averell loves her life—her high-powered legal career, her two beautiful children, and her wonderful stay-at-home husband—but it wasn’t always so perfect. When she was just five years old, Emma and her older sister went into foster care because of a horrific incident with their mother. Her sister can remember a time when their mother was loving and “normal,” but Emma can only remember her as one thing—a monster. And that monster emerged right around their mother’s fortieth birthday, the same age Emma is approaching now.
Emma desperately wants to keep her successful life separate from her past, so she has always hidden her childhood trauma. But then she’s unable to sleep, and now losing time during the day, also one of the first symptoms her mother showed. Is the madness in her blood, just as her mother predicted? Could she end up hurting her family in her foggy, frenetic state? Or is she truly beginning to lose her mind?
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] harrowing thriller with an unreliable narrator and a cast of characters that will keep you guessing… a haunting and eerie psychological thriller that will have you wondering what really happens to the sanity of someone facing the dark hours of too many sleepless nights?” – Fresh Fiction
“As audacious as ever, Sarah Pinborough provides another gripping thriller.” – Sci-Fi Bulletin
Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron ★
Nonfiction / Memoir.
Delia Ephron had struggled through several years of heartbreak. She’d lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. Several months after Jerry’s death, she decided to make one small change in her life—she shut down his landline, which crashed her internet. She ended up in Verizon hell.
She channeled her grief the best way she knew: by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate. Recently widowed himself, he reminded her that they had shared a few dates fifty-four years before, set up by Nora. Delia did not remember him, but after several weeks of exchanging emails and sixties folk songs, he flew east to see her. They were crazy, utterly, in love.
But this was not a rom-com: four months later she was diagnosed with AML, a fierce leukemia.
In Left on Tenth, Delia Ephron enchants as she seesaws us between tears and laughter, navigating the suicidal lows of enduring cutting-edge treatment and the giddy highs of a second chance at love. With Peter and her close girlfriends by her side, with startling clarity, warmth, and honesty about facing death, Ephron invites us to join her team of warriors and become believers ourselves.
Description from Goodreads.
“A fun and rewarding read.” – Boston.com
“[A] straight-out-of-a-movie memoir.” – Parade
“Ephron’s memoir is a heart-wrenching tale of second chances at life and love.” – Time
“Radiant… readers will be swept away by this triumphant story.” – Publishers Weekly
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
Fiction / Romance.
Siobhan is a quick-tempered life coach with way too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon used to being treated as just one of the guys on the job. Jane is a soft-spoken volunteer for the local charity shop with zero sense of self-worth.
These three women are strangers who have only one thing in common: They’ve all been stood up on the same day, the very worst day to be stood up–Valentine’s Day. And, unbeknownst to them, they’ve all been stood up by the same man.
Once they’ve each forgiven him for standing them up, they let him back into their lives and are in serious danger of falling in love with a man who seems to have not just one or two but three women on the go…
Is there more to him than meets the eye? And will they each untangle the truth before they all get their hearts broken?
Description from Goodreads.
“Equal parts rom-com and mystery, this unexpected story about the power of second chances will have you swooning and crying.” – E!
“The attention to detail adds depth to each character—even Joseph will win readers over—and the twisty plot keeps readers both guessing what will happen next and rooting for happy endings across the board. This is a knockout.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“With thoroughly likable characters—even Joseph becomes appealing—this plot-driven novel is fast-paced and engaging throughout. Full of both humorous and heart-wrenching moments, the novel is packed with the perfect mix of contradictions to keep it engaging… An expertly plotted romantic surprise about self-forgiveness and second chances.” – Kirkus Reviews
One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillips
Fiction / Mystery / Suspense / Historical Fiction.
Los Angeles, 1963: African American Korean War veteran Harry Ingram earns a living as a news photographer and occasional process server: chasing police radio calls and dodging baseball bats. With racial tensions running high on the eve of Martin Luther King’s Freedom Rally, Ingram risks ending up one of the victims at every crime scene he photographs.
When Ingram hears a call over the police scanner to the scene of a deadly automobile accident, he recognizes the vehicle described as belonging to his good friend and old army buddy, the white jazz trumpeter Ben Kingslow, with whom he’d only just reconnected. The LAPD declares the car crash an accident, but when Ingram develops his photos there are signs of foul play. Ingram feels compelled to play detective, even if it means putting his own life on the line.
Armed with his wits, his camera, and occasionally his Colt .45, Harry Ingram plunges headfirst into the seamier underbelly of LA society, tangling with racists, leftists, blackmailers, gangsters, zealots and lovers, all in the hope of finding something resembling justice for a friend.
Description from Goodreads.
“Vividly depicts 1963 L.A… Phillips’ insight into racism, attitudes toward Black veterans, the Civil Rights movement, Black press and politics of the 1960s elevates One-Shot Harry. Readers will look forward to more camera work from Harry, and Phillips.” – South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Terrific… With close attention to period detail and precise prose, Phillips brings the era vividly to life. Crime fiction fans won’t want to miss this one.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Phillips roots his hero’s adventures in a densely woven web of real-life local history that emphasizes both Black Angelenos’ historic oppression and the moment for resistance crystallized in the Freedom Rally King plans en route to the demonstration in D.C. whose approach signals the possibility of historic change for both haves and have-nots. Like Walter Mosley in his stories about Easy Rawlins, Phillips presents a powerfully history-driven mystery.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
The Patron Saint of Second Chances by Christine Simon
Fiction / Comedy.
Vacuum repairman and self-appointed mayor of Prometto, Italy (population 212) Signor Speranza has a problem: unless he can come up with 70,000 euros to fix the town’s pipes, the water commission will shut off the water to the village and all its residents will be forced to disperse. So in a bid to boost tourism—and revenue—he spreads a harmless rumor that movie star Dante Rinaldi will be filming his next project nearby.
Unfortunately, the plan works a little too well, and soon everyone in town wants to be a part of the fictional film—the village butcher will throw in some money if Speranza can find roles for his fifteen enormous sons, Speranza’s wistfully adrift daughter reveals an unexpected interest in stage makeup, and his hapless assistant Smilzo volunteers a screenplay that’s not so secretly based on his undying love for the film’s leading lady. To his surprise—and considerable consternation, Speranza realizes that the only way to keep up the ruse is to make the movie for real.
As the entire town becomes involved (even the village priest invests!) Signor Speranza starts to think he might be able to pull this off. But what happens when Dante Rinaldi doesn’t show up? Or worse, what if he does?
A “hilariously funny and beautifully written” (Julia Claiborne Johnson, author of Better Luck Next Time) novel about the power of community, The Patron Saint of Second Chances is perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and Maria Semple.
Description from Goodreads.
“[T]his whimsical debut novel has some surprisingly poignant moments… It’s ludicrous but lovely.” – The Daily Mail
“[A] sparkling, hilarious debut… Simon’s wit pervades every page, with colorful portrayals of Speranza and the town’s quirky inhabitants. This triumphant farce is a gem.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Full of slapstick humor (including a rescue from a wild goat) and a large cast of quirky characters, Simon’s debut is brimming with heart… Fans of Fredrik Backman, Phaedra Patrick, and other chroniclers of small-town humor will savor this.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir by Wil Wheaton
Nonfiction / Biography / Television.
From starring in Stand by Me to playing Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation to playing himself, in his second (third?) iconic role of Evil Wil Wheaton in The Big Bang Theory, to becoming a social media supernova, Wil Wheaton has charted a career course unlike anyone else, and has emerged as one of the most popular and well respected names in science fiction, fantasy and pop culture.
Back in 2001, Wil began blogging on wilwheaton.net. Believing himself to have fallen victim to the curse of the child actor, Wil felt relegated to the convention circuit, and didn’t expect many would want to read about his random experiences and personal philosophies.
Yet, much to his surprise, people were reading. He still blogs, and now has an enormous following on social media with well over 3 million followers.
In Still Just a Geek, Wil revisits his 2004 collection of blog posts, Just a Geek, filled with insightful and often laugh-out-loud annotated comments, additional later writings, and all new material written for this publication. The result is an incredibly raw and honest memoir, in which Wil opens up about his life, about falling in love, about coming to grips with his past work, choices, and family, and finding fulfillment in the new phases of his career. From his times on the Enterprise to his struggles with depression to his starting a family and finding his passion–writing–Wil Wheaton is someone whose life is both a cautionary tale and a story of finding one’s true purpose that should resonate with fans and aspiring artists alike.
Description from Goodreads.
“Alternatively rueful and funny… a pleasure.” – Kirkus Reviews
Violets by Kyung-Sook Shin, translated by Anton Hur
Fiction.
We join San in 1970s rural South Korea, a young girl ostracised from her community. She meets a girl called Namae, and they become friends until one afternoon changes everything. Following a moment of physical intimacy in a minari field, Namae violently rejects San, setting her on a troubling path of quashed desire and isolation.
We next meet San, aged twenty-two, as she starts a job in a flower shop. There, we are introduced to a colourful cast of characters, including the shop’s mute owner, the other florist Su-ae, and the customers that include a sexually aggressive businessman and a photographer, who San develops an obsession for. Throughout, San’s moment with Namae lingers in the back of her mind.
A story of desire and violence about a young woman who everyone forgot, Violets is a captivating and sensual read, full of tragedy and beauty.
Description from Goodreads.
“…disturbing and evocative… With sensuous prose intuitively translated by Hur, Shin vividly captures San’s tragic failure to connect with others. This is hard to put down.” – Publishers Weekly
“…impressive… Man Asian Literary Prize–winning Shin delivers another meticulous, haunting characterization of an isolated young woman in crisis.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda ★
Fiction / Horror / Fantasy.
Lydia is hungry. She’s always wanted to try Japanese food. Sashimi, ramen, onigiri with sour plum stuffed inside – the food her Japanese father liked to eat. And then there is bubble tea and iced-coffee, ice cream and cake, and foraged herbs and plants, and the vegetables grown by the other young artists at the London studio space she is secretly squatting in. But, Lydia can’t eat any of these things. Her body doesn’t work like those of other people. The only thing she can digest is blood, and it turns out that sourcing fresh pigs’ blood in London–where she is living away from her vampire mother for the first time – is much more difficult than she’d anticipated.
Then there are the humans–the other artists at the studio space, the people at the gallery she interns at, the strange men that follow her after dark, and Ben, a boyish, goofy-grinned artist she is developing feelings for. Lydia knows that they are her natural prey, but she can’t bring herself to feed on them. In her windowless studio, where she paints and studies the work of other artists, binge-watches Buffy the Vampire Slayer and videos of people eating food on YouTube and Instagram, Lydia considers her place in the world. She has many of the things humans wish for–perpetual youth, near-invulnerability, immortality–but, she is miserable; she is lonely; and she is hungry–always hungry.
As Lydia develops as a woman and an artist, she will learn that she must reconcile the conflicts within her–between her demon and human sides, her mixed ethnic heritage, and her relationship with food, and, in turn, humans if she is to find a way to exist in the world. Before any of this, however, she must eat.
Description from Goodreads.
“A magnificent debut.” – The Millions
“The most unusual, original and strikingly contemporary vampire novel to come along in years.” – The Guardian
“What Stoker did for the vampire at the end of the nineteenth century, Claire Kohda does for it in our own era… [T]here is much here to mesmerize and beguile readers, not least in Kohda’s prose, which is patient, strange, and altogether persuasive.” – The Times
“Presenting a genuinely fresh take on the vampire mythos is an exceedingly difficult task in a post-Twilight world of bloodsucker rehash, not to mention enduring classic representation, but that’s precisely what Kohda manages in her debut novel… A delicate, consistently surprising riff on the vampire narrative, and a stealthy, subversive story of one young woman’s declaration of self.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen
Nonfiction / Writing.
What really matters in life? What truly lasts in our hearts and minds? Where can we find community, history, humanity? In this lyrical new book, the answer is clear: through writing. This is a book for what Quindlen calls “civilians,” those who want to use the written word to become more human, more themselves.
Write for Your Life argues that there has never been a more important time to stop and record what we are thinking and feeling. Using examples from past, present, and future–from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison, from love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today–Write for Your Life vividly illuminates the ways in which writing connects us to ourselves and to those we cherish. Drawing on her personal experiences not just as a writer but as a mother and daughter, Quindlen makes the case that recording our daily lives in writing is essential.
When we write we not only look, we see; we not only react but reflect. Writing gives you something to hold onto in a changing world. “To write the present,” Quindlen says, “is to believe in the future.”
Description from Goodreads.
“Highly recommended for those looking for a means of coming to terms with their lives and the world around them.” – Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“Inspirational… The author’s journalistic eye for story and detail breathes life into her literary philosophies.” – Publishers Weekly