“Writing is saying to no one and to everyone the things it is not possible to say to someone.” – Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby
The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change by Rebecca Solnit
nonfiction / essays / history / sociology.
In this sequel to her enduring bestseller Hope in the Dark, Solnit surveys a world that has changed dramatically since the year 1960. Despite the forces seeking to turn back the clock on history, change is not a possibility; it is an inevitability.
The changes amount to nothing less than dismantling an old civilization and building a new one, whose newness is often the return of the old ways and wisdoms. In this rising worldview, interconnection is a core idea and value. But because the transformation is obscured within a longer arc of history, its scale is seldom recognized.
While the white nationalist and authoritarian backlash drives individualism and isolation, this new world embraces antiracism, feminism, a more expansive understanding of gender, environmental thinking, scientific breakthroughs, and Indigenous and non-Western ideas, pointing toward a more interconnected, relational world.
“[An] urgent manifesto for our tumultuous time.” – Sophia Kercher, Los Angeles Times
“A convincing vision of a brighter future.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“…remarkably lucid and fluent… Solnit’s holistic anatomy of the dynamics of change is precise, compelling, and deeply clarifying.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Cave Mountain: A Disappearance and a Reckoning in the Ozarks by Benjamin Hale
nonfiction / true crime / history.
This story begins in 2001 on top of Cave Mountain in the Arkansas Ozarks. A six-year-old girl named Haley—Benjamin Hale’s cousin—got lost on a mountain trail, prompting what was at the time the largest search and rescue mission in the state’s history. Her disappearance—and her account, after she was found, of the “imaginary friend” she met in the woods—would eventually become connected to another story that took place in the same wilderness more than twenty years earlier: a dark and bizarre story of a cult, brainwashing, murder, and the apocalyptic visions of a teenage prophet.
Enriched by Benjamin Hale’s own family history and the lore of the Arkansas Ozarks, Cave Mountain is a gripping story about nature and survival, religion and skepticism, and good and evil. At its center are two young girls, years apart, both in danger in the verdant wilds of northern Arkansas.
“[A] book of rabbit holes: fascinating, maddening, maundering, and often electrifying… Goose pimples become hard to suppress.” – Jonathan Miles, Garden & Gun
“…chilling… hair-raising… an engrossing and rigorous account of a haunting crime.” – Publishers Weekly
“[Hale’s] Arkansas roots make him the perfect narrator for this riveting, eye-popping tale… Like a savvy tour guide, he spouts detail-rich prose brimming with intriguing asides, twists, turns and reflections, giving readers up-close-and-personal insights along with thoughtful analysis of personalities and events… Hale’s efforts to deeply engage with his subjects bring to mind Beth Macy’s empathetic, probing Paper Girl… Cave Mountain is an intimate, deeply original, true crime narrative reminiscent of Caroline Fraser’s Murderland.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
A Far-flung Life by M.L. Stedman ★
fiction / historical fiction.
Remote Western Australia, 1958: here, for generations, the MacBrides have lived on a vast sheep station, Meredith Downs. It is a million acres, an ocean of arid land. On an ordinary day, on a lonely road, under the unending blue sky, patriarch Phil MacBride swerves to avoid a kangaroo. In seconds the lives of the entire MacBride family are shattered. And then, tragedy revisits when a twist of consequences claims the life of one sibling, and leads another to give up everything for the sake of an innocent child. Matt, the youngest MacBride, is plunged into a moral and emotional journey for which there is no map, no guide. The secrets at the heart of this gutting and beautiful story force him to choose between love and duty, sacrifice and happiness.
A Far-flung Life is a tale about family and belonging, fate and time. It is about people trying to do their best, and each, for private reasons, seeking shelter from the storm of life.
Can a fleeting moment unravel a whole life, mar it indelibly and irrevocably? Can compassion, resilience and forgiveness allow us to come to terms with our human imperfections? These are the questions Stedman asks in A Far-flung Life, her profoundly moving, uplifting, and luminous new novel about what the heart can endure for the sake of love.
“This sweeping saga, told with great heart and tenderness, is a story of broken people working to heal themselves. The many admirers of Stedman’s The Light Between Oceans will find the same blend of sadness and hope in her latest.” – Barbara Love, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
“…captivating and distressing in equal measure… Stedman conveys the staggering scale of the sheep station’s isolated sprawl, and it’s impossible to look away from the grim series of events. Readers will be transported.” – Publishers Weekly
“…Stedman again plumbs the vast Australian landscape as a metaphor for the depths of the human psyche as she considers the influences of destiny, loyalty, and remorse with ardent compassion.” – Carol Haggas, Booklist
“The beauty and breadth of the landscape stand in counterpoint to the horrors of the human lives playing out upon it. Stedman describes the everyday elements of station life with graceful accuracy… What separates great literature from cheap melodrama is not the grief the story contains, but whether the writing has earned it. Stedman lands every blow thanks to her patient accumulation of ordinary life, the shearing and mustering and fence-mending, the slow mapping of relationships that ensures each loss registers as something more than plot machinery.” – Alex Preston, New York Times
Field Notes from an Extinction by Eoghan Walls
fiction / historical fiction.
Written in the form of a 19th-century notebook of ornithological observations, Field Notes from an Extinction follows the life and work of one Ignatius Green, a fictitious English scientist dispatched by the Royal Society to the remote island of Tor Mor off the northern Irish coast. Green, a widower, is single-minded and self-righteous, brilliant and bumbling. He is determined to set the scientific record straight on the mating rituals, feeding and care of hatchlings and other minutiae he can gather about the Great Auk (pinguinus impennis).
Green’s world is shattered when his monthly goods delivery arrives ravaged by the local Irish townsmen. His fury at their impertinence is matched only by his dismay at finding a small child amid the shipment–dirty, abandoned, mute, and utterly feral and unmanageable. Worse, the locals are growing restless and hungry. And there is talk sweeping the land of a terrifying woman with unnatural power.
Green fights for his survival against brigands and hunger and, most fearsome, the resolve of a fierce and angry child. And, perhaps, for a wider understanding of family amidst roiling societal unrest.
“Walls documents Ignatius’s travails with mordant humor… This blistering historical is worth a look.” – Publishers Weekly
“…a vividly realized world, impeccably rendered in the vocabulary of the day. It is a world of ambergris, gruel, gizzards, guano and grog, and Walls pulls off the not-inconsiderable feat of engaging the reader with the minutiae of taxidermy and the fate of a posse of flightless alcids… a unique and richly imagined novel.” – Graeme Macrae Burnet, New York Times
“Told from Ignatius’s prickly perspective, the novel’s interplay between emotion, empathy, and humor is deft and compelling… In the affecting, sardonic historical novel Field Notes from an Extinction, English prejudices are challenged by tumult and the humanity of the Irish.” – Meg Nola, Foreword Reviews
The High-Protein Plate: 100 Satisfying Everyday Recipes by Rachael DeVaux, RD
nonfiction / food / cooking.
Getting enough protein is essential. It’s needed for health and strength at every stage of life. The more protein you eat, the more satisfied, energized, and resilient you’ll feel. It builds muscle, fuels hormones, and supports every organ.
In The High-Protein Plate, Rachael DeVaux, New York Times bestselling author of Rachael’s Good Eats, shows how anyone at any stage of life can easily incorporate protein into their diet. The High-Protein Plate includes the following:
– 100 high-protein, craveable recipes for packing protein from breakfast through dessert.
– Straightforward guidance on how much protein you really need—and why it matters.
– Macros for every recipe, so you can easily track what’s best for you.
– Confidence to plan and prepare balanced, purposeful meals.
– Meal prep tips to set you up for success all week long.
– A 28-day plan to help get you started and stay on track.
Real-life practicality meets science-backed nutrition in Rachael’s approach. She embraces better-for-you swaps over strict food rules and shares alternatives to packaged foods so you can build balanced protein-forward plates that are satisfying and simple. From Buffalo Chicken Baked Tacos and Honey Blackberry Overnight Oats to Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta, these meals are made for everyday life.
Rachael is a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and mom who knows firsthand the power of protein. Whether you’re focused on building lean muscle, balancing blood sugar, boosting energy, or just feeding your family well you need protein. The High-Protein Plate makes it simple—and delicious to get enough every day.
“Wow, 100 recipes of 30 grams or more protein! Rachael DeVaux’s cookbook covers every meal with beautiful photos for each recipe and easy to follow instructions.” – Culinaire
“This is a cookbook built for real life. Think protein-forward breakfasts that keep you full through morning meetings, lunch bowls you can prep once and eat all week and simple dinners that support recovery after long days. The recipes are approachable and repeatable… The book removes guesswork and makes it easier to hit protein targets consistently.” – Elisette Carlson, Entrepreneur
“Internet personality and dietitian DeVaux offers a selection of alluring and protein-packed starters, smoothies, mains, and desserts… will inspire readers to immediately start shopping lists full of ingredients to make healthy and filling weeknight meals… Overall, this is a great pick for easy and well-balanced weeknight meals.” – Jessica S. Levy, Booklist
Island of Ghosts and Dreams by Christopher Cosmos
fiction / historical fiction.
Chania, Crete; 1941.
When mainland Greece falls to the Germans after incredible and heroic resistance, the Greek government flees south to Crete: an ancient island of Gods and Kings, and Myths and Minotaurs.
Maria is a villager whose husband has been away fighting with the Greek army, and after she finds a British soldier that washes up on a secluded beach near her home, and helps nurse him back to health, the Germans then turn south and invade Crete, too.
Occupation, tragedy, and betrayal follow. The lives of Maria and her family change in an instant and she finds herself in a role she never thought she’d have to play—and one that generations of Cretans have had to assume before her.
Steeped in history and filled with unforgettable characters, Island of Ghosts and Dreams is a profoundly moving and decades-spanning tale of passion, honor, family, the great and enduring sacrifices all generations must make for freedom, and our sacred and immortal obligation to follow the strength and power of our heart, no matter where it might lead us.
“A delightful tale of magical realism filled with unforgettable characters.” – Woman’s World
“This gripping novel brings history to life through strong, well-written characters, a compelling plot, and meticulous attention to detail. The gifted author’s masterful prose draws the reader in from the very first page of this must read book.” – Eleni Sakellis, The National Herald
“Fans of WWII historical fiction will find much to savor in this novel. It offers a unique setting, unforgettable characters, and an action-filled plot, all written in a style that is both compelling and thought-provoking. As a window into the culture of Crete past and present, this novel is highly recommended.” – Karen Bordonaro, Historical Novel Society
Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney ★
fiction / historical fiction.
It’s 1977 and an air of restlessness has settled on the residents of Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York, a place long fueled by the booming fortunes of Kodak and Xerox and, for some, the mores of the Catholic church. When Nina Larkin is given a copy of The Joy of Sex by her newly divorced friend, she can no longer dismiss the nearly nonexistent intimacy of her marriage. Just as her oldest child, Clara, is falling in love for the first time, Nina finds herself longing for the forbidden: a midlife awakening. An intoxicating fling with a prominent neighbor brings Nina a freedom she never thought possible—but also risks the reputations of both families and unravels Clara’s world, just as she stands on the threshold of adulthood.
Years later, Clara, now a successful food stylist in New York City, has never been able to move past the long-ago scandal. Drawn back home by the pull of a family wedding and wrestling with her own demons, she makes a pivotal decision that turns her life upside down. Written with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature humor and insight, Lake Effect is a wise and probing look at love and desire, mothers and daughters, loss and grief, and what we owe the people we love most.
“[An] insightful, beautiful tearjerker of a book.” – Kristyn Kuse Lewis, Real Simple
“Ever since her breakout hit, The Nest, D’Aprix Sweeney draws crowds of readers, and this reverberating, intergenerational family saga is sure to please them.” – Kathleen McBroom, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“…Sweeney writes with clarity, compassion, a bit of humor and an emphasis on food… One of the book’s epigraphs is from M.F.K. Fisher, who reminds the reader that when she wrote of hunger she wrote of love. In Lake Effect, Sweeney does the same.” – Arlene McKanic, BookPage
“An inviting family drama with the warmth, interest, and edge readers love in Sweeney’s work.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
Muv: The Story of the Mitford Girls’ Mother by Rachel Trethewey
nonfiction / biography / history.
Everyone knows about the six flamboyant Mitford girls but in fact there were seven remarkable women in the famous family—the seventh was “Muv,” Lady Sydney Redesdale, the mother of the notorious sisters. Too often portrayed as different from them and outside the girl gang, she was really the original and much of her daughters’ strong will, self-confidence, and extremism came from her.
Sydney Redesdale was a divisive figure both among her daughters and subsequent biographers. Until their deaths, her girls were still squabbling over what she was really like, their differing views of her persisted for even longer than the political divides between them. Each daughter wanted to control the narrative and they wrote competing novels, memoirs and letters to vindicate their perspective. For Nancy and Jessica, she was a scapegoat. For Unity, Diana, Debo and Pam, she was a saint.
Biographers have been equally divided about how she should be portrayed. Many wondered how such exceptional children could spring from such ordinary parents, but was Sydney really so “ordinary?” The story of her life at the heart of one of Britain’s most famous families is told in full here for the first time and is a missing piece in understanding one of the twentieth century’s most complex and fascinating families.
“An engaging look at the changing English aristocracy before and after WWII.” – Rebekah Kati, Booklist
“A sympathetic biography of a complex woman.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[A] nuanced portrayal of its troubling subject, whose contradictory behavior often took the path of least resistance.” – Chris Hewitt, Star Tribune
Repetition by Vigdis Hjorth; translated by Charlotte Barslund
fiction.
As winter approaches in Norway and the daylight dwindles, a chance encounter prompts a novelist to reexamine her past. The seismic events following her sixteenth birthday return with haunting vividness, exposing a story both utterly familiar and desperately strange.
It was the year she first got drunk, the year she first had sex with a boy. She was watched like a hawk by an anxious mother and a silent, distant father. It was a year of typical teenage fixation and typical teenage frivolity, and of all the usual parental fretting. Until something else took hold, and her family made an unspoken decision and a terrible sacrifice. Only now, decades later, can these events come close to being comprehended.
In Repetition, award-winning novelist Vigdis Hjorth explores through fiction the parts of childhood that chime through the decades.
“Adolescent memories provoke a chronology of embedded emotions in this eloquent, penetrating novel.” Meg Nola, Foreword Reviews
“Repetition offers [Hjorth’s] most sustained attempt to imagine the parents’ morally compromised existence… In the absence of a good officialdom that can help children, Hjorth offers a good witch who can hold them.” – Elaine Blair, Harper’s Magazine
“For Freud the ‘compulsion to repeat,’ as he called it, was an unconscious expression of what had been repressed by memory. Here, Hjorth brings that compulsion to life in prose, making the reader feel, at once, the desire to remember and the desire to forget, which battle it out on the field of memory. The novel’s explosive power comes from the tension between those competing desires, and its suspense comes from the presence of the unnamed trauma, which sits outside the family’s house like a hungry beast in the darkness… If Will and Testament shows us the process by which a repressed truth rises to the surface, Repetition shows us how it gets repressed.” – Madeline Gressel, Parapraxis
The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey
fiction / mystery / historical fiction.
India, 1922: Perveen Mistry, the only female lawyer in Bombay, has secured her biggest client yet: Champa Films, a movie studio run by director Subhas Ghoshal and his wife, Rochana, the biggest name in Indian cinema. In the public eye, Rochana is notorious for her beauty and her daring stunts—behind the scenes, she has recently left the studio in Calcutta that made her famous, and the studio owner is enraged by what he claims is a breach of contract. Rochana needs Perveen’s legal help to extricate Champa Films from the impending controversy.
To study Rochana’s glamorous world, Perveen attends a special screening and brings her film fanatic best friend, Alice Hobson-Jones. But in the aftermath of the event, one of the guests is found dead, and to make matters worse, Rochana has disappeared.
To protect her clients, Perveen begins to investigate the developing murder case, peeling back the glitz to reveal a salacious web of blackmail, deceit, and romantic affairs. For the first time in their friendship, Alice seems to be keeping a secret from Perveen. Is she hiding key information about the night of the murder? Will Perveen be able to detangle the truth from lies while protecting herself—and her closest friend?
“This is a wonderful history-mystery read, filled with fascinating details both of the complexity of life in British India and of the workings of the 1920s film world.” – Connie Fletcher, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Perveen’s life as a Parsi and as a trailblazer in women’s rights are well handled, as are her sometimes fraught friendships across cultural lines. The early days of the Indian film industry make for an exotic, fascinating background. I’m looking forward to Perveen’s sixth foray into detection and hope it arrives soon.” – India Edghill, Historical Novel Society
“…clever… As always, Massey balances shrewd plot mechanics with an illuminating look at Perveen’s hardships and advantages as a professional woman. It’s another satisfying installment of a dependable series.” – Publishers Weekly
Strange Buildings by Uketsu; translated by Jim Rion
fiction / horror / mystery / suspense.
A lonely hut in the woods.
A murder house.
A hidden chamber.
A mysterious shrine.
A home in flames.
A nightmarish prison.
After receiving multiple tips from his devoted readership, a writer fascinated by the occult put together eleven case files, each featuring its very own strange building. Each of the eleven structures in this book has a floor plan that conceals a disturbing architectural quirk: from disappearing rooms to apartments with no means of escape. Each building tells its own chilling story. And each is part of a grander puzzle. Look closely… and you’ll see that everything is connected. All leading to a revelation so horrifying you won’t want to believe it.
Millions of readers have become addicted to solving Uketsu’s dark mysteries. Strange Buildings is the strangest, and darkest, of them all.
“[An] unnerving architectural puzzle where every wall hides a lie… Uketsu’s storytelling thrives on disquiet. The buildings are more than settings; they function as psychological traps, reflecting the secrets and obsessions of those who inhabit them. Sparse, precise prose heightens the tension, encouraging readers to examine every architectural detail as though it might conceal a crucial hint. The experience feels participatory… Dark, inventive and disturbingly clever, Strange Buildings transforms architecture into a riddle that readers are invited to solve.” – Kaitlin Jefferys, Voice
The Tree of Light and Flowers by Thomas Perry
fiction / mystery / suspense.
A violent car crash brings on the premature birth of the baby that Jane Whitefield and her husband have hoped for, but it also shatters the period of calm in their lives like an earthquake triggering a tectonic shift.
Within weeks, Jane’s peaceful time as a new mother in a safe, harmonious home starts to revert to her harrowing previous life. She had spent over a decade rescuing and sheltering people from dangerous foes, taking them to new locations, and teaching them to live under new identities. It was something that she’d hoped to never have to do again.
Nearly simultaneously, as though the events were connected, people who are thousands of miles apart in vastly different circumstances start to move. Some of them are in terrible need of help finding a route to safety. Some are dedicated to serving justice. Others are determined to capture the woman who makes people disappear so they can force her to reveal where their potential victims are now. All of these travelers are soon on their way to the old house in western New York.
Suddenly the people requiring Jane’s special skills include not only multiple fugitives, but also Jane herself, her husband, and their newborn, as the danger she faces comes from people who know how to find her. She’ll need to use everything she’s ever learned in order to survive.
“Could. Not. Put. It. Down… The gripping plot is a primer for those who would like to disappear off the grid, and the wrap-up is very satisfying.” – BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“Both thrilling (that’s a given) and a surprisingly emotional and wrenching farewell—a parting gift featuring one of crime fiction’s all-time great original characters, by one of its most noted and creative practitioners.” – Deadly Pleasures
“The opening scene, in which another car deliberately rams Jane’s, sending her into premature labor, is harrowing, and the suspense builds from there… Another absorbing Perry mystery.” – Connie Fletcher, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
A Wheelie Awkward Romance: The Love Story of a Girl Who Is Definitely Not Touchy-Feely and a Quardriplegic Guy Who Most Assuredly Is by Tess Campbell & Corby Campbell
nonfiction / memoir / romance.
Tess wasn’t searching for love—and she definitely wasn’t looking for a man with a power chair and a penchant for dad jokes. But when Corby’s clever and correctly punctuated dating profile caught her attention, one message turned into two, then twenty, and suddenly, her carefully predictable world was tilted on its axis.
This story is more than a tale of love. It’s a wildly witty, refreshingly honest look at what happens when an intensely logical woman and a quadriplegic man collide online and discover something neither of them expected: a perfect match. It’s a candid, unfiltered glimpse into the beautiful mess of relationships—where doubts meet hope, where disabilities meet abilities, and where humor, patience, and persistence turn awkward encounters into extraordinary memories.
Tess’s sharp sense of humor and unflinching honesty paired with Corby’s trademark “wheelnote” footnotes make for a story as endearing as it is unpredictable. From evening wheelchair rides to scarf knitting galore, Tess and Corby’s story redefines what it means to find “the one” and reminds us all that love isn’t about perfection—it’s about showing up, being seen, and rolling with whatever comes next.
“Readers who cheer for slow-burn romance novels should give this nonfiction romance a try… This book is an honest, often lighthearted view into navigating romance, marriage, and life…” – M Roberts, Booklist
“What a great love story this is!” – Corby Campbell, Compass Book Ratings
When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson
fiction / young adult / horror / fantasy / mystery.
Roslyn isn’t herself anymore. It’s been a year since her sister, Adeline, died under mysterious circumstances, and Roslyn is still tormented by her absence. So when the elusive caravan of girls that Adeline spent her last summer with rolls back into town, Roslyn joins them to finally figure out what happened to her sister.
Strange, beautiful, and intriguing, the girls are closed off from the world. And as it turns out, they’re brought together by a force more sinister than Roslyn’s nightmares could’ve conjured up: Death himself.
Death has spared the girls from untimely endings, and to pay for their lives, the girls travel the country reaping souls on his behalf. Now Roslyn must decide if finding closure is worth the price of striking the same deal.
“The emotional stakes are high . . . [A] reflective and intimate look into grief and death.” —School Library Journal
Will This Make You Happy: Stories & Recipes from a Year of Baking by Tanya Bush
nonfiction / food / cooking / memoir.
Tanya Bush is adrift in the uncertainty of her early twenties—unemployed, uninspired, and stuck in a long-term relationship that’s lost its spark. One day, just to do something, she decides to bake a cake. It’s gooey in the center, woefully underbaked, an absolute disaster—but it also reminds her of the pleasures of baking: sugar crystals under her fingernails, flour in her hair, and the hard-earned satisfaction of following the steps of a recipe to the end.
Over the course of a year, Tanya embarks on a journey that carries her from her tiny apartment to the sunlit kitchens of an Italian agriturismo to the basement of a bustling Brooklyn bakery, where she rediscovers her appetite for pleasure, indulgence, and meaningful work.
A culinary memoir and love story, interwoven with over fifty innovative and approachable baking recipes, Will This Make You Happy is for readers and bakers looking for something messier, more experimental, and honest than the typical aspirational cookbook.
“Part memoir, part cookbook, Will This Make You Happy is a love letter to learning something new.” – Mina Stone, Cultured
“…incredible… the rare cookbook that is also a page turner.” – Matt Rodbard, Taste
“Will This Make You Happy, is not your traditional cookbook… Many of the recipes included are unique and enticing; most are a little different than those found in mainstream baking cookbooks. The essays are well-written and interesting; this is one of those books you can curl up in a corner and read on a leisurely afternoon.” – Karen Hancock, BellaOnline
You With the Sad Eyes: A Memoir by Christina Applegate
nonfiction / memoir / film / television / health.
Christina Applegate came of age on sets and stages, expected to be on time, with lines learned, ready for lights-camera-action. What started as a financial necessity soon became an emotional escape from a tumultuous home life in the infamous Laurel Canyon scene of the 70s and 80s. She rocketed to stardom on the sitcom Married…with Children and went on to captivate audiences in classics like Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead…, Anchorman, and Dead to Me in her five-decade long career.
Then it all stopped. A Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis in 2021 confined her to a king-sized bed and the company of memories she’d rather forget: memories of the self-doubt and body dysmorphia that stalked her meteoric rise, of her mother’s fight against addiction and abuse after her father left, and of the tax life had taken on her body and mind that was suddenly coming due.
Now, at her most intimate and vulnerable, she unveils a story not even those closest to her fully know. She returns to the diaries she kept her whole life, finding the pain matched by joy, the losses mitigated by the extraordinary, and the weight of life lifted by her unrelenting belief that something greater lay ahead. No longer willing to lock herself away and with the perspective only our own mortality can bring, she knew it was imperative to tell it all.
You with the Sad Eyes presents a remarkable woman and her legacy. In her own words, “I truly believe that books can make people feel less alone. That’s why I’m doing this. You with the Sad Eyes won’t be some big violin scratching for my life. But it will be real. It will be filled with the ups and downs, the humor and grief of life.
So here I am.
Real me.
Lots to say.”
“Funny, furious, and profane… Violence aside — and it’s a hefty aside — the book manages to be dishy, candid and amusing, like Applegate herself.” – Elisabeth Egan, New York Times
“For the nearly 300-page memoir, the 54-year-old actor broke open her personal journals, which she has kept since she was 13, and in turn, the vault that is her personal history to share her story. And it was not an easy story to tell. Yes, it’s brushed with the unbridled humor and candor that fans of the Emmy-winning actor with a résumé that includes Married… With Children and Dead to Me have come to expect. But it finds the star unpacking dark chapters — an absent father, a chaotic home life, sexual abuse she experienced as a child, body image struggles, an abusive boyfriend — before reaching her life-altering MS diagnosis.” – Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times
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