Hundred Percent Chance


Robert K. Brown - 2020
    Perfect for fans of When Breath Becomes Air.In 1990, Robert K. Brown was an ordinary college student studying abroad in England when a series of unexpected and extraordinary events would change the trajectory of his life forever. Choosing to ignore ominous early symptoms, he was still troubled enough to write in his journal "just for the record ... I am frightened because things are happening to me that I can’t explain away."What follows is a race against time to return home to Seattle for months of chemotherapy, countless complications, and a search for as much normalcy as possible when you're forced to face your mortality at twenty."While memoirs of surviving disease are plenty, Hundred Percent Chance stands apart through its genuine humor and unflinching portrayal of both the physical and psychological struggles that accompany a diagnosis of disease. Brown avoids inspirational platitudes, instead demonstrating the need for perspective and perseverance in the face of illness."Every person Brown introduces, whether their role is significant or small, will leave a memorable impression on readers. This memoir's focus on the tiny moments that ultimately shape and define a life, are particularly poignant and engrossing" (The BookLife Prize).10% of all proceeds will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Dancing Under the Mistletoe (The Sweater #12)


Anita Knight - 2020
    

Rethinking Possible: A Memoir of Resilience


Rebecca Faye Smith Galli - 2017
    With a pastor father and a stay-at-home mother, her 1960s southern upbringing was bucolic--even enviable. But when her brother, only seventeen, died in a waterskiing accident, the slow unraveling of her perfect family began. Though grief overwhelmed the family, twenty-year-old Galli forged onward with her life plans--marriage, career, and raising a family of her own--one she hoped would be as idyllic as the family she once knew. But life had less than ideal plans in store. There was her son's degenerative, undiagnosed disease and subsequent death; followed by her daughter's autism diagnosis; her separation; and then, nine days after the divorce was final, the onset of the transverse myelitis that would leave Galli paralyzed from the waist down. Despite such unspeakable tragedy, Galli maintained her belief in family, in faith, in loving unconditionally, and in learning to not only accept, but also embrace a life that had veered down a path far different from the one she had envisioned. At once heartbreaking and inspiring, Rethinking Possible is a story about the power of love over loss and the choices we all make that shape our lives --especially when forced to confront the unimaginable.

We Hope You Like This Song: An Overly Honest Story about Friendship, Death, and Mix Tapes


Bree Housley - 2012
    Their friendship survived everything from the awkward years of junior high to the transformative upheavals of early adulthood—until, at the young age of 25, Shelly lost her life to complications caused by Preeclampsia.We Hope You Like This Song is a tribute to the ineffable, incomparable bond that we call friendship, and a celebration of living life to the fullest. Housley recounts how she and her sister found a way to keep Shelly’s memory alive—by spending a year doing crazy things that Shelly would have done, like giving Valentines to strangers, singing at a karaoke bar, and letting her boyfriend pick out her outfits for a week. In the process, she paints a vivid, often hilarious, portrait of her fun-loving, social butterfly best friend and the many adventures they had growing up together in '80s and ’90s small-town America. Sweet, poignant, and yet somehow laugh-out-loud funny, We Hope You Like This Song is a touching story of love, loss, and the honoring of a friendship after it’s gone.

Priyamvada & Co. (The Menon Women Book 2)


Sudha Nair - 2018
    The destinies of an unlikely trio converge at the making of a movie. The eldest Menon daughter and school drama teacher, Neha Menon, must find a way to face the hard times and deal with the loss that threatens to destroy her family.Prithvi Nair’s production house Priyamvada is his grandfather’s legacy and the reason it’s so close to his heart. But the moment Prithvi tries to reopen the company that has been shut down for decades, it finds itself embroiled in one controversy after another and he can’t seem to get it off the ground.Aditya Shankaran is a writer-director with big dreams of directing his debut movie but there are no takers for his script. Down on luck, his future looks bleak. There is only one chance to end the troubles that are set at odds with launching his career and winning the hand of the woman he loves.Prithvi, Aditya and Neha meet under unusual circumstances for the making of a movie that will change their lives in different ways, push them into the world of treachery and deceit, and force them to question their choices.Time is running out. They must quell the sabotage before the final blow to all their hopes and dreams. ***Praise for PRIYAMVADA & CO.*** “At times heart-wrenching, at other times heart-warming – and at all times vividly colorful and appealing – “Priyamvada & Co.” rivals the epic movie world it alludes to.”— Devika Fernando, romance author"Priyamvada & Co. is a beautifully written, heart-warming tale of getting second chances in love and life. Extremely unputdownable.”— Sonia Rao, Writer, Editor, NaNoWriMo ML(India)“Sudha Nair’s latest, Priyamvada & Co., is not one but many stories woven seamlessly to bring out the myriad human emotions—pain, romance, retribution, jealousy—all anchored in real world dilemmas and insecurities. An easy, fast-paced read, set in the back drop of film industry, drama and theatre.”— Ruchi Singh, author of The Bodyguard >>>This is a standalone sequel to the bestseller, The Wedding Tamasha. You can read this even if you haven’t read ‘The Wedding Tamasha.’ This Book 2 of The Menon Women series glimpses into the life of the eldest daughter, Neha Menon, a few years after meeting the Menons in the first book, The Wedding Tamasha. Books in The Menon Women series are:The Wedding TamashaPriyamvada & Co.

Christmas Presence


Lisa Hobman - 2014
    Can anything...or anyone make her realise she needs to let go of the past and live for today?

Praise of Motherhood


Phil Jourdan - 2012
    The death of the author's mother sparks a series of reflections on the secret roles mothers play in the lives of troubled adolescents.

Stolen: A Memoir


Elizabeth Gilpin - 2021
    Growing angrier by the day, she began skipping practices and drinking to excess. At a loss, her parents turned to an educational consultant who suggested Elizabeth be enrolled in a behavioral modification program. That recommendation would change her life forever.The nightmare began when she was abducted from her bed in the middle of the night by hired professionals and dropped off deep into a camp in the woods of AppalachiaAfter three brutal months, Elizabeth was transferred to a boarding school in Southern Virginia that in reality functioned more like a prison. Its curriculum revolved around a perverse form of group therapy where students were psychologically abused and humiliated. Finally, at seventeen, Elizabeth convinced them she was rehabilitated enough to “graduate” and was released. In this eye-opening and unflinching book, Elizabeth recalls the horrors she endured, the friends she lost to suicide and addiction, and—years later—how she was finally able to pick up the pieces of her life and reclaim her identity.

Polarity of Us: A Northern Lights Novel


K.B. Ladnier - 2017
    Life has been on the fast track to hell for me lately. Between my fiancé cheating on me just weeks before walking down the aisle, and my career as an author going down the drain from lack of inspiration; I'm a hot mess. When it starts to feel like nothing will look up, my best friend Hannah comes to the rescue with a vacation in mind. One that involves leaving the city life of Chicago, for a more secluded one in a small town called White Hemlock in British Columbia, Canada. I thought nothing could bring back my inspiration to write, or my ability to feel so strongly for someone again. That is, until I met him... My name is Bastian Urso. I'm not completely human and my life has been a mess for as long as I can remember. My wife was taken away from me by hunters for being what we are, leaving not only a gaping hole in my heart, but also leaving me to raise our daughter Addylin alone. We left our home in Alaska not long after for this secluded city called White Hemlock for a fresh start. Here, we found the peace we needed to move on with life, Addy being the only thing holding me together. But the pain and bitter loneliness of losing my wife only seemed to get worse with every passing day. That is, until I met her... Two people. Two different worlds. More than two hearts at stake. Daisy and Bastian are polar opposites in almost every way, but one; loving each other more than they feel they deserve to. ***This is a standalone novel and is recommended for ages 16+ due to language and some sexual situations.***

Secrets on Saulter Road: Discovering Hope and Forgiveness in the Wake of My Toxic Upbringing


Joan Kendall - 2019
    With remarkable honesty and wit, author Joan Kendall nimbly explores her upbringing in the prim and proper segregated South during the 1950s with an outrageously unpredictable and destructive alcoholic mother.Joan and her two sisters--Linda, the perplexing spendthrift, and Susan, the practical optimist--never knew which mother would appear on the scene: the charming Mary Poppins or the spiteful Cruella de Vil. Their loving father did his best, but behind closed doors, his criticism of their mother's drinking fueled her bizarre and neglectful behaviors and further withdrawal into an ocean of whiskey.The sisters often had each other's backs, and the family maid and daytime buffer, Jadie Bell, provided a fortress in their domestic war. Although Jadie Bell loved them as her own, she could not rid their home of gloom and shame.In Joan's adulthood, a lamentable family secret is divulged, and the pain and trauma of the past becomes clear. In this beautifully written memoir, Joan reveals her own brokenness, and shares her path to redemption, healing, and joy.

The Rise of the Maccabees


Amit Arad - 2020
    For 800 years the Zadokite priesthood has led the Jewish People. But the ancient world is changing. Without, Rome is rising, becoming the super power of the world. Within, a power struggle inside the House of Zadok is a golden opportunity for interlopers, who seek to unseat them from the throne. The delicate balance which has allowed the Jewish Nation to survive in this age of Empires is threatened.On the background of these tumultuous times, Judah, scion of a minor priestly lineage, comes of age in Judea. While experiencing love, friendship, and conflict he slowly transforms into the warrior and leader his people are waiting for.Fascinating Historical Novel about Judah the Maccabee, who led the ancient Israelis to a brave rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. A gripping glimpse into the heart of the dramatic events that took place in the Land of Israel before and during the Maccabee Rebellion.

Hartley's Grange


Nicole Hurley-Moore - 2016
    Totally devastated, she ends the relationship and flees the city.Lily heads to the country town she grew up in to seek sanctuary with her big sister, Violet, and niece, Holly. But bad luck hits her yet again when she crashes her car on the way. Fortunately a local grazier, Flynn Hartley, arrives on the scene to find her dazed but uninjured.Gradually Lily's life picks up and she decides to stay put for a while, helping out her sister and renovating the beautiful old shop she inherited but has never had time to focus on. Meanwhile, Flynn showers her with attention, but Lily is aware of his bad-boy ways and isn't willing to risk heartbreak by becoming his next conquest. And yet, he won't give up and insists he's turned over a new leaf.From bestselling author Nicole Hurley-Moore, Hartley's Grange is an inspirational story about a woman putting her life back together, pursuing her dreams and taking charge of her future.

Irish Love


Amanda Heartley - 2018
    After all, it’s just a bit of harmless flirting, right?And when she calls to ask for my help one night, I can’t resist having a little fun with her. She thinks I’m a player, and I can’t deny it, but I want to show her there’s more to me than that.I never thought it would happen, but flirting soon turns to burning desire. The more time I spend with her, the more I take a long, hard look at myself, and the harder I’m falling under her captivating spell. Now, I need to convince her my feelings are real.And I can’t even begin to think how I’m going to tell my best friend about us—aka, her country music superstar brother. He warned me to stay away, and he’ll kill me, I’m sure.SiobhanI had it all planned out. It should have all been so simple.Go to LA, see my brother, then get back to my quiet life in Ireland. Love and romance were not in the picture at all, until he picks me up from the airport. I can’t deny I’m attracted to him, but it’s not happening. No way could we ever work.He’s a player.He’s older than me.We live an ocean apart.And, duh… for the love of Mary, he’s my brother’s best friend.But when I find myself stranded, he’s the only one I can call. He’s more than happy to help me out—and even more happy to remind me I owe him for coming to my rescue—but I tell myself not to fall for his charms.I’m only there for a week, so the last thing I expect is to wake up in his bed.Irish Love is the second book in The Claddagh Trilogy. A contemporary short story of love, friendship and family life that can be read as a standalone, though you may want to read Irish Affair first to familiarize yourself with the characters. This book ends on a mild cliffhanger / happy-for-now, and the conclusion to Ben and Siobhan’s steamy romance will be in the third book, Irish Heart, out March 2018.

Rock Needs River: A Memoir About a Very Open Adoption


Vanessa McGrady - 2019
    Her sweet baby, Grace, was a dream come true. Then Vanessa made a highly uncommon gesture: when Grace’s biological parents became homeless, Vanessa invited them to stay.Without a blueprint for navigating the practical basics of an open adoption or any discussion of expectations or boundaries, the unusual living arrangement became a bottomless well of conflicting emotions and increasingly difficult decisions complicated by missed opportunities, regret, social chaos, and broken hearts.Written with wit, candor, and compassion, Rock Needs River is, ultimately, Vanessa’s love letter to her daughter, one that illuminates the universal need for connection and the heroine’s journey to find her tribe.

Good Girl: A Memoir


Sarah Tomlinson - 2015
    After two years of attempted family life in Boston, her father's gambling addiction and broken promises led her mother to pool her resources with five other families to buy 100 acres of land in Maine and reunite with her college boyfriend. Sarah would spend the majority of her childhood on "The Land" with infrequent, but coveted, visits from her father, who—as a hitchhiking, acid-dropping, wannabe mystic turned taxi driver—was nothing short of a rock star in her eyes.Propelled out of her bohemian upbringing to seek the big life she equated with her father, Sarah entered college at fifteen, where a school shooting further complicated her quest for a sense of safety. While establishing herself as a journalist and rock critic on both coasts, Sarah's father continued to swerve in and out of her life, building and re-breaking their relationship, and fracturing Sarah's confidence and sense of self. In this unforgettable memoir, Sarah conveys the dark comedy in her quest to repair the heart her father broke.Bittersweet, honest, and ultimately redemptive, Good Girl takes an insightful look into what happens when the people we love unconditionally are the people who disappoint us the most, and how time, introspection, and acceptance can help us heal.