Desire Makes Me Brave is an adventurous and vulnerable memoir about self-discovery and the erotic awakening of a bonafide bisexual. Part sex memoir, part rom-com, part travelog, Desire Makes Me Brave traces the wild and winding escapades of April Hirschman-from her all-but-traditional upbringing in a northern California hippie commune into world-expanding explorations through Asia, Mexico, Europe, and the erotic enclaves of San Francisco. Throw out the blueprint of what life and love "should be" -in this true story, April tap dances along the Kinsey scale of sexuality, finding love, sex and romance with a butch lesbian, an artsy andro girl, straight cis men, and strangers or friends at sex parties. Throughout the memoir, April wrestles with competing desires for a stable, grounded love and for untethered excitement and novelty. She longs for a relationship that lasts, while also desiring all that is subversive, sexy, and new. Lusty, independent, courageous, and sensitive, April becomes a pagan priestess who takes the "slut pledge" and chases rainbow oracles, hoping they will answer the big questions of her love life. Follow April's quest to find security, passion, and sexual fulfillment-and reflect upon your own.
A collection of captivating conversations with movie industry insiders about what it takes to be the star of your life.
From Francis Levy, author of Seven Days in Rio, which The New York Times called "a fever dream of a novel," comes The Kafka Studies Department, a highly original collection of short, parable-like stories infused with dark humor, intellect, and insight about the human condition. While the book's style is deceptively simple and aphoristic, it carries a hallucinatory moral message. A prism of interconnected and intertwined tales, inspired by Kafka, the stories examine feckless central characters who are far from likable, but always recognizable and wildly human. "Knowledge is not power, power is not power. Life is irrational or accidental or both. We drift victims, victimizers. A collection for our time."-Joan Baum, NPR "A collection of bleak and amusing literary short stories from Levy...A dark, sometimes funny, meditation on the absurd trials of life."-Kirkus Reviews "Francis Levy has an unhampered, endearingly maverick imagination-as if Donald Barthelme had met up with Maimonides and, together, they decided to write about the world as it appeared to them. These deceptively simple and parable-like stories are full of wily pleasures and irreverent wisdom about everything from the failure of insight to make anything happen, to the subtle gratifications of friendship, to the tragicomedy of eros."-Daphne Merkin, author of This Close to Happy and 22 Minutes of Unconditional Love
In lyrical prose, with musical allusions, clinical references, and a bit of comic relief, Rearranged follows Kathleen Watt's plunge from the operatic stage into the netherworld of hospital life-its indigenous creatures, its peculiar language, its signposts of the mysterious human condition-through the devastation of cancer, and out the other side. Kathleen was a New York opera singer at mid-career, with a steady, lucrative chorus job at the Metropolitan Opera and solo gigs elsewhere, anticipating her best year ever. Instead, a vicious bone cancer blew her plans to smithereens, along with her face. She had to let everything go. Bit by bit, through a brutal alchemy of lethal toxins, titanium screws, and infinite kindness, she discovered new arrangements for old pieces, in a life catastrophically transposed. Not only a heart-wrenching medical odyssey, but an ultimately joyous personal journey of transformation. "Watt is a sharply descriptive writer who is unafraid to address the horror of her treatment... Unapologetically frank, the author also has a wry, sometimes self-effacing sense of humor that brings levity to a distressing subject. ... The result is a finely textured and courageous literary memoir that is inspirational and, at times, darkly amusing."-Kirkus Reviews "A gripping portrayal of the devastation cancer can spread in one's health, relationships, and dreams, and Watt's sweeping storytelling will transport readers to each procedure and hospital room alongside her. She provides insights into the medical torment involved with her treatment, such as being comatose and experiencing ICU psychosis, and ultimately gifts readers with front row seats to her most triumphant performance to date-surviving cancer and having the strength and courage to relive the harrowing journey within the pages of this story. The end result is both heart-breaking and uplifting and will touch the heart of any readers affected by a life-altering illness." -Publisher's Weekly "Kathleen Watt's narrative memoir reveals her indomitable humanity, indefatigable spirit, and remarkable endurance. She has written with transparency, bravery, honesty, and fairness. The rhythm, cadence and artistry of her words embodies her forever-musicianship, and she has deployed her gifted voice in a tour-de-force written performance. Patients, health care professionals and every-day folk alike will benefit greatly from her lessons imparted and her wisdom shared."-Douglas Brandoff, MD, FAAHPM, Attending Physician, Palliative Care Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Alumnus, Juilliard Pre-College Division, cello "Kathleen's account of her experience with Osteogenic Sarcoma ... is a very intimate portrayal... Anyone going through something like this will absolutely benefit from reading this beautifully written book." -Peter D. Costantino, MD, FACS, Brain and Spine Surgery of New York"Kathleen Watt has turned her harrowing experience, as an opera singer diagnosed with facial bone cancer, into a story that is fresh, gripping, and also remarkably entertaining. Her voice-smart, funny, and disarmingly forthright-makes this book shine..."-Helen Fremont, award-winning author of national bestsellers The Escape Artist and After Long Silence¿¿¿"Rearranged is set to become a seminal memoir." -Carly-Jay Metcalfe, author of Breath, forthcoming March 2024 from University of Queensland Press
The Summer My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon is an emotionally charged, cautionary tale about alienation and the spiritual deformity that ensues when it feels like the whole world hates you. In the summer of '76, with no other Koreans in Glover, Virginia, fourteen-year-old Marcy Moon idolizes her irreverent big sister Cleo, who has her pick of lovers and uses her sexuality to prevail against racism. In Marcy's eyes, every guy would cut off his ponytail, burn his guitar and shoot old ladies if you told him to. Her dream, a dangerous one, is to be like Cleo. Central to the story is the girls' inability to bond with their mom, who left her heart behind in North Korea and finds it difficult to love her daughters the way a mother should. Most heartbreaking is the sisters' love for their dad, a complicated and worldly man who wants to be the best father and provider, but, in the end, cannot escape his demons. "In her coming-of-age novel about two sisters, every page of which bears the imprint of her emotional and spiritual investment, Frances Park shows what a woman writer can achieve with such rich material at hand."-The Strait Times, Singapore "... bold, powerful comedy... The parents in particular are sketched with an unflinching eye for pathos that can be fairly heartbreaking... Frances Park's writing on adolescence is readable, unsentimental and... entrancing."-The London Times "A fresh take ... by a writer from a generation whose voice has seldom been heard."-Kirkus Reviews (of Frances Parks's memoir writing) "...Frances Park pulls off an improbability here: the ability to make you laugh one minute, cry the next, maintaining a dizzying highwire balancing act as Marcy shares her own American tale, one rich in both humor and heartbreak." -Scott Saalman, columnist, author of Vietnam War Love Story: The Love Letters of Bill and Nancy Young (1967)"This is a delicate, humane, funny novel...that stands with the best tradition of imaginative writing."-The Tapei Times"Park's poignant novel...comes to us as a cautionary tale about the perils of the American dream."-The Korea Times"The story captured a vivid image of sisterhood in all its complex glory and gore. I couldn't put the book down."-The Korean Quarterly"... written with gusto... and will likely find a place in summer beach bags."-Washington Post Book World"A deftly funny, but in the end, heartbreaking exploration of a first-generation Korean family trying to make their way in a '70s suburban America that doesn't always welcome them..."-Steve Adams, Pushcart Prize-winning author of Remember This
After New York attorney Will Ross gains acquittal for a child abuser and the child is subsequently killed, he resolves to abandon law and become a children's entertainer. Will's change of heart and career is a catalyst for his lover, Clara, who quits her prestigious job to pursue documentary film-making. While the couple are united in their fervor for their nascent careers in art, unexpected challenges rip them apart. Feeling abandoned, Will ventures into his new passion, donning clown shoes, picking up his old guitar, and taking on a special guitar student. Only when the boy's life is threatened does Will take up law again, fighting not only to protect the child, but to clear his guilt and free himself to love. "I couldn't put Clown Shoes down. It has all the ingredients-redemption, love, second chances. Will and Clara are flawed, engaging characters, whose quests to follow their bliss are poignant and at times hilarious. Markowitz artfully corners the question of whether we really need freedom for ourselves-or from ourselves. If you dig in, you're probably in for a late night!"-Caren Lissner, author of Carrie Pilby, now a movie starring Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, and Gabriel Byrne "Clown Shoes, Robert Markowitz's soulful and hilarious debut novel-based on his soulful and hilarious New York Times piece-was prescient in proving the current wisdom of the Zeitgeist that Your Job Won't Love You Back....one man's inspiring reinvention."-Susan Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author and writing professor "Clown Shoes beautifully dramatizes the kind of existential crisis so many of us face in middle age. That Robert Markowitz writes with as much aplomb as his floundering protagonist sorely lacks makes this debut novel sometimes heartbreaking, occasionally profound, and often funny as hell."-Chris Belden, author of Shriver, now a movie, A Little White Lie, starring Kate Hudson and Michael Shannon
From Lowney Handy's scandalous small-town open marriage to author JamesJones's extraordinary apprenticeship with Maxwell Perkins, Star-Crossed Lovers illuminates an unforgettable lovestory. She was an eccentric small-town self-taught rebel, driven by creative zeal and anon-conformist streak. He was a distressed ex-GI (flat broke, without prospects,damaged by war), 17 years younger than she, consumed by visions of a writer's life.Advocating for Jones's "medical discharge" from the Army in the summer of 1944,Lowney and her husband invited Jones to live and write at their home in Robinson,Illinois. After years of struggle, Jones's From Here to Eternity wonthe National Book Award and profoundly transformed American literature. The 1953 filmadaptation swept the Academy Awards in 1954. Expanding their shared vision of life,the Handys and Jones incorporated a unique writers' colony in 1951 that was fundedmostly by Jones's Eternity royalties. This is their odyssey of love, passion, and conflict,which remains exceptional in literary history."Fascinating story-kept my interest throughout."-OLIVER STONE, Academy Award-winning writer/director " ... The downright surreal story of James Jones and Lowney Handy, and what they accomplished."-ERICA HELLER, author of Yossarian Slept Here and One Last Lunch "Oh, to be young and a writer and finding your way with an exotic older woman! M. J. Moore's Star-Crossed Lovers is an incredible tale...Indispensable!"-LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV, author of Dress Gray, Heart of War, and other novels; Village Voice staff writer; West Point graduate "In today's age of flimsy comic-book characters passing for superheroes, it is life-affirming-hell, it's vital-to recall the red-blooded humanity James Jones poured into his 1951 National Book Award-winning From Here to Eternity. At its core is an iconoclastic love story...all of which Moore soundly spells out in engaging and impressively researched detail."-STEPHEN M. SILVERMAN, author of The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America; and Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies
Tony D'Marino lives a seemingly charmed existence. From immigrant roots to a Harvard MBA, he's amassed a formidable stock portfolio and owns a sprawling Soho loft with Hudson River views. But images of post-apocalyptic Detroit have triggered a traumatic memory from his college years in the '70s-memories he can't live with or without. He's desperate to reconnect with parts of himself left unfinished when his best friend Roman was left dead by his side. Tony's return to an officially bankrupt, dystopian Detroit begins with a series of uncanny experiences, with old and new relationships. He's driven to answer essential questions about the murder and face conflicts around race, maleness, and sexuality left unresolved. Detroit Unrequited is part psychological mystery and part historical reflection. It is a tale of lives derailed by trauma and attempts at resolution and reinvention for the characters and the post-apocalyptic city. "Detroit is a fascinating city-whether in the 1970s, the 2010s, or today-and Cancelmo evokes it with urgency and tenderness over the course of this novel." -Kirkus Reviews "Joe Cancelmo's deft and absorbing Detroit Unrequited investigates the challenges of growing up in the turmoil of 1970s Detroit. His complex and likable characters grapple with the big issues: forming an identity, the nature of home, the fault lines of race in our culture. In vivid prose and lively dialogue, Cancelmo shines a light on a specific culture moment that continues to resonate today."-Carol Wallace, author of Our Kind of People "Tony, a financially successful middle-aged man, mired in alcohol, social isolation, and tenacious survivor guilt, delves into the tragedy that shattered his exciting but chaotic college years in the racially torn, sexually liberated Detroit of the mid-'70s. When he returns to Detroit years later, his suspense-filled investigation stirs memories of traumas endured in quiet desperation -the shadows of childhood sexual abuse and the confusion of an unacknowledged love derailed by gun violence. His quest to fully apprehend what happened becomes a passionate search for lost loves and a dormant craving for new ones. Tony's story toggles between the '70s and the 2010s, but its dialogue with race, post-binary gender identities and desire, and socio-economic disparities are every bit as compelling today. Cancelmo's prose so vividly paints Tony's lived experience that it was only at the end did I fully appreciate the depth and complexity of Tony's struggles. A masterful portrait of one person's psychological reality in all its contradictions and strivings." -Paul Geltner, DSW, Psychoanalyst, and author of the acclaimed Emotional Communication in Psychoanalysis."A John Grisham-like page-turner, a psychological mystery about the protagonist's life changing loss, the traumatic impact of the killing of a college friend in Detroit in the '70s. The narrative, the cadence of words, the period slang make this a most compelling read." -Janice S. Lieberman, Ph.D., Psychoanalyst, Social Psychologist, and author of Body Talk: Looking and Being Looked at in Psychotherapy and co-author of The Many Faces of Deceit: Omissions, Lies, and Disguise in Psychotherapy with Helen K. Gediman, Ph.D.
A luminous memoir of love and grief from the author of Common People First U.S. EditionAlison Light met the radical social historian, Raphael Samuel, in London in 1986. Twenty years her senior, Raphael was a charismatic figure on the British Left, utterly driven by his work and by a commitment to collective politics. Within a year they were married. Within ten, Raphael would pass away.Theirs was an attraction of opposites- he from a Jewish Communist family with its roots in Russia and Eastern Europe, she from the English working class. In this chronicle of a passionate marriage, Alison Light peels back the layers of their time together, its intimacies and its estrangements."...more than just some summing-up: it is a work of art." -GUARDIAN "Remarkable, moving, illuminating. A memoir of cauterizing honesty. This is a book that deserves to be widely read." -MARK BOSTRIDGE, SPECTATOR "An inspiring account of ... deep love..." -TLS "Beautifully crafted...it casts a light on the lightness of love and the profound depression of loss. A truly gifted writer." -HERALD "The portrait of Spitalfields is superb, and so is the account of Raphael's astonishing mother Minna." -MARGARET DRABBLE, TLS, BOOK OF THE YEAR "Compulsively readable. Light is a shrewd narrator...She reflects with careful psychological and philosophical insight on the reality of loneliness and profound loss following ten years of marriage...Light is also a poet and it shows in certain suppositions and propositions..." -RTE
A trail of footprints in the snow teaches rhythms and rests. Follow the animals to learn different note values. Trot like a deer, skip like a rabbit...but who left those slow whole notes?"How Do You do Music" is a series of picture books, designed by educator Leah Wells, that easily and whimsically acquaint readers with elements of music. Furry Foot Notes is Book Three in the series.
"You can see songs from the birds on the rainbow," Grandpa tells Doug and Daisy. But what happens when the rainbow disappears? How do we keep the music? Doug and Daisy's solution will prove useful to all students of music and blossoming composers."How Do You Do Music" picture books, designed by educator Leah Wells, easily and whismsically acquaint readers with elements of music. Book Two in the series, The Rainbow Remembers the Music includes 22 pages of enlarged staff paper and has been nominated for a 2015 Family Choice Award.
And You May Find Yourself... by Gen-X author Sari Botton, is about "finding" yourself later in life-after first getting lost in all the wrong places. As Botton discovers, the wrong places famously include her own self-suppression and misguided efforts to please others (mostly men). In a series of candid, reflective, sometimes humorous essays, Botton describes coming to feminism and self-actualization as an older person, second (and third and fourth) chances-and how maybe it's never too late to find your way...assuming you're lucky enough to live long. While mainly presented in a chronological arc, the stories in this episodic memoir lend themselves to being read in order, or individually, as stand-alone pieces. "In her edgy, tender, witty way, Sari Botton has written a book for any woman who ever contorted herself to fit culturally imposed ideals, in other words, all of us. In witnessing the ways Sari has fought and failed and flourished, in the poignancy and laughter, there is deep wisdom and an abundance of spirit."-Beverly Donofrio, author of Riding in Cars with Boys"A fresh and humorous meditation on the trials and tribulations of a smart Gen-X young woman who tries to extricate herself from a straitlaced suburban upbringing to become a cool, East Village girl, only to keep falling for the wrong man, the wrong therapist, and the wrong job... until she doesn't. Botton's hilarious and self-aware pages on dating all the wrong men recall some of Candace Bushnell's original Sex and the City essays and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary." -Catherine Texier, author of Breakup"A humanizing, humble, and hard look at a life. Investigative journalism of the soul. Sari Botton's And You May Find Yourself is like the older sister of My Misspent Youth by Meghan Daum. You will absolutely find yourself in this intelligent, clever, and clear-hearted book."-Chloe Caldwell, author of The Red Zone: A Love Story"This is a fierce and funny book about fighting back, speaking up, and singing. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but Sari Botton proves words can save you-and give you something to smile about as you walk away."-Sejal Shah, author of This is One Way to Dance: Essays"And You May Find Yourself reminds us that the more specific and particular a person's story is, the more universal it feels. I'm glad Sari Botton solved the mystery of herself and gladder still she was generous enough to share the answer with readers. -Laura Lippman, author of My Life as a Villainess: Essays
What's a song? Every bird has a note-the Canary has C, The Duck has D, The Eagle has E. But what are they to do when the Birdwatcher wants to hear a song,and not just one note over and over? This first book in the How Do You Do MusicTM series introduces notes on the treble clef, as they are sung by the birds. This is the first book in the HOW DO YOU DO MUSIC(TM) series of picture books, designed by educator Leah Wells, that easily and whismsically acquaint readers with elements of music.
NEW YORK CITY, 1890: Lillian Dolan is optimistic about her new job at the New York Cancer Hospital after dreaming for years of becoming a nurse. But she struggles to fit in, and her only friend at the hospital is Jupiter, a Black man who runs the crematorium. When the confident Dr. Bauer arrives as the new surgeon and takes a shine to Lillian, she is thrilled to be noticed. Lillian has been warned not to get too close to the patients, but Mrs. Sokolova draws her in, and Lillian wins praise from the nurses for making progress with a difficult patient. But when Mrs. Sokolova's situation becomes dire, she puts Lillian in an impossible situation-all while Lillian slowly loses control of her relationship with Dr. Bauer. Her decision to help her patient throws her life into chaos, and Jupiter may be the only person who can help her with the choice before her: capitulate to Dr. Bauer's demands or face possible arrest.
NEW YORK CITY, 1890: Lillian Dolan is optimistic about her new job at the New York Cancer Hospital after dreaming for years of becoming a nurse. But she struggles to fit in, and her only friend at the hospital is Jupiter, a Black man who runs the crematorium. When the confident Dr. Bauer arrives as the new surgeon and takes a shine to Lillian, she is thrilled to be noticed. Lillian has been warned not to get too close to the patients, but Mrs. Sokolova draws her in, and Lillian wins praise from the nurses for making progress with a difficult patient. But when Mrs. Sokolova's situation becomes dire, she puts Lillian in an impossible situation-all while Lillian slowly loses control of her relationship with Dr. Bauer. Her decision to help her patient throws her life into chaos, and Jupiter may be the only person who can help her with the choice before her: capitulate to Dr. Bauer's demands or face possible arrest."Mayo's novel not only offers a close look at health care at the turn of the 20th century, but also addresses the racial, class, and sexual tensions that existed alongside strict, bigoted Victorian-era standards of morality. Mayo brings her characters and settings to life with deft prose and careful research. Her descriptions of the crowded streets of New York are visceral and authentic...A compelling and diverse historical novel."-Kirkus Reviews"A timely novel that speaks of racism, economic disparities, and the role of the frontline healthcare workers in the hospital setting. Author Connie Hertzberg Mayo opens a captivating window into a bygone era that reminds us that as much as things change, some things stay the same. This is a beautifully written book you won't put down until the last page."-NY Times Best Selling Author Lynne Hinton, author of The Beekeeper's Wife and The View From Here"THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY is a stunning tale of a woman caught between the ethics of the day and the truth of the human heart. Mayo writes with enormous eloquence, transporting the reader into the distant past in a manner that feels familiar and immersive. An absolutely riveting book!"-Crystal King, author of Feast of Sorrow and The Chef's Secret"Rich in period detail, THE SHARP EDGE OF MERCY is a deeply immersive look at a New York City hospital at the end of the 19th century. With her well-drawn characters and crisp prose, Hertzberg Mayo's novel is a treat to read. I look forward to whatever she does next."-Stacey Murphy, author of the Amelia Matthew Mystery series"Readers who loved Addison Armstrong's The Light of Luna Park, and Susan Meissner's The Nature of Fragile Things will enjoy author Connie Mayo's story of shattering secrets, of perseverance, and of love of family above all else."-Tracey Enerson Wood, author of International and USA Today Best Seller The Engineer's Wife and The War Nurse"The Sharp Edge of Mercy is a powerful and gripping story of inner strength, determination, and the imbalance of power. With sharp dialogue and a rich setting, this work of historical fiction had me rooting for Lillian from the first pages."-Emily Cavanagh, author of Her Guilty Secret and Everybody Lies
Frances Park's parents arrived in the United States decades before the mass migration of Koreans. Her background and memory are rich with unique histories that work their way into That Lonely Spell. A mosaic of previously published essays, this memoir reveals-with heartbreak and humor-one woman's passion, insights, and love for the family and friends who graced her life. A singular voice.
Eva has lost her baby. Set in the South Bronx in the mid-1990s, Stories of Gabriel portrays neighbors in a tightly knit community at a time of crisis. How does this loss affect the lives of the devastated parents, their families, friends-the people on the block? What memories, heartbreaks, and quests does it spark? Haunting and intricate, Stories of Gabriel is not "a love story," but a story of several interconnected loves that have been lost or found; new or lasting. All take place just blocks apart. The vibrant Latinx Caribbean culture of the neighborhood is brought to life by debut fiction Dominican American writer Esther Alix. "In Stories of Gabriel, Esther Alix's debut fiction, a stillborn child unravels the many hidden, layered truths that are tightly woven into one Bronx community. Alix is a master storyteller, who in six interwoven stories pulls those who choose to follow down the hallways, and into the kitchens, and up onto the terraces of a Bronx block where news travels fast and secrets die hard. In Gabriel we see how a sudden trauma in one family can unwrap the collective pain, and grief, and heartbreak-as well as the resilience, and love, and longing-we all carry as individuals, and as families, and as communities. Alix has painted a remarkable and moving portrait of an endangered American institution-a real neighborhood, with very real people, forced to face the truth about each other and themselves."-Frank Haberle, author of Shufflers "Hauntingly beautiful snapshots of life that remain with you, long after the final page."-Christopher Murphy, author of The Other Side of the Mirror "Stories of Gabriel by Esther Alix is a sensory experience, inviting the reader into a vibrant world sitting at the intersection of New York City and Santo Domingo, populated by characters who are real, yet larger than life. I found myself wanting to be their friend. I want us to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes at my kitchen table. I want to cry and laugh with them in this marvelous debut that will leave you wanting more."-Lana Garland, producer The Passing On
A compelling memoir of the covid pandemic lockdown in New York City and its impact on one woman's life.
A fresh twist on a triangular relationship. A novel about love, compassion, selfishness, grief, bravery, sacrifice. An elegy, a reckoning, told with touches of magical realism. Psychotherapist Bess Lynch makes a sojourn to Cape Cod to deal with her impending demise from pancreatic cancer. While swimming, she encounters an enigmatic, handsome man, Stephen, who is mourning the loss of his husband. Together, they find solace in a tender affair until Bess' son, Nathan, arrives and explodes their relationship and Bess' mission to make decisions about her marriage, life, and death. "A psychotherapist with end-stage cancer contemplates the end of her life and marriage and her failures as a mother, while saving the life of a beautiful swimmer grieving over the death of his husband. Egan's story is for anyone contemplating the meaning of death, life, and everything in between: fear, regret, desire, hope, acceptance. A novel written with deep compassion and beautiful storytelling." -Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade "This captivating novel reflects the realities of life's challenges and normalizes the conversation about end of life, illustrating a way to find peace with our own impermanence." -J. Redwing Keyssar, RN, author of Last Acts of Kindness "A plot featuring very difficult subjects, requiring technical and emotional mastery. The pacing, the exactitude of emotional tenor, and the mystery at its heart, all recommend this author and this book very highly." -Luke Sherwood, Basso Profundo "A lovely, direct-even eerie-exploration of what it means to die with dignity and purpose. As Bess Lynch ties together the loose ends of her waning life, life brings her new mysteries and reveals more secrets. Humanists will find her journey inspiring as she seeks a meaningful death while balancing self-care with compassion for her loved ones." -Michael Cluff, president, South Jersey Humanists
For decades starting in the 1950s, Raymond Patriarca ran the New England Mafia out of a storefront in Providence, Rhode Island. By 1980 he was seventy-two years old, and suffering from diabetes and heart disease. One night in December of that year his life intersected with that of Dr. Barbara Roberts, a thirty-six-year old single mother of three, who was the first female cardiologist to practice in Rhode Island. Asked by Raymond's family to check on him after he was arrested on capital charges, Barbara-a naive Alice in Wonderland-entered a looking-glass world populated by pitfalls, moral ambiguities and dangers for which her devout upbringing had not prepared her. How did a former Catholic schoolgirl from a working-class family become the physician and defender of one Mafioso, and the mistress of another? How did her children handle these scandalous associations and the resulting hostile publicity-and what were the reactions of their fathers? Expanding on the story first told in the popular Crimetown podcast, this memoir is a tale of motherhood, political activism, controversy, heartbreak and survival; it traces one woman's trajectory against the backdrop of America's 20th century upheavals.
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