Lost Without the River is an elegantly wrought memoir of resilience, courage, and reinvention. A portrait of nature at its most beautiful and demanding, it is the story of a girl whose family struggled against Depression-era hardship and personal tragedy to carve out a small farm in rural South Dakota. The youngest of seven, Barbara wrestles against the expectations of her family, the strictures of the church, and the limits imposed by a male-dominated culture. Eager for adventure, she leaves the farm―first for the Peace Corps and ultimately for the unknown environs of Manhattan’s Upper East Side―but she never truly escapes. Lost Without the River demonstrates the emotional power that even the smallest place can exert, and the gravitational pull that calls a person back home.

Three years into a financial crisis that shows no sign of loosening its grip, a young couple make the unpopular decision to teach English in Saudi Arabia. The choice of Saudi Arabia is based primarily on the best salary offer, an all expenses paid round trip flight and secondarily to satiate a desire to explore a country steeped in mystery and taboo. Little do they know that the experience will come with a price and change their lives in a profound way, witnessing human rights violations that go unchecked even up to today and an ultra-conservative culture wrestling with tradition and modernity.

A Year Under Sharia Law is written as a travel memoir with vignettes of daily life and interactions with the community at large. It was also written to shine a spotlight on the plight of impoverished ladies who come to Saudi Arabia in the hopes of earning a salary to send money back to their family. They find work as nannies and house maids primarily. These ladies are often stripped of their rights in a patriarchy that makes them prime targets for unspeakable abuses. Their passports are held by their Saudi employees and they essentially become prisoners. This memoir is not only dedicated to them and their plight but also the tireless and dangerous work done by journalists who are critical of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Some have paid the ultimate price.

Silver Medal Winner of the 2019 Living Now Book Awards.
Bronze Medal Winner of the 2019 Global Ebook Awards.
Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards.

In this thought-provoking sequel to his award-winning memoir, Trauma, Shame, and the Power of Love: The Fall and Rise of a Physician who Heals Himself, former elite cancer doctor and researcher, Christopher Pelloski, chronicles his compelling journey from federal incarceration to halfway house detention to the first few years of building a new “after” life. Alternating between humor, pathos, and measured outrage, Pelloski takes us with him as he weathers imprisonment, divorce, and medical board hearings, undergoes polygraph interrogations and court-mandated therapy, finds a new home, starts a new profession, reconnects with family and old friends, and forges new relationships in A Tortuous Path: Atonement and Redemption in a Broken System.

Diverse stories of those encountered along the way show the faces of those most affected by the failures and capriciousness of the American justice system—and demonstrate the essential value of kindness and second chances.

PRAISE FOR A TORTUOUS PATH:

“Pelloski’s chronicle of his “Atonement and Reinvention” is unflinching and intriguing. He takes responsibility for his actions while maintaining a protective sympathy for his younger self, whose damaged innocence led him to “repeat, reenact, or re-experience his trauma” . . . a thoughtful and informative narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews

"A poignant, deeply personal sequel, astute and provocative; Pelloski ingeniously shares his illuminating saga, focusing initially on an archaic, punitive judiciary, then details growth that followed conscientious self-appraisal."―David J. Tennenbaum, Ph.D., American Board of Professional Psychology (Forensic Diplomate)

"A timely and important work which presents, at the ground level, an American criminal justice system in desperate need of serious reform… Vulnerable and insightful, a debt of gratitude is owed to Pelloski, who gives a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves."―Lachandra B. Baker, MBA, ABC, CTA, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Healing Broken Circles

Tenacity chronicles the evolution of entrepreneur Ron Coury, a major business figure in Las Vegas, Nevada and the surrounding western states.

As Coury, a former U.S. Marine, climbed the ladder toward his success, he faced a barrage of constraints including political and police corruption, bribery, coercion and even death threats. Along the way, he also had a few offers to settle matters discreetly, with a few well-placed bullets. His choices would have life altering consequences for many.

How does one retain a sense of ethics amidst an atmosphere so rife with corruption? Coury details the struggles he faced and the losses he endured in this eye-opening look behind the curtain of business during the "Good Ol' Boy" days of Southern Nevada.

Invisible Target is a true, detailed account of one girl’s experience of educator sexual abuse at the hands of her middle school teacher. It follows her journey, beginning with her tumultuous childhood, meeting the teacher, and the grooming process he created to lure her into a false sense of trust and ultimate betrayal. After years of abuse and manipulation, she finally found the courage to bravely break away from her abuser.

With excerpts from newspaper articles and an actual court impact statement, this book gives you a clear picture of how the epidemic of educator sexual abuse begins, progresses, and affects so many innocent lives.

Invisible Target is more than a memoir. With thought-provoking questions at the close of each chapter, this book serves as a strong educational tool for students, parents, teachers, and administrators by shedding light on the dynamics of educator sexual abuse so that school can be a safe haven for every child.

“I highly recommend that Invisible Target be read and discussed in every school community in the country.”
—John M. Seryak, M.Ed.

“This book can help students identify predators, parents to support their children, and educators to prevent abuse.”
—Charol Shakeshaft, Ph.D.

“Although the topic is obviously very disturbing and disheartening, Andrea’s story is one of hope.”
—Robert J. Shoop, Ph.D.

A rescue mission originally thought of as lasting for a year or two turned into a 35 year lifetime love affair with a beautiful old building.

There were to be battles royal with neighbours not wanting their status quo to be altered, and with the local fire authority who sought to impose draconian new safety measures.

John Searancke came to the role of hotelkeeper almost accidentally, and most definitely with much reluctance. After his parents’ marriage fell apart, he was dragooned in, at the age of 22, to pick up the pieces of their new venture, a barely-trading country house hotel that had, frankly, seen better days. Not only was it posting an annual loss, but the fabric of the building was crumbling and there was no money left to make improvements.

Over the years, and with the steepest of learning curves, the grand old building was renovated and transformed to meet the requirements of the modern discerning traveller. Accolades for the hotel and its restaurant were won; together they became a well-regarded destination for a number of celebrities – and those that deemed themselves to be celebrities but were not. Stories abound featuring idiosyncratic guests, overbearing public bodies, fractured family life and animals of all shapes and sizes. The local fire station next door was demolished one foggy night, people were frightened by flying dogs and snakes in the long grass, and there were, as befits a country house, strange goings on in the night. Many were the guests who checked in who really should not have been seen together.

This is a tribute to all the people behind the scenes who helped to make the hard-won transformation into a great success.

WINNER, 2019 Next Generation Indie Books (Memoir: Overcoming Adversity)

SILVER MEDAL, 2019 IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, Best New Voice (Nonfiction)

FINALIST, 2019 National Indie Excellence Awards (for Memoir and Regional Nonfiction: The West)

From the outside, Vanya’s childhood looked idyllic: she rode horses with her father in the solitude of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and attended flamboyant operas with her mother in the city. But life for Vanya and her family turned dark when ghosts from her father’s service on a Pacific destroyer in World War II tore her family apart.


Set in postwar California, this is the story of a girl who tried to make sense of her parents’ unpredictable actions―from being left to lie in her own blood-soaked diaper while her Christian Scientist mother prayed, refusing to get medical help to watching her father writhe on his bed in the detox ward, his hands and feet tethered with leather straps―by immersing herself in the beauty and solitude of the wilderness around her. It was only decades later, when memories began to haunt her, that Vanya was able to look back with unflinching honesty and tender compassion for her family and herself. In this elegant, haunting narrative, Erickson invites us to witness it all―from the gripping, often disturbing, truths of her childhood to her ultimate survival.

For fans of The Glass Castle and Educated, comes mystery author Toby Neal’s personal story of surviving a wild childhood in paradise.

We never call it homeless. We're just "camping" in the jungle on Kauai...

We live in a place everyone calls paradise. Sure, Kauai’s beautiful, with empty beaches, drip-castle mountains, and perfect surf...but we’ve been "camping" for six months, eating boiled chicken feed for breakfast, and wearing camouflage clothes so no one sees us trespassing in our jungle hideout. The cockroaches leave rainbow colors all over everything from eating the crayons we left outside the tent, and now a tractor is coming to scrape our camp into the river.

Standing in front of the tent in my nightgown, clinging to my sister as we face the tractor, I know my own truth: I just want to be normal.

But Mom and Pop are addicted.
Addicted to Kauai’s beauty, to drugs, to surfing, to living a life according to their own rules out from under their high-achieving parents’ judgmental eyes. I’m just their red-headed, mouthy, oldest kid. What I want doesn’t matter.

But I’m smart. I will make a different life for myself someday if I keep up my grades no matter what happens.
No matter how often we run out of food.
No matter how many times I change schools...or don’t go to school at all.
No matter how many bullies beat me up for the color of my skin.

I might be growing up wild in Hawaii, but I have dreams I’m going to reach, no matter how crazy things get.

“An affecting and riveting chronicle of a singular childhood that evokes the contradictions of hippie utopian ideals in an unspoiled Hawaiian landscape long since lost.” ~Kirkus Reviews

After a lifetime of strained bonds with her aging parents, Patricia Williams finds herself in the unexpected position of being their caregiver and neighbor. As they all begin to navigate this murky battleground, the long-buried issues that have divided their family for decades—alcoholism, infidelity, opposing politics—rear up and demand to be addressed head-on.








Williams answers the call of duty with trepidation at first, confronting the lines between service and servant, guardian and warden, while her parents alternately resist her help and wear her out. But by facing each new struggle with determination, grace, and courage, they ultimately emerge into a dynamic of greater transparency, mutual support, and teachable moments for all. Honest and humorous, graceful and grumbling, While They’re Still Here is a poignant story about a family that waves the white flag and begins to heal old wounds as they guide each other through the most vulnerable chapter of their lives.

“The sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful, and so are you…”

Those simple lines from the Beatles’ ballad, “Dear Prudence,” are easily recognizable by anyone who lived through the 1960s, as well as by the millions of people who continue to enjoy the Beatles’ music today.

But who was Prudence? Did she ever come out into the sunshine and greet the new day, as John Lennon beseeched her to do? What’s the real story behind the song?

Prudence Farrow Bruns, a daughter of the prominent Farrow family that includes sister and actress Mia Farrow, finally sets the story straight. Her memoir speaks to her three-month self-imposed meditative seclusion in India in 1968, while also carefully examining the universal experience of the 1960s youth movement.

Farrow honestly and unflinchingly explores how music, drugs, the Vietnam War, and eastern mysticism and philosophy changed millions of young people’s worldviews during one of America’s most tumultuous decades. She also touches on her own famous family’s heartaches and triumphs, even as she voices the experiences of an entire generation through a single iconic song.