In My TBR Stack:

Saving Sin City: William Travers Jerome, Stanford White, and the Original Crime of the Century
by Mary Cummings
Pegasus Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

When Stanford White, one of the most famous architects of the era—whose mark on New York City is second to none—was murdered by Harry K. Thaw in 1906, his death become known as “The Crime of the Century.” But there were other players in this love triangle gone wrong that would play a part in the incredible story of White’s murderer. Chief among them was the ambitious district attorney William Travers Jerome, who had the opportunity to make—or break—his career with his prosecution of Thaw. Award-winning journalist Mary Cummings reveals a new angle to this incredible crime through Jerome’s story—a story that is ripe for our post-“Serial” era. Thaw was the debauched and deranged heir to a Pittsburgh fortune who had a sadistic streak. White was an artistic genius and one of the world’s premier architects who would become obsessed with a teenaged chorus girl, Evelyn Nesbit. White preyed on Nesbit, who, in a surprising twist, also became a fixation for Thaw. Nesbit and Thaw would later marry, but Thaw’s lingering jealousy and anger toward White over his past history with Nesbit would explosively culminate in White’s shocking murder—and the even more shocking trial of Thaw for a murder that was committed in front of dozens of eye witnesses. The promising young D.A. would find his faith in himself and the law severely tested as he battled colorful crooks, licentious grandees, and corrupt politicians.  Cummings brilliant reveals the social issues simmering below the surface of New York that Jerome had to face. Filled with mesmerizing drama, rich period details, and fascinating characters, Saving Sin City sheds fresh light on crimes whose impact still echoes throughout the twenty-first century.

In My TBR Stack:

Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read But Probably Didn't
by John Atkinson
Harper Design
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

A collection of irreverent summations of more than 100 well-known works of literature, from Anna Karenina to Wuthering Heights, cleverly described in the fewest words possible and accompanied with funny color illustrations.

Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn’t is packed with dozens of humorous super-condensed summations of some of the most famous works of literature from many of the world’s most revered authors, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Emily Brontë, Leo Tolstoy, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, J.R.R. Tolkien, Margaret Atwood, James Joyce, Plato, Ernest Hemingway, Dan Brown, Ayn Rand, and Herman Melville.

From "Old ladies convince a guy to ruin Scotland" (Macbeth) to "Everyone is sad. It snows." (War and Peace), these clever, humorous synopses are sure to make book lovers smile.

In My TBR Stack:

What I Wish I'd Known: Finding Your Way Through the Tunnel of Grief
by Kristi Hugstad
Morgan James Publishing
Trade Paperback

In What I Wish I'd Known, Hugstad shares her own personal experiences with grief and explains how she overcame those difficult times in her life. After her husband's sudden suicide, Kristi Hugstad had to not only deal with her grief in a healthy way, but also find a way to move on and live a happy life once again. She knows firsthand the emotional turmoil that a tragic life event can bring, and desires to help others who are currently experiencing the same thing that she has.

Hugstad also discusses the healthy solutions she has found for dealing with tragic situations. She hopes to inspire others to change their negative way of thinking and experience a permanent restoration of peace. What I Wish I'd Known encourages readers who are going through tragic or life-changing events that this is not the end for them- there is a way out of the "tunnel of grief" and hope for them on the other side.

R U OK?: Teen Depression & Suicide

by Kristi Hugstad

Dog Ear Publishing

Trade Paperback

Sometimes, the thoughts we leave unsaid are the most dangerous.

Such is certainly the case for those feelings - however fleeting - that leave you sad, anxious, afraid and hopeless. If you're a young adult who suffers from depression or other mental illness, your own mind might seem like a prison of negativity, your own thoughts too great a burden to bear.

Whether you, a friend or a loved one suffers from depression or is at risk of suicide, you can find hope in three life-changing words: R U OK?

R U OK? offers teens, young adults, parents and educators a toolkit for dealing with mental illnesses, depression, addiction and suicide - for yourself or your peers. Addressing relevant issues like cyberbullying, technology addiction, substance abuse, gender confusion and suicide ideation, R U OK? helps bring light to otherwise dark - but critical - topics.

After losing her own husband to suicide, Kristi Hugstad understands the patterns, warnings and risk factors she failed to see during his life. As a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist and credentialed health educator, Hugstad combines her firsthand experience with researched-backed, clinical methods to help prevent suicide and address important mental health issues.
Whether you feel scared and misunderstood or are worried about a friend or family member, there is a powerful hope in asking - and answering - a simple question: R U OK?

BookSpin Excerpt:

Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World
by Lucinda Bakken White
Wild Woman Books

An excerpt taken from Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World 

by Lucinda Bakken White 

On a warm summer day in August of 2013, I sat on a couch in our den staring at the texture of soft padded walls covered in khaki linen. Glancing up, I noticed the olive-green-and-gold twisted trim set in the seams, lining the room where cloth met wooden crown moldings and baseboard. 

My husband, Rhys, and I had just returned home from dropping our youngest off at college. The house was silent. Tired and drained, I was in a melancholy mood, but not for the reasons you might think. 

My kids were gone, and I missed them, but I missed myself just as much. Most mothers I knew were distraught by the thought of life after children, and they held on tightly to their kids for as long as they could. In sharp contrast, I could hardly wait for my nest to be empty. Barely hanging on, I was ready to let go and collapse from depletion. 

I loved being a mother, a wife, and a homemaker. But by the time my children were teenagers, much of my joy was squelched by the never-ending routines of meal prep, carpools, homework, housework, volunteer work, college applications, and people pleasing. No matter how much I did, it never felt like enough, because there was always more of the same to do. Go to this party or that. Be pretty and pleasant in public. Listen to people brag about their lives and kids. Go to the gym. Wash my hair. Have sex with my husband. Walk the dog. Run errands. Put out little fires. Host extended family for dinner. Prep for the holidays. Acknowledge birthdays. Pay the bills. Organize the house. Fix what’s broken. And just when I crossed the last “to do” off my list, it was time to repeat the cycle all over again. 

Perhaps I could have rebounded with a month of sleep and no kids around the house, but that was not going to happen. Two of my stepsons were married with three children between them, and I was babysitting this weekend. Many women dream of and long for grandchildren. I did too. Nevertheless, I needed a breather to thoughtfully transition from being a mother to being a grandmother. In fact, I was longing to be a grandmother. Yearning to bring a sense of the sacred to the forefront of my everyday life, my heart was set on becoming a wise-woman elder with a spiritual vocation. I knew where I wanted to go; I just didn’t know how to get there, and I didn’t want to make a wrong turn. At a crossroads, I needed time and space to explore the deepest meaning of my heart path so I could follow, embody, and express it. 

Fifteen years prior, my husband and I had realized a peak of material success and popularity that came with both blessings and burdens. I was grateful for our abundant life, but eventually the weight of living for external measures tipped me out of balance and crushed my soul. 

Slowly but surely it was the animal kingdom that called me to rise from the dead. Curiously, my relationship with animals began with the touch of a bone. First I found one, and then two, followed by a burst of three, four, five, and six. When I put my hand to bone, electricity ran through my body. Enlivened, I studied the animal bones and I wondered: To whom did they belong? What purpose did they serve? How did these animals live? And how did they die? 

In love with the bones, my heart kindled an authentically wild and burning passion that stood in stark contrast with the rest of my life. Late at night while my family slept, I researched animal anatomy, bone identification, and animal behavior. Harkening back to my ancestors, I also learned the symbolism associated with each animal and their individual parts, which enabled me to receive and interpret profound messages at every encounter. 

By following my heart, I no longer felt lonely. Instead, I was deeply connected to the animal kingdom, my inner self, and a greater mysterious life-force. Looking back, I realized that bone by bone the animals I found were a metaphor for my personal process of discovering, unmasking, and reconnecting the scattered parts of my true self. 

For decades I had been developing a lot of self-awareness and realizing my authentic wildness, but I was not yet fully synthesized. My soul-driven, spontaneous nature did not always align with the norms and values of the surrounding civilized culture. To protect myself, I was living a life of dichotomies, expressing different personalities with different masks in different places. All this shapeshifting of personas was depleting, and it was painful to contain or hide my full self. Terrified to come out of the closet, I was far more afraid of being trapped inside modern society’s limiting and often narrow definition of what it means to be a woman, a grandmother, or an elder. 

Teetering on the cusp of something old and something new, I was ripe for transformation. But change does not come easy at any time in this contemporary world, no matter how ready we are. I had a feeling that my family and friends preferred I stay the same. Few of them seemed to understand the vision born inside of me and how it was essential to my mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. After all, who dreams of being an elder? 

As I sat on the couch in a slump, I noticed a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye. Shifting my view, I looked past the light streaming through a sash window and saw the orange-and-white- barred breast of a Cooper’s hawk. He was perched on a post at the edge of our circular pond, looking at the lush aquatic jungle before him, full of tall fuzzy cattails; shiny-green lily pads; pink lotus blos- soms; orange, black, and white koi; and iridescent dragonflies. 

Animals had become my guides. They came to me often and spoke to me in symbols, the language of my soul. Intuiting a message from Hawk, I perceived that he was symbolically hunting for spiritual sustenance as represented by the fish in the water and the winged ones in flight. It was clear to me that he was suggesting I do the same to lift myself out of my funk. 

Taking Hawk’s advice, I decided to visit our property in the country. Just a twenty-minute drive door to door, it was another world away. The construction traffic getting out of my town was heavy as usual. My skin, neck, and back all tightened as I navigated the congestion. Everywhere I looked big trucks clogged the streets. Yards were being torn up for new construction, and the air resounded with a constant percussion of jackhammers. 

Then, as I turned onto Sand Hill Road, my body softened. Heritage oaks, pines, and redwoods soothed my eyes, causing me to breathe deeply and slowly. I paid no attention to the lineup of iconic Silicon Valley venture capital firms at their prestigious addresses. Venerable trees framing an ascending road claimed my full attention. Headed west, I imagined a processional of ancients ushering me to a place beyond time. 

As I reached the avenue’s peak, oaks parted and a bridge lifted me over a discord of cars on Interstate 280. My heart soared like a bird through a liminal shift at the crossroads and carried me to the other side, where I was greeted with a vast and lush panoramic view of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Halfway to my destination, I was now gliding through countryside where stoplights and streetlights were outlawed and open space for wildlife habitat was preserved. 

To my left was Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, 1200 acres of refuge for wild animals and native plants. To my right was the Horse Park at Woodside, 270 acres of wonderland where equestrian activity dotted open pastures and oak-studded hills. Soon Sand Hill Road turned into Portola Road, and I saw a life-giving freshwater marsh before me, home to cattails, herons, ducks, and coots. Then came the wooden sign, “Welcome to Portola Valley.” 

A few minutes later, I arrived at my destination on the scenic corridor in the heart of this small town, population four thousand. Turning into the driveway, my tires crunching on gravel, I was greeted by a barn, where the historic name Finbarr Ranch was painted on the gable under a set of eight-point deer antlers. 

The sun was warm as I walked along a wooden fence thickset with yellow trumpet vines serving nectar to hummingbirds and honeybees. Our ranch manager, Chase, waved hello as he drove by on a tractor. His dog, Riley, wiggled his tail and brushed by my side before bounding off after a squirrel. 
As many times as I had done it, I was never quite prepared for the awe I experienced opening the pedestrian gate to an almighty presence of an evergreen-forested mountain. The lap of her base lay before me, holding fourteen acres of orchard colored with organic red apples, green pears, and yellow quinces. I stood there for a few moments, allowing all of my senses to open in devotion to the resplendent beauty that lay on the edge between wilderness and civilization. 

Blackbirds were singing, bees were humming, warm air brushed the hairs on my skin, and a potpourri of juicy fruits and wildflowers tickled my nose. In a ceremonial gesture, I took a deep breath and exhaled three times, allowing my abdomen and lungs to fill with clean, fragrant air. I was about to enter my barn—an outward reflection of my heart that had been sub rosa in the making for thirteen years. 

From my vantage point as I walked alongside the building, it resem- bled a farmhouse with off-white horizontal wood lap siding and a metal corrugated roof. But when I turned and presented my back to the orchard, facing the entrance, it reminded me of a Greek temple, New Orleans style. The roof was pitched, and porch columns flanked oversized double doors that were painted a brilliant mosque blue. 

Up the three stairs, I slid between a pair of pillars and opened the sapphire-colored portal to another realm. Crossing the threshold, I was stilled by a thick silence. This was a holy place, the house of wild animal spirits who were reborn when I infused their bodies, bones, and parts with my total presence and pure awareness. 

Touched by their grace, my body tingled. Art made of bone, claw, horn, tooth, sinew, and fur was exquisitely arranged. As I felt my heart lift from the splendor, it raised my attention to the expansive cathedral ceiling, where bouquets of orange, yellow, and purple dried flowers hung upside down from the rafters. Amidst the heavenly garden, a fully articulated coyote skeleton appeared to be galloping midair near a black-feathered crow who soared with wide wings and a felted gnome on his back. 

Drawing my eyes downward to the opposite end of the room, I connected with a longhorn-bull skull at the center of a large built-in altar. In homage to the four elements of earth, fire, air, and water, it was surrounded by two wooden candlesticks laden with wax drippings, a hand-carved quartz crystal chalice embellished with gemstones on a gold stem, and a generous bouquet of wild turkey feathers. Ceremonial relics, from bones to mortars, pestles, and fur, also adorned the shrine.

At the center of the room, twelve high-back barstools surrounded a thick slab of reclaimed teakwood sturdily crafted into a tall rect- angular table. Draped over the back of each chair were twelve Polish sheepskins of the finest quality. Each pelt was vegetable tanned, soft and supple, with its own unique shape, texture, and color. Long and straight, short and curly, or medium fluffed pelages varied in tone from brown, to white, golden, or marbled. My hands were drawn to pet them as if they were living, loving, and breathing sheep. 

Gazing at the twelve empty chairs around my classroom table, I imagined the women of all ages who would gather here to explore the masks we wear and what’s behind them. My heart fluttered to think I would soon be the spiritual feminine elder I had always dreamed of, ready and able to guide women to realize their authentic wildness in a civilized world. 

Come with me now on a journey from my childhood to present day. If you are on a path of healing and self-discovery, may my stories of personal truth and transformation show you how to quicken your process. 


- Lucinda Bakken White is the author of the memoir Confessions of a Bone Woman: Realizing Authentic Wildness in a Civilized World. White is also an Inner Wildness Guide, helping women through the process of self-discovery and personal transformation. For more information visit http://lucindabakkenwhite.com/ and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

On My Radar:

Whistle in the Dark: A Novel
by Emma Healey
Harper Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Emma Healey follows the success of her #1 internationally bestselling debut novel Elizabeth Is Missing, winner of the Costa First Novel Award, with this beautiful, thought-provoking, and psychologically complex tale that affirms her status as one of the most inventive and original literary novelists today.

Jen and Hugh Maddox have just survived every parent’s worst nightmare.

Relieved, but still terrified, they sit by the hospital bedside of their fifteen-year-old daughter, Lana, who was found bloodied, bruised, and disoriented after going missing for four days during a mother-daughter vacation in the country. As Lana lies mute in the bed, unwilling or unable to articulate what happened to her during that period, the national media speculates wildly and Jen and Hugh try to answer many questions.

Where was Lana? How did she get hurt? Was the teenage boy who befriended her involved? How did she survive outside for all those days? Even when she returns to the family home and her school routine, Lana only provides the same frustrating answer over and over: "I can’t remember."

For years, Jen had tried to soothe the depressive demons plaguing her younger child, and had always dreaded the worst. Now she has hope—the family has gone through hell and come out the other side. But Jen cannot let go of her need to find the truth. Without telling Hugh or their pregnant older daughter Meg, Jen sets off to retrace Lana’s steps, a journey that will lead her to a deeper understanding of her youngest daughter, her family, and herself.

A wry, poignant, and masterfully drawn story that explores the bonds and duress of family life, the pain of mental illness, and the fraught yet enduring connection between mothers and daughters, Whistle in the Dark is a story of guilt, fear, hope, and love that explores what it means to lose and find ourselves and those we love.

On My Radar:

You're on an Airplane: A Self-Mythologizing Memoir
by Parker Posey
Blue Rider Press
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like talk to Parker Posey? On an airplane, with Parker as your seat companion, perhaps? Parker’s irreverent, hilarious, and enchanting memoir gives you the incredible opportunity. Full of personal stories, whimsical how-tos, recipes, and beautiful handmade collages created by the author herself, You’re On an Airplane is a delight in every way.
 
In her first book, actress and star of movies such as Dazed and Confused, Party Girl, You’ve Got Mail, The House of Yes, and so many more, Posey opens up about the art of acting, life on the set, and the realities of its accompanying fame. A funny and colorful southern childhood prepared Posey for a life of creating and entertaining, which not only extends to acting but to the craft of pottery, sewing, collage, yoga, and cooking, all of which readers will find in this whimsical, hilarious, always entertaining book. Parker takes us into her childhood home, behind the scenes of the indie film revolution in the 90s, the delightful absurdity of the big-budget genre thrillers she’s turned into art in a whole new way, and the creativity that will always be part of both her acting and her personal life.
 
With Posey’s memorable, hilarious, and poignant voice, her book gives the reader a feeling of traveling through not only a memoir, but an exploration, meditation, and celebration of what it means to be an artist. Buckle up and enjoy the journey.

On My Radar:

The Chickenshit Club: Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives
by Jesse Eisinger
Simon and Schuster
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jesse Eisinger, “a fast moving, fly-on-the-wall, disheartening look at the deterioration of the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission…It is a book of superheroes” (San Francisco Review of Books).

Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed “Too Big to Fail” to almost every large corporation in America—to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. The Chickenshit Club—an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs—explains why in “an absorbing financial history, a monumental work of journalism…a first-rate study of the federal bureaucracy” (Bloomberg Businessweek).

Jesse Eisinger begins the story in the 1970s, when the government pioneered the notion that top corporate executives, not just seedy crooks, could commit heinous crimes and go to prison. He brings us to trading desks on Wall Street, to corporate boardrooms and the offices of prosecutors and FBI agents. These revealing looks provide context for the evolution of the Justice Department’s approach to pursuing corporate criminals through the early 2000s and into the Justice Department of today, including the prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses, and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives.



“Brave and elegant…a fearless reporter…Eisinger’s important and profound book takes no prisoners” (The Washington Post). Exposing one of the most important scandals of our time, The Chickenshit Club provides a clear, detailed explanation as to how our Justice Department has come to avoid, bungle, and mismanage the fight to bring these alleged criminals to justice. “This book is a wakeup call…a chilling read, and a needed one” (NPR.org).

In My TBR Stack:

Baby Teeth
by Zoje Stage
St. Martin's Press
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Afflicted with a chronic debilitating condition, Suzette Jensen knew having children would wreak havoc on her already fragile body. Nevertheless, she brought Hanna into the world, pleased and proud to start a family with her husband Alex. Estranged from her own mother, Suzette is determined to raise her beautiful daughter with the love, care, and support she was denied.

But Hanna proves to be a difficult child. Now seven-years-old, she has yet to utter a word, despite being able to read and write. Defiant and anti-social, she refuses to behave in kindergarten classes, forcing Suzette to homeschool her. Resentful of her mother’s rules and attentions, Hanna lashes out in anger, becoming more aggressive every day. The only time Hanna is truly happy is when she’s with her father. To Alex, she’s willful and precocious but otherwise the perfect little girl, doing what she’s told.

Suzette knows her clever and manipulative daughter doesn’t love her. She can see the hatred and jealousy in her eyes. And as Hanna’s subtle acts of cruelty threaten to tear her and Alex apart, Suzette fears her very life may be in grave danger…

On My Radar:

Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery
by Andrew Shaffer
Quirk Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama team up in this high-stakes thriller that combines a mystery worthy of Watson and Holmes with the laugh-out-loud bromantic chemistry of Lethal Weapon’s Murtaugh and Riggs.
 
Vice President Joe Biden is fresh out of the Obama White House and feeling adrift when his favorite railroad conductor dies in a suspicious accident, leaving behind an ailing wife and a trail of clues. To unravel the mystery, “Amtrak Joe” re-teams with the only man he’s ever fully trusted: the 44th president of the United States. Together they’ll plumb the darkest corners of Delaware, traveling from cheap motels to biker bars and beyond, as they uncover the sinister forces advancing America’s opioid epidemic.

Part noir thriller and part bromance, Hope Never Dies is essentially the first published work of Obama/Biden fiction—and a cathartic read for anyone distressed by the current state of affairs.

On My Radar:

The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983
by Marc Ambinder
Simon and Schuster
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

The incredible story of the 1983 war game that triggered a tense, brittle period of nuclear brinkmanship between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

What happened in 1983 to make the Soviet Union so afraid of a potential nuclear strike from the United States that they sent mobile ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) into the field, placing them on a three-minute alert?

Marc Ambinder explains the anxious period between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1982 to 1984, with the “Able Archer ’83” war game as the fulcrum of the tension. With astonishing and clarifying new details, he recounts the scary series of the close encounters that tested the limits of ordinary humans and powerful leaders alike. Ambinder explains how political leadership ultimately triumphed over misunderstandings, helping the two countries maintain a fragile peace.

Ambinder provides a comprehensive and chilling account of the nuclear command and control process, from intelligence warnings to the composition of the nuclear codes themselves. And he affords glimpses into the secret world of a preemptive electronic attack that scared the Soviet Union into action. Ambinder’s account reads like a thriller, recounting the spy-versus-spy games that kept both countries—and the world—in check.

From geopolitics in Moscow and Washington, to sweat-caked soldiers fighting in the trenches of the Cold War, to high-stakes war games across NATO and the Warsaw Pact, The Brink serves as the definitive intelligence, nuclear, and national security history of one of the most precarious times in recent memory.

On My Radar:

From the Corner of the Oval
by Beck Dorey-Stein
Spiegel and Grau
Hardcover

From the publisher website:

In 2012, Beck Dorey-Stein is working five part-time jobs and just scraping by when a posting on Craigslist lands her, improbably, in the Oval Office as one of Barack Obama’s stenographers. The ultimate D.C. outsider, she joins the elite team who accompany the president wherever he goes, recorder and mic in hand. On whirlwind trips across time zones, Beck forges friendships with a dynamic group of fellow travelers—young men and women who, like her, leave their real lives behind to hop aboard Air Force One in service of the president.

As she learns to navigate White House protocols and more than once runs afoul of the hierarchy, Beck becomes romantically entangled with a consummate D.C. insider, and suddenly the political becomes all too personal.

Against the backdrop of glamour, drama, and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters, and, in the process, discovering her voice.

In My TBR Stack:

Don't You Ever: My Mother and Her Secret Son
by Mary Carter Bishop
Harper Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

From a prizewinning journalist, Mary Carter Bishop, a moving and beautifully rendered memoir about the half-brother she didn’t know existed that hauntingly explores family, class, secrets, and fate.

Applying for a passport as an adult, Mary Carter Bishop made a shocking discovery. She had a secret half-brother. Her mother, a farm manager’s wife on a country estate, told Mary Carter the abandoned boy was a youthful "mistake" from an encounter with a married man. There’d been a home for unwed mothers; foster parents; an orphanage.

Nine years later, Mary Carter tracked Ronnie down at the barbershop where he worked, and found a near-broken man—someone kind, and happy to meet her, but someone also deeply and irreversibly damaged by a life of neglect and abuse at the hands of an uncaring system. He was also disfigured because of a rare medical condition that would eventually kill him, three years after their reunion. During that window, Mary Carter grew close to Ronnie, and as she learned more about him she became consumed by his story. How had Ronnie’s life gone so wrong when hers had gone so well? How could she reconcile the doting, generous mother she knew with a woman who could not bring herself to acknowledge her own son?

Digging deep into her family’s lives for understanding, Mary Carter unfolds a sweeping story of religious intolerance, poverty, fear, ambition, class, and social expectations. Don’t You Ever is a modern Dickensian tale about a child seemingly cursed from birth; a woman shattered by guilt; a husband plagued by self-doubt; a prodigal daughter whose innocence was cruelly snatched away—all living in genteel central Virginia, a world defined by extremes of rural poverty and fabulous wealth.

A riveting memoir about a family haunted by a shameful secret, Don’t You Ever is a powerful story of a woman’s search for her long-hidden sibling, and the factors that profoundly impact our individual destinies.

In My TBR Stack:

What to Read and Why
by Francine Prose
Harper Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

In this brilliant collection, the follow-up to her New York Timesbestseller Reading Like a Writer, the distinguished novelist, literary critic, and essayist celebrates the pleasures of reading and pays homage to the works and writers she admires above all others, from Jane Austen and Charles Dickens to Jennifer Egan and Roberto Bolaño.

In an age defined by hyper-connectivity and constant stimulation, Francine Prose makes a compelling case for the solitary act of reading and the great enjoyment it brings. Inspiring and illuminating, What to Read and Why includes selections culled from Prose’s previous essays, reviews, and introductions, combined with new, never-before-published pieces that focus on her favorite works of fiction and nonfiction, on works by masters of the short story, and even on books by photographers like Diane Arbus.

Prose considers why the works of literary masters such as Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Jane Austen have endured, and shares intriguing insights about modern authors whose words stimulate our minds and enlarge our lives, including Roberto Bolaño, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Jennifer Egan, and Mohsin Hamid. Prose implores us to read Mavis Gallant for her marvelously rich and compact sentences, and her meticulously rendered characters who reveal our flawed and complex human nature; Edward St. Aubyn for his elegance and sophisticated humor; and Mark Strand for his gift for depicting unlikely transformations. Here, too, are original pieces in which Prose explores the craft of writing: "On Clarity" and "What Makes a Short Story."

Written with her sharp critical analysis, wit, and enthusiasm, What to Read and Why is a celebration of literature that will give readers a new appreciation for the power and beauty of the written word.