Play & Book Excerpts
NEW! Excerpt from A Wolff in the Family (She Writes Press) by Francine Falk-Allen. Like other lower-middle-class women in the early 1900s, Naomi’s life was consumed with caring for her brood, who became helpers as soon as they could fold a diaper. Affection and struggle endured within the family, crowded into a humble house. Despite the respite of occasional family train trips across the plains, the marriage ultimately faced exceptional challenges, just before the Depression era began. What scandals led Frank Wolff to abandon his younger children at an orphanage far from home? And why did his elder children keep this a secret for eighty years? Based on true family history, this gripping saga is permeated with misogyny, prejudice, and passion.
|
NEW! Excerpt from The Reset Mindset (Amplify Publishing) by Penny Zenker. Productivity expert Penny Zenker (a.k.a. The Focusologist) draws on more than two decades of experience founding, running, and scaling multimillion-dollar organizations to reveal a proven method that not only ensures that you never get “stuck” again but can also unlock new levels of performance personally and collectively. Regardless of your job title or situation, the simple three-step Reset Practice--1: Step Back; 2: Get Perspective; 3: Realign. Penny's TEDx talk, “The Energy of Thought,” has had over 1 million views worldwide
|
Excerpt from Fall and Recovery: Raising Children with Disabilities Through Lessons Learned in Dance (She Writes Press) by Joanne De Simone. Over time, Joanne discovers that surviving motherhood isn’t a matter of strength, bravery, or faith. It’s a matter of linking your past experiences and creating your own purpose. It’s realizing that we live simultaneously in love and grief. In the end, dance teaches Joanne not only how to move freely through pain but also how to fall and recover. The struggle to balance her sons’ medical and educational challenges drives Joanne to reconnect with the lessons she learned as a modern dancer—and there she finds enlightenment.
|
Excerpt from Bright Eyes: Surviving Our Monsters and Learning to Live Without Them (She Writes Press) by Bridey Thelen-Heidel. Raised to be her mother’s keeper, rescuer, and punching bag, Bridey gets used to stuffing her life into black trash bags, hauling them between Alaska and California, and changing schools every time her mom moves in with a new monster — or runs away from one. This is a memoir about the indomitable spirit of a young girl forced to be brave, required to be resilient, and conditioned to be optimistic, and how she ultimately uses the same traits that helped her to survive her mother’s chaos to create her own "happily ever after."
|
Excerpt from Your Tiger Inside (Mind and Heart Coaching LLC) by Sherry Kelly, Ph.D. and illustrations by Kathleen Keifer. This book helps guide children into a journey of emotional discovery through the story of two little kitties, Toby & Tabby. The kitties learn that emotions are not to be judged or to fear. Rather, emotions serve special purposes. By listening to their own tiger inside, they learn that the power of emotions can help better understand what they may need, seek, or fear. Their emotions can be understood as if they were similar to a little tiger inside them that rings an alarm, telling them when to pounce and telling them to hide. With enchanting illustrations, the book provides practical strategies in emotional communication for children, parents, and educators.
|
Excerpt from Thought Snob: The Modern Spiritual Playbook for a Better Life (Better Than That Publishing) by Paula Swope. Paula coined the term "Thought Snob" and developed her leading-edge THOUGHT S.N.O.B. process [Seeing New Objective Beliefs] designed to help people move out of havoc and into happiness. Written in her trademark down-to-earth style and filled with humor, compassion, and plenty of personal life stories, Paula shows each of us how to create the life we truly deserve through the amazing power that dwells within everyone: our thoughts. Paula is a Chopra-certified meditation instructor, Ayurveda specialist, and Total Well-Being Life Coach. Everything she did to escape scarcity and achieve abundance is embedded in each chapter.
|
Excerpt from Cancer Moon: How I Survived the Best Years of My Life (She Writes Press) by Jenna Tico. In this book filled with personal humor essays and a collection of poetry, Jenna vulnerably and jovially guides readers through the turbulent twenties -- a.k.a. the “age of wallowing.” Jenna invites women to embrace this necessary phase of life, helping them understand their self-worth and sexuality, empowering them to become who they want to be in the world. "Own your weird!" She validates the experiences of women who feel like they have been abandoned by the generation that came before them. Her self-reflective stories encourage healthy life choices for young women without telling them where, what, or how to live their lives — and always with a healthy dash of humor on the side.
|
Excerpt from Reedemed: A Memoir of Stolen Childhood (She Writes Press) by Penny Lane. Penny is just four years old when she is snatched away from her all-American home by the Hungarian father who abandoned her when she was a baby. After facing isolation and neglect in a strange, dysfunctional household where heartache, rejection, and physical abuse rule her life, she escapes—only to find herself in a relationship with a man who’s just converted to fundamentalist Christianity. A rise-from-the-ashes hero’s story of overcoming abuse, trauma, and unbearable odds, this memoir offers a rare window into Eastern European immigrant culture and serves as an inspiration to women everywhere, encouraging them to overcome their obstacles and go after their dreams.
|
Excerpt from Almost Family (She Writes Press) by Ann Bancroft. Liz has stage four cancer, a grown daughter who doesn’t speak to her, and obsessive memories of a relationship that tore apart her marriage. She thinks of herself as someone who’d rather die than sit through a support group, but she finds friendship and strength with two other patients. The three unlikely friends decide to ditch the regular support group and meet on their own. Their goal is to enjoy life while they can. They joined forces to have a good time — but what they wind up doing is helping one another come to grips with terminal cancer and resolve the unfinished business in their lives.
|
Excerpt from The Black Family's Guide to Healing Emotional Wounds (Nvision Solutions) by Nijiama Smalls and Shamon Smalls. Most of our individual and family problems can be attributed to an unhealed place inside each of us. Filled with vivid examples, tools, and interactive exercises, this book is designed to help every member of the Black Family heal so they can enjoy lives filled with success, love, and purpose and heal in order to show up as their best selves. Topics include self-sabotage, abandonment and trauma.
|
Excerpt from All I Know (Buckberg Mountain Books) by Holly C. LaBarbera. Despite childhood trauma and tragedy, protagonist Kai Martin has never given up, rising from devastation to rebuild her life over and over again. Yet reality is more complicated than any childhood fantasy, and when painful family patterns are reenacted, Kai must decide how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice for Josh, the man she planned to marry. Ultimately, Kai must confront the heartbreaking truth that as much as we try to help the people we love, we can only truly save ourselves. This story of strength and resilience is Holly LaBarbera's first novel.
|
Excerpt from The Sixth Level: Capitalize on the Power of Women's Psychology for Sustainable Leadership (Amplify Publishing) by Stacy Feiner, Psy.D., Kathy K. Overbeke, DBA, Jack D. Harris, Ph.D., and Rachel Wallis Andreasson, MBA. The Sixth Level is a model of leadership that emerges from the experience of successful leaders. Their narratives describe four core differentiators of mutuality, ingenuity, justness, and intrinsic motivation—this is a leadership model for the future. This book teaches leaders to build successful and profitable businesses, while fostering connection and innovation.
|
Excerpt from Childless Mother: A Search for Son and Self (Vanguard Press) by Tracy Mayo. After becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child, Tracy was required to surrender her baby boy at birth and pretend it never happened. Twenty-two years later, her longing undiminished, Tracy set out to find him - and perhaps, through her search, to reclaim her self. Are we moving back to a world where women have no agency, stripped of control of their bodies and their futures? More than fifty years after one frightened, grief-stricken young mother was ordered to forget, Tracy's story is even more important to remember.
|
Excerpt from Now, Near, Next: A Practical Guide for Mid-Career Women to Move from Professional Serendipity to Intentional Advancement (Amplify Publishing) by Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, Ph.D., and Kimberly K. Rath, MBA. This book debunks the myth that putting your head down and working hard is the best way to realize your fullest potential. Energizing self-agency means taking control of your path ahead. Instead of conforming to social norms or other people’s expectations, you look forward with intentionality, action, and reflection. This book will help you develop a roadmap to the next phase in your journey.
|
Excerpt from From Struggle to Strength: A Father's Journey with Autism and the Power of Hope and Positivity (Aurora Corialis Publishing) by Harry Psaros. This excerpt is included as part of our special issue "Celebrating Autism Awareness & Acceptance." From practical advice for nurturing your child's growth to the mental attitudes and mindsets that parents of children with autism need to succeed, this book helps fathers step up and be the support for their children that they long to be. Harry believes there is a way to be informed, to be supportive, and to create a unified front as a family moving forward in their journey together.
|
Excerpt from We Choose JOY: How 22 Women went Beyond Healing to Create Joyful Lives (Aurora Corialis Publishing) curated by Linda Laird Staszewski. The women of We Choose Joy went beyond healing to strive for joy, despite the struggles they have overcome. You'll discover stories of hope, healing, and open-heartedness within these pages that will inspire you to seek joy yourself everywhere you go. These women empower others with their stories of sorrows and triumphs to laugh longer, love harder, and live a life full of joy.
|
Excerpt from The Joy of Imperfect Love: The Art of Creating Healthy, Securely Attached Relationships (Familius LLC) by Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D. Dr. Manly provides a roadmap for a transformative journey of compassionate, healthy love. With research-backed insights, captivating case studies, and empowering exercises, readers explore how attachment issues and unresolved personal issues negatively impact both self-love and the quality of our relationships. Dr. Manly offers sound solutions for creating the awareness and healthy habits that promote lasting love.
|
Excerpt from My American Dream: A Journey from Fascism to Freedom (Five Star Press) by Barbara Sommer Feigin. After discovering that her Jewish father had kept a detailed journal that chronicled her family’s harrowing escape from Nazi Germany, one she has no recollection of, Barbara chose to write a memoir chronicling her family's life in America and their quest for The American Dream. This is a memoir of resilience, grit, and grace, one which tells the story of her life as a young German-speaking refugee who became a trailblazing executive in the advertising industry in the 1960s.
|
NEW! Excerpt from The Music Was Just Getting Good (Andrews McMeel Publishing) by Alicia Cook. Following in the footsteps of her first two installments, Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately (2016) and Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back (2020), Alicia is closing out her trilogy with a poignant and all too relatable look at the ebbs and flows of life and why, even during our most difficult seasons, a better day can appear just around the corner. This collection of poems/blackout poems explore the themes of mental health, hope, recovery and grief.
|
Excerpt from The Politzer Saga (Bethesda Communications Group) by Linda Ambrus Broenniman. The contents of a box that survives a house fire in 2011 becomes the catalyst for a quest whose seeds were planted in 1983 - the day Linda Ambrus Broenniman learned that her Catholic father was Jewish and what little family history she knew was a lie. Searching for truth, Linda pieces together the astonishing story of her Jewish ancestors. Illuminating the destructive power of hatred, dehumanization, and injustice, this powerful story encompasses issues that still echo today.
|