Play & Book Excerpts
Find exclusive excerpts from books written by bestselling and first-time authors as well as experts in particular fields of interest. Excerpts from community plays are also available here. Thanks to all who shared their work. Click on image to view excerpt.
NEW! 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.
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NEW! 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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