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Written clearly and empathetically, Healing Cancer: The Complete Way by Lawrence Doochin is a guide to healing from cancer and other major health threats, but also an invitation for everyone to reconsider their habits of body and mind. What does it mean to be sick or to be healthy? What does it mean to be happy, and how can that impact our bodies? These and other questions are treated by the author with exquisite care and a vast realm of references, from philosophy to quantum physics, which are both comforting and informative. Told through the authoritative lens of the author’s […]

Following in the tradition of Animal Farm, but with a lighter touch, The Perilous Journey of Gavin the Great by Don Gutteridge is an enchanting fable for all ages, full of poetry and wit. Gavin, a young raccoon, wakes up after a storm to find Earthwood changed into a desert of mud and fog, offering a not-so-subtle allegory to our current living conditions. Gavin knows he needs to take responsibility for his brothers and for all wood creatures in the difficult journey ahead that will redefine what home means for everyone, illustrating how best to act in a time […]

An inventive and continually surprising novel, The Aching Plane by Cody Lakin tells an intimate story about grappling with the past. Since Charlie lost her friend Marion who disappeared when she was only twelve years old, and then her mother who left home when she was seventeen, she has been dealing with deep issues of abandonment. In her twenties, she finds her lifelong hallucinations are getting worse, and one day, she receives a call: Marion is back, and she’s alive, challenging Charlie’s sense of reality. At once surreal and true to life, Lakin’s novel works most of all for […]

Danish Connection: The Dansgaard Family Saga by Keith Thye is a compelling historical epic inspired by the author’s own family heritage. Bjorn Dansgaard, born in a southern Danish town lost to Germany in 1864, is enrolled to fight in World War I as part of the German army. From Europe to America, World War I to 9/11, we follow the Dansgaard family as they love, grieve, and change with the times, for a deeply relatable story that is at once personal and universal. With elegant prose, rich historical detail, and lively, credible characters, Danish Connection shows just how our personal […]

Rosie and the Hobby Farm by Kolina Cicero, with exquisite illustrations by Khoa Le, is an educational yet poetic picture book about the importance of nurturing a caring relationship with the world around you, which ticks all the boxes for superlative children’s literature. Rosie lives at the Hobby Farm with her dog Keeper where she explores the countryside, meeting a cat, a bird, a horse, a pigmy goat, and many other friends. As the seasons roll on, each animal teaches an important lesson, such as the value of patience and self-care, which is subtly bolded in red, while Rosie gives […]