Part One, “Getting Help,” recounts Bossarte’s extensive exploration of individual and group therapies, giving a comprehensive overview of what to expect. “Embracing Joy” recalls her emotional and physical outlets: exercise, yoga, creative writing, and photography. “Figuring It Out and Moving On” explores the thorny issues of how and with whom she chose to share her traumatic experiences, and strategies for […]
An unfiltered glimpse into the minds, struggles, failures, and joys of frontline workers who have faced Covid-19 across the world, Covid Chronicles by Dr. Therese Zink is a compassionate and eye-opening collection of real-life stories about the current moment.
From a methodical exploration of PPE and the physical discomforts of a hospital battlefield, to the desperation of group home caretakers and the systemic racism that reared its head so often during this pandemic, these stories are remarkably engaging. Based on a series of interviews, there are lighthearted moments of resilience between overworked doctors, as well as painful introductions to […]
This stirring memoir is a testament to love, resilience in the face of life’s challenges, and the power of faith that fuels this compelling and compassionate family. The first half of the book largely covers the trauma and perpetual anxiety of Nick’s uncertain first year of life after heart transplantation, painfully penned through the eyes of his watchful mother. Capturing that amount of grief and worry in prose is daunting, but May is fearless in her […]
The emotionally charged yet sensible treatise, Just Buy Her a Dress and She’ll Be Fine by Amanda Dodson Gremillion, is the moving story of postpartum depression and OCD as it played out in the author’s own life, and how that became a medium for guiding others.
Gremillion’s mental distress seemed to begin when she had her first child. She and her husband Jay had met in their early teens, courted for ten years, and married – happily, at first. Both wanted a child and when their daughter Aubrie Lynn was born, she was welcomed.
Soon afterwards, the problems set in. […]
Having recovered from a battle with “the black dog,” as depression is sometimes known, author Robert Nicholls shares the discoveries gained in that difficult process in Surviving the Darkness: Lessons Learned from a Battle with Depression and Anxiety.
Nicholls was a successful business owner, a specialist in business law, and former prosecutor, who had made significant headway in life as a husband, father, and professional. In pursuing his ambitions, he began to neglect all aspects of life except his work – he took less time for recreation, became chronically tired, gained weight, became fearful about social connections, and began […]
For this active, healthy, happy and high-functioning author, the shock and impact of a breast cancer diagnosis is depicted with intense authenticity, but there is also an impressive matter-of-factness about the prose that doesn’t lean heavily on emotional musing. Beautiful moments of reflection are supported by displays of indomitable strength, which make it an essential read for anyone whose life has been touched by cancer.
Not only is this a viscerally descriptive narrative of a daunting […]
The complex and painful decisions surrounding breast cancer are explored in intimate detail in Resurrection Lily: The BRCA Gene, Hereditary Cancer & Lifesaving Whispers from the Grandmother I Never Knew, a raw and impactful memoir by Amy Byer Shainman.
Cancer can often seem like a constant threat, but there are some people at dramatically increased risks, especially women with a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA 2 gene. After discovering that she possesses a gene mutation that greatly increases her changes of developing breast cancer, Shainman comes to terms with this looming threat and embarks on an inspiring journey […]
Recalling the final months leading up to her husband’s death, author Martha Calihan explores the spiritual meaning of death – its sorrows and blessings – in the moving A Death Lived.
The author’s husband Charles, who had survived cancer and a major heart attack, was rushed to the ER one fateful morning with pain in his right foot. Calihan, a physician, knew his condition could lead to an amputation, but after many complications, Charles returned home, seemingly recovered. The couple, who had known each other for most of their lives and been married more than thirty years, went back […]