Category: Memoir/Biography/Autobiography

“Nonni in Japan: Around the World at 80 Years Old!” by Jon Svensson

January 30, 2023

Everyone dreams of visiting a country, and for Icelandic author Jon Svensson, who is often called “Nonni,” his “dream country” to visit was Japan. He was fascinated by Japan as a boy and learned everything he could about it as he grew up. It is when he is in his elderly years that he finally makes that dream come true, and his book, “Nonni in Japan,” is about his adventurous sailing trip to Japan, as well as his many experiences there. … More “Nonni in Japan: Around the World at 80 Years Old!” by Jon Svensson

“Where the Lilacs Bloom Once Again: Friddie’s Story” by Roni Rosenthal

January 27, 2023

Where the Lilacs Bloom Once Again is an honest and extremely captivating story of Friddie and members of her family living in a pre-World War II world in Romania. With this book, the author has given readers a true and very engaging account of the horrible hardships that this family went through during a horrible time. … More “Where the Lilacs Bloom Once Again: Friddie’s Story” by Roni Rosenthal

“All In With Love” by James Gardiner

January 23, 2023

Despite his sickly childhood—in and out of hospitals due to severe asthma—James (Jimmy) Gardiner wasn’t about to settle for anything less than greatness. As his boyhood hero proclaimed, Jimmy would “boldly go where no man has gone before” (well, sort of.) The young boy with a huge imagination found a way to manage the disease, leading to his interest in rowing and securing a position on the University of Rhode Island rowing team. But the stars in his eyes and the hunger for attention and external validation propelled Jimmy to head for New York to pursue acting. … More “All In With Love” by James Gardiner

“Regrets, Love, Sex, and Life Lessons” by Melissa Owens

January 20, 2023

“Regrets, Love, Sex and Life Lessons” by Melissa Owens is a blend of bristling, real-life short stories chock full of prudent life lessons and guidance. The narration starts with an emotional recount of the author’s health journey in and out of psychiatric hospitals due to the euphoric and unusually irritable effects of her bipolar disorder condition. Her mental agitations would cause her tormenting problems and a break from reality for a long time. In one of the psychiatric hospitals, she meets a man whose interests and chemistry are undeniably beatific, but the relationship is short-lived when a tragic occurrence happens. … More “Regrets, Love, Sex, and Life Lessons” by Melissa Owens

“Painting Joy: The Art and Life of Fernando Llort” by Teddi Ahrens

January 18, 2023

Rich culture, sorrowful history, and renewed faith in mankind are found in the life of the late artist Fernando Llort. The title of his bibliography by Teddi Ahrens is accurate, “Painting Joy” encompasses Llort’s life in San Salvador and La Palma (from 1949 to 2018) as he works through discovering himself as a person, as a citizen during bad times, as a family man, and as an artist. … More “Painting Joy: The Art and Life of Fernando Llort” by Teddi Ahrens

“Land of Bear and Eagle” by Tanyo Ravicz

January 14, 2023

“Land of Bear and Eagle” introduces readers to Tanyo Ravicz, a man who felt drawn to the Alaskan Wilderness and his chance of creating a homestead. Readers will also meet his wife, Martina, and their two children, along with some of the other residents of Kodiak Island. Readers will learn some of the culture and other inhabitants of Kodiak Island, not just the humans that tried to create a life on the island. Readers will learn what it meant to become a homesteader and some of the regulations that wannabe homesteaders had to follow in order to successfully claim their land. … More “Land of Bear and Eagle” by Tanyo Ravicz

“She is My Child” by Tammy Coulter

January 7, 2023

“She is My Child” is a heartfelt and insightful memoir about love, family, and the power of spirituality in coping with illness.

Already blessed with their son Grant, the Coulter’s are thrilled at the addition to the family in their daughter Ava, but at nine months old they notice an odd curvature to her spine. She is eventually diagnosed at fourteen months old with Morquio Syndrome, a rare, progressive, genetic disorder. … More “She is My Child” by Tammy Coulter

Meet the Author! A Conversation with Heather Shtuka, Author of “Missing from Me”

January 2, 2023

Heather Shtuka was an ordinary daughter, wife, friend and mother of three beautiful children.  In between all these titles, she went to school, played sports, made friends, skinned knees, had first kisses, butterflies, broken hearts, adventures, a career, a wedding and three uneventful but deeply moving births. A perfectly imperfect life, one of her own making.   Until February 17, 2018, when she received the notification that her first born and only son, Ryan was missing from Sun Peaks, B.C.  She waved goodbye to him only two months earlier as he left on his own to work a seasonal position in the ski resort, 9 ½ hours away, never imagining this would be the last time she would see him. … More Meet the Author! A Conversation with Heather Shtuka, Author of “Missing from Me”