“Parrish is in possession of such precise prose, devilish wit, and big-hearted compassion that I couldn’t help but be drawn into the hijinks and mishaps of the Dugan family. I found myself one moment laughing out loud, and the next, overcome with emotion. I’d compare these linked stories to those of George Saunders, Elizabeth Strout, or perhaps even Flannery O’Connor, if Parrish’s voice weren’t so clearly and wonderfully her own.”
—Ross McMeekin, Editor, Spartan

“Parrish knows the subtle movements of families in turmoil and the flailing attempts at love and peace. She takes you inside the homes of your neighbors, or of people like them, and she captures in fi ne detail their private, crippling agonies and their tiny, saving grace notes. Reading Our Love Could Light the World is like holding up a mirror—you see yourself, and then, if you look closely, you also see things you might otherwise have missed.”
—Craig Lancaster, author of 600 Hours of Edward

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“Clear Lake is the story of a woman in midlife as she wrestles with long-term grief, guilt, betrayal, and confusion on the way to finding peace within herself. Highly readable and inspiring.”
—Cornelia Nixon, author of Angels Go Naked and Jarrettsville

“Nan Gefen has a deft hand at creating emotionally resonant characters who linger in the mind, as dear friends do, long after the mystery tucked into this novel is solved.”
—Joan Steinau Lester, author of Black, White, Other and Mama’s Child

“Written with insight and compassion, Clear Lake introduces us to a likable heroine struggling with confl icting obligations and guilt. We follow her story willingly because we, too, have had the experience of failing those we love and making the wrong choices at critical junctures. The prose is lucid and clear, like the lake of the title.”
—Brenda Webster, author of Vienna Triangle and president of PEN West American Center

“Rebecca’s dilemmas are clearly and gracefully rendered. The investigation into her father’s death raises troubling questions, and it takes the reader through rocky territory, but the trip is worth it as we like Rebecca immensely and are glad to accompany her to her bittersweet emotional destination.”
—Sandy Boucher, author of Turning the Wheel and Discovering Kwan Yin

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“Lopez stumbled onto this connection accidentally by writing her class a heartfelt letter. And they felt her heart and answered by writing her a letter back . . . And so a human hand reaches out to touch another human hand, and learning begins as trust. Class Letters makes all the points that need to be made. It’s simple. It’s real. It’s human. Opening a child’s mind begins with opening a child’s heart.”
—Lily Eskelsen , NEA Vice President

“Class Letters is about the importance of establishing relationships with students and teaching them the importance of being a person of character.”
—Rudolpholph Lope z, Jr., EdD

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“Equal parts Patti Smith’s Just Kids and The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Beautiful Garbage is a voyeuristic panorama of the vice and vanity of the downtown art scene in the 1980s.”
—Ivy Pochoda, author of The Art of Disappearing and Visitation Street

“Beautiful Garbage offers up one woman’s tour of duty of a New York City consumed by art, sex, and ambition. By turns passionate, cruel, shocking, and engrossing, this is a novel steeped in the lure of glamour and transformation the Big Apple’s always had to offer.”
—Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of Women in Lust and Fast Girls

“Beautiful, yes. Garbage, no. Just a captivating story of art, women, friendship, drugs, and self-destruction set against the glittery backdrop of a vanished Manhattan.”
—Elisa Albert, author of The Book of Dahlia

“Beautiful Garbage combines the page-turning ease of a beach read with a polished and ambitious literary tone. As challenging and unconventional as its heroine, Jodi Plum, the book falls into a heritage that includes Plath and Edie Sedgwick, and yet is freshly and con dently dependent on neither.”
—Ruth Fowler, author of Girl, Undressed

“We have all heard the phrase ‘one man’s garbage is another’s treasure.’ Beautiful Garbage happens to be everyone’s treasure. To read this book is to listen to that gritty voice in your own head that keeps repeating, DO IT.”
—Jules Kim, Creator and Owner of Bijules Jewelry

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“This volume has succinct answers to every question a memoir writer might ask, covering every topic from concept and initial purpose to publishing and promotion.”
-Sharon Lippincott, The Heart and Craft of Story

“In Journey of Memoir, Linda Joy Myers draws from her deep pool of understanding and decades of experience with the process of memoir writing.  The coaching found in this book is perfectly designed to help the aspiring memoirist get stories out of her head and onto the page.  An invaluable resource wrought with practicality, sensitivity, and insight, the perfect next step from Myers’ Power of Memoir or as a stand-alone workbook.”
-Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, author of Fire & Water 

“Memoir guru Linda Joy Myers packs a lot into this useful manual. This is more than a workbook full of exercises and prompts—it’s a guide from a veteran who understands the complexity of the memoir journey. If you’re writing a memoir, this workbook will become your new best friend.”
—Brooke Warner, author of What’s Your Book?

“Myers has written the definitive guide on how to transform your life journey into a powerful, well-structured, memorable story that will touch readers. For the beginner or the seasoned writer, Journey of Memoir is destined to become a classic.”
—Jordan E. Rosenfeld, author of Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

“It’s about time someone wrote a real guide for memoirists of all levels. A must-read for anyone who has ever wanted to write their life story but didn’t know where to begin. Concise, simple, and highly effective.”
—Oksana Marafioti, author of American Gypsy

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“No other book entangles romance and grief in such an urgent and beautiful way. Tre Miller Rodriguez writes as she lives: with breathless poise, unmatched style, and fierce bravery.”
-Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance

“Splitting the Difference is a story of love and loss told with flair, ballsy bravado and unflinching honesty.”
-Susan Shapiro, author of 5 Men Who Broke My Heart

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“Duck Pond Epiphany is about things that matter. It is a story about both the lusciousness, and the despair, that accompany true love. Barnes Priestley writes a vibrant account of living life to the fullest, and the bene ts and burdens of authentic relationships. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Sheila Rocker Heppe, Director of Extended Education and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Humboldt State University

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“A heart-wrenching journey set against a richly drawn San Francisco Bay Area, Fire & Water deftly explores trust, wealth, family, and the way love changes the shape of our hearts. What a beautiful exploration of love and mental illness and family. A triumph.”
—Kim Culbertson, author of 2012 NCBA Winner Instructions for a Broken Heart

“You will not be able to put this book down. It celebrates the families we’re born to and those we choose, and digs deep into the diffi culties of wanting love and art in the same life. It examines the cost of being true to yourself, all the while being a total page-turner. Is it possible to say that reading a book might actually make you a better person? I think so, and Fire & Water is just that kind of book. It’s wonderful.”
—Heather Donahue, author of 2011 Growgirl: How My Life After the Blair Witch Project Went to Pot

“Fasbinder writes about ordinary human lives in an extraordinary way, revealing the secrets, desires, and fears that lie under the waters of everyday life. Her prose is deft, sure, and deeply wrought, her story one you will want to follow to the end.”
—Jessica Barksdale Inclan, author of Her Daughter’s Eyes and When You Believe

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