Memoirs & Biography

Absolute Zero

La Dolce Vita or Bust

We've all dreamed of ditching everything and running off to another country, but almost no one ever actually does.

Well, Val feels like she's almost no one. Invisible to her husband and dissatisfied with her life, deep in her soul Val yearns to be someone else. Someone sexy. Someone happy.

So she buys a ti ...

They Called Me 33: Reclaiming Ingo-Waabigwan

Karen longed for acceptance, validation and love, but had no ability to form healthy, meaningful relationships. Born into a large family already suffering the effects of two generations of residential school, and surviving her own nine years at St. Margaret Indian Residential School, Karen (like everyone she knew) had been systematically stripped of her dignity, identity, language, culture, family ...

Andean Adventures: An Unexpected Search for Meaning, Purpose and Discovery Across Three Countries

A memoir of public health and community development service and spiritual discovery overseas in Peace Corps and nongovernmental organization, sharing with self deprecating humor experiences across the Andes and Latin America. For some, a provocative discussion and meditation on searching for meaning and purpose after college. A story of successes, failures, redemption, challenges, faith and persev ...

Kids Say The Darndest Things To Santa Claus Volume 2

Ever wonder what children say to Santa Claus at Christmastime? Or what it would be like to don the Santa suit and portray jolly old St. Nick? Follow this volunteer Santa, author Don Kennedy, as he visits kids for the past 25 years at hospitals, military bases, women's and children's shelters, community centers, school, churches and more. Hundreds of fun, hilarious, laugh-out-loud plus heartwarming ...

The Arrival: how to survive in America

THE ARRIVAL - HOW TO SURVIVE IN AMERICA offers tools and ‘the attitude’ needed to avoid the many pitfalls of America – a vibrate and seductive land - that has many genuine and productive qualities that allow an ordinary person to live an extraordinary life pursuing their dreams. THE ARRIVAL is a reminder that it is the immigrant spirit that keeps the pilot light of hope alive. And despite the real ...

Voices from the Small Stage: Stories by Local Musicians and Friends

This is a compilation of stories from different musicians about "making it" (or not) in the music business.

The book contains several articles about behind-the-scenes  events, musician development, and memorable performances. Music plays such a large part of our lives, and these musicians/authors enjoyed sharing their part in local music history.

Yearning for Nothings and Nobodies

A story about wanting change so badly your teeth itch. When an eleven-year-old girl finds her drug-addicted and mentally ill mother after a seven year separation, she hopes the yearning can finally cease. Instead, a cycle of painfully familiar longing envelops her, until she is freed by losing what she never had. Darkly humorous tales of dropping acid with the town pedophile, playing pool wi ...

The Horse That Haunts My Heart

A coming of age memoir: A horse-crazy girl growing up in the Midwest, Deborah Smith Parker longs to live a cowboy’s life in the West. When she turns 13 her parents allow her to live her dream on a western ranch where she meets her first love -- a horse named Tank. After a bumpy start, their extraordinary relationship begins to emerge, complete with the poignancy, hilarity and drama that tested rel ...

And She Was Never the Same Again: A Multigenerational Memoir 

And She Was Never the Same Again is about you. It is about your family and your friends, everyone you've ever met, and all the strangers you have yet to meet. It takes you on a journey of gains and losses that stretch generations, cultures, identities, and decades of time. It awakens you to the inevitable and makes you look at things most people want to avoid seeing. It explores near-death expe ...

Female Prisoners of World War Two: True stories of 5 incredible women

So often, we remember war heroes as men completing great feats of strength on the battlefield, saving the lives of their fellow soldiers. The stories that are all too often forgotten are those of women. These are true stories of female prisoners of war, courageous nurses taken prisoner while serving in the military to take care of those soldiers. They are the women who risked life and limb to do ...

Dead Men Still Snore

In 2019, on the cusp of early retirement to their lush tropical estate in Belize, Tammy Tyree had it all: a successful hypnotherapy practice, four beautiful children, a brand new grand-baby, and a wonderful marriage to her beloved husband Michael. Life in Belize held the promise of everything she and Michael had dreamed of and had worked so hard to build. Until it all came to a fatal halt in the b ...

The Art of Healthcare Innovation: Interviews and Industry Insights from 35 Game-Changing Pioneers

What if you had a crystal ball that revealed the future of the healthcare landscape? Wouldn’t you want that ball? Think of how that information could boost your success and impact your future. You could be on the cutting-edge of change and reap the rewards. Accept that change is inescapable. Discover how healthcare changes will impact you, your family, and your career. Listen to pioneers who share ...

Gaining An Angel

Jammie Fabick, a mother of three, never dreamed she'd receive the phone call she did on February 8, 2014. She heard no cheery hello from the opposite end of the line, only her husband's voice relaying the two words that would change her world forever.

“Helen’s dead.”

That's how the nightmare of losing her teenage daughter began---a nightmare that would go on to destroy everythin ...

DRIVING ITALY

Two intrepid curmudgeons. A leased SUV with red plates. Ten thousand miles of twisty roads. What could go wrong? Changing zip codes every day? But of course! Folding your mirrors to squeeze through narrow lanes? Sign us up. Eating unidentified animal parts? Why not? But sorting out the trash in Sardinia? You'd need a Ph.D. for that! Driving Italy is the irreverent memoir of our winter chasin ...

Daytime Lives of the Ladies of the Night

This well-written, heartbreaking true crime short story reminds us all of the fact that no matter where you start in life, we all want the same things: the American dream. Success is within your reach if you have the desire and determination to change your destiny A true story of survival and resilience, The Daytime Lives of the Ladies of the Night, details the day light hours of three women survi ...

To Argue With Oblivion

The battle is part of the journey. When death knocks on your door, do you answer and let it in? Anthony Wright didn't, and he's here to tell the story After fifteen surgeries to cure a series of brain tumors, Wright was desperate for a reprieve. A week in a coma, a month in a wheelchair and nearly blinded, Wright struggled for survival--despite the grim prognosis.

GodPrints: Finding Evidence of God in the Shattered Pieces of Life

“No. No. No. The state troopers had finally figured out where Jacob was—the morgue. Would we lose Caleb too? Oh, God. Please, no. We can’t lose them both in one night.” Having survived stage 4 cancer, Jenny Leavitt thinks she’s endured the greatest test of her life. Little does she know that her worst nightmare is still to come. In a single moment, a collision with a drunk driver takes the life ...

Plantains and the Seven Plagues: a memoir: Half-Dominican, Half-Cuban, and Full Life

Author Paz Ellis takes readers on a cross-cultural and trans-generational journey through her childhood in New Jersey to adulthood with Plantains and the Seven Plagues, A Memoir: Half-Dominican, Half-Cuban, and Full Life.Paz insightfully describes the complexities and contradictions of growing up in the United States to a Dominican mother and a Cuban father. From her mother’s obsessive cleaning ri ...

Stop Killing Us

USA Today Bestselling Author Terry Keys takes aim at the racial divide facing America today in this breathtaking memoir. Terry Keys takes you through his journey of being a black man in south Texas. Travel with him as he discusses being in an inter-racial relationship to his days in law enforcement. Keys revisits some of his darkest days as he recounts the racism that he’s endured. It is a safe pl ...

My Rite of Passage During the Summer of '76

H. Downing Lane describes his adventures as a young sailor across the Atlantic.

H. Downing Lane has been a retired educator, tutoring business owner, private high school teacher, sailing coach and school administrator. Born and raised on Maryland's Eastern Shore, H. Downing taught sailing on Long Island Sound, raced competitively on the Chesapeake Bay, crewed transatlantic to Norway, cr ...

Life with Ollie: The Story of a Single Narcissistic Parent

This is not a self-help or a how-to book. This is the story of the metamorphosis of a timid, fear filled child who finally blossomed into a warrior. I have many scars that no one can see, but they are healed now. Through these battles to become a warrior, I have helped the wounded souls that have come to me and seen them overcome their demons to stand tall and proud of who they are. It has brought ...

Female Spies of World War One: True stories of 6 courageous women, their rich-detailed lives of espionage and how they survived, or did they?

Female Spies of World War One tells the true stories of 6 courageous women living in a constant state of awareness, always looking over their shoulder for fear of being discovered, and always striving to stay one step ahead of the enemy. These women are: ● Gabrielle Petit ● Despina Storch ● Felice Schmidt ● Louise de Bettignies ● Sarah Aaronsohn ● Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois Read how ...

When will it stop hurting?: One man's journey through grief

"A powerful personal account of one man's mourning process, WHEN WILL IT STOP HURTING? offers hope to those who have lost loved ones and feel trapped in a forest of grief." - 4 out 5 stars from IndieReader! Crystle was the love of his life. For thirty-six years they had done everything together. As retirement approached all he could think of was spending even more time with his beautiful wife, gro ...

ANDEAN ADVENTURES

Service is a calling. When one man answered, he would change lives. Allan J. "Doctor Alonzo" Wind had strong views about futurism and fighting society’s injustices, even as a boy. He was an early Earth Day activist for environmentalism, and political corruption. In college he joined different causes including “No Nukes” and against authoritarian regimes. Despite finishing college with some pend ...

And Still I Cry

The moving, inspiring story of Barbara A. Robinson's journey from poverty to the State Senate. Suffering through abuse from her stepfather; on-the-job gender, age, and racial discrimination; homelessness, rape and other modern horrors, Barbara's determination and faith makes her an inspiration to her community and everyone who hears her story.

Born Into Crisis

In his debut memoir, “Born Into Crisis” (Burning Soul Press, May 2, 2023), pastor and community organizer Kenneth Nixon Jr. discusses the necessary steps to healing and breaking free from the cycles of family traumas. Drawing from his own experience with dysfunctional family dynamics, Kenneth uses his story to call attention to the need for systemic change in our mental health system. The Ameri ...

Miss I wish you a bed of roses: Teaching Secondary School English in Greece

Teaching: you’re frustrated and exhausted one day, gratified and fulfilled the next. Teaching is not like other careers; we teachers give our whole self to our students day after day. Blending humorous memoir and teaching ideas, the author of “Miss, I wish you a bed of roses:” Teaching Secondary School English in Greece, looks back on her 40 years of teaching international students. She writes abo ...

The Strange Ways of Providence In My Life

Happy childhood, horrors of war and the miraculous rescue of the only child survivor from Obertyn Krystyna Carmi's childhood in Obertyn was full of happy moments. Her childhood was filled with friends, both Polish and Ukrainian, and she attended a Ukrainian school. Krystyna Carmi was gifted with an extraordinary memory, and in this memoir, she vividly recounts the history of her family and her lif ...

Into Africa a Personal Journey

A remarkable and intriguing story about a journey to West Africa, the land of Blackwood’s ancestors. Into Africa, a Personal Journey begins in Nigeria with exposure to the tight control by the military that causes Blackwood to experience fear as never before. The journey takes her on an exploration of a new mysterious world where she experiences joy and wonderment as she shares in the lives of fam ...

I Was Just a Radioman

Their hearts were strong, and their courage endless. Pearl Harbor survivor, Black Cat radioman, and decorated WW 2 veteran. ARM H. P. Lawrence, tells the true story of the fight against the Japanese in this compilation of his memoirs. One of only a handful of non-Native American code-talkers, H. P. Lawrence became a member of an elite fighting force, the Black Cats. Flying in their nocturnal missi ...

Alchemizing Exploitation

In a world where the undercurrent of sexual exploitation runs deeper than you may know, “Alchemizing Exploitation” takes you on the courageous journey of a survivor.

Sarah’s story begins with an exploration into the very heart of human sex trafficking in the US through her personal experience. She combines data with heart, revealing the magnitude and severity of slavery in the current a ...

My Morning Musings

A captivating journal tracing her journey from anxiety and imposter syndrome to self-fulfillment. As an accomplished author, Hawkins unveils her struggles, from self-doubt to self-discovery, and shares her insights on serial writing, advertising, and scheduling.
With raw honesty, she inspires us to embrace authenticity and confront inner battles. This journal is a testament to resilience, a s ...

Letters From A Warrior, P.S. Mom, I Love You

"Letters From A Warrior, P.S. Mom, I Love You" is a captivating true story full of adventure and self-discovery. It is portrayed with a relentless wit that offers an intimate glimpse into the world of the US Marine Corps Boot Camp in 1960. This is all done through the eyes of a young man who trades his small-town roots in Minot, North Dakota for the thrilling and challenging life of a Marine.
...

AVENTURAS ANDINAS

El servicio es un llamado. Cuando un hombre responde a él, puede cambiar vidas. Allan J. "Alonzo" Wind tenía una fuerte visión sobre las injusticias de la sociedad, incluso desde que era un niño. Así que, a pesar de terminar la universidad con algunos créditos incompletos, cumplió su promesa de unirse al Cuerpo de Paz para ayudar a los demás. Esperando regresar a los EE.UU. después del período ...

Love At First Sight - A Mother's Journey to Adoption

Adopting a child is one of the most rewarding, satisfying life experiences a person can have. It is an unconditional commitment of love both ways. This memoir depicts Raj Arneja's story of becoming a mother, the journey that took her 7,000 miles from her home on the west coast of Canada all the way to India in the 1990s to adopt her now fully-grown children. This is not a how-to book on adoption; ...

A Chemical Engineer in the Palm Oil Milling Industry

Palm oil is a big business. Palm oil has been widely used in food and non-food industries. More than half the products on sale in supermarkets are made with palm oil—yet many people hardly know anything about this industry. They don’t even know chemical engineers have a significant role to play in this industry. This book provides a series of episodes for you to discover the opportunities chemical ...

Laowai Lost

The true story of a young woman's first steps abroad, this memoir traverses the cities of Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an, Beijing, and Yangshuo, China. From the dynamic experience of exploring foreign cities to the tableau of international student life, Laowai Lost samples the tastes, sights and sounds of a far-off land - first through the fresh eyes of a rookie traveler, then with new insight as the a ...

3mph: The Adventures of One Woman's Walk Around the World

Polly Letofsky left her home in Colorado and headed west across 4 continents and over 14,000 miles—by foot—to become the first woman to walk around the world. As an awareness campaign for breast cancer, strangers welcomed her into their homes. But it was never an easy road. Polly struggled with earthquakes, muggings, languages, even religious riots. The ultimate challenge came in the middle o ...

Bipolar-A Gift of Thorns

Dale is seven when her abusive father dies while on a secret mission for the US military. Left with her four siblings and neglectful mother in a remote corner of New Mexico, Dale inherits her father’s complicated legacy of intelligence and instability.

Never a $7 Whore

It doesn’t matter where you start, it matters where you finish.

She should have been a $7 whore but she became a Fortune 50 Vice President. A true crime memoir of survival and resilience, Never a $7 Whore, is the story of a teenaged single mothers escape from her unscrupulous lover. Part one of a three part series, NEVER A $7 Whore details Toni’s transition from a girl into a woman whil ...

Golden Monkey

Little Lance Pototschnik wanted to grow up and play pro football, but that pipe dream got smoked by his lethargic growth hormones and a terrible skin disorder. The death of his childhood aspirations did, however, plant the seeds for Lance to find comedy in rejection and suffering. In this gaspingly funny collection of stories, Lance’s battle with disease, his overbearing parents, and his maniacal ...

Step Lively: New York City Tales of Love and Change

Step back in time to 1980 in New York City. “Step lively” – what the subway conductors used to say when you got off the train -- describes Jill, as she and her husband Alex “step lively” in adjusting to their new life in Manhattan. In their move to the city, they realize a long held dream, and struggle like all of us, to find their place in the world. Each tale is a slice of life of the “ordinary, ...

Pebbles: Insightful Stories for a Meaningful Life

Forty sweet, stirring genuine stories, each a gem revealing moments of grace

From Beijing to Bogota, from the waves of the sea to the waves of the heart, the 40 inspirational stories in this book present moments that carve into us new realizations, shaping the building blocks of who we are. They come from a deep sense of gratitude for the incredible abundance of humanity, the colorful p ...

The Shell of a Person

"Never have disgusting, miserable living conditions been so funny. When someone finally finds a way to send back a report from hell, I hope it will be Lance Pototschnik. Except this guy is going to heaven, for the way he writes." --The Kindle Book Review “Welcome to beautiful Costa Rica! Come and experience our diverse wildlife. Exhume nests of dead baby turtles and stay up all night while mosquit ...

I Am Eli

A Wild Ride to Redemption

We Can't Be Friends: A True Story

The companion to The Dead Inside, "[An] unnerving and heartrending memoir" (Publishers Weekly) This is the story of my return to high school. This is the true story of how I didn't die. High school sucks for a lot of people. High school extra sucks when you believe, deep in your soul, that every kid in the school is out to get you. I wasn't popular before I got locked up in Straight Inc., the noto ...

Someone Else's Life

“Trying to be someone else, Simon lived someone else’s life.” Raised by a narcissist and ridiculed for his chronic dyslexia, Simon quickly learned the defensive power of humor. After leaving school at fifteen with no qualifications, he created an alter-ego who became the person Simon believed he could never be.

Confused? So was he during every day of his tumultuous, yet seemingly succes ...

Bob Ross: The Biography of Bob Ross

University Press returns with another short and captivating biography of one of history’s most compelling figures: Bob Ross. Bob Ross. Painter. Teacher. Guru. Icon. How did Ross go from being a high school dropout to one of the most famous modern artists in the world? This short biography of Bob Ross is a must-read, for it tells the intensely human story of a truly exceptional man who changed the ...

The Bloody Century: True Tales of Murder in 19th Century America

The Bloody Century retells the stories of Americans, driven by desperation, greed, jealousy, or an irrational bloodlust, to take the life of someone around them. It presents 50 of the most intriguing murder cases from the archives of American crime. Richly illustrated with scenes and portraits from the time of the murders, and including songs and poems written to commemorate the crimes, The Blo ...

Hollywood Ending

The 2008 recession hits. The US economy goes belly-up and sentences a young generation to wayward lives. With nothing to lose, Lance Pototschnik and his best friend, Jackson Greenly, decide to go for their artist dreams. Lance begins a grassroots initiative to sell an original screenplay to Hollywood. He lives out of a rental car and travels the country filming strangers' street auditions, hoping ...

The King Who Would Be Man

Haunted by childhood abuse and triggered by years of emotional turmoil in a hostile work environment, The King Who Would Be Man's unnamed narrator is trapped in a maze of madness, struggling to fight the demons tormenting him. But while he's clawing his way toward the light, darker forces have other plans in mind. Follow this unnamed narrator—who could easily be any of us—in this compelling narrat ...

My Pocket of Fears: On Love, Depression, and other Mental Disorders

Discover the raw and unfiltered emotions of love, depression, and mental disorders with My Pocket of Fears. Written by indie author Jonathan C. Ashline, this collection of emotional poems and short stories will take you on a journey through the author's personal experiences and struggles. With 109 pages of powerful and thought-provoking content, this eBook is not for the faint of heart. Prepare to ...

Happy Bastards: An Eye-Opening Guide to an Extraordinary Life and Not Oversleeping on What Matters Most

Do you feel unsatisfied with your life, work, or relationships? F!*k satisfaction! There’s something more than happiness and success. Break through the limits society has put on you. Discover a meaningful life, full of bliss and joy, experienced by happy bastards. Happy Bastards is a radical memoir and self-development book written by entrepreneur, blogger, and life provocateur Alex Monaco. Alex l ...

3mph: The Adventures of One Woman's Walk Around the World

Polly Letofsky left her Colorado home and headed west across 4 continents and over 14,000 miles--by foot--to become the first woman to walk around the world. In a spirit of adventure, along with the goal of raising global awareness for breast cancer, strangers welcomed her into their homes. The world had embraced her. But in the middle of Polly's journey, 9/11 flung us all into a crossroads in wor ...

SCATTERSHOT: My Journey from the Projects to Paris to Rodeo Drive