Readers' Choice Book Awards Bronze Winner, Adult Nonfiction

Some journeys we choose. Others choose us.

In the aftermath of tragedy, Barry Hoffner wanted to feel the pulse of the world again. The whole world.

When Barry Hoffner lost his wife and travel partner, Jackie, in a sudden tragedy, his grief was a black hole that consumed everything. But amid the quiet wreckage of loss, something unexpected stirred: the call to move, to reconnect, and to live fully again.

What began as a reluctant return to the road became an audacious mission to visit all 193 countries on Earth—not to escape his pain, but to transform it. Along the way, Barry discovered a world with far more depth and complexity than headlines suggest—one full of unexpected joy, even amid hardship and struggle. From war zones to mountaintops, refugee camps to ancient ruins, he found people whose kindness and openness brought him back to life.

Belonging to the World is a deeply felt memoir of healing from grief, finding resilience, and forging human connection across the globe.

Nate and Vanessa started The War, but only their son Matthew can end it!
Young Matthew’s world shatters when his parents split up and put him in the middle of their custody battle. Desperate to escape their never-ending conflicts, Matthew imitates his hero, Luke Skywalker, and launches an against-all-odds mission to stop Mom and Dad’s war of vengeance! Will Matthew’s little brother Thomas Rabbit help blow up the Divorce War Death Star, or will he hide and play with his bunnies?
Love Wars: Clash of the Parents is a true story of youthful bravery that will inspire readers of all ages, and a wacky account of one family’s wretched yet hilarious nuclear meltdown . . . with an unexpected and unforgettable ending.
Filled with beautiful illustrations created by renowned artist Tsuneo Sanda, Matthew Tower’s memoir is a page-turner for readers of all ages, whether or not they have been affected by divorce and family discord.

In this true story, an unexpected revelation upends a son’s understanding of everything he thought he knew about his father—setting him on a journey of discovery as he attempts to piece together the truth.

After Glenn Wichinsky’s parents divorced, his mother took him and his siblings away from their father’s questionable life choices. Glenn grew up in a sheltered South Florida neighborhood, dreaming of becoming a meteorologist. It wasn’t until he was thirteen, on a visit to Las Vegas to see the father he barely knew, that Glenn’s eyes opened to a wider world. A far cry from his life in Florida, the trips he made to the Sands Hotel and Casino over the years to see his father felt like living in a movie. Michael “Mickey” Wichinsky, a respected and noted pioneer in the slot machine and gaming industry, led a life of intrigue—where showgirls, glitz, and glamour sparkled around every corner and backroom deals with mobsters were simply part of doing business.

It was only after his father’s death that Glenn discovered how deep the ties had been between Mickey and the Mob, forcing him to reconcile his father’s early life and work in Las Vegas with his understanding of the kind and generous man he knew. Told with honesty, heart, and deep self-reflection, Things Left Unsaid is both a personal odyssey and a fascinating dive into the history of the Nevada gaming industry by a man trying to reframe the story of his father’s past—and his own.

Over forty years, Marsh and her partner built a life defined by love, devotion, and independence. He supported her when she bought her home in California wine country, when she grieved the deaths of her parents, when she built her career as a psychotherapist, and even when she overcame a lifelong fear of dogs to adopt a rescued greyhound.

They never married or shared a home—by choice. They were lovers and confidants, deeply committed to one another. More than a romance, theirs was a relationship based on honesty and shared emotion. Yet, they only met on Tuesdays and Fridays.

And then, one day, he vanished.

When Marsh finally tracked him down, she discovered the unimaginable: he had suffered a catastrophic stroke. His memory was gone. He could no longer speak. And he was living with a woman who knew him by a different name.

What was the truth? With him unreachable behind the devastation of his illness, and with the danger that exposing their relationship could cause irreparable harm, Marsh was left to confront a hall of mirrors—plagued by questions, silences, and uncertainty.

In the end, she discovered a universal reality: we all live with some unknowable mystery. The memoir ends with a question: Do we spend our lives searching in vain for an answer, or do we find a version of the truth we can live with, and live with it?

Doug Levy is a lifelong sports buff who worked several years as a sports reporter, sports columnist, and news reporter for The (Vancouver) Columbian and the Tri-City Herald, among others.

"Doug Levy's well-researched book contains... Olympic stories of courage," Sebastian Coe, two-time gold medalist, set twelve track-and-field world records.

What does it mean to be a hero—in sports and in life?

Heroes aren’t just the ones who bring home medals. Hero Redefined delves into the lesser-known stories of Olympic athletes—and a couple of special Olympic venues—that challenge the conventional narrative of glory and gold. In riveting personal profiles exploring herculean feats of strength, perseverance, and sportsmanship, award-winning sports journalist Doug Levy offers a new vision of heroism. There is more than one path to greatness, and the extraordinary acts of resilience and personal sacrifice by these athletes have left an indelible mark on the spirit of the Olympic games in quiet but fundamental ways through the ages.

Each chapter reveals a different face of heroism—immense resilience, strength of character, unparalleled sportsmanship, an incredible zeal to compete, and a seemingly superhuman will to finish. Throughout, Levy celebrates the heroic human spirit and its relentless drive to carry the torch forward—both inside and outside of the Olympic Games.

A powerful and hopeful essay collection exploring grief, courage, and the healing power of nature.

In October 2018, Dr. Renée Brown Harmon lost her husband, Harvey, to younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease when he was only fifty-eight years old. After Harvey’s passing and nearly a decade of caring for him, Harmon found solace in hiking, nature, and travel—discovering that even when she felt frozen in her grief, her feet would keep her moving.

With Life Hikes, a memoir in three parts, Harmon shares her journey of self-discovery in the wake of loss with authenticity, candor, and grace. From an encounter with gigantic Galápagos tortoises to the 19,000-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro to the mythology-steeped Greek island of Ithaca, she explores the parts of herself and the edges of her grief that will ultimately bring her through it.

Like Harmon’s acclaimed first memoir, Surfing the Waves of Alzheimer’s, this collection is a triumphant tale of finding a new and authentic life through kindness, community, mindfulness, and the knowledge that the search for lost strength can sometimes reveal new and more powerful versions of ourselves.

“A funny, delightful, and incisive tour of working odd jobs.” —Kirkus
“Wild… Reading this book is a ride.” —Independent Book Review
“Fast, matter-of-fact, and full of memorable moments.” —San Francisco Book Review
“Insightful, humorous, and engaging.” —The US Review of Books

Job Junky is a bare-bones memoir of work, survival, and everything in between. Told in short, raw chapters, it reads more like a barstool confession than a polished life story.

Rudy Ridolfo worked over 50 jobs while chasing a creative dream—from managing shady bars and moving trucks to airport tarmacs, martial arts dojos, and indie film sets. Along the way, he crossed paths with unforgettable coworkers, chaotic bosses, and even icons like Al Pacino and Robert Redford—learning not from their fame, but from how they worked.

There’s no tidy arc or grand revelation here. Just true stories from the grind—gritty, absurd, and unexpectedly funny.

If you’ve ever clocked in, burned out, or wondered what the hell you’re doing with your life—this one’s for you.

Lina had the idyllic childhood—until descending into mental chaos.

Caught in a chaotic world of her own making, Lina resorts to recording her teenage thoughts to make sense of her anguish. She shares the details of her life obsessively with her sister and her friends, in millions of words eventually found by their father.

Lost in the dark, Lina navigates the childhood evidence later found in her archives. But will her research open a pathway to love—or help her continue down the path of blame, false memories, and spite?

The past and present events are Lina’s direct experience through her eyes and words, faithfully condensed by her father. The future events—Lina’s therapy and mature reflections—were projected by the author and a senior psychologist with access to the source material.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls comes the never-before-told story of a small cadre of influential female spies in the precarious early days of the CIA—women who helped create the template for cutting-edge espionage (and blazed new paths for equality in the workplace) in the treacherous post-WWII era.

In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the “wise gals” by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels. They were smart, courageous, and groundbreaking agents at the top of their class, instrumental in both developing innovative tools for intelligence gathering—and insisting (in their own unique ways) that they receive the credit and pay their expertise deserved.
     Throughout the Cold War era, each woman had a vital role to play on the international stage. Adelaide rose through the ranks, developing new cryptosystems that advanced how spies communicate with each other.  Mary worked overseas in Europe and Asia, building partnerships and allegiances that would last decades. Elizabeth would risk her life in the Middle East in order to gain intelligence on deadly Soviet weaponry. Eloise would wield influence on scientific and technical operations worldwide, ultimately exposing global terrorism threats. Through their friendship and shared sense of purpose, they rose to positions of power and were able to make real change in a traditionally “male, pale, and Yale” organization—but not without some tragic losses and real heartache along the way.   
     Meticulously researched and beautifully told, Holt uses firsthand interviews with past and present officials and declassified government documents to uncover the stories of these four inspirational women. Wise Gals sheds a light on the untold history of the women whose daring foreign intrigues, domestic persistence, and fighting spirit have been and continue to be instrumental to our country’s security.

A true romance memoir. "This is like drinking tea and honey on a cold day." When tragedy struck, I thought for sure that my own life was at an end. I was wrong. This is the true story of how two stray rescue cats and a woman named Kitty, whom I finally met after a wild ride of internet dating, brought love, romance, and laughter back into my life.

Love was then.
Love is now.
Love is forever.

WINNER of the 2018 Stephen Memorial Award
FINALIST for the 2014 RONE AWARD

If you love reading feel-good memoirs, then don't miss THE THREE KITTIES THAT SAVED MY LIFE, where "Mike Meyer pens a tender tale of love, loss, and renewal. The depth of emotion is palpable...The Three Kitties will tug at readers' heartstrings, as they ride through the emotional highs and lows of Mike Meyer's remarkable story." - InD'tale Magazine

​Whispers Across a Sea is a sweeping novel that follows three generations of the Anglo-Irish Young family in Victorian Ireland, where Irish desire for independence from Britain is building. How will the family evolve in the ever-changing social and political landscape of the country they call home?

In 1920, Ireland stands on the brink of civil war. Lucie returns to her familial home to settle the estate, where she uncovers an abundance of handwritten letters—a lifetime’s worth of cherished memories and guarded secrets between her mother and aunts—as well as her grandfather’s diary. As she reads through her findings, Lucie begins to wonder just how well she knew her relatives and the circumstances of their lives. Norah, a close childhood friend and the daughter of a former family servant, helps her work through the notes, and their conversations remind Lucie that she and Norah live in very different worlds. Norah is Irish; Lucie is Anglo-Irish. As the two women look into the past, it becomes evident that Norah has always known more about Lucie’s life than Lucie has ever understood of Norah’s. And Lucie realizes that she has been unaware of the disquiet in Ireland’s streets—but then again, the elder members of her family, so completely involved in their own lives, didn’t appear to notice either. . . .

Whispers Across a Sea is a compelling novel that traces three generations of Lucie’s Anglo-Irish family as they navigate the nuances of life in their adopted country of Ireland. Within the home, the family’s Irish servants make sure the lives of the Youngs remain comfortable while silently observing their employers’ detachment from the realities of life in Ireland—a country where a lengthy, violent, and divisive struggle is beginning. How long will the Youngs be able to close their eyes to the shifting world outside their door?

“This is a book I immediately wanted to give to a friend—and keep a copy for my bookshelf. Wise, clear, well-researched, and helpful.” —Katy Butler, bestselling author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door and The Art of Dying Well

When Dr. Beverly E. Thorn became a caregiver for her husband, Walt, she joined a massive army. Worldwide, unpaid dementia caregiving requires the equivalent of forty million full-time workers, and that number will only grow. But navigating dementia caregiving can feel like trying to climb a mountain in the dark—and few resources exist to support caregivers in finding their way.

In Before I Lose My Own Mind, Thorn—a psychologist, neuroscientist, and end-of-life doula—provides an honest vision of caregiving that is tender, openhearted, and genuinely useful. Filled with resources and insights on financial planning, advance care directives, clinical trials, support groups, death with dignity, grief, recovery, and more, this book is a roadmap for all caregivers, whether they’re family or friends, spouses or children, professionals or novices.

For those coping with the grief, exhaustion, and loneliness of a challenge they never expected, help is out there. Surviving dementia caregiving is a team effort. Consider this book a part of your support crew.

Le Mort de Moi is a hauntingly raw and poetic exploration of trauma, identity, and the desperate fight for self-reclamation. Lisbeth Lavigne weaves a visceral narrative of survival, confronting the ghosts of the past that linger in the present.

Through fragmented memories and aching prose, this book unearths the silent screams of childhood wounds, the suffocating weight of abuse, and the relentless search for meaning in a world that often turns a blind eye.

Can you truly leave behind the past when it has carved itself into your bones? Or does it haunt you, reshaping every breath, every decision, every hope for something more?

This is not just a memoir—it’s a reckoning. A story for those who have been broken and are still searching for a way to piece themselves back together.

Growing up as an adoptee and identical twin, Julie McGue will take you on her journey for identity and individuality, searching for answers through tragedy and adversity.

“A heartfelt exploration of connection, community, and the unbreakable bond between sisters . . . Her journey beautifully reminds us of the strength we find within ourselves as we seek to uncover where we truly belong.”— Simone Knego, author of The Extraordinary UnOrdinary You

In this coming-of-age memoir, set in Chicago’s western suburbs between the 1960s and ’80s, adopted twins Julie and Jenny provide their parents with an instant family. Their sisterly bond holds tight as the two strive for identity, individuality, and belonging. But as Julie’s parents continue adding children to the family, some painful and tragic experiences test family values, parental relationships, and sibling bonds.

Faced with these hurdles, Julie questions everything—who she is, how she fits in, her adoption circumstances, her faith, and her idea of family. But the life her parents have constructed is not one she wants for herself—and as she matures, she recognizes how the experiences that formed her have provided her a road map for the person and mother she wants to be.

Having spent ten summers on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation near Glacier National Park, part of her doctoral fieldwork for a PhD in Native American Art History, forty-two-year-old Lynne Spriggs thinks of Montana as her healing place. When she moves to “Big Sky Country” from the East Coast in a quest to reset her life, she has high hopes for what awaits her.

Great Falls, a farming and military town in central Montana, is not what Lynne imagined when she decided to leave city life behind. But her dream of being more connected to nature in the American West comes alive when she meets Harrison, a handsome rancher thirteen years her senior. Wary but curious, with her dog Willow by her side, she leans into the seasonal rhythms of Harrison’s hidden valley and opens her heart to a wild language that moves beyond words. In a modern world where listening is rare, Elk Love explores an intimate place where loneliness gives way to wonder, where the natural world speaks of what matters most.

Sometimes nothing is more unexpected than joy.

What happens when a marketing executive leaves San Francisco to care for her dying mother on their family farm in Ohio? A Hallmark heroine would fall in love with her high school sweetheart during a snowstorm—but this is no Hallmark movie. Sarah Gormley spent most of her life trying to outrun the persistent self-loathing that plagued her from childhood, convinced that self-worth was something she had to earn by doing rather than being.

When she returned to Salt Creek Farm at age forty-five, Gormley had no idea that detaching from the success she believed defined her, untangling the complicated relationship with her mother, and continuing the hard work of therapy would lead to a wildly transformed life. Told with exceptional candor and humor, The Order of Things is a story about how one woman learned to let go of the patterns of her past to create a future she never imagined.

Ultimately, Gormley’s book is about hope, with a powerful message that will inspire you to think about the possibility of change in your own life.

“A beautifully written testament to doing the hard work of changing your circumstances and opening your heart to a more meaningful life filled with hope and love. . . . Gormley’s a towering talent and a writer to watch!” —Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group and B.F.F.

Is grief on a dial or a switch? Both.

Over six short weeks in 2022, Betsy Thibaut Stephenson lost her son to suicide, mother-in-law to dementia, and family dog to cancer. Rather than succumb to grief’s darkness, Betsy chose to face her losses head-on, accepting grief as an uninvited yet permanent companion in her revised life.

Blackbird is a memoir composed in real time, a concise and brutally honest look at the emotional, physical, and spiritual impact of deep despair. By unflinchingly pulling back the curtain on fear and shame, Betsy’s story inspires important conversations about mental health, grief resilience, and creating a path toward healing.

"Everything points back to the uniformed girl at the podium in the lobby of the Rittenhouse."

At twenty-two Jamie Cooperstein dreamed of becoming a successful sports journalist. She never expected that putting on a concierge uniform and stepping into the lobby of the Five Diamond-rated Rittenhouse Hotel would lead to anything more than a paycheck.

Written with wit and humor, True Hospitality is a story of finding an unexpected calling behind the concierge desk. Through personal anecdotes of outlandish guest requests, lavish weddings and parties, celebrity stays, and smoke-filled lobbies, Cooperstein takes an honest look at the true meaning of hospitality and how it came to define her.

True Hospitality is a fascinating memoir of one woman's journey to find her way in the world of luxury hospitality.