The Women Who Survived and Inspire — A Look at Some of the Wonderful Women of HOPress-Shorehouse Books

This month our theme is survival and inspiration–what women do so well! With this in mind, we are featuring our women writers–especially those who give us inspiration with surviving obstacles, relationships, aging and the chaos of caregiving. We ask you to take a look at their work and give it a read. All books are available on Amazon and they are linked for your convenience. You won’t be disappointed.

 

Boomer on the Ledge by Molly Stevens

Do you believe aging is grim? Something to tolerate while waiting for the reaper? Be prepared to challenge this assumption when you read Boomer on the Ledge.™ Molly Stevens observed her grandsons discovering Christmas magic with an elf who monitored their behavior and reported it to Santa. As invasive as that seemed, she realized no one watches people in her age group unless scanning for signs of dementia. She felt invisible and needed validation. So she created a little doll whose daily surprises reminded her how being a boomer is both harrowing and hilarious. From the mundane to the sublime, let Boomer on the Ledge™ help you transform grim into grins while you explore the antics of an aging boomer.

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Showering with Nana: Confessions of a Serial Caregiver by Cathy Sikorski

What happens when a two–year-old and a 92-year-old join forces and conspire against their primary caregiver? The picture is at times not pretty, but it’s always heartwarming and witty. Elder care attorney Cathy Sikorski penned this memoir about her days as a stay-at-home mom whose life is turned upside down when her Nana moves in. In between the adventures and misadventures that ensue when the toddler and grandmother become allies, Sikorski learns about patience, the importance of humor and the joy that results from a well-deserved nap.

 

 

 

 

 

The Promise in Plan B: What We Bring to the Next Chapter of Our Lives by Mary Farr

Life offers us plenty of opportunities. We construct our life plan—our Plan A, but life is never so simple. It tests us with setbacks, dead ends, hellos and good-byes. To put it simply: Sometimes, we get stuck. However, The Promise in Plan B confronts fears about these changes and obstacles and encourages readers to develop a new life path. This book is grounded in the reality that life tends to be a series of interruptions, and we each possess a wealth of resources to initiate, investigate, and recreate the way we travel through our shifting courses. Unlike predictable job skills, these resources emphasize resilience, courage, imagination, humor, curiosity, and more.

Author Mary Farr includes personal stories and profiles of people from all walks of life who have faced challenges, despair and unforeseen obstacles but in the midst of the turmoil recognized their Plan B. This book explores themes of grace and gratitude seasoned with a generous dose of wit. Each chapter includes a Consider This section which contains questions and observations designed to encourage readers to open their hearts to new ideas. Farr also added journaling pages at the end of the book for those who would rather explore their reflections solo.

 

 

Rats, Mice and Other Things You Can’t Take to the Bank by Leslie Handler

Part memoir, part essay collection, Rats, Mice, and Other Things You Can’t Take to the Bank is written with both wit and charm. It will take you on a ride from finding a mouse in the house to the mortgage crisis, from a smile to a chuckle and from a few tears to the feeling of being wrapped in a blanket sipping a warm cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s day. Handler offers a rich, touching, heartfelt and reflective read that will leave the reader with an indelible uplifting spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lite Whines and Laughter: Mild Rants and Musings on the Mundane by Lee Gaitan

If you like your optimism served with a side of snarkiness, this is the book for you. Lee Gaitan is a recognized “Bounce Back” expert (unless she’s not wearing eye liner, in which case she often goes unrecognized), known for looking on the bright side and finding the silver lining in dark clouds. But sometimes the best way to part the dark clouds and discover the sunshine is by way of a mild rant or musing on the myriad irritations of modern life. With Gaitan’s wit cutting through those clouds with razor-sharp accuracy, readers will find themselves on the sunny side of life again in no time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

daddy DU JOUR by Barbara Hammond

This is a book about survival in many ways. Barbara became the primary caregiver of her younger brothers at an early age. There was a revolving door of men in her mother’s life. Some were good; some were not. Her favorite stepfather introduced her to the man she’s been married to for more than 50 years which proves how living in chaos can sometimes lead you to the other side. That’s a happy ending.

 

 

 

 

 

And launching this month: 

Stand Up & Heartbreak: A Comic and a Sex Addict Walk Into a Marriage…  by Arlene Schindler

Stand Up & Heartbreak is a narrative non-fiction glimpse into the life of a budding stand-up comic who unknowingly marries a sex addict, and they both stop performing.

Set in NYC in 1981, from comedy cellars to dive bars to Park Avenue high-rises, a female comic from Brooklyn meets the man of her dreams, not knowing his addictions and double life. With big hair and a satin jumpsuit, she confronts sexism, manages hecklers, says “next” to bad sex, and endures a marriage gone awry, finally emerging with the punch line. Stand-Up & Heartbreak spotlights being a comic at the wrong time in a world where timing is everything.