Finding My Way is a powerful coming-of-age novel about Matt, a young man entering college who embarks on a profound journey of self-discovery. At the beginning of the story, Matt appears to have his life together: he’s starting his freshman year, has a girlfriend, and is excited about his future. However, things take a dramatic turn when Matt begins to develop romantic feelings for his college roommate, Jake. These feelings stir an internal conflict, forcing Matt to confront the reality that he is gay—something he has long suppressed. Matt struggles with his identity, torn between the life he thought he wanted and the one he's discovering for himself. After an intimate confession to Jake, the two begin a secret relationship. Matt is still dating Sarah, his high school girlfriend, but soon realizes he can no longer live a double life. The heart-wrenching breakup with Sarah leaves him shattered, yet it’s a necessary step in accepting who he truly is. Things take an even more devastating turn when Matt comes out to his parents. His mother reacts with shock but tries to be supportive, while his father outright rejects him, telling Matt to leave and never return. Heartbroken, Matt spirals into a deep depression, turning to drugs to numb the pain. His struggle culminates in a suicide attempt, but thanks to Jake’s intervention, Matt is hospitalized and begins his journey of recovery. Upon being released, Matt leans on Jake and his friends, who become his chosen family, offering him the love and support he craves but never received from his father. Over time, Matt learns that family isn’t always about blood—it’s about the people who love you unconditionally. Jake, along with a close circle of friends, provides Matt with the strength he needs to rebuild his life. As Matt recovers, he grows into a more self-assured and confident person. He reconnects with his mother, though his relationship with his father remains strained. With Jake’s unwavering support, Matt finishes college, and the two decide to move in together. Eventually, Jake proposes, and they plan a small, intimate wedding surrounded by their friends—their chosen family. The novel concludes with Matt finally coming to terms with his past and accepting that, despite his father’s rejection, he is worthy of love. With his husband Jake and a supportive community by his side, Matt finds peace in the life he’s built. He understands that love, in all its forms, is what defines family, and that the relationships he has formed are more than enough to fill his heart. Finding My Way is a heartfelt exploration of identity, love, and resilience. It dives deep into the challenges of coming out, the pain of rejection, and the healing power of chosen family. At its core, the novel tells a story of growth, self-acceptance, and the realization that true family is defined not by blood, but by unconditional love.

Your Story Matters presents a dynamic and spiritually formative process for understanding and redeeming the past in order to live well in the present and into the future. Leslie Leyland Fields has used and taught this practical and inspiring writing process for decades, helping people from all walks of life to access memory and sift through the truth of their stories. This is not just a book for writers. Each one of us has a story, and understanding God's work in our stories is a vital part of our faith. Through the spiritual practice of writing, we can "remember" his acts among us, "declare his glory among the nations," and pass on to others what we have witnessed of God in this life: the mysterious, the tragic, the miraculous, the ordinary. With a companion video curriculum from RightNow Media, this is a "why not" book as opposed to a "how to" book. Leslie asks each of us an important question: "Why not learn to tell your story, in the context of the grander story of God?"

The star of the hit show "Empire" recalls her beloved screen characters while tracing the story of her life and career, discussing her father's Vietnam service, her rise from the violence of the streets of Washington D.C., and her experiences as a singlemother.

A new approach to family and personal memoirs that includes many creative formats. Memoir Your Way inspires family storykeepers to create a memoir using a craft you already know or are inspired to learn to create a personal, polished memoir your family will treasure. Accessible and with broad appeal, this first-of-its-kind book extends the written memoir form to cookbooks, scrapbooks, quilts, and other forms of storytelling. Readers of Memoir Your Way will find out how to: Create your own family cookbook like a pro Design, stitch, and create stunning quilts that preserve family memories for the next generation and create a cherished gift Bring out the natural storyteller in children while building self-confidence and a sense of family Write engaging family stories with proven writing tips Enrich scrapbooks with stories that might otherwise be overlooked and techniques that showcase even the memories that weren't preserved in photographs Turn your story into a graphic novel with hand-drawn illustrations Become the bridge for your heritage between the old world and the new Memoir Your Way makes memoir accessible to everyone, including those who don't see themselves as writers. Memoir Your Way is a valuable sourcebook for quickly and easily creating memoirs that celebrate family stories and ancestry.

An extraordinary "practical resource for beginners" looking to write their own memoir—​now new and revised (Kirkus Reviews)! The greatest story you could write is one you've experienced yourself. Knowing where to start is the hardest part, but it just got a little easier with this essential guidebook for anyone wanting to write a memoir. Did you know that the #1 thing that baby boomers want to do in retirement is write a book—about themselves? It's not that every person has lived such a unique or dramatic life, but we inherently understand that writing a memoir—whether it's a book, blog, or just a letter to a child—is the single greatest path to self-examination. Through the use of disarmingly frank, but wildly fun tactics that offer you simple and effective guidelines that work, you can stop treading water in writing exercises or hiding behind writer's block. Previously self-published under the title, Writing What You Know: Raelia, this book has found an enthusiastic audience that now writes with intent.

The unflinching story of a professional oboist who finds order and beauty in music as her personal life threatens to destroy her. Music was everything for Marcia Butler. Growing up in an emotionally desolate home with an abusive father and a distant mother, she devoted herself to the discipline and rigor of the oboe, and quickly became a young prodigy on the rise in New York City's competitive music scene. But haunted by troubling childhood memories while balancing the challenges of a busy life as a working musician, Marcia succumbed to dangerous men, drugs and self-destruction. In her darkest moments, she asked the hardest question of all: Could music truly save her life? A memoir of startling honesty and subtle, profound beauty, The Skin Above My Knee is the story of a woman finding strength in her creative gifts and artistic destiny. Filled with vivid portraits of 1970's New York City, and fascinating insights into the intensity and precision necessary for a career in professional music, this is more than a narrative of a brilliant musician struggling to make it big in the big city. It is the story of a survivor. One of 2017's 35 over 35 One of the Washington Post's Top 10 Classical Music Moments of the Year

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER They met over their dogs. Gail Caldwell and Caroline Knapp (author of Drinking: A Love Story) became best friends, talking about everything from their love of books and their shared history of a struggle with alcohol to their relationships with men. Walking the woods of New England and rowing on the Charles River, these two private, self-reliant women created an attachment more profound than either of them could ever have foreseen. Then, several years into this remarkable connection, Knapp was diagnosed with cancer. With her signature exquisite prose, Caldwell mines the deepest levels of devotion, and courage in this gorgeous memoir about treasuring a best friend, and coming of age in midlife. Let’s Take the Long Way Home is a celebration of the profound transformations that come from intimate connection—and it affirms, once again, why Gail Caldwell is recognized as one of our bravest and most honest literary voices.

Warrior Mother is the true story of a mother’s fierce love and determination, and her willingness to go outside the bounds of the ordinary when two of her three adult children are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases. When Sheila Collins’s best friend, dying of breast cancer, asked her to accompany her through what turned out to be the last fourteen days of her life, she didn’t know that the experience was preparing her for what lay ahead with her own children. In the years that followed, Collins had to face both her son’s diagnosis with AIDS and her daughter’s diagnosis with breast cancer. Warrior Mother documents how she faces these challenges and the issues accompanying them—from learning to be the mother of a gay son to visiting a healer in Brazil on her daughter’s behalf when she decides on bone marrow transplant treatment. Experience as a professional social worker and family therapist doesn’t always help Collins to cope with her children’s illnesses—but her relationship with improvisational song, dance, storytelling, and women’s spirituality rituals carries her through. Warrior Mother follows Collins’s family through memorials and celebrations of lives well lived, all the while exploring the impact of grief on those left behind and the rituals that help them heal.

Wetherall lived in fifteen houses and five countries by the time she was nine. She didn't think this was strange until Scotland Yard showed up, and she discovered her father was a fugitive and their family name was an alias. In 1983, the year she was born, her parents went on the run with three young children, traveling across Europe, their expenses paid for with drug money. It was over the summers spent visiting her dad in prison in California that he told her the truth: he had been a pot smuggler in the seventies, and his organization had bought in marijuana worth nearly a half billion dollars from Thailand. Here Wetherall pieces together the story of her parents' past, which ultimately helps her understand her own. -- adapted from publisher info.

Stories are powerful, and humans have been telling stories since the dawn of time. Do you feel driven to share what you've gone through and the insights you've learned in life? Do you long to tell your story but don't know where to start? The Memoir Workbook will show you, step by step, all you need to know to tell a powerful and well-written memoir. With pen in hand, you'll mine your memories and begin to put them in a coherent order inside the pages of the workbook. Passages from memoirs and writing prompts will help you get your creative juices flowing. Whether you want to publish your story or write it for yourself, this unique workbook will help you learn the most effective ways to convey your life experiences onto the page. Inside, you'll learn these essential aspects to memoir writing: How to identify your unique story as well as the things that make your story universal The many ways memoir can be structured, with examples to help you decide how to lay out your story How to determine a beginning and an ending point Ways to bring your story to life with sensory detail What "voice" is and why it's important to write from the "mature self" How to craft distilled dialogue that is engaging and sounds natural How to protect yourself and others when you write your memoir What theme is and why you need one How to pick an appropriate title for your memoir Writing a memoir is a journey of the heart. The Memoir Workbook is a light that guides you along the path, from start to finish.