"Brian Run, Kentucky, is where Annie Emerson grew up, where her grandmother Ida raised her. Annie, now a social worker in L.A., left years ago but returns home when Ida's health fails. She's devastated to lose her and shocked to discover how badly the town has deteriorated. But she's inherited some money and uses it to help rescue Briar Run. Police chief Sky Cordova is dealing with an overabundance of crime, severe budget cuts and a battle over custody of his five-year-old son Zack. The last thing he needs is a woman with a cause stirring up trouble. Despite that, he's captivated by Annie and her passion to revitalize her neighborhood. He's not he only one since Zack falls for Annie too. Sky starts to realize that her way of bringing the town back to life--one house at a time--might work. Just as she's brought his heart back to life, one smile at a time"--Page 2 of cover.

Beth Luxenberg was an only child. Or so everyone thought. Six months after Beth's death, her secret emerged. It had a name: Annie. Praise for Annie's Ghosts "Annie's Ghosts is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read . . . From mental institutions to the Holocaust, from mothers and fathers to children and childhood, with its mysteries, sadness, and joy--this book is one emotional ride."--Bob Woodward, author of The War Within and State of Denial "Steve Luxenberg sleuths his family's hidden history with the skills of an investigative reporter, the instincts of a mystery writer, and the sympathy of a loving son. His rediscovery of one lost woman illuminates the shocking fate of thousands of Americans who disappeared just a generation ago."--Tony Horwitz, author of A Voyage Long and Strange and Confederates in the Attic "I started reading within minutes of picking up this book, and was instantly mesmerized. It's a riveting detective story, a moving family saga, an enlightening if heartbreaking chapter in the history of America's treatment of people born with what we now call special needs." -- Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing That "This is a memoir that pushes the journalistic envelope . . . Luxenberg has written a fascinating personal story as well as a report on our communal response to the mentally ill." -- Helen Epstein, author of Where She Came From and Children of the Holocaust "A wise, affecting new memoir of family secrets and posthumous absolution." -- The Washington Post "Annie's Ghosts will resonate for many, whether the chords have to do with family secrets, the Depression, memories of a thriving Detroit, the Holocaust's horrors, or the immigrant experience." -- The Detroit Free Press

The Neighborhood is about two sisters growing up in their neighborhood into their adulthood. This is a compelling story that entails many adversities that a person may go through in life. This story of adventure will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. There are surprises in this adventure that will amaze you. You will see how a neighborhood is torn apart and how the neighborhood sticks together. Will it be put back together again? Enjoy The Neighborhood.

Six-year -old Annie is living a nightmare no one should have to endure alone. World War II is raging in Europe and in the Pacific, and though Annie is far from the front lines, she feels the horror of war on the home front: beloved neighbors are killed in action, her family hears of relatives suffering in Europe, and she sees war’s violence and destruction in weekly newsreels. Strict rationing and blackouts challenge her own daily life. Added to this, when Annie contracts rheumatic fever, she has “her own war to win” if she is to survive! But she has a constant companion – the chubby baby doll, a 1942 Christmas gift, --who helps her “fight” to get well and survive the heartaches of war. Everyone loves her doll, even her school-mate, Emile, a “war guest from France,” and her aviator pen-pal in the Royal Air Force. Inspired by her own recollections of World War II and the personal accounts of war veterans, Eiler has written a sobering reminder of the sacrifices of war as a tribute to The Greatest Generation, intended for children studying the war and adults alike. The doll opens a gateway to discussing difficult topics with children like hope and perseverance in the face of illness and crisis while the novel’s focus on magical play will interest doll and toy enthusiasts. In the novel’s “magical ending” Eiler offers a touch of whimsy. The war is over. The celebrations have ended. Not to be “outdone,” Annie’s doll makes her a promise the reader will hold dear – who said dolls can’t talk?

Annie's aunt is the last person to get caught in scandal. She's the fashionable and integrity-conscious rock in Annie's life. When Aunt Bridge calls to say her lover has gone over the side of his yacht, Annie must run to the rescue. He left a suicide note, and Aunt Bridge claims to have been asleep the entire time, but something isn't right. Her aunt is nervous as much as she's grieving. News of the death hits Amberlon, South Carolina faster than Annie anticipated. Aunt Bridge's lover was being investigated for embezzlement. Police suspect Aunt Bridge was involved, and worse that she's hiding stolen money. With Aunt Bridge's reputation in tatters, Annie can't worry about who has been leaving gifts of chocolate on her doorstep. Are the chocolates poison or is this about something else? Then there's Stacy, who's fallen for another older guy. Annie thought she had Stacy distracted with her romance book club, but vindictive ladies with connections are out to destroy it.

Narrative about an attempt to farm on land opened up by the new Minidoka Irrigation Project in the sagebrush desert of southern Idaho. The story of an American farm woman, her husband and family. Describes farm life and farm pyschology. This intimate record of an acute mind and sensitive spirit to the joys and sorrows, difficulties and satisfactions, and personalities describes the author's fifteen years as a farm woman on the last American frontier.