The answer “no” is unacceptable to Marie Pizano in her quest of life. In her memoir, From Barefoot to Stilettos,she tells the story of her life thus far. She vividly recounts her experiences from childhood days, living on food stamps, learning the ways of local gangs, and double-dutching on the streets of south-side Chicago. Brilliantly, she shares the inspirational tale of her survival of a life-changing motorcycle accident and her perseverance to keep moving forward despite the odds she faced. She reveals, in complete honesty, the feelings and struggles she faced when she moved to Memphis to live as a trophy-wife life – dealing with everything from the mean girls, the monster-in-law, and the panic attacks, to becoming a mother, her post-divorce years, and defeating the odds by building an entertainment powerhouse – all while rediscovering herself, her life, and her power. Through explorations of her own past, present, and potential future, Marie reflects on how the sum of her trials and triumphs have shaped her into the empowered woman she has become in her incessant quest to find her “yes.” There is a powerful message here for other women – or anyone, for that matter –in situations that are less than ideal; you can always find your “yes,” no matter what happens in your life. You can survive! You have a choice – you can either play the victim, or you can do something about it; even when you are at your absolute lowest, there is still a flicker of light that can ignite you. You can stand tall again and walk proudly in your stilettos with truth and integrity; sometimes, you just have to fight for it – life is not for sissies.

Jordan Maries book, My Life With Dogs, is a personal story of one girls journey with dogs while facing lifes trials and triumphs. Its very refreshing to live in a community where parents are actively engaged in their childrens lives and promote a sense of stewardship and community service. Jordan Marie is a shining example of this community spirit and has the gift and willingness to help animals with care and love. In Germantown, we are proud of her efforts and wish her continued success as she encourages others through her writing and actions. Mike Palazzolo, Mayor, City of Germantown As the father of two daughters and owner of a rescue dog, My Life With Dogs is really inspiring. It speaks to the talent and compassion of a young girl and dog lover. Jordan Marie, my daughter, Lauren, considers it a great privilege to call you a friend. We cant wait to read the next one. Keep up the great work! Kevin Woods, Shelby County School Board

As makeover madness sweeps the nation's capital, reporter Lacey Smithsonian interviews TV show makeover success story Amanda Manville. But with Amanda's beauty comes a beast in the form of a stalker with vicious intentions—and Lacey may be the only one who can stop him.

From Barefoot to Stilettos: Finding My Yes is the continuation of author Marie Pizano's personal story, detailing what has occurred in her life since the debut of her first book, as well as adding new detail and insight to material she has already covered in her past writing. A true rags-to-riches story, Finding My Yes describes Pizano's journey from the pits of poverty to the lap of luxury--and then some. She offers humorous and heart-wrenching vignettes and anecdotes to elucidate simple but powerful life lessons, the most significant of which will encourage readers to ignore the haters, bolster their moral backbones, and, ultimately, find their own "yes." Pizano's writing is personable, entertaining, and--most importantly--palatable. So often, autobiographies can be dry, stale, and out of touch with modern readers. But Pizano has proven that her business is staying on top of the cultural pulse, and the way she tells her own story is proof of that hard-won perspective. What's particularly illuminating about Pizano's second autobiographical installment is the way it shows how time and new experiences can cast a different light on our lives. Even her description of the events that she has written about previously in It's Not For Sissies provides new flavor here. Pizano contends that everything that has happened to her since her authorial debut has allowed her to better appreciate the people in her life--including her ex-husband--as well as her take-no-prisoners approach to defending her family, her faith, and her entrepreneurial legacy.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, internationally bestselling author and literary icon Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies is "beautiful, heartbreaking and alive ... a lyrical work of historical fiction based on the story of the Mirabal sisters, revolutionary heroes who had opposed and fought against Trujillo." (Concepción de León, New York Times) Alvarez’s new novel, The Cemetery of Untold Stories, is coming April 2, 2024. Pre-order now! It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas—the Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters--Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and the survivor, Dedé--speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from secret crushes to gunrunning, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarez’s imagination, the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love, and the human costs of political oppression. "Alvarez helped blaze the trail for Latina authors to break into the literary mainstream, with novels like In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents winning praise from critics and gracing best-seller lists across the Americas."—Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review "This Julia Alvarez classic is a must-read for anyone of Latinx descent." —Popsugar.com "A gorgeous and sensitive novel . . . A compelling story of courage, patriotism and familial devotion." —People "Shimmering . . . Valuable and necessary." —Los Angeles Times "A magnificent treasure for all cultures and all time.” —St. Petersburg Times "Alvarez does a remarkable job illustrating the ruinous effect the 30-year dictatorship had on the Dominican Republic and the very real human cost it entailed."—Cosmopolitan.com

Parenting can be such an overwhelming job that it’s easy to lose track of where you stand on some of the more controversial subjects at the playground (What if my kid likes to rough house—isn’t this ok as long as no one gets hurt? And what if my kid just doesn’t feel like sharing?). In this inspiring and enlightening book, Heather Shumaker describes her quest to nail down “the rules” to raising smart, sensitive, and self-sufficient kids. Drawing on her own experiences as the mother of two small children, as well as on the work of child psychologists, pediatricians, educators and so on, in this book Shumaker gets to the heart of the matter on a host of important questions. Hint: many of the rules aren’t what you think they are! The “rules” in this book focus on the toddler and preschool years—an important time for laying the foundation for competent and compassionate older kids and then adults. Here are a few of the rules: • It’s OK if it’s not hurting people or property • Bombs, guns and bad guys allowed. • Boys can wear tutus. • Pictures don’t have to be pretty. • Paint off the paper! • Sex ed starts in preschool • Kids don’t have to say “Sorry.” • Love your kid’s lies. IT’S OK NOT TO SHARE is an essential resource for any parent hoping to avoid PLAYDATEGATE (i.e. your child’s behavior in a social interaction with another child clearly doesn’t meet with another parent’s approval)!

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned. Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity.”—James Baldwin From the Paperback edition.