What happens when, long-partnered and no longer youthful, we are suddenly left alone and uncoupled? Here is a book that embraces the will, the spirit of such a challenge. Here are stories of how an older man or woman may avoid a barren middle age. Of how to imbue our later years with heft, meaning and delight, self-renewal thick with surprise and discovery. Here are concerns that grievously affect our burgeoning aging community as most of us over 70 now live alone, matters that resonate as well for retired couples. Say Yes! is neither guide nor manual. Rather, it is the narrator's intimate recountings of loss and aloneness. But also possibilities for a thrilling, reconfigured reality, an abundance of bountiful awakenings for wishful readers who may become heartened and emboldened. Do we latch on? Or do we accept a conventional stasis, a sedate conformity. A digging in from fear of the untried. The author is 60 when her husband of 36 years dies of pancreatic cancer. Bereft, an opportunity arises. She takes an impulsive trip to Florence, Italy. From this, her life catapults beyond the mundane as she travels by herself to other European cities, writes a book, moves to New York. Enriched by strangers, she finds celebration in being alone, enters into passions old and new with verve and grit. Standing firm is her staunch refusal to accept a life of marking time devoid of vigorous well-being. Why move beyond what comfortably suits? To vanquish doubt, dread, despair. To savor the largesse of our world in adventurous new ways. How does one begin? Say Yes!

The Lives We Were Meant to Live There is always a price to pay for keeping secrets. Most of us understand this, inclined as we are to privacy regarding our personal passions. But holding back invites unexpected consequences. It might cause us to make decisions that are not to our benefit, especially when the options are alluring and persuasive. And so it is with two secret dreamers, Ellie and Gavin, and the characters who fill their lives. All these confront a series of life-altering choices that determine their destinies. One can choose to reveal his private dreams, an act that could unleash astonishing powers. Or one can refuse to share, resulting in frustration or despair. The lives of the Taylor family, as with most of us, are lived between these two notions. "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." John D. Rockefeller "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." Siddhartha Gautama "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today." --Jordan Peterson

What Love Looks Like Humans, dream. Big, strong dreams of the need to love and be loved. Fragments of these are scattered throughout the dreams of others. And although these hungers may occasionally sag, fly off, or lie dormant, few of us abandon the search for an essential connection, one which can occur between those of disparate ages, cultures, backgrounds. Or it may be a compelling attachment to a place, or purpose. This pursuit may evolve slowly. Or it might appear straightaway, without warning. Or, it may never succeed. Glitches arise to confound the quest - betrayal or disappointment, hesitation or denial. Each character in these stories is thrust from a seemingly uneventful existence into a reckoning of love that demands a life-altering decision. At the end, we are left with awakened insights which will return to our hearts time and again. Die with memories, not dreams, Andra Watkins People change and forget to tell each other, Lillian Hellman

Moments that Mattered When I was young and slept sweet dreams, how could I know God's plan and the mystery of breathing in and out? Childhood - Youth - Young Adult - Adult The span of our lives. Within each segment are disparate, illustrative stories of routine, everyday occurrences. Insignificant at the time, they eventually proved to be life-altering in forming character, direction and inclination, and with awakened insight, pivotal in coming to a deeper sense of ourselves. And yet, how often, if ever, do we assess or unravel these small moments, thinking them too trivial for permanent effect? Reflection may transform our emotional history and make our lives more generous, and purposeful. Let us then consider the people and forces which have determined and shaped our fortunes. And let us find the significant connections that have brought us to this day. Moments that mattered. Read Moments that Mattered by Pamela Hull for her artist's eye and sensibilities, and for the wisdom found in her elegant, quotable language. Her storytelling is a pleasure for the imagination, compelling words that may reshape a lifetime of yesterdays. Mahala Yates Stripling, Ph.D

"Sixty-Something and Flying Solo" is a humorous, edgy memoir filled with serious ponderings. An Oregon transplant with no kids, no significant other, the author is someone about whom readers could say "I wouldn't want to be in her shoes, but if she can make it, I can too." Pieces such as "What Not to Say at a Funeral" and "Dusting and Other Insanities" provide a backdrop for monthly accounts of her fall into retirement's abyss where she clings to her to-do lists while she alters her diet, her wardrobe, her routine and her vow to become more domestic. When she resurfaces a year later, she's surprised at the landscape and what has saved her.

For one year following her painful divorce, Denise Hildreth chronicled every emotion, every new discovery, and every moment of God's unyielding presence. Flying Solo, the diary of that roller-coaster year, begins on the day Denise sat in court to hear a judge end her 13-year marriage and follows her through twelve months of soul-searching, heartbreak, and healing. With vivid stories, raw emotion, and unwavering honesty, Denise opens a window for divorced or divorcing readers to breathe in the fresh air of God's Spirit. For, among many surprises in store for Denise during her first year of flying solo, one of the most startling was this: God desires to be with us through our pain. She writes, "Flying solo isn't about being alone. It is about living a life that may hurt at times, wound at times, betray at times; but there is still an incredible unobstructed view of heaven, and an opportunity to discover God in the middle of it." Readers struggling to stay afloat in the wake of a marriage's end will hear from a fellow traveler that they don't have to settle for treading water . . . they can learn to fly.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A woman returns to her small Maine hometown, uncovering family secrets that take her on a journey of self-discovery and new love, in this warm and charming novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over. “Moving and tender . . . A perfect book for anyone who feels a little separate from the flock.”—Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of One Italian Summer ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, PopSugar Smarting from her recently canceled wedding and about to turn forty, Laurie Sassalyn returns to her Maine hometown of Calcasset to handle the estate of her great-aunt Dot, a spirited adventurer who lived to be ninety-three. Alongside boxes of Polaroids and pottery, a mysterious wooden duck shows up at the bottom of a cedar chest. Laurie’s curiosity is piqued, especially after she finds a love letter to the never-married Dot that ends with the line “And anyway, if you’re ever desperate, there are always ducks, darling.” Laurie is told that the duck has no financial value. But after it disappears under suspicious circumstances, she feels compelled to figure out why anyone would steal a wooden duck—and why Dot kept it hidden away in the first place. Suddenly Laurie finds herself swept up in a righteous caper that has her negotiating with antiques dealers and con artists, going on after-hours dates at the local library, and reconnecting with her oldest friend and her first love. Desperate to uncover her great-aunt’s secrets, Laurie must reckon with her own past and her future—and ultimately embrace her own vision of flying solo. With a cast of unforgettable characters and a heroine you will root for from page one, Flying Solo is a wonderfully original story about growing up, coming home, and learning to make a life for yourself on your own terms.