Joy Enough: A Memoir

Joy Enough: A Memoir
Author: Sarah McColl
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2019-01-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1631494716

A Belletrist Book of the Month, this “exquisite memoir” (Los Angeles Times) is the perfect balm for any reader who has experienced loss. Lipsticks applied, novels read, imperfect cakes baked—such memories are recalled with “crystalline perfection” (J.C. Hallmann, Brooklyn Rail) in Sarah McColl’s breathtaking testimonial to the joy and pain of loving well. When her mother, Allison, was diagnosed with cancer, McColl dropped everything—including her on-the-rocks marriage—to return to the family farmhouse and fix elaborate meals in the hope of nourishing her back to health. In “thoughtful and finely crafted prose” (Martha Anne Toll, NPR.org) McColl reveals Allison to be an extraordinary woman of infinite love for her unruly brood of children. Mining her dual losses “with humor and charm” (Rachel Kong, New York Times Book Review) to confront her identity as a woman, McColl walks lightly in the footsteps of the woman who came before her. “A gorgeous, painful, exhilarating debut” (Kirstin Valdez-Quade), Joy Enough is an essential guide to clinging fast to the joy left behind, for readers of Ann Hood and Jenny Offill.


Joy Enough

Joy Enough
Author: Sarah Mccoll
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020-01-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1631496638

February 2019 Selection, Emma Roberts's Belletrist Book Club From a bracing new voice comes this life-affirming memoir of a daughter making and remaking her life in her mother’s image. Sifting gingerly through memories of her late mother, brilliant newcomer Sarah McColl has penned an indelible tribute to the joy and pain of loving well. Even as her own marriage splinters, McColl drops everything when her mother is diagnosed with cancer, returning to the family farmhouse and laboring over elaborate meals in the hopes of nourishing her back to health. In a series of vibrant vignettes—lipstick applied, novels read, imperfect cakes baked—McColl reveals a woman of endless charm and infinite love for her unruly brood of children. Mining the dual losses of both her young marriage and her beloved mother, McColl confronts her identity as a woman, walking lightly in the footsteps of the woman who came before her and clinging fast to the joy she left behind. With candor reminiscent of classics like C. S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed, Joy Enough offers a story that blooms with life.


Joy Enough

Joy Enough
Author: Sarah Mccoll
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-01-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1631494708

February 2019 Selection, Emma Roberts's Belletrist Book Club From a bracing new voice comes this life-affirming memoir of a daughter making and remaking her life in her mother’s image. Sifting gingerly through memories of her late mother, brilliant newcomer Sarah McColl has penned an indelible tribute to the joy and pain of loving well. Even as her own marriage splinters, McColl drops everything when her mother is diagnosed with cancer, returning to the family farmhouse and laboring over elaborate meals in the hopes of nourishing her back to health. In a series of vibrant vignettes—lipstick applied, novels read, imperfect cakes baked—McColl reveals a woman of endless charm and infinite love for her unruly brood of children. Mining the dual losses of both her young marriage and her beloved mother, McColl confronts her identity as a woman, walking lightly in the footsteps of the woman who came before her and clinging fast to the joy she left behind. With candor reminiscent of classics like C. S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed, Joy Enough offers a story that blooms with life.


The Joy Plan

The Joy Plan
Author: Kaia Roman
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2017-07-11
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1492648779

As a mother, a wife, and a businesswoman, Kaia Roman always had a plan. But when her biggest plan, the business she cofounded, collapsed, Kaia found herself crushed by depression. And what felt even worse was that, with a husband and two kids relying on her to get out of bed, she didn't have a plan to move forward. Determined to turn her life around and put her ingrained habits of stress and anxiety behind her, Kaia decided to put everything else on hold and dedicate thirty days to the singular pursuit of joy. The results were astonishing—and lasted much longer than the initial monthlong project. In this uplifting and eye-opening memoir, Kaia uses her business savvy to create a concrete Joy Plan to get back on her feet fast. Using scientific research on hormones, neurotransmitters, and mindfulness, along with the daily dedication to creating a more joyful existence, Kaia teaches readers how to move past temporary happiness and succeed in creating joy that lasts. Complete with advice, exercises, and key takeaways, The Joy Plan is Kaia's step-by-step guide to how she, and everyone else, can ditch the negative and plan for the joy in their lives.


Learning Joy from Dogs Without Collars

Learning Joy from Dogs Without Collars
Author: Lauralee Summer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2004-07
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780743257923

Free of self-pity and pretension and bursting with meaning, this memoir of a resilient girl who went from "homeless to Harvard" is a masterwork of the genre.


The Joy of Doing Just Enough

The Joy of Doing Just Enough
Author: Jennifer McCartney
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-04-10
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 1682681467

For anyone who’s ever heard a motivational speech and immediately vomited, a guide to ignoring society’s obsession with success Sit around, leave sh*t all over the place, drink, forget about deadlines . . . being lazy is pretty easy. The real art in being chill is when someone without any real ambition can fly under the radar, and live unscathed by the never-ending reams of self-help and inspiration rained upon anyone who just wants to watch Netflix. The magical place where doing what comes naturally keeps the do-ers at arm’s length. Rather than doing less, do just enough. So screw TED Talks, Instagram images of a beach that say "Fail Better" in gold cursive, marathon training, tips for keeping plants alive, and all self-aggrandizing social media. Ninety-nine percent of people on this planet are just pretty average. We're doing our thing. Trying to get out of bed in the morning. Hey, are you awake right now? Reading a sentence? You know what? That's success in my book. Being a person is hard enough without all the pressure to be good at it.


Too Much Is Not Enough

Too Much Is Not Enough
Author: Andrew Rannells
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0525574867

From the star of Broadway’s The Book of Mormon and Tony–nominated Gutenberg! The Musical!, the heartfelt and hilarious coming-of-age memoir of a Midwestern boy surviving bad auditions, bad relationships, and some really bad highlights as he chases his dreams in New York City—now with a new afterword “Candid, funny, crisp . . . honest and tender about lessons of the heart.”—Vogue ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR When Andrew Rannells left Nebraska for New York City in 1997, he, like many young hopefuls, saw the city as a chance to break free. To start over. To transform the fiercely ambitious but sexually confused teenager he saw in the mirror into the Broadway leading man of his dreams. In Too Much Is Not Enough, Rannells takes us on the journey of a twentysomething hungry to experience everything New York has to offer: new friends, wild nights, great art, standing ovations. At the heart of his hunger lies a powerful drive to reconcile the boy he was when he left Omaha with the man he desperately wants to be. As Rannells fumbles his way towards the Great White Way, he also shares the drama of failed auditions and behind-the-curtain romances, the heartbreak of losing his father at the height of his struggle, and the exhilaration of making his Broadway debut in Hairspray at the age of twenty-six. Along the way, he learns that you never really leave your past—or your family—behind; that the most painful, and perversely motivating, jobs are the ones you almost get; and that sometimes the most memorable nights with friends are marked not by the trendy club you danced at but by the recap over diner food afterward. Honest and filled with charm, Too Much Is Not Enough is an unforgettable look at love, loss, and the powerful forces that determine who we become.


But Enough About Me

But Enough About Me
Author: Burt Reynolds
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Ltd.
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2015-11-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1910536431

In But Enough About Me, legendary film actor and Hollywood superstar Burt Reynolds recalls the people who shaped his life and career, for better or for worse. From Robert Altman, Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood and Robert Mitchum to Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Woody Allen and Kirsty Alley, Burt pays homage to those he loves and respected, acknowledges those who've stayed loyal, and calls out the assholes he can't forgive. Recalling his life and career spanning over 50 glorious years, the legendary actor gives special attention to the two great loves of his life, Dinah Shore and Sally Field, his son, Quinton, as well as to the countless people who got in his way on his journey to Hollywood domination. With chapters on his early childhood, how he discovered acting, played poker with Frank Sinatra, received directing advice from Orson Welles, his golden years in Hollywood, his comeback in the late 1990s, and how his life and art led him to found the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre, But Enough About Me is a gripping and eye-opening story of one of cinema's true greats.


Two Trees Make a Forest

Two Trees Make a Forest
Author: Jessica J. Lee
Publisher: Catapult
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 1646220005

This "stunning journey through a country that is home to exhilarating natural wonders, and a scarring colonial past . . . makes breathtakingly clear the connection between nature and humanity, and offers a singular portrait of the complexities inherent to our ideas of identity, family, and love" (Refinery29). A chance discovery of letters written by her immigrant grandfather leads Jessica J. Lee to her ancestral homeland, Taiwan. There, she seeks his story while growing closer to the land he knew. Lee hikes mountains home to Formosan flamecrests, birds found nowhere else on earth, and swims in a lake of drowned cedars. She bikes flatlands where spoonbills alight by fish farms, and learns about a tree whose fruit can float in the ocean for years, awaiting landfall. Throughout, Lee unearths surprising parallels between the natural and human stories that have shaped her family and their beloved island. Joyously attentive to the natural world, Lee also turns a critical gaze upon colonialist explorers who mapped the land and named plants, relying on and often effacing the labor and knowledge of local communities. Two Trees Make a Forest is a genre–shattering book encompassing history, travel, nature, and memoir, an extraordinary narrative showing how geographical forces are interlaced with our family stories.