Anna Binder Reardon

Family fiction

Reardon infuses the book with a passion for recovery and appreciation of life. An involving, well-written debut. -Kirkus

Amelia Glickman has it all: a trust fund, a shiny red Range Rover, a serious equestrian hobby, and a brand-new house on Wethersfield Road. But lurking in the basement of her existence is the ache of depression and the torment of life as an addict. At least she has her besties by her side: a bottle and a bong, the binge-purge cycle, and risky hookups. She’s the cross-faded chaos queen of nobody’s dreams.

Despite feeling utterly lost, a deeply meaningful bond with her horse, Hope, seems to be the only reason for Amelia’s will to live. Yet she gradually deteriorates in her self-imposed thousand-thread-count holding cell on Wethersfield Road. After a shameful series of unfortunate events-including domestic violence, cringeworthy sexual exploits, and everything in between-a brutal equine wake-up call propels Amelia on a journey to save herself in the way only she can.

As Amelia begins to sift through her designer brand piles of emotional baggage, a life worth living seems to blossom right before her eyes. If only she can resist her default setting: self-sabotage. Although she attributes the void in her chest to life circumstances like her parents’ divorce and her botched Hollywood dreams, the truth is that she has felt completely defective from the very beginning. The island of misfit toys promises salvation, if only she can finally allow herself to be part of something.

Through a special connection with animals and nature, her willingness to be broken and brave at the same time, and the essence of the new house itself, she ventures into the real world, stumbling blindly through early sobriety, in search of a happily ever after that’s somewhat serene.

Doreen Frances

Memoir

An emerging and satisfying investigation of obscured roots. Readers will cheer — Kirkus

From debut author Doreen Frances, a memoir about growing up in the shadow of a story told in pieces.

On October 30, 1966, a young Medford man named Paul Grasso was killed when his ’33 Ford coupe left Massachusetts Route 93 and crashed into a house. Rumors followed the spectacular wreck. No clear answers did. Few people knew he had fathered a baby girl.

Doreen Frances grew up with a dad—but not with the truth. Her biological father had denied her paternity and kept her existence hidden from his family. After his death, his name surfaced only in fragments. Stories shifted depending on who was telling them. Questions about the crash lingered, but the details never fully aligned. Decades later, when Paul was erased from his own mother’s eulogy, Doreen reached her limit. Determined to understand the man who had refused to claim her-and the night that ended his life-she set out to find the Road Rebels, the teenage hot rod club he founded in the late 1950s.

An online post led her into the working-class world her father once called home: garages, drag strips, long-held friendships, and memories shaped by time. As she pieced together accounts from the men who knew him best, she began to see not only who her father had been, but how growing up as a secret, unknown to so many who remembered him, had followed her into adulthood.

Ron Seybold

Historical fiction

An addictive melodrama of sin, redemption, love, and loss, with a soupcon of tragedy — Kirkus

Anna’s plan of retreat doesn’t include romance, but love comes calling in 1901 Raisinville. The immigrant brings a secret to the rural Michigan parish where she takes on work as a rectory housekeeper—the abortion she chose to end a pregnancy. In her rectory refuge after the sacrifice of her child, she falls for Joe, a new priest listening with love in his voice and honor in his eyes. Taking a chance, she gives herself to him body and soul, searching for love and respect. He’s exiled from priesthood for the affair—and then their love delivers a child. Married in secret, a fresh start calls Anna and Joe to Toledo—a hub of breweries, bicycle factories, and prospects for progress.

In a time when the Rust Belt sparkles, she works for better fortunes. Joe was a better priest than he is a provider, but she will improve him. She can be his church. When the child’s scarlet fever shatters Anna’s dream, they hunt down a cure. But Joe returns to the priesthood as part of his bargain with God. While the pain of separation slashes at her, Anna must start anew. She must discover allies and muster new courage, or lose everything she loves.

Brad Stutzman

memoir and regional essay

Whether writing about well-known celebrities or hometown neighbors, Brad Stutzman shares unique insights and perspectives gleaned from more than 40 years as a Central Texas newspaper reporter and editor. These reflections span the comic to the tragic, examining both topical issues and timeless questions with thoughtfulness, clarity and wit.

Ron Seybold

Memoir

Tenderly poignant, wise and affecting — Kirkus

The rarest outcome in sports is baseball’s perfect game. One team does everything right, forcing the other team to accomplish nothing. In 150 years of baseball, there have only been 24. Perfect is nearly impossible. As a divorced dad, Ron was trying to redeem his fatherhood on a perfect baseball road trip with his Little League son Nicky. Their odyssey of nine games in eleven days, crossing eight states in a rented convertible, was supposed to salvage Ron’s life as an unsure father. One sign of salvation came unbidden in an unscheduled tenth game.