Maya Blue: A Memoir of Survival
by Brenda Coffee
GENRE: Memoir
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/20/2025
DESCRIPTION:
"Maya Blue" is a suspenseful, fast-paced memoir that reads like a thriller. One remarkable woman's true story of love, cocaine, Big Tobacco, abduction and survival. It is "Working Girl" meets "Taken," and in the end, Brenda Coffee is the last one standing.
At 21, Brenda Coffee did almost anything her charismatic and powerful older husband, Philip Ray, wanted. Regardless of whether it was dangerous, adventurous, sexual or illegal, she wanted to be the one woman he couldn’t live without. Motivated by the rush and the rewards, Philip was the founder of two high-profile, groundbreaking public companies and the genius who conceived and developed the first personal computer and the microprocessor.
Life was good until Philip began making real cocaine in their home and became addicted. Until the Big Six tobacco companies threatened their lives for creating the first smokeless cigarette — Brenda coined the terms vape and vaping — and the Guatemalan Army forced her into the jungle at gunpoint.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brenda Coffee is a published writer, photographer and filmmaker with a BA in journalism and film. An avid adventurer, dynamic speaker and successful businesswoman, she was managing consultant and former board member of a public company she sold to Big Pharma. Coffee is the creator of two Top 10 websites, including 1010ParkPlace.com, home to her popular BRENDA’S BLOG, delivering straight-talk about finances, fashion, life and relationships to the best-educated, wealthiest, most powerful demographic in history: women over 50. She resides in Texas.
REVIEWS:
“Coffee demonstrates her considerable powers as a storyteller and a wordsmith … delivers suspense and action that rivals any thriller.”—The coveted Kirkus starred review & nominated for the prestigious 2025 Kirkus Prize
“Maya Blue reads like a Netflix series. Brenda Coffee’s compelling memoir reminds us of the importance of seizing our power.” —Lee Woodruff, author of the New York Times best-seller In An Instant, A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing
“A high-stakes, raw memoir of addiction, survival, and reclaiming power from the shadows of chaos. This is one you won’t forget.”—Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, 2025 Summer Reading List
“Moving at a relentless pace ... Maya Blue is a harrowing memoir about existence on the edge and living to tell about it.”—Foreword Reviews
“Brenda survived a remarkable journey. She has my admiration.”—Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, Big Tobacco whistleblower, former VP of research at Brown & Williamson. Academy Award-nominated film, The Insider, based on Wigand
COMPARATIVE FILM/BOOK:
"Working Girl" meets "Taken"
CASTING:
Philip/Bradley Cooper, Brenda/Margot Robbie
PRIMARY VENUES/LOCATIONS WITHIN THE BOOK:
San Antonio, Texas; Ambergris Cay, Belize; Tikal, Guatemala
BOOK EXCERPT:
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