In this powerful memoir, Lyn Barrett recounts her journey through Dissociative Identity Disorder, revealing how a family crisis unearthed her long-buried childhood trauma. Crazy: Reclaiming Life from the Shadow of Traumatic Memory is a story of resilience and transformation — the reclaiming of a life once fragmented by trauma.
BookTribApril 21, 2026
In My Mountains, Chris Smith invites readers into a landscape shaped as much by grief, resilience and faith as it is by the rugged peaks surrounding his home in Pagosa Springs. The memoir traces the journey of loving a son through addiction, chronic pain and ultimately loss. Smith writes not…
BookTribNovember 25, 2025
Karen: A Brother Remembers is a probing and introspective look into a family nearly undone by the unspeakable. In this deeply affecting story, Kelsey Grammar leaves no stone unturned. There is no amount of preparation in life for confronting the tragic loss of a loved one. In July 1975, renowned…
Philip ZozzaroMay 6, 2025
Stephen Policoff’s Dangerous Blues (Flexible Press) comes with the unique subtitle of “Kind of a Ghost Story.” It’s hard for the book to not be, at least partially, a ghost story — because the protagonist keeps seeing the specter of his late wife. But the book is also a touching…
BookTribJune 14, 2023
When I saw the cover for Kennedy Ryan’s newest novel Before I Let Go (Forever), I thought two things: first, I wondered if she was expanding into women’s fiction, and second, that it had been a long time since I’d been to a party (more on that later). But above…
Y. M. NelsonNovember 17, 2022
Elza Maalouf was destined to change the world. From the very start, as she grew in her mother’s womb, the debate over her existence, whether she’d be her family’s fourth boy or the women’s long-awaited girl, was like “a tug of war between the patriarchal gods and matriarchal goddesses disputing…
Chelsea CicconeOctober 8, 2021
Why Her? Why Not Me?: A Series of Deep Familial Misfortunes (Balboa Press) discloses, in the very title, that tragedy comprises the crux of the forthcoming account. Chapter one's title, “The First Traumatic Event,” also reinforces the expectation. Despite this threatening storm cloud hanging over the reader’s mind, the opening…
Judy MorenoSeptember 17, 2021
Anne Lamott has become known for her ability to write about such diverse topics as becoming a single mother after recovering from addiction, her son as a teenaged father, the craft of writing, and her faith with openness, grace and self-deprecating humor. In the 35 years since her first book…
Melissa DuclosDecember 5, 2014
In Under the Southern Sky, Kristy Woodson Harvey masterfully weaves four points of view together with a friends-to-lovers story of grief, second chances and deep generational friendship. Amelia Buxton thought her life was on the right track. A successful journalist and reporter just published in The New York Times, and…
Tif MarceloApril 29, 2021
What is better than the love of a cat? Pets provide some of our strongest and most meaningful relationships in life. They love us unconditionally and see us through our best and worst moments. They are our best friends, and Buddy the cat was no exception. Dyanna Morrison, self-described as…
Julianna GoldflussFebruary 23, 2022
This is the crux of Jasper the Wonder Dog, written by Richard Halliday in honor of his beloved pet. This poignant tale packs twelve years of love and adventure into 52 pages, giving us a glimpse into the deep connection between Jasper and his family. While the story is bittersweet,…
BookTribNovember 30, 2021
So much of our society is based around the idea of the nuclear family. The archetype of the working father, the stay-at-home mother and the young children has become deeply ingrained in our culture, from family sitcoms on television to children playing house on the playground. But more and more,…
Cameron KimballMay 26, 2021
When I was a child, I lived just two houses down from my friend Emily, and on snow days I would bring my sled over to her house. When my parents told me that Emily was moving away, I was so sad to say goodbye — but I was also…
Cameron KimballJanuary 19, 2021
https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-shoebox-smaller.jpeg Sometimes children ask questions that aren’t so easy to answer. When it comes to the harder topics of discussion — for example, what happens after people die — it can be tempting to try to shield them from these difficult conversations. But children need to learn how to handle…
BookTribNovember 2, 2020
“A picture is worth a thousand words” goes the old adage. And for those of us who write about art, we know that a picture can also inspire a thousand words. With Love by children’s author Casey Rislov, that same picture can take on deeper meanings in the context of…
Cynthia ConradOctober 15, 2020