Anxious Kid Makes Pretty Good is a candid, often wry collection of essays tracing one woman’s life with high anxiety, ADHD, and recurring depression—and the winding, determined path that eventually leads to a vocation as writer and editor. After years of earnest but unfulfilling jobs, she discovers that the very traits that once felt burdensome have become part of her creative engine. Told in two parts, the first offers a memoir—“All Day Long I Wondered”—chronicling the author’s struggles,...

“I returned to the same respiratory therapist for my annual checkup. I told her that her words to me, ‘You look good for your age,’ had inspired a book. ‘Wow!’ she said. ‘You wrote a whole book about that?’ ‘Twenty-nine kick-ass writers wrote it,’ I said. She gave me a thumbs up.” From the Preface This is a book about women and ageism. There are twenty-nine contributing writers, ranging in age from their forties to their nineties. Through essays, short stories, and poetry, they share their...

Alarmed that Canada Post keeps losing money, Ariadne Jensen, a woman in her fifties, pitches the CEO with a scheme to save the corporation: she will get people to start writing and mailing letters again. As an inspiration to others, Ariadne writes bundles of letters for all to see; some are historical fiction, while others are drawn from her own correspondence. Each letter itself tells a story, while together they form a bigger story—about Ariadne, her determination to set wrongs right, he...

Every day, things happen right in front of you that you believe are wrong. You could act on that belief. Most days, for all sorts of reasons, you don't bother. But on that day, for whatever reason, you did. You rose up: against tyranny, convention, rudeness, unfavourable odds, malevolence, apathy. Against your boss, your barista, your worst enemy, your best friend, yourself. Saved the day. Actually, maybe made things worse. Made a difference. Got flattened. Did it work? Well, life's compli...

Rona Altrows’ short stories go to the core of what it is to be human — to cherish a departed mate beyond reason, to love a child to distraction, to keep the faith with a friend no matter what, to laugh in the face of self-doubt. This collection delivers a humorous yet poignant series of tales told from the perspectives of women.

A passion for humanity drives Rona Altrows's Key In Lock. The people in these entertaining yet poignant stories wrestle with self-doubt, ethical dilemmas, money problems, health issues. Yet somehow they survive and sometimes they even thrive. Key in Lock also marks the return of Irene, the beloved manager-in-all-but-name of Marjorie's Lingerie introduced in Altrows's previous book, A Run on Hose. This time Irene takes on issues as diverse as dating later in life, the effect of childlessnes...

The pages of this anthology are filled with personal essays and poems of thoughtful musings, raw memories, and humorous self-examinations by authors and poets who have been labelled by the world—teachers, parents, and peers—as shy. Here, they proudly own up to their shyness, and their message is clear: they don’t need to be “cured”! Why should they, when nearly half of North Americans consider themselves shy? Editors Naomi K. Lewis and Rona Altrows have enlisted writers from across the con...

Waiting, that most human of experiences, saturates all of our lives. We spend part of each day waiting—for birth, death, appointments, acceptance, forgiveness, redemption. This collection of thirty-two personal essays is as much about hope as it is about waiting. Featuring literary voices from the renowned to the emerging, this anthology of contemporary creative nonfiction will resonate with anyone who has ever had to wait. Contributors: Samantha Albert, Rona Altrows, Sharon Butala, Jane C...

“I returned to the same respiratory therapist for my annual checkup. I told her that her words to me, ‘You look good for your age,’ had inspired a book. ‘Wow!’ she said. ‘You wrote a whole book about that?’ ‘Twenty-nine kick-ass writers wrote it,’ I said. She gave me a thumbs up.” From the PrefaceThis is a book about women and ageism. There are twenty-nine contributing writers, ranging in age from their forties to their nineties. Through essays, short stories, and poetry, they shar...

This “clever and satisfying” (Associated Press) #1 international bestseller for fans of Kristin Hannah and Jennifer Chiaverini follows three women who are bound together by a long-lost letter, a mother’s love, and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose—inspired by true stories.2017: When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a life-shattering confession, she is determined to find the intended recipient. Her search takes her b...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of My Name is Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge comes a “poised and moving” (Vogue)novel about a divorced couple stuck together during lockdown—and the love, loss, despair, and hope that animate us even as the world seems to be falling apart.“Strout’s understanding of the human condition is capacious.”—NPRA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:

Best Book of 2020New York Times |NPR | New York Post"This hushed suspense tale about thwarted dreams of escape may be her best one yet . . . Its own kind of masterpiece." --Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post"A new Tana French is always cause for celebration . . . Read it once for the plot; read it again for the beauty and subtlety of French's writing." --Sarah Lyall, The New York TimesCal Hooper thought a...