Three New Hampshire writers will offer insights from their lives in new books coming out this August and September. The reflective tomes are a chance to walk in another’s shoes through their personal stories.
Members of the New Hampshire Writer’s Project suggested these selections for readers.
Gail Thorell Schilling’s latest book was released on Aug. 5. Do Not Go Gentle, Go to Paris: Travels of an Uncertain Woman of a Certain Age tells of when she was 62 years old and she traveled alone to France. Visiting France was a goal deferred for 40 years and through the journey, the Concord woman learned how to age. She draws wisdom from women and places that gracefully endure and, despite her fickle sweetheart, discovers that joie de vivre has no expiration date.
Social worker and author, Ashley Davis Bush of Epping, will be releasing The Art and Power of Acceptance: Your Guide to Inner Peace on Sept. 3 through Sterling Ethos. In the book, Bush debunks the idea that accepting yourself, your circumstances, and others is merely passive apathy or resignation. She introduces the simple but radical practice of self-compassion as the key to disarming resistance, expanding positive emotions, and moving easily with “what is.” She invites you to see how acceptance paradoxically leads to powerful, lasting change. Using personal and clinical stories, practical suggestions and visualizations, and evidence-based research, Bush illuminates a new way of being with life.
Teacher Steve MacKenzie released a collection of essays, previously published in Foster’s Daily Democrat, in book form over the summer. Room 217: The Making of a Teacher are snapshots of a high school English classroom from 2006 to 2015, giving a glimpse of the real-life triumphs, tragedies and tumult that is public education.