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“About Natalie is groundbreaking. It doesn’t preach or pretend to offer a panacea. Instead, it offers a refreshing, authentic look at one family’s struggle with addiction, easily the most powerful book published on the subject in the 21st century.” — Dr. Maryel McKinley PhD, Addictions Expert, Former Co-Host, “All Talk Recovery Radio,” Los Angeles, Ar-bitron rated No. 1 in Southern California
Like the band that played on as the Titanic sank, Christine Naman unpacked the groceries and made a meatloaf — the simple act of normalcy distracting her from an unthinkable reality: addiction was pulling her daughter under.
“Even with the picture of the situation coming more clearly into focus, I clung to denial like a kayaker who has been thrown from his boat would cling to a branch lying across the water,” Christine says. “It is amazing how deep into denial a person can go and how strongly they can hang onto it before reality smacks them around enough so that they let go.”
Christine traces her daughter’s years-long battle with addiction in About Natalie, a gripping, cautionary tale of how, in spite of a loving family and a comfortable life, a child can end up on the wrong path, meet the wrong people and get lost in the unthinkable.
About Natalie takes readers deep inside Christine’s emotional and mental turmoil as she grows into her new, unfortunate role as the parent of an addict. She steps on syringes left on the floor and wrestles one from the family dog’s mouth. She lives the nightmare of finding an unresponsive child on the floor and uses Narcan to revive her. She chases away a drug dealer and stays up all night waiting for her missing child to come home. She rejoices during periods of recovery and hope and is devastated during relapses. When her daughter suffers, Christine suffers right along with her.
Interwoven with Christine’s reflections are Natalie’s compelling poems that share her personal pain and the unvarnished truth of her struggle.
At its core, About Natalie is a story of fighting for — and right alongside — the ones we love, no matter how difficult the circumstances. It is a story of keeping the faith, battling hard and never giving up.
Bestselling author Christine Pisera Naman is a wife to a beautiful man named Peter and a mother to three fantastic kids named Jason, Natalie and Trevor. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, which she does poorly; painting, again poorly; and volunteering at her local hospital, which she hopes she does well. She is the author of the Faces of Hope series of books that are now housed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. Her other works include Caterpillar Kisses, Christmas Lights, The Novena and The Believers. About Natalie is her heart poured onto paper.
She hopes that by sharing her family’s difficult story she can bring understanding and knowledge to those who do not know the problem firsthand as well as provide comfort to those who know the nightmare of addiction all too well.
About Natalie Publisher: HCI Books Release Date: May 2021 ISBN-13: 978-0-7573-2385-0 (Paperback) ISBN-13: 978-0-7573-2386-7 (ePub) Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Lindsey Mach Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Betrayal, Infidelity Lead to Murder in Crimes and Passion
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Elizabeth Knoebel expected her appointment that night to provide another juicy entry in her private diary, aptly entitled Sexual Rites. But a shadowy figure, watching from the edge of her property, has other plans. Instead of an evening of pleasure, Elizabeth is confronted by someone who wants to put an end to her destructive behavior — and succeeds.
Crimes and Passion is the gripping mystery-thriller from Jeffrey S. Stephens, effortlessly weaving suspense and sensuality with psychological undercurrents.
Elizabeth’s murder investigation is turned over to Lieutenant Robbie Whyte, a former New York City cop now serving on the force in affluent Fairfield County, Connecticut. Whyte understands that the appearances of the privileged gentry are often far removed from reality, and this certainly proves to be true in the case of Elizabeth Knoebel, who Whyte discovers was under the care of psychotherapist Dr. Randi Conway.
When Whyte finds Elizabeth’s diary, Sexual Rites, he uncovers explicit details of her erotic adventures with various men, many of whom may have been the husbands of the women in her therapy group. Elizabeth was a predator bent on seducing and, in some instances, humiliating these men, obsessed with a perverse mission that Whyte believes led to her murder.
The secrets of Crimes and Passion are peeled away one layer at a time as readers meet an assortment of Dr. Conway’s patients — one of whom may have been Elizabeth’s killer. With Dr. Conway unwilling to betray her patients’ confidences, Whyte’s investigation gets complicated, putting the therapist herself in more danger as Whyte gets closer to the truth, and to the doctor herself.
With a pacing that mirrors Whyte’s frantic search for the truth, Crimes and Passion keeps readers guessing as each revelation unfolds. And along the way, readers are shown glimpses into the dynamics that cause marriages to succeed, to fail or sometimes, to end in tragedy.
Author Jeffrey S. Stephens lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is also the author of the Jordan Sandor espionage thrillers, beginning with Targets of Deception and, most recently, Rogue Mission. Crimes and Passion is the first in a planned series featuring Lieutenant Robbie Whyte.
Parenting an Addict: Mother Tells Her Gripping Story of Unwavering Love
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Like a drowning woman, Christine Naman grappled for a lifeline and choked on her harsh reality: it was time to let go of denial. The tin foil, spoons and lighters she found in her daughter’s vanity weren’t the makings of a science experiment; they were drug paraphernalia. Christine’s only solace was that she hadn’t found any needles. Three days later she did.
About Natalie is Christine’s raw, compelling story of her valiant fight to help her daughter overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. It is a gripping, cautionary tale of how, in spite of a loving family and a comfortable life, a child can end up on the wrong path, meet the wrong people and get lost in the unthinkable.
About Natalie takes readers deep inside Christine’s emotional and mental turmoil as she grows into her new, unfortunate role as the parent of an addict. She steps on syringes left on the floor and wrestles one from the family dog’s mouth. She lives the nightmare of finding an unresponsive child on the floor and uses Narcan to revive her. She struggles and wins, struggles and loses, cries and rages.
She chases away a drug dealer and stays up all night waiting for her missing child to come home. She rejoices during periods of recovery and hope and is devastated during relapses. When her daughter suffers, Christine suffers right along with her. But through it all, never once, does Christine ever contemplate giving up.
At its core, About Natalie is a story of fighting for — and right alongside — the ones we love, no matter how difficult the circumstances. It’s a story of keeping the faith, battling hard and helping a child get back on the right track. It is the story of struggling, living through it all and coming out on the other, better, side.
Christine has watched a perfectly healthy daughter thrive and then succumb to the pull of substances. She has suffered the feelings of isolation, pain and humiliation that being the parent of an addict often brings. She hopes that by sharing her family’s difficult story she can bring understanding and knowledge to those who do not know the problem firsthand as well as provide comfort to those who know the nightmare of addiction all too well.
Bestselling author Christine Pisera Naman is a wife to a beautiful man named Peter and a mother to three fantastic kids named Jason, Natalie and Trevor. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, which she does poorly; painting, again poorly; and volunteering at her local hospital, which she hopes she does well. She is the author of the Faces of Hope series of books that are now housed in the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. Her other works include Caterpillar Kisses, Christmas Lights, The Novena and The Believers. About Natalie is her heart poured onto paper.
About Natalie Publisher: HCI Books Release Date: May 2021 ISBN-13: 978-0-7573-2385-0 (Paperback) ISBN-13: 978-0-7573-2386-7 (ePub) Available from Amazon.com
Trish Stevens Melanie Howe Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone
Gifted Storyteller’s Journey with Parkinson’s and Other Challenges of a Long Life
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When Parkinson’s disease descended like a dense fog on master storyteller John J. Clayton, he was forced to pivot his perspective, change his expectations and write from a place he calls “… both alive and not alive. Like a kind of ghost …”
Parkinson’s Blues: Stories of My Life begins with the arrival of the dark unexpected. In a Monty Python skit, someone in a drab living room complains about being nagged by ques-tions. “I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition,” he complains. Suddenly Michael Palin, in red 16th century costume, bursts into the room. “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!” he shrieks.
Who expects the onset of Parkinson’s? Or cancer? Or stroke? Or the loss of a child? The terrible surprise—the life we didn’t expect—isn’t limited to Parkinson’s. It’s the existential condition of everyone’s life. In fourteen sketches, John J. Clayton links the experience of PD with the experience of childhood sickness, family battles, the struggle to make a good life out of a painful life. The sketches express the hope that we can grow spiritually in the midst of the terrible.
Through 14 eloquent stories — all of which underscore that Clayton’s gift and spirit remain fully intact — Clayton links the onset of Parkinson’s disease with other unexpected, and challenging experiences.
Parkinson’s Blues explores the anticipated pain and unexpected comedy of Parkinson’s in a manner that is deep, graceful and dignified.
Author John J. Clayton has published nine volumes of fiction, both novels and short stories. His collection of interwoven short stories, Minyan, was published in September 2016; his collection Many Seconds into the Future in 2014. Mitzvah Man, his fourth novel, arrived in 2011.
Clayton’s stories have appeared in AGNI, Virginia Quarterly Review, TriQuarterly, Sewanee Review, over twenty times in Commentary, in Notre Dame Review, Missouri Review and The Journal. Two personal essays have been recently published in Jewish Review of Books. His stories have won prizes in O.Henry Prize Stories, Best American Short Stories, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. His Radiance, a collection of stories, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award.
Clayton grew up in New York City; received his B.A. at Columbia, his M.A. at NYU and his Ph.D. at Indiana. For much of his career he taught modern literature and fiction writing as professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has also written two books of literary criticism: Saul Bellow: In Defense of Man and Gestures of Healing, a psychological study of the modern novel.
To Live or Maybe Not Takes Readers On Adventurous Ride With Musician Gary Revel
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Musician and historian Gary Revel fully expects readers to say, “No way this could be true,” as they peruse the pages of his colorful memoir, To Live or Maybe Not.
“Don’t worry, I feel the same way when I remember some things I have done in my life,” he quips in the book’s prologue.
Part coming-of-age and part adventurous road trip, To Live or Maybe Not begins in Florala, Alabama, near the Florida state line in 1949. Readers who experienced the nomadic, hippie culture of the ’60s and ’70s will be overcome with nostalgia, as Revel takes a long, winding stroll down a memory lane paved with colorful characters and unforgettable situations. We follow Revel through his unusual upbringing, his high school days and his US Navy service during Vietnam.
Most people associate Revel with his accomplishments in the music industry, and it was after his honorable discharge from the Navy that he found himself in Hollywood, California, where his music career blossomed. He eventually traveled back across the country to New York City, Memphis and Nashville. Revel includes entertaining anecdotes from his music career and his pivot toward family life before his life took yet another turn and he began his investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
To Live or Maybe Not leaves off with Revel and his family back in Hollywood. It’s the end of the book but the beginning of more adventures and books to come.
Author Gary Revel was born in Florala, Alabama. After his parents divorced when he was just 5, music became a trusted companion, and he formed his first band when he was 15. After a long career in music, Revel found himself investigating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in association with the US Government’s House Select Committee on Assassinations. Revel continues to release and distribute music via his Jongleur Music company as well as develop motion pictures via his Jongleur Pictures company. He is also the author of My Angel from Heaven, Milestones, Grempk and Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction, his investigation into the life of Michael Jackson.
Trish Stevens Jenny Crain-Harrison Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
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Meryl Streep: On the Couch Offers Intimate Look At Hollywood Icon
The widely popular On the Couch series by Alma Bond, Ph.D., has given readers unique and revealing perspectives into the lives of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie O, Hillary Clinton and Barbara Streisand as seen through the eyes of fictitious New York psychoanalyst Dr. Darcy Dale.
Dr. Bond’s latest, Meryl Streep: On the Couch, takes us inside the life of this Hollywood icon and political activist who’s been nominated for more than 20 Oscars. Her film-ography reads like a greatest hits from the past 40 years, from Kramer v. Kramer to The Devil Wears Prada and the enchanting Mama Mia! ― Streep has seemingly checked every box. But who is she when the cameras aren’t rolling? Readers are about to find out!
When Streep decides to pay Dr. Darcy Dale a visit, it isn’t for treatment. Streep is preparing for her next role, and she’s come to observe and study Manhattan’s most successful psychoanalyst. The two women strike a deal: Streep will have to undergo psychoanalytic treatment herself as part of her research. What follows is a tale that explores the journey and the psyche of a character whose spell never wears off on fans.
Author Alma H. Bond received her Ph.D. from Columbia University and became a highly successful psychoanalyst in private practice for 37 years in New York City. She “retired” to become a full-time writer. She has written more than 26 books, including her On the Couch Series, Camille Claudel, a Novel; The Autobiography of Maria Callas, a Novel; Old Age is a Terminal Illness; I Married Dr. Jekyll and Woke Up Mrs. Hyde; On Becoming a Grandparent; and a children’s book, The Tree That Could Fly. Dr. Bond also wrote the play, Maria, about the life of Maria Callas.
Her late husband, Rudy Bond, was a well-known actor, appearing in many films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, top Broadway shows and in more than 100 TV shows. He also wrote the book I Rode a Streetcar Named Desire. The Bonds have three children, all of whom have published books, and eight grandchildren, none of whom have published books … yet.
Meryl Streep: On the Couch
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Release Date: December 2019
ISBN-10: 161088499X
ISBN-13: 978-1610884990
Available from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and BancroftPress.com
