Books
When I Leave You
Grief has a way of fooling us into thinking we’re alone.
When Ellie Trechsel dies of a brain aneurysm at age 36, she discovers the afterlife is not the calm and comforting plane she always thought it would be. Instead, it’s a painful rite of passage.
Welcoming her in the afterlife is her mother-in-law, Mari, who offers herself as a trusted guide. But Ellie isn't ready to release her hold on life—even if she’s only a spectator now. As she watches her daughter take pills to cope, her trans best friend seeking harbor in an abusive relationship, and her lifelong love sinking into a deep depression, all Ellie can see are her own mistakes.
As she swirls through the past, present, and future of the lives of her family members, Ellie needs to let go of the control she once had, but in the process, discovers how little control she ever really had in the first place.
From the multi-award winning author of As Though You Were Mine comes an emotional story of loss, grief, and compassion for fans of The Lovely Bones and What Dreams May Come.
This Isn't Everything You Are
Two siblings. Each holds a secret that will change all they thought they knew about one another.
When a child gets seriously injured on a school field trip, Lizzie loses not only her job and apartment, but most of her friends. She has a choice: face the consequences or hide. She chooses refuge with her brother, Justin. Except consequences can’t be avoided forever, and the incident at work causes Lizzie’s past to bubble up and uncover a long-buried truth about the accident that claimed the lives of their mother and sister twenty-five years ago.
Justin is happy to offer Lizzie a fresh start by having her move in with him. But as Lizzie cobbles together a new life forward, Justin’s starts to fall apart. Turbulence hits him at work when already challenging colleagues–who have never understood his autistic traits–become adversarial after his recent promotion, his best friend disappears for days at a time, and unwanted, long repressed memories begin to resurface.
As Lizzie and Justin’s lives collide, they must face a deeply held secret and a hidden promise. Both will open questions of loyalty, forgiveness, and what it means to be family.
As Though You Were Mine
The family she didn't want but desperately needs.
"A wonderful story about overcoming self-doubt and relearning family in the wake of tragedy. I adored the characters. Add a cast of unexpected secondary characters, and this is an uplifting page-turner...with a surprising twist."
Bestselling author of The Perfect Son and The Promise Between Us
"Full of heart and warmth, As Though You Were Mine is a raw and real look into what makes up a family. A captivating read about becoming a mother unexpectedly, it will keep you riveted until the last page."
Author of Red Thread of Fate and Amazon bestseller Someone Else's Life
All I'm Asking
Trade your popcorn for pop rocks as you dive into Naomi's chaos.
Teacher and single mom Naomi is always biting off more than she can chew. Naomi knows what it’s like to grow up in hard times and still manage a decent education, so when it comes to her online, at–promise (not “at–risk,” thank you very much) high school students, she goes the extra mile.
At the rate she’s going, though, she’ll need the mouth of a hippo to have a shot of chewing it all.
Except, her students aren’t the only ones who need her. Naomi’s best friend discovers her wife has a mysterious disease doctors can’t figure out how to diagnose, her daughter struggles with debilitating social anxiety, and her mother calls her repeatedly. From jail. When one of Naomi’s students shows up at her door, pregnant and homeless, Naomi can’t help but take her in. But Naomi’s hyper–involvement in her students’ lives results in her alienating the people she loves most.
Wondering how she’d gotten everything wrong, Naomi joins an online book club made up of sugar–addicted candy lovers. Her newfound friends help her to see her life through a different lens. With the members’ support, Naomi pieces her life back together, owns her mistakes, and discovers how true family wants everything you are instead of everything you’re not.
Narrated in a series of emails, texts, discussion forums, and other forms of communication, ALL I'M ASKING delves into the bonds of friendship and family, what can test it, and how we find our way back to strengthen those ties.