Sip Lake by Joe Basara

Owen Cloud has been talked into moving to Cypress Lake. “Sip Lake is what the locals call it,” his friend says, only he wants Owen to go to work for him, selling real estate. But when Owen demurs, he gets him an orderly job at the local hospital, since “putting butts on bed pans” is more his speed.

On his first night at work, Owen sits alone in the dining room, eating a sloppy joe sandwich, while studying an unfinished painting on the wall before him. Drowsy, a young woman’s “hello” startles him. She has just entered the room, but suddenly he finds that the painting has become his My Florida Coloring Book, that he was issued in first grade. Turning its pages, he sees Ponce de Leon searching for the Fountain of Youth, the Barefoot Mailman trudging down the beach, Flagler’s railroad on its way to Key West, and many other images. When the young woman sits down across from him, her verbal hello becomes a visible halo that surrounds her. But this doesn’t last long, and since he’s only recently broken up with a girl in college, he’s in no hurry to become involved again.

Still, the attraction is there, but even more importantly, it seems like someone has turned up the volume on the “Buzz of Being.” Walking out of the dining room later, outside he hears it raining, pouring, but realizes he’s only passed a patient’s room where an “old man is snoring.” This is only the beginning of his seeing life in a more blended way, that comes to involve people, places, pop music, literary quotations, past events and present ones.

He does admit he has also fallen in love, but is held back by the fact that he is not physically attractive, with kinky red hair and a pug nose with nostrils pointing outward like a second pair of eyes. Like sandpipers gliding back and forth with the rising and receding surf, his confidence swings back and forth between doubt and certainty. Can he win this girl, or any girl? But also, will he ever be able to turn his daily journal into “a great work of literature”? And, aware he is foolish, if he persists in his folly will one day become wise?

Like switching on a light and finding palmetto bugs over the walls and ceilings that quickly scurry away, he continually finds himself being caught in the act of being himself. Thoughts and memories spill over in verbalizations often heard by those around him, causing him embarrassment, making him want to scurry away. And yet these past memories and present experiences combine to lead him out of the shallows toward some greater depth.
In Sip Lake, a first-person narrative, Owen candidly tells you about himself and all the people he encounters–patients, hospital staff, neighbors, friends–during the summer of 1977, and these characters influence him and add to the richness of the tale.

When the Stars Go Dark: A Novel by Paula McLain

Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing.

The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna’s childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with saving the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.

Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives—and our faith in one another.

Swimming with Maya: A Mother's Story by Eleanor Vincent

Previously available only in hardcover, Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, virtually as a single-parent. Maya, the eldest, was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler, Maya was an angelic tow-head, full of life and curiosity. As a teenager, Maya was energetic and independent – and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected, like best friends or sisters, but always also mother and daughter.

Then at age 19, Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and, in a crushing cantilever fall, is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanor’s life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Maya’s fate.

Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Maya’s organs. Years later, she is able to hear Maya’s heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way, Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter, as well as Eleanor’s traumatic life as a child and young woman. In a story that has been called “heartbreaking and heart-healing,” Eleanor Vincent illuminates the kind of courage, creativity, faith, and sheer tenacity it takes to find one’s balance after unthinkable tragedy.

Praise for Swimming with Maya:

“Vincent’s poignant decision to donate Maya’s organs will resonate with even hard-boiled readers.” Booklist

“Powerful prose with a meaningful and memorable message.” Lee Gutkind, Founder, Creative Nonfiction Magazine

“An important addition to the literature of loss and restoration.” Maxine Kumin, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of Inside the Halo and Beyond: The Anatomy of a Recovery

“Heartbreaking and heart healing, this compelling story of surviving the death of a child will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book.” Ellen Bass, author of The Courage to Heal and The Human Line

“Every reader who has had to deal with traumatic loss will find wisdom and healing in these brave pages.” Chana Bloch, author of Mrs. Dumpty and Blood Honey

“Riveting, poignant, and utterly honest… It shows that one can recover from the loss of a child.” Judy Tatelbaum, author of The Courage to Grieve and You Don’t Have to Suffer

“Eleanor Vincent chronicles her grief and the healing that came with helping others.” Carol Lin, CNN

“Blows the reader away with its clarity, its unstinting honesty, and the searing accuracy of its vision of the medical and emotional complexity surrounding the tragic death of a young woman. Highly recommended.” John Ruark, MD, FACP, author of Dying Dignified

“Thoughtful, honest and beautifully written… a fabulous story about what it means to be a mother.” Wendy Lichtman, author of Blew and the Death of the Mag and Secrets, Lies and Algebra

“Life trumps death in this beautiful memoir.” Linda Joy Myers, author of Don’t Call Me Mother–A Daughter’s Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness and Power of Memoir

Jesus: Fib, Dead, or God?by James Finke

In this volume of the Christianity Uncomplicated book series, James Finke addresses the most important question in history, asked by the most important person in history.

The person is Jesus of Nazareth and the question is, “Who do you say that I am?”

Tragically, most people will spend their entire life dodging the question. They’ll change the subject, using objections like:

— The Christian faith and I have different views on social issues like abortion and gay marriage.
— Some Christian groups are too intolerant.
— I don’t like how some Christian groups meddle in politics.
— Many Christians are hypocrites.
— There are lots of religions, and I’m not sure only one has to be the right way.

That’s where this book comes in. No more playing “spiritual whac-a-mole” with skeptics. You’ll learn to methodically and simply explain why Jesus Christ is the Chief Cornerstone of your life.

Your faith, and your ability to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others will never be the same.

Are you ready? Let’s talk Jesus.

What other Christ-followers think about this book series…

“I thoroughly enjoy this author’s writing style, which has a conversational feel to it. He presents the information in a well-researched and organized manner, then illustrates it with useful analogies that help to make the material much more understandable. More than that, the author defends his faith with such clarity that I felt a true sense of joy reading it.”

“There is such a kindness and gentleness in the way the information is presented, and you feel as though your friend has personally written the words to you on the page.”

“With totally relatable and often humorous, ‘next-door neighbor’ ease, James simply un-complicates things.”

“Numbers and science speak to me. Balancing that with faith is difficult at times. Someone gave me this book, and it has changed my world.”

“As a long-time reader of apologetics books, I highly recommend this book. It can change your life!”

“James has a gift of writing that explains who God is and the evidence for believing in Him in a very methodical and logical pattern complete with graph layouts. As a visual learner I find this writing style very appealing.”

“I loved the writing style, the examples and the explanations of quite tricky concepts! It’s brilliant. Such easy reading and helped me to think deeper about God throughout.”

“As a former Catholic school student turned skeptic, this book provided clear and compelling arguments that had me thinking. I like the pragmatic approach and I think many people will appreciate this topic being presented in this way.”

“I know a number of people who might change their minds about being atheists if they read this book!”

“Author James Finke has a knack for methodically answering frequently asked questions, precept upon precept.”

“Perfect gift for those who may be searching for answers. This book speaks clearly in ways where it’s hard to find words at times.”

“I wanted to have solid, defined reasons for believing and used this book for a Bible study.”

“Please read this book. You’ll be glad you did.”