DISCUSSION GUIDES

Summary:

Myth Made Manifest

Over 4000 years ago in ancient Sumer, some of the first mythographers inscribed the stories and myths of the Goddess Inanna on clay tablets in cuneiform. These incredible findings were unearthed, and the fragments were painstakingly pieced together and translated.

What they discovered were the ways Inanna was heralded as a goddess who embodies polarities: impatient and deliberate, an attentive lover and fierce warrior, connected to fertility as well as death-making her an accessible, relatable, and inspiring representation of the Divine Feminine as she stands in her power and multidimensionality. The Way of Inanna: A Heroine's Guide to Living Unapologetically is a field guide to heart-centered living through the wisdom of the Sumerian Goddess of Love.

Each chapter deconstructs sacred narratives in which the Goddess navigates the seven gates of her soul's journey from awakening to ascension. More than a simple retelling, the book is myth made manifest in which Inanna becomes a means to accessing our own ascension and alchemical magic within our modern, contemporary context.

With a combined psychotherapeutic and spiritual approach, author Seana Zelazo offers rituals and practices to help readers connect directly with Inanna. From harnessing your sensual energy to reclaiming the generative capacity of the Divine Feminine and identifying and amplifying your life's purpose, you will discover the ways Inanna's process is your own.

Summary: The true story of identical twins Isabella and Hà, who were born in Vietnam and raised on opposite sides of the world, each knowing little about the other’s existence. Then, against all odds, they were reunited as teenagers. How they have come to redefine the meaning of family for themselves is a moving, coming-of-age tale of sisterhood.

Summary: Louise Erdrich meets Karen Russell in this deliciously strange and daringly original novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble: An eclectic cast of characters—both real and ghostly—converge at an amusement park in Nashville, 1926.

Summary:

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
"Alice Feeney is great with TWISTS and TURNS." --Harlan Coben

The NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR of Rock Paper Scissors returns with a locked-room mystery when a family reunion leads to murder in a delightfully twisty and atmospheric thriller, as seen on the TODAY show.

"A dysfunctional family meets Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None with a truly gasp-inducing twist. This is the book you've been looking for." --Catherine Ryan Howard, bestselling author of 56 Days

Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart. Now after years of avoiding each other, Daisy Darker's entire family is assembling for Nana's 80th birthday party in her crumbling gothic house on a tiny tidal island. The family arrives, each of them harboring secrets. When the tide comes in, they will be cut off from the rest of the world for eight hours.

But at the stroke of midnight, as a storm rages, Nana is found dead. And an hour later, the next family member follows...

Trapped on an island where someone is killing them one by one, the Darkers must reckon with their present mystery as well as their past secrets, before the tide goes out and all is revealed. As seen on the TODAY show and picked by Book of the Month, Daisy Darker's family secrets and Alice Feeney's trademark shocking twists will keep readers riveted.

Summary: Cara Romero thought she would work at the factory of little lamps for the rest of her life. But when, in her mid-50s, she loses her job in the Great Recession, she is forced back into the job market for the first time in decades. Set up with a job counselor, Cara instead begins to narrate the story of her life.

Summary: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery comes a witty and heartfelt story of two friends who unexpectedly find the person-and the place in which-they belong this Christmas.

Summary: The Golden Girls meets Practical Magic in this funny, tender, and uplifting feminist tale of sisterhood featuring a coven of aging witches who must unite their powers to fight the men determined to drive them out of their home and town. This novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships.

Summary: In 1942, a promise to her brother before he goes off to war puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian and book club organizer in small-town Maine. The women of her club band together as the war comes dangerously close, but their friendships are tested by secrets, and they must decide whether depending on each other is worth the cost.

Summary: When Deb Brandon discovered that cavernous angiomas―tangles of malformed blood vessels in her brain―were behind the terrifying symptoms she'd been experiencing, she underwent one brain surgery. And then another. And then another. And that was just the beginning.

Summary: Once a Girl, Always a Boy is Jeremy’s journey from childhood through coming out as transgender and eventually emerging as an advocate for the transgender community. This is not only Jeremy’s story but also that of his family, told from multiple perspectives―those of the siblings who struggled to understand the brother they once saw as a sister, and of the parents who ultimately joined him in the battle against discrimination. This is a story of acceptance in a world not quite ready to accept.