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By Louisa May Alcott ,

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Book cover of Hospital Sketches

Ronald S. Coddington Author Of African American Faces of the Civil War: An Album

From my list on the American Civil War by those who experienced it.

Why am I passionate about this?

Two boyhood experiences inspired my fascination with the Civil War: a family trip to Gettysburg and purchasing original photographs of soldiers at flea markets. Captivated by the old photos, I became an avid collector of Civil War-era portrait photography. Curiosity about identified individuals in my collection led me on a lifelong journey to tell their stories. In 2001, I started a column, Faces of War, in the Civil War News. Since then, I’ve profiled hundreds of participants in the column, and in six books. In 2013, I became the fourth editor and publisher of Military Images, a quarterly journal that showcases, interprets, and preserves Civil War photography.

Ronald's book list on the American Civil War by those who experienced it

Ronald S. Coddington Why Ronald loves this book

Early in the war, writer Louisa May Alcott journeyed to the nation’s capital to care for sick and wounded soldiers. Over a period of six weeks, she experienced firsthand the rigors of life in crowded hospital wards as a nurse to men suffering from disease and wounds. She recorded her observations in a series of accounts printed in a Boston newspaper. These writings formed the basis of Hospital Sketches. Published a month after the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, when the outcome of the war remained uncertain, Alcott’s words encouraged other women to support the U.S. war effort, and remind us today of the critical role of nurses in times of conflict.

By Louisa May Alcott ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Hospital Sketches as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Complete and unabridged paperback edition.

Collection of short stories.

First published in 1863.


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Book cover of Hating Harlon

Hating Harlon by Elizabeth Randall,

A dark comedy set in South Florida in the 1980s shines a spotlight on women's irrational societal conditioning and the confines of family dysfunction.

Meet Lily Green, the middle sister of Rose and Iris. The family is led by Father and his dying mother. The girls' mother decamped years ago,…

Book cover of The Journals of Louisa May Alcott

Heidi Chiavaroli Author Of The Orchard House

From my list on Louisa May Alcott and her life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Heidi Chiavaroli first knew the magic of history and story while standing in Louisa May Alcott’s bedroom as a twelve-year-old. Her favorite pastime is exploring places that whisper of historical secrets in her home state of Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and poodle puppy. Her latest dual timeline novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott's life.

Heidi's book list on Louisa May Alcott and her life

Heidi Chiavaroli Why Heidi loves this book

This book opened up Louisa, and who she was to me. We can see her cheery optimism when she is younger, as well as the many inner battles she has with herself. We see her wit and humor, her desire to care for those she loves. As she ages and struggles with health issues, the reader feels her pain. Not a light-hearted book, but an extremely insightful one for those who want to gain a true glimpse into the character of this remarkable woman.

By Louisa May Alcott ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Journals of Louisa May Alcott as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From her eleventh year to the month of her death at age 55, Louisa May Alcott kept copious journals. She never intended for them to be published, but the insights they provide into her remarkable life are invaluable. Alcott grew up in a genteel but impoverished household, surrounded by the literary and philosophical elite of 19th-century New England, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Like her fictional alter ego, Jo March, she was a free spirit who longed for independence, yet she dutifully supported her parents and three sisters with her literary efforts. In the journals…


Book cover of Louisa on the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War

Heidi Chiavaroli Author Of The Orchard House

From my list on Louisa May Alcott and her life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Heidi Chiavaroli first knew the magic of history and story while standing in Louisa May Alcott’s bedroom as a twelve-year-old. Her favorite pastime is exploring places that whisper of historical secrets in her home state of Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and poodle puppy. Her latest dual timeline novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott's life.

Heidi's book list on Louisa May Alcott and her life

Heidi Chiavaroli Why Heidi loves this book

We know Louisa May Alcott primarily as an author and the writer of the great masterpiece, Little Women, but many do not realize she was also a nurse during the Civil War. This book explores how her experiences in Washington D.C. as a nurse impacted her writing as well as her beliefs. Easy to read, captivating account. Highly recommend!

By Samantha Seiple ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Louisa on the Front Lines as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An eye-opening look at Little Women author Louisa May Alcott's time as a Civil War nurse, and the far-reaching implications her service had on her writing and her activism

Louisa on the Frontlines is the first narrative nonfiction book focusing on the least-known aspect of Louisa May Alcott's career -- her time spent as a nurse during the Civil War. Though her service was brief, the dramatic experience was one that she considered pivotal in helping her write the beloved classic Little Women. It also deeply affected her tenuous relationship with her father, and inspired her commitment to abolitionism. Through…


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Book cover of Fires Burning Underground

Fires Burning Underground by Nancy McCabe,

It’s Anny’s first day of middle school and, after years of being homeschooled, her first day of public school ever. In art, Larissa asks what kind of ESP is her favorite: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, or telekinesis? Tracy asks how she identifies: gay, straight, bi, asexual, pan, trans, or confused?

And…

Book cover of Louisa May Alcott: A Biography

Heidi Chiavaroli Author Of The Orchard House

From my list on Louisa May Alcott and her life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Heidi Chiavaroli first knew the magic of history and story while standing in Louisa May Alcott’s bedroom as a twelve-year-old. Her favorite pastime is exploring places that whisper of historical secrets in her home state of Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and poodle puppy. Her latest dual timeline novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott's life.

Heidi's book list on Louisa May Alcott and her life

Heidi Chiavaroli Why Heidi loves this book

This is a well-researched, detailed biography of Louisa’s works and life. I appreciated the author covering the many different stories Louisa wrote throughout her life and how they reflected her experiences. I also loved the information on why Louisa used a pen name in the earlier part of her career. Very insightful and informative!

By Madeleine B. Stern ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Louisa May Alcott as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Madeleine B. Stern, one of the world's leading Alcott scholars, shows how the breadth of Alcott's work, ranging from Little Women to sensational thrillers and war stories, serves as a reflection of a fascinating and complicated life dotted with poverty and riches alike, hard menial work, physical suffering relieved by opiates, and the acclaim of literary success.


Book cover of Racial Indigestion: Eating Bodies in the 19th Century

Andrea Freeman Author Of Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch

From my list on food that won’t make you hungry.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to eat and want to understand why we make the food choices we do—when we are lucky enough to have choices. I have an insatiable appetite for books that examine the underbelly of food traditions and policies. I have been studying the relationship between food and racism for over fifteen years, and I am still not even close to full.

Andrea's book list on food that won’t make you hungry

Andrea Freeman Why Andrea loves this book

This book starts with an unforgettable vignette from a silent film produced in 1900: an alligator swallows an unsuspecting Black child while he is fishing by the river. A man comes to the rescue, slitting the gator open and lifting the child out of its stomach. From there, Tompkins shows how eating culture became a part of racist ideology in the United States. I gobbled this fascinating book up in just a few sittings.   

By Kyla Wazana Tompkins ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Racial Indigestion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2013 Lora Romero First Book Publication Prize presented by the American Studies Association
Winner of the 2013 Association for the Study of Food and Society Book Award
Part of the American Literatures Initiative Series

The act of eating is both erotic and violent, as one wholly consumes the object being eaten. At the same time, eating performs a kind of vulnerability to the world, revealing a fundamental interdependence between the eater and that which exists outside her body. Racial Indigestion explores the links between food, visual and literary culture in the nineteenth-century United States to reveal how…


Book cover of Love Grows

Varsha Bajaj Author Of A Garland of Henna

From my list on inter-generational themes.

Why am I passionate about this?

It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child. I grew up in an intergenerational family in India. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles provided that extended community. Grandparents can pass down traditions, ensuring the preservation of culture. Stories that speak to the reality of multi-generational households can normalize and celebrate the presence of elders. The number of Americans living in multigenerational households is about four times larger than it was in the 1970s, yet the educational potential and the joy of these relationships are often ignored in literature.

Varsha's book list on inter-generational themes

Varsha Bajaj Why Varsha loves this book

I love plants and gardening, and in this clever story, an aunt sends her niece a letter and a houseplant every month. I also love that the letters are written in poetic rhyme. Young kids love rhyme, which adds to the playfulness when reading aloud.

By Ruth Spiro , Lucy Ruth Cummins (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Grows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

A delightful celebration of family, plants, and the boundlessness of love told in lively, poetic letters from aunt to niece with bright, irresistible illustrations!

Every month, an aunt mails a letter and a houseplant to her niece and . . . LOVE GROWS!

I'm sending this pothos, so while we're apart, you'll look at its leaves and know you're in my heart.

In the vein of We Are the Gardeners and Dear Girl, this beautiful story is the perfect gift for Valentine's Day, birthdays, graduation, and more! Young readers and gardeners will also love the sidebars on each spread with…


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Book cover of Poems to Lift You Up and Make You Smile

Poems to Lift You Up and Make You Smile by Jayne Jaudon Ferrer (compiler),

This entertaining and uplifting collection of 100 classic and contemporary poems offers upbeat perspectives, positive outlooks, feel-good scenarios, smiles galore, and even a few LOL moments! Featuring the work of poets from across the U.S., Canada, England, and Ireland, it’s the perfect way to brighten a day for family members,…

Book cover of A Severe Mercy

Shandi Stevenson Author Of Worldchangers

From my list on Christian biographies to meet lifelong friends.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been a voracious reader and was blessed with parents who filled my home with books, who read to me, and who exposed me to both true and fictional stories that expanded my heart and nourished my imagination. I grew up on Christian biographies, along with devouring history and novels. I was shaped, nourished, and strengthened by the stories of real men and women who lived lives that mattered, and who understood that God never puts His children in times, in places, or in circumstances where He cannot enable them to shine brightly, and where they cannot speak truth and compassion into the darkness.

Shandi's book list on Christian biographies to meet lifelong friends

Shandi Stevenson Why Shandi loves this book

The sheer, transcendent beauty of the language in this book would have made me love it even had I not found the story engaging, and the powerful, personal truth of the story it tells would have made me love it even if the prose had been awkward and lackluster.

The marriage of the language with the deeply personal story of a young American couple finding their way through love, marriage, and friendship to the love of Christ, and then facing the ultimate test of their young faith, will mark you forever. I will warn you that I finished the book in floods of tears!

By Sheldon Vanauken ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Severe Mercy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A heart-rending love story described by its author as “the spiritual autobiography of a love rather than of the lovers” about the author’s marriage and search for faith.

 

Vanauken chronicles the birth of a powerful pagan love borne out of the relationship he shares with his wife, Davy, and describes the growth of their relationship and the dreams that they share.


A beloved, profoundly moving account of the author's marriage, the couple's search for faith and friendship with C. S. Lewis, and a spiritual strength that sustained Vanauken after his wife's untimely death. Replete with 18 letters from C.S. Lewis,…


Book cover of The Van Gogh Sisters

Caroline Cauchi Author Of Mrs Van Gogh

From my list on truly understanding the real Vincent Van Gogh.

Why am I passionate about this?

As well as being a novelist (ten published books to date), I’m a Senior Lecturer in Prose at Liverpool John Moores University. My current academic fields of interest are the role Johanna van Gogh-Bonger played in Vincent’s rise to fame, the silencing of women involved in creative pursuits, and the consideration of a novelist’s ethical and moral responsibilities when fictionalising a real life. My true passion lies in the creative uncovering of those erased stories, and in adding to the emerging conversation. That’s why I’ve shifted from writing contemporary to historical novels. I’m also known as the international, bestselling author Caroline Smailes (The Drowning of Arthur Braxton).

Caroline's book list on truly understanding the real Vincent Van Gogh

Caroline Cauchi Why Caroline loves this book

I maintain that the only way to gain a true understanding of Vincent van Gogh is to identify his role in seemingly peripheral narratives.

This book considers the Van Gogh sisters, and gives stunning voices to their previously untold narratives. An intimate and necessary insight into the siblings’ relationship, their struggles with mental health, and their intelligent observations of the changing social climate are given.

Without doubt, to recognise Vincent fully, there’s a need to both navigate and to appreciate the female relationships that influenced him.

By Willem-Jan Verlinden ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Van Gogh Sisters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The lively and revealing correspondence that Vincent van Gogh maintained with his art-dealer brother Theo is famous as a source of insight into the mind of one of the most celebrated artists of all time. But what of Anna, Lies and Willemien van Gogh, with whom Vincent had intimate and sometimes turbulent relationships? It was an argument with his oldest sister, Anna, in the aftermath of their father's death that provoked Vincent to leave the Netherlands and never return.

The Van Gogh siblings grew up at a time when long-distance travel by train first became possible. As each went their…


Book cover of Last Letters Home

Clément Horvath Author Of Till Victory: The Second World War By Those Who Were There

From my list on World War II letters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a Frenchman with a great interest in the history of the Second World War, specializing in the correspondence of Allied soldiers. Almost 20 years of collecting WWII letters led to the publication of my first book Till Victory which was an award-winning bestseller in France, before it was released in English worldwide in 2021. I also host a podcast (Till Victory: a podcast about WWII and Peace), where I interview British and American veterans, and have made documentaries such as Red Beret & Dark Chocolate or The Missing Highlander. It's all about trying to understand what the young men who fought and died to liberate my country went through when they were my age.

Clément's book list on World War II letters

Clément Horvath Why Clément loves this book

This book is more about the impact of war on the families of those who never returned from it. There isn’t a lot of combat content, but some of the letters are extremely moving. On the other hand, the title of the book is misleading, since some letters are indeed "last letters home," but they are in fact the last ones written before the soldier went home... In any case, although this book focuses exclusively on the British troops, it allows us to enter the intimacy of families torn apart by the war with great emotion.

By Tamasin Day-Lewis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Last Letters Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For many of those who lived through it, the Second World War was the most exciting, dynamic and frightening time of their lives. This wonderful collection of contemporary letters tells their stories - from the battlefields of Europe to the bombed out back streets of London, from the conflict in the skies to the hardships of the home front.

Last Letters Home doesn't show just one side of the war. By concentrating on different themes - lovers, siblings, separation and reunification - Tamasin Day-Lewis paints an unparalleled picture of the daily lives of men and women at war. Through letters…


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Book cover of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France

A Long Way from Iowa by Janet Hulstrand,

This memoir chronicles the lives of three generations of women with a passion for reading, writing, and travel. The story begins in 1992 in an unfinished attic in Brooklyn as the author reads a notebook written by her grandmother nearly 100 years earlier. This sets her on a 30-year search…

Book cover of Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends

Peter Vernezze Author Of Blogging The Plague: Camus, Covid-19, and the Current Chaos

From my list on psychotherapy and its philosophical origins.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an emeritus professor of philosophy now working as a licensed therapist, I feel uniquely qualified to span the two worlds of philosophy and psychotherapy. In addition to dozens of academic articles which no one has ever read, I’ve published books on modern China, ancient Greek Stoicism, Bob Dylan, and the TV show The Sopranos, which at least a few people seem to have picked up.

Peter's book list on psychotherapy and its philosophical origins

Peter Vernezze Why Peter loves this book

Narrative Therapy (of which this book is the founding text) traces its roots back to the French philosopher Michel Foucault and postmodern philosophy. Not that anyone can agree on a definition of postmodernism. Invoking Foucault’s critique of power, narrative therapy sees the DSM-5 (the standard list of mental illness that is akin to the Bible in psychiatry) as grounded not in objective truth but as a mostly fabricated list of pseudo-diseases a profession has conjured up in order to assure it is well-paid. Narrative therapy works not on attempting to change any objective condition the client may inhabit but to motivate the patient to change his subjective view of his condition.

By David Epston , Michael White ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

White and Epston base their therapy on the assumption that people experience problems when the stories of their lives, as they or others have invented them, do not sufficiently represent their lived experience. Therapy then becomes a process of storying or restorying the lives and experiences of these people. In this way narrative comes to play a central role in therapy. Both authors share delightful examples of a storied therapy that privileges a person's lived experience, inviting a reflexive posture and encouraging a sense of authorship and reauthorship of one's experiences and relationships in the telling and retelling of one's…


Book cover of Hospital Sketches
Book cover of The Journals of Louisa May Alcott
Book cover of Louisa on the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott in the Civil War

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