It’s been said that “To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving.” Truer words have never been spoken.

This is the essence of Joanne Sherry Mitchell’s latest collection of contemporary poetry, "The Pain We Call Love," in which Mitchell digs into the harsh realities of love.

Love is ...Read more

The first chest pain hit Heather Bardeleben as she pored over a spreadsheet while working late into the evening at her suburban Chicago home.

When her husband, Bill Bardeleben, suggested she lie down, she brushed off the pain with "I'll be fine."

But throughout the evening and night, Heather noticed her arms felt heavy. Meanwhile, the pulse ...Read more

Kathleen Somers’ "Barely Visible: Mothering a Son Through His Misunderstood Autism" is a deeply moving memoir that chronicles one mother’s emotional journey through grief, motherhood and the challenges of raising a neurodivergent child. With unflinching honesty, Somers invites readers into the most intimate corners of her life, offering a ...Read more

I have come to the realization that I do not have the time nor patience for all the high-tech innovations designed to make my life more marvelous. I have all the marvelous I can handle right now.

This morning, I replaced a burned-out kitchen light bulb. It was 9:16 when I started the process. Replacing the old bulb took less than a minute, ...Read more

Joanne Henning’s "Deceptive Images" is a beautifully crafted novel that blends romance, self-discovery and artistic passion into a compelling narrative. Set against the backdrop of the dance world, the story follows Rosa, a determined and talented woman navigating the complexities of her career, relationships and personal growth.

Henning’s ...Read more

With "Another Fine Mess" upon us, now is the perfect time to revisit Lindy Ryan’s chilling Southern horror series. If you haven’t yet stepped into the eerie world of the Evans family, you’re in for a fun, unputdownable experience. These novels are more than ghost stories — they’re a reckoning with history, grief and the ties that ...Read more

Nearly nine months pregnant, Nefertari Nelson-Williams sunk into her sofa after a long Sunday caring for her four kids. She clicked on the TV and flipped to her favorite show of late, TLC's "A Baby Story."

Although she was an experienced mom, watching episodes of pregnancy complications was a good reminder that every birth and baby are ...Read more

A real estate broker, an auctioneer and a columnist walk into a bar. Not really, but the setup is similar. I was standing with two friends, a man who sells real estate and a woman who appraises art and manages auctions. The three of us have known one another and one another’s families for years.

The man immigrated to the U.S. from Central ...Read more

Who killed the duke? Long the most popular hottie in the ballrooms of English historical romance, there’s a rumor running through Romancelandia that his demise is imminent.

For decades, historical romance has been the backbone of the romance genre. Whether you mark historical romance as beginning with the social comedies of Jane Austen (...Read more

Sheron Lee insisted she couldn't fit any sort of exercise into her busy day.

A systems accountant for the federal government, she often put work above everything, sometimes even skipping family vacations. Even getting to work took commitment; she commuted an hour each way between her home in Hammond, Louisiana, and her office in New Orleans.

...Read more

D. Allen Henry has a passion for genius, the kind that stands the test of time. He also has a passion for inventing fiction that not only brings geniuses to life but also their legacies to bear in the modern-day era. Adding to his existing set of mysteries surrounding luminaries such as Galileo, Da Vinci and Dante comes his new novel, "And the ...Read more

When the kids were growing up, we had a giant weeping willow tree in the backyard. It was a magnificent specimen with long, graceful branches that swayed in the breeze.

It was also a magnificent mess. Not only did it dance in the wind, it seemed the tree shed constantly-every day, every week, every month of the year. To add insult to injury, ...Read more

With the final season of "The Handmaid’s Tale" upon us, Gilead’s chilling grip on our imagination feels more relevant than ever. As real-world threats to bodily rights, privacy, and personal freedoms intensify, these novels delve into the struggle for self-determination against oppressive forces — whether political, technological, or ...Read more

Brooke Jones went through two years of infertility before finally becoming pregnant at 34.

Always an anxious person, her worries rose "to another level" as she went through her pregnancy, delivery and early parenthood during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If someone so much as coughed near Jones, it could send her into an emotional tailspin. And that ...Read more

Suze Leonie’s "Yonah and Devorah’s Traveling Music Theater" takes readers on a haunting journey through grief, family secrets and creative reinvention. At the heart of this deeply introspective novel is Eli Schmidt, a young man who, after his grandmother’s death, finds himself grappling not only with her passing but with a family legacy ...Read more

One of our granddaughters announced she is going to an ice cream parlor on her honeymoon. I thought it would be good to get that on record in case she changes her mind and starts talking about a Caribbean cruise or backpacking through Europe.

She is not engaged.

She doesn’t date.

She is 6.

To the best of everyone’s knowledge, she has ...Read more

Some authors can tell a sad story but render it beautiful. That’s what Bobi Conn observed when she started reading books while in graduate school at the age of 27.

I would take it a step further and count Conn herself among those authors.

Conn documented poignantly the harsh realities of her own life growing up in the foothills of the ...Read more

Dr. Priya Soni remembers the childhood hand-washing lessons her mother taught. She didn't just make Soni wash her hands before meals, or insist she clean up after playing outside.

Soni's mother, a microbiologist who ran her own lab, had her wash one hand and then put both in a petri dish to illustrate the difference good hygiene made in ...Read more

Here’s how death works:

Up there, you’re not allowed to leave your residence or contact other dead people — although you’ll be afforded any leisure pastimes or hobbies that may interest you. No one said death wasn’t boring.

The only exception is if your phone rings and you are contacted and called to Earth by a living descendent for ...Read more

My mother grew up in a beset post-Depression family that saddled her with too many responsibilities, including, from age 9, tending her three siblings while her mother worked nights as a nurse and slept days.

Among her siblings was Aunt Cathy.

Aunt Cathy was always considered "off” by my hardened grandmother, though I always wondered if she ...Read more