Octogenarian Elisabeth Leete is a native of Geneva, Switzerland, as her charming French accent will testify.  In Quartet, she sings of the joys and sorrows of the turning of the seasons, which so eloquently capture the the turning of life's own seasons, its depths and joys and sorrows well borne.   In the sixties, she was the New York correspondent for the French newspaper France-Soir.  After moving to Ashfield, she taught French at the School for International Training, Hamshire College, and Greenfield Community College.  She is the author of two previous books: Learn French the Fast and Fun Way (1981) and Du Coq a L’Ane (2009), a collection of poetry, prose, and articles from her days as a journalist.  She has been an avid contributor of charming witty essays to the Ashfield News and an enthusiastic cellist.

Quartet: four seasons in verse

Literature & Fiction

Leete, Elisabeth

Poetry

Booksmyth Press

May We Be Like the Penguin is a delightful and thought-provoking collection of poems, short stories, essays, questions, memories, dreams, fanciful letters and "overheard" conversations. The core of these diverse writings is the human relationship to animals, nature, philosophy, family and politics. You are guaranteed to find an idea, emotion or insight within this book that will make you think and feel, ponder and smile.

May We Be Like the Penguin: Collected Writings

Kelner, Marian

Literary

In the summer of 1980, shortly after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Seattle, Washington, two sisters, Jan and Cheryl Atamian, set out from western Massachusetts on a cross-country bicycle trip. The idea for this trip was originally inspired by their reading of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. Combining the observations noted in the sisters’ journals, Travels with Cheryl speaks of the generosity and kindness from the people they meet along the way. It is a story of the triumph of the human spirit, surviving an unplanned itinerary, and numerous encounters with unpredictable weather surrounded by the beauty of nature. Enjoy philosophy from the seat of a bicycle; a reflective travel memoir to unclutter the mind.

Travels with Cheryl: A Memoir of Cross-Country Bicycle Riding

Travel

Atamian, Jan

Specialty Travel

Marian Kelner's poems, stories and essays give voice to the warmly compassionate, quirky vision of a woman alive to the world. They carry the reader, laughing and sighing, along with her on her journey among the plants, animals, and humans with whom she gratefully and gracefully shares this world. There is no place too small, too mundane to escape her thoughtful notice: even at the town dump "where people come to bury what they no longer need" she discovers beneath its homely surface "There is sacredness in the sky here / in the receiving ground / in the workers carrying the unwanted / toward transmutation, resurrection." Her background as a red diaper baby, animals rights advocate, lesbian and brave spiritual seeker has led her to make deep, respectful connections with life's true spirit, given her a fearless "willingness to see, be seen, to be." Readers willing to climb aboard her raft of loving tales will feel the breezes of her compassionate humor fill their sails with a new courage for the love of life.

As a Sailboat Seeks the Wind

Religion & Spirituality

Founder of the Conscious Communication Institute, Sandra Boston taught communication skills to diverse populations for over 28 years. She is a licensed instructor in Parent Effectiveness Training designed by Thomas Gordon. She studied with Mashall Rosenberg, Arnold Mindell, Margaret Paul among others. As part of the Movement for a New Society, she trained activists around the world in conflict resolution and now has an MSW with training in family therapy.

Aim Your Mind: Strategies and Skills for Conscious Communication

Self-Help

Boston, Sandra

Communication & Social Skills

Breaking Out of Prison circles around the complex and fundamental question of how to break out of internal and external prisons which confine both ourselves and others in spaces much too small for our mind, heart, and spirit. It explores how writing, even a simple Composition class within a maximum security prison, can be a path for consciousness, compassion, and freedom. It is not, however, about only those imprisoned within concrete and steel, but also about those who have placed them there and how concepts, habitual thinking, and entrapped mindsets cast people “beyond the pale” with the illusion that another’s imprisonment makes us safe, another’s “evil” makes us “good.”At the center of the book are papers written by students in a composition class in prison, but Breaking Out of Prison also traces the author’s journey toward understanding and freedom. It includes a wide range of poetry and creative nonfiction as well as selections from works in history, psychology, politics, and spirituality. It is a weave of experience and theory, of poetry and literature, of pedagogy (a practical guide on how to teach writing) and practice, of Buddhist thought (bare attention and mindfulness), psychology (shadow and projection), and politics (the prison industrial complex in the U.S.). Breaking Out of Prison explores paths toward deeper awareness within ourselves and in the world.

Breaking Out of Prison: a guide to consciousness, compassion, and freedom

Education & Teaching

Mennis, Bernice

Schools & Teaching

Are you a fan or a Fangirl?: 
<ul>
 <li>A Fangirl waits outside a venue all night to meet her favorite rock star</li> <li>A fan goes home after the concert ends</li> <li>A Fangirl crafts gifts for her celebrity crush</li> <li>A fan does not</li> <li>A Fangirl decorates a cake with the face of her TV Boyfriend on it</li> <li>A fan has no TV Boyfriend</li> </ul>
 Did you know being a Fangirl takes imagination, dedication, passion, and adoration for whatever makes your heart sing—an adoration so strong, you can go to some wild extremes to celebrate the objects of your affection? Professional Fangirl Amy H. Johnson travels the world to see rock concerts, obsesses over cute broody boys on television, chases Boy Bands around the country and plans imaginary weddings to handsome pop stars. 
In this entertaining pop culture confessional she shares how Fangirling has provided a wealth of experience for navigating life's challenges and details the important relationships and incredible adventures that have sprung from her pursuits while celebrating the joy of letting her Fangirl flag fly high and fly proud. 
This lighthearted memoir encourages ladies of all ages to embrace their inner Fangirl along with numerous creative tips gained from years on the fandom frontlines to inspire you to celebrate your own passions and achieve your very own Fangirl dreams. 
Grab your copy of The Fangirl Files today and journey into this vibrant fandom world and be on your way to not just being a fan, but a Fangirl!

The Fangirl Files: True Tales and Tips from the Fandom Frontlines

Biographies & Memoirs

Johnson, Amy H.

Memoirs

Traveling in the west, working as a naturalist at several national parks, as well as on Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, Kathleen O’Rourke encountered large animals and wild weather, park visitors and native peoples. She writes as a storyteller and pulls the reader along into her experiences as a greenhorn ranger who learns to overcome a fear of snakes, mountain lions and bears by talking to them and being curious about their lives. When she was lonely, or needed to learn about a new environment, or maybe just looking for some fun, it was often the other rangers, Indian friends, as well as the locals in small towns that provided meaningful companionship. Kathy’s background as an herbalist, nurse, teacher and outdoor leader adds to her appreciation and fascination with the natural world. She’s written nature columns and articles regularly for several publications over the past 30 years.

What I've Seen: Animal, Nature, and Ranger Tales

Science & Math

O'Rourke, Kathleen

Nature & Ecology

Hallowell, founded by Kathy Leo of Vermont, is a hospice choir connected to Brattleboro Area Hospice. Hallowell has served as a model for many other hospice choirs formed as part of this growing movement. Kathy continues to co-lead workshops in the practice of bedside singing for the dying. She also works part time as a care coordinator for Brattleboro Area Hospice. Prior to her work with the dying, Kathy was a midwife and childbirth educator.

On the Breath of Song: The Practice of Bedside Singing for the Dying

Leo, Kathy

Death & Grief

Collected stories, poems, essays with a wry twist on the human condition

Whut: Expect the Unexpected

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Booksmyth Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Booksmyth Press