Heralded by Denis Goldberg, the renowned anti-apartheid activist imprisoned for life at the Rivonia Trial, as "beautifully constructed," "fascinating," and a "wonderful exploration of culture and conflict in South Africa." Both heartbreaking and triumphant, this compelling story is one of love, loss, struggle, and a search for identity set against dramatic historical events. From the ugly past of South African apartheid to a dazzling career in medicine, one man is determined to live up to his name: Courage.

A Boy Named Courage: A Surgeon's Memoir of Apartheid

Biographies & Memoirs

Dajee, Dr. Himmet

Apodaca, Patrice

Community & Culture

Cynren Press

This memoir of musicology is a must-read for music fans and those interested in Beatles history. At the helm of the rock n roll phenomenon that took over 60s pop music, the Beatles defined the Swinging Sixties and were at the forefront of the British music invasion. Offering fun and unique insights into the famous musicians and entertainers associated with the Beatles, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Victor Spinetti, and Hy Lit, through interviews and vignettes, and driven by the frenzy of fan clubs, Beatles concerts, and endless dreams and meeting schemes, Diary of a Beatlemaniac: A Fab Insider's Look at the Beatles Era romps through the heady, roller-coaster days of Beatlemania as seen through the eyes of one Philadelphia schoolgirl and her band of 'Beatle Buddies.' Compiled from the author's own diary and extensive scrapbooking, this extraordinary slice of life peeks into the heart of an inner-city teen at the forefront of Beatlemania. For Beatlemaniacs of any age, this memoir offers a unique glimpse into the groovy days of the Swinging Sixties and the chance to relive the magic of the pop-culture phenomenon called the Beatles.

Diary of a Beatlemaniac: A Fab Insider's Look at the Beatles Era

Patricia Gallo-Stenman

Arts & Literature

Psychoanalysis was her family's religion—instead of wafers and wine, there were Seconals, Nembutals, and gin. Baptized into the faith at fourteen, Melissa Knox endured her analyst's praise of her childlike, victimized mother—who leaned too close, ate off Melissa's plate, and thought "pedophile" meant "silly person." Gaslighted with the notions that she'd seduced her father, failed to masturbate, and betrayed her mother, Melissa shouldered the blame. Her story of a family pulled into and torn apart by psychoanalysis exposes the abuse inherent in its authoritarianism as Melissa learns, with a startling sense of humor and admirable chagrin, that divorcing Mom is sometimes the least crazy thing to do.Divorcing Mom: A Memoir of Psychoanalysisby Melissa KnoxCynren Press book review by Barbara Bamberger Scott "She wanted me slaughtered…I imagined her drooling at the thought."With a hateful, uncaring mother, an alcoholic father, and a drug-addicted brother, it was inevitable that author Knox would end up in therapy. From her early teens through college, she talked regularly to a Freudian psychoanalyst, Dr. Sternbach, a Jew who had narrowly escaped the Holocaust. He rarely offered sympathy. When she became bulimic as a depressed young teen, he ordered her to stop vomiting; he told her repeatedly that she was masochistic and an exhibitionist. He asked her lurid questions about her sexual feelings, indicating a more than professional interest. He divulged her secrets to others while demanding that she say nothing about their sessions. And, possibly because her deranged, narcissistic mother was the one paying his fees, he sided with Mom. Near the end of his life, after she had thoroughly dispelled his influence, Sternbach insulted his former patient’s new husband. Ultimately, Knox was able to “divorce” both her mother and her therapist.Knox’s memories present in clear, intelligent prose the disturbing coming-of-age saga of an adolescent girl trying desperately to gain the respect from others that leads to self-respect, generally with no success. Hers is a painful chronicle whose humor is mostly in the form of irony and whose bright moments of respite or hopefulness are rare. The greatest relief comes at the end of the book when she reveals that, with a loving spouse and some tempered insights and advice from close friends and relatives, Knox has grown up and out of the trap of her emotionally scarring youth. Her book is also a studious examination, and rejection, of Freudian psychoanalysis, now discredited and no longer taught. Knox’s audience will include those who have lived with family dysfunction and grown beyond it, and those who, considering therapy, may wish to choose carefully among the varieties now offered.RECOMMENDED by the US ReviewDivorcing Mom is a story of horrifying and at times hilarious family dysfunction, compounded by the browbeating Freudian analyst whom Knox’s mother hired to “help” her. The pages seem to turn by themselves in this engrossing and courageous memoir, and we are left marveling at Knox’s strength of character and artistic gifts in tracing her family’s psychic trajectory from one generation to the next. Knox writes with the voice and vision that she was taught to discredit and ignore from an early age, and her book is a remarkable achievement, exploring family secrets and addressing disturbing issues of power differentials—between parent and child, doctor and patient, and men and women. Her intelligence, insight, and refreshing sense of humor are cause for celebration. —Helen Fremont, author of After Long Silence

Divorcing Mom: A Memoir of Psychoanalysis

Knox, Melissa

Professionals & Academics

Are there moments in your life when your femaleness is a source of power or hardship? When does your voice ring its clearest? When have you been silenced? 
Feminine Rising: Voices of Power and Invisibility brings together international poets and essayists, both award winning and emergent, to answer these questions with raw, honest meditations that speak to women of all races, nationalities, and sexual orientations. It is an anthology of unforgettable stories both humorous and frightening, inspirational and sensual, employing traditional poetry and prose alongside exciting experimental forms. Feminine Rising celebrates women's differences, while embracing the source of their sameness--the unique experience of womanhood.

Feminine Rising: Voices of Power and Invisibility

Literature & Fiction

Literary

In the American West, as the nation heals from the Civil War that nearly destroyed it, new battle lines are being drawn. Caleb Justin, orphaned and grieving, and his comrade Joshua Hart, a tough, worldly runaway, leave their home along the Ohio River bound for Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, intent to join Sheridan's troops in their pursuit of Indian lands. But a badly healed foot injury ends Caleb's dream of joining up. While Joshua is assigned to George Armstrong Custer's troops, Caleb finds himself alone and undefended on the war-ravaged prairie, picking up whatever work he can-until his capture by Indians changes everything. Joan Monnet, daughter of a wealthy railroad magnate, is traveling West when her caravan is attacked by Indians. A timely rescue saves her life but leaves her lost on the vast American prairie with Caleb. Together, they must fight their way back to the world they once knew. But in the winter of 1868, as the snow drifts, Custer is set to turn his cavalry on a Cheyenne camp along the Washita River. Joshua, Joan, and Caleb find themselves trapped in the crossfire of one of the bloodiest battles of frontier history. Will their desperate courage be enough for them to survive?

A Forgotten Evil

Russell, Sheldon

United States

For thirteen-year-old Sarah Waldman, life in the small Polish town of Olkusz is idyllic, grounded in her loving, close-knit family and the traditions of their Jewish faith. But in 1939, as the Nazis come to power, a storm is gathering-a relentless, unforgiving storm that will sweep Sarah and her family into years of misery in the ghetto and concentration camps, tearing them apart. Will Sarah's strong will and determination be enough for her to survive when everything she loves is taken from her? Is it possible to resurrect a life-and find love-from the ruins? Or will Sarah be forever haunted by the memories of what she lost? Part memoir, part fiction, What She Lost is the reimagined true-life story of the author's grandmother growing into a woman amid the anguish of the Holocaust. It is a tale of resilience, of rebuilding a life, and of rediscovering love.

What She Lost

Hunter, Melissa W.

Genre Fiction

Is it possible to resurrect a life—and find love—from the ruins? Or will Sarah be forever haunted by the memories of what she lost?For thirteen-year-old Sarah Waldman, life in the small Polish town of Olkusz is idyllic, grounded in her loving, close-knit family and the traditions of their Jewish faith. But in 1939, as the Nazis come to power, a storm is gathering—a relentless, unforgiving storm that will sweep Sarah and her family into years of turmoil in the ghetto and concentration camps, tearing them apart. Will Sarah’s strong will and determination be enough for her to survive when everything she loves is taken from her? Part memoir, part fiction, What She Lost is the reimagined true-life story of the author’s grandmother growing into a woman amid the anguish of the Holocaust. It is a tale of resilience, of rebuilding a life, and of rediscovering love. About the AuthorMelissa W. Hunter is an author and blogger from Cincinnati, Ohio. She studied creative writing and journalism at the University of Cincinnati, receiving a BA in English literature and a minor in Judaic studies. She received the English Department’s Undergraduate Essay Award and Undergraduate Fiction Award over two consecutive years. In her senior year, she received a grant to study and write about the Holocaust at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Her articles have been published on Kveller.com and LiteraryMama.com, and her short stories have appeared in the Jewish Literary Journal. She is a contributing blogger to the Today Show parenting community, and her novella Through a Mirror Clear was published as a serial installment on TheSame.blog, an online literary journal written for women by women. Her novel What She Lost is inspired by her grandmother’s life as a Holocaust survivor. When not writing, Melissa loves spending family time with her husband and two beautiful daughters.

The insane asylum on Blackwell's Island is a human rat trap. It is easy to get in, but once there it is impossible to get out. -Nellie Bly Elizabeth Cochrane has a secret. She isn't the madwoman with amnesia the doctors and inmates at Blackwell's Asylum think she is. In truth, she's working undercover for the New York World. When the managing editor refuses to hire her because she's a woman, Elizabeth strikes a deal: in exchange for a job, she'll impersonate a lunatic to expose a local asylum's abuses. When she arrives at the asylum, Elizabeth realizes she must make a decision-is she there merely to bear witness, or to intervene on behalf of the abused inmates? Can she interfere without blowing her cover? As the superintendent of the asylum grows increasingly suspicious, Elizabeth knows her scheme-and her dream of becoming a journalist in New York-is in jeopardy. A Feigned Madness is a meticulously researched, fictionalized account of the woman who would come to be known as daredevil reporter Nellie Bly. At a time of cutthroat journalism, when newspapers battled for readers at any cost, Bly emerged as one of the first to break through the gender barrier-a woman who would, through her daring exploits, forge a trail for women fighting for their place in the world.

A Feigned Madness

Mitchell, Tonya

They put the tiny, red-faced bundle into her arms, and time stopped. She gazed at that puckered little face and whispered, Welcome to the world, baby girl.Little did she know that within weeks, she would become a single mother-not exactly what she had imagined for her daughters and herself, but exactly what needed to happen.This is the story of a single mother, but it's more than that. Sometimes funny, sometimes reflective, it's also your story-a story of that peculiar, trying, and wonderful state of motherhood.In Superwoman: A Funny and Reflective Look at Single Motherhood, popular humor blogger Mona Andrei brings you her sage and snickery insights on being a single mom, with all its gore and glory. Through a series of interviews, you'll also get a voyeuristic peek into the lives of other single mothers-and don't we all love that feeling of Thank goodness, I'm not the only one We're all superwomen here.

Superwoman: A Funny and Reflective Look at Single Motherhood

Mona

Andrei

They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men

In mid-twentieth-century America, women faced a paradox. Thanks to their efforts, World War II production had been robust, and in the peace that followed, more women worked outside the home than ever before, even dominating some professions. Yet the culture, from politicians to corporations to television shows, portrayed the ideal woman as a housewife. Many women happily assumed that role, but a small segment bucked the tide―women who wanted to use their talents differently, in jobs that had always been reserved for men. In They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men, author Kathleen Stone meets seven of these unconventional women. In insightful, personalized portraits that span a half-century, Kathleen weaves stories of female ambition, uncovering the families, teachers, mentors, and historical events that led to unexpected paths. What inspired these women, and what can they teach women and girls today?

Kathleen Courtenay Stone

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

Books by Cynren Press

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

A Boy Named Courage: A Surgeon's Memoir of Apartheid

Diary of a Beatlemaniac: A Fab Insider's Look at the Beatles Era

Divorcing Mom: A Memoir of Psychoanalysis

Feminine Rising: Voices of Power and Invisibility

A Forgotten Evil

What She Lost

What She Lost

A Feigned Madness

Superwoman: A Funny and Reflective Look at Single Motherhood

They Called Us Girls: Stories of Female Ambition from Suffrage to Mad Men