This week, Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is here to discuss Three Summers: A Memoir of Sisterhood, Summer Crushes, and Growing up on the Eve of War, an epic middle-grade memoir in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide.
Amra shares the story behind Three Summers and more about her work at Teachers College, Columbia on hate prevention, storytelling, and building empathy.
“An insightful and solemn yet hopeful memoir that will hook readers…Remarkable.” –School Library Journal, starred review
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About the Author:
Amra Sabic-El-Rayess grew up in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently she is a professor at Columbia University, studying how and why societies fall apart and what role education can play in rebuilding decimated countries. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed young adult memoir The Cat I Never Named. Learn more: sabiclrayess.com
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Today Brooke Lea Foster is here to discuss her new novel, All the Summers in Between.Set in the dual timelines of 1967 and 1977, All the Summers In Between is at once a mesmerizing portrait of a complex friendship, a delicious glimpse into a bygone Hamptons, and a powerful coming-of-age for two young women during a transformative era.
“A mesmerizing story of the complexities of female friendship and the yearning of women to live full lives. Foster depicts the 1970s with sensitivity and a rich command of detail, and as the pace picks up toward a perfectly executed denouement, you won’t be able to turn away.” —Beatriz Williams
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About the Author:
Brooke Lea Foster is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe Magazine, and People, among others. An alumna of The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, she is the author of three nonfiction books and the novels Summer Darlings, On Gin Lane, and All the Summers In Between. Learn more: www.brookeleafoster.com
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This week, author Dawn Tripp joins me to discuss her new novel, Jackie. This vivid, exquisitely written novel is at once a captivating work of the imagination and a window into the world of a woman who led many lives: Jackie, Jacks, Jacqueline, Miss Bouvier, Mrs. Kennedy, Jackie O.
Dawn shares what drew her to Jackie’s story, how she went about the research and finding the narrative voice, carving out a rich creative life, and much more.
“This meticulously researched and lyrically written portrait of Jackie will appeal not only to baby boomers who experienced the historic events of her life but also to anyone who appreciates intimate novels about women’s hearts, minds, and souls. A must-purchase.” – Library Journal, Starred Review
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About the Author:
Dawn Tripp is the author of the novel Georgia, which was a national bestseller, finalist for the New England Book Award, and winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature. She is the author of three previous novels: Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, Conjunctions, and NPR, among others. She serves on the board of the Boston Book Festival and on the board of Gnome Surf: A non-profit Surf Therapy Organization focused on creating a culture shift towards kindness, love, and acceptance for athletes of all abilities. She graduated from Harvard and lives in Massachusetts with her sons. Learn more: dawntripp.com
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This week, Clare McHugh is here to discuss The Romanov Brides, a novel of the last tsarina and her sisters. This is a fascinating story about two young princesses–granddaughters of Queen Victoria– who become intertwined with the Romanov family in the years preceding their downfall.
“Two motherless German princesses struggle to choose husbands from the limited pool of European suitors, while we, as readers, know the devastating consequences their ultimate decisions will have. Clare McHugh illuminates the hearts and souls of these young women in a novel that is clever, gripping, and beautifully written. A masterpiece!” – Gill Paul, author of A Beautiful Rival
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About the Author:
Clare McHugh is the author of two historical novels, A Most English Princess and The Romanov Brides. After graduating from Harvard College with a degree in European history, she worked for many years as a newspaper reporter and later magazine editor. The mother of two grown children, she currently lives with her husband in London and in Amagansett, New York. Learn more: claremchugh.com
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This week my guest is Eve J. Chung, author of the powerful new novel, Daughters of Shandong, which tells the story of a mother and daughters caught up in China’s communist revolution, based on the author’s family story.
“One of those rare works of fiction that entertains, educates, and inspires. Harrowing, heartbreaking, and brilliantly paced, Daughters of Shandong is impossible to put down. I’ll definitely be recommending this one to my book club.” —Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
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About the Author:
Eve J. Chung is a Taiwanese American lawyer and women’s human rights specialist. She has worked on a range of issues, including torture, sexual violence, contemporary forms of slavery, and discriminatory legislation. Her writing is inspired by social justice movements, and the continued struggle for equality and fundamental freedoms worldwide. She currently lives in New York with her husband, two children, and two dogs. Learn more: https://evejchung.com/
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This week, New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray discusses her captivating new historical novel, BecomingMadam Secretary, about Frances Perkins, one of the greatest political figures of the twentieth century, and an unsung heroine whose legacy is woven into the fabric of every American life.
“Becoming Madam Secretary is a proud anthem to a forgotten founding mother. Frances Perkins starts out a bright young thing with an economics degree and an iron determination to make the world a better place, and ends up a shining star: first woman appointed to a presidential cabinet, architect of the New Deal, mother of Social Security, and FDR’s much-relied-upon work wife throughout his entire presidency. Stephanie Dray’s love and respect for this American heroine shines from every page, as does her impeccable research. Unputdownable!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
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About the Author:
Stephanie Dray is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into many languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. She lives in Maryland with her husband, cats, and history books. Learn more: https://www.stephaniedray.com/
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Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.
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This week my guest is Parul Kapur, author of Inside the Mirror, winner of the AWP prize for the novel and named a most anticipated feminist book of 2024 by Ms. Magazine. The book tells the story of two sisters who aspire to become artists in 1950s Bombay, India.
“With breathtaking lyricism and scorching insight, Kapur captures women in flux brilliantly. This profound book complicates the impact of colonialism and throbs with life. Inside the Mirror is an extraordinary novel.”
—Jennifer Maritza McCauley, author of When Trying to Return Home
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About the Author:
Parul Kapur was born in Assam, India, grew up in the United States, and lives in Atlanta. She is a fiction writer, journalist, and literary critic whose writing has appeared in a number of publications, including Ploughshares, the New Yorker, and the Paris Review. Kapur holds an MFA from Columbia University and has received fellowships from the Hambidge Center and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Learn more: https://www.parulkapur.com/
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This week Maura Cheeks is here to discuss her phenomenal debut, Acts of Forgiveness–named a most anticipated book by Elle, Real Simple, and more, the novel imagines the country has just passed the nation’s first reparations bill for Black families.
“Acts of Forgiveness is the rare novel that lays out a hypothetical public policy and its attendant bureaucracy, weaving a story with an imaginative yet realistic exploration of what reparations might look like—what might be missed and what might be achieved. But above all, it is a story about family, with all the challenge, ambiguity, interconnection, obligation, and love the term carries. . . . A generous, thoughtful, and thought-provoking novel about inheritance in all its forms.”—Lydia Kiesling, author of The Golden State
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About the Author:
Maura Cheeks has published writing in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and Tin House, among others. In 2019, she was awarded a masthead reporting residency with The Atlantic where she produced the feature-length article that would later inspire the idea for this book. Acts of Forgiveness is her first novel. Learn more: https://www.mauracheeks.com/
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I’m thrilled to have master storyteller Kristin Hannah back on A Bookish Home to discuss her new novel, The Women – at once a coming of age story of a twenty-year old nursing student who serves in Vietnam and an epic tale of a nation divided.
Fans of The Nightingale and The Four Winds will want to hurry out and pick up a copy. Once again you’ll be swept away and riveted by the experiences of courageous women during a fascinating period in history.
“Stuns with sacrifice; uplifts with heroism . . . an important, long overdue tribute to the brave women nurses who served in Vietnam.”
—Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
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About the Author:
KRISTIN HANNAH is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including The Four Winds, The Nightingale and The Great Alone. A former lawyer turned writer, she lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest. Learn more: https://kristinhannah.com/
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Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.
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This week, Constance Sayers is here to discuss The Star and the Strange Moon, a haunting tale of ambition, obsession, and the eternal mystery and magic of film.
“A sweeping tale of dark magic, artistic obsession, and a love unbound from the limits of time, The Star and the Strange Moon captivates with lush prose and moments of poignant, heartbreaking beauty.” —Paulette Kennedy, author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
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About the Author:
Constance Sayers is the author of the Amazon best-selling novel, A Witch in Time (2020 Redhook/Hachette) as well as The Ladies of the Secret Circus (2021 Redhook/Hachette) that received a starred review from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Her books have been translated into six languages.
A finalist for Alternating Current’s 2016 Luminaire Award for Best Prose, her short stories have appeared in Souvenir and Amazing Graces: Yet Another Collection of Fiction by Washington Area Women as well as The Sky is a Free Country. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.
She received her master of arts in English from George Mason University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She attended The Bread Loaf Writers Conference where she studied with Charles Baxter and Lauren Groff. A media executive, she’s twice been named one of the “Top 100 Media People in America” by Folio and included in their list of “Top Women in Media.”
She lives in Washington DC. Like her character in The Ladies of the Secret Circus, she was the host of a radio show from midnight to six: https://constancesayers.com/
Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:
Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.
*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.
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