the setup… It’s the summer of 2023 and Tembi Locke is facing another major family life change that is making her fearful and uneasy. Daughter Zoela, her only child, will start college on the east coast in the fall and Tembi needs some fortification to face her empty nest. She’s married to Robert and decides… Continue reading Someday, Now by Tembi Locke @tembilocke @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social #SomedayNow
the setup… Shari Franke is the eldest of her six siblings, the daughter of infamous Ruby Franke, the woman behind the former wildly successful YouTube channel 8 Passengers parenting vlog. Ruby was charged and convicted last year of aggravated child abuse and is currently in prison. Shari shares her personal relationship with an emotionally abusive… Continue reading The House of My Mother by Shari Franke @sharilfranke @sharilfranke.bsky.social @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social @librofm @libro.fm #TheHouseOfMyMother
the setup… First of all, before she was Kelly she was Carole Bishop, a chorus line dancer working on Broadway. The story behind that name change is just one of the many anecdotes shared here. She gained national fame as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls but she had a magnificent career before that iconic role.… Continue reading The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop #KellyBishop @simon.audio #TheThirdGilmoreGirl
the setup… In 2011, Anna Akbari connected with Ethan Schuman on a dating site. Akbari was no novice to online dating and had rules she abided by…normally. Ethan’s charm and seemingly extraordinary listening skills were disarming and she gave him leeway. Before she knew it, they’d been having constant texting conversations for months, never having… Continue reading There is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America’s Biggest Catfish by Anna Akbari @annaakbari @justinpricvo @HachetteAudio
the setup… Retired Secret Service Agent Clint Hill served under several presidents from Eisenhower to Ford but his most notable time was when he was part of the protection detail for the Kennedy family. He was assigned specifically to Mrs. Kennedy and was there in Dallas. He’s the agent in that iconic photo climbing across… Continue reading My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin Hill @ClintHill_SS @lisa_mccubbin @SimonAudio @librofm
the setup… Tara Westover is the youngest of six children born to Mormon survivalist parents from Clifton, Idaho who had strong ideologies and mistrust of anything associated with the government. She never went to public school and had limited teaching at home from one of her siblings and sometimes her mother. When she was 17-years… Continue reading Educated by Tara Westover @tarawestover @PRHAudio
I’ve been reluctant to read books about Donald Trump because I didn’t think I’d learn anything beyond what I already know. But, I don’t know a lot about the Trump family, where he came from. I remember watching The Apprentice years ago, trying to figure out who this guy was because when I lived in… Continue reading Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D.
I thought I knew Sally Field. To me, she was the Flying Nun, Sister Bertrille. All those other roles that followed...Norma Rae, Sybil, Mary Todd Lincoln...were departures or outliers from the perky and adorable actress I’ve known most of my life. So I believed. If Ms. Fields accomplished nothing else with her story, she’s forever… Continue reading In Pieces by Sally Field
A story of domestic violence and survival Kelly Sundberg is a survivor of domestic violence. I’m starting here because it wasn’t always clear to the author that she was experiencing domestic abuse. Her story begins near the end and then reaches back into the past to provide context for her… Continue reading Goodbye, Sweet Girl by Kelly Sundberg
Blue Mood Café 