Local Author Spotlight: True crime memoir, a WWII heroine, poetry and happiness round out four local titles
Oct. 19—Hardwired for Happiness
By Ashish Kothari
Nonfiction, 306 pages, happinesssquad.com
Summary: "Hardwired for Happiness" distills cutting-edge research from the fields of psychology, neuroscience and ancient wisdom traditions into nine proven practices that help readers unlock their best selves by rewiring their brains to seek happiness instead of fear. The author outlines an easy-to-follow recipe that can help anyone increase joy, health, love and meaning in their daily lives.
Author: Ashish Kothari is the founder of Happiness Squad, a company and podcast that's focused on helping individuals and organizations unleash the power of happiness/well-being. Kothari ispent over 17 years at McKinsey, a premier consulting firm, supporting leaders and their organizations to succeed by increasing their effectiveness, building more human-centric cultures and building new mindsets and capabilities.
Ashish will speak about his book at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Boulder Book Store; boulderbookstore.net.
Don't Bee a Prick
By Brian Parsons
Poetry, 162 pages, dontbeeaprick.com
Summary: "Don't Bee a Prick" is an illustrated collection of leadership principles by Brian Parsons that is whimsically transposed into memorable poems that recall the simplicity of inspiring and valuing the people we lead. Each poem is accompanied by illustrations of bees doing things bees should never do, which also converts nicely to a coloring book if you're an extra stressed leader. No complex anecdotes or concepts. Just simple, smart and applicable leadership principles delivered in a unique and memorable way.
Author: Brian Parsons is a Colorado native author, musician, contributing columnist and philanthropist. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, former peace officer for the state of Colorado and current CEO of Just Keep Playing Media, LLC.
To Die Beautiful
By Buzzy Jackson
Fiction, 448 pages, penguinrandomhouse.com
Summary: Buzzy Jackson brings to life the incredible true story of World War II hero Hannie Schaft in "To Die Beautiful" — a riveting tale of love, loyalty and the limits we confront when our deepest values are tested. When the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands endangers her two Jewish best friends, shy law student Hannie is moved to fight against the rise of fascism. She first begins her resistance work as a courier, but soon she's an active armed member, bombing munitions factories and luring in powerful Nazis with her beauty to assassinate them at point-blank range. As the world around her collapses, Hannie builds a chosen family within the resistance, even falling in love with a daring fellow resistor at a tremendous cost. The author's meticulous historical research, alongside the emotional weight and striking present-day relevance of Hannie's story, make "To Die Beautiful" a moving page-turner not to be missed.
Author: Buzzy Jackson is the award-winning author of three books of nonfiction and has a doctorate in history from UC Berkeley. A recent fellow at the Edith Wharton Writing Residency, she is also a member of the National Book Critics' Circle and writes for the Boston Globe and BookForum. She lives in Boulder.
True Crime Redux
By Stephanie Kane
Nonfiction, 278 pages, writerkane.com
Summary: This book chronicles a murder case that happened in Arapahoe County, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the crime. "More than a witness but less than an active participant, I was a bit actor whose role in the crime shaped my life," writes Stephanie Kane, who here recounts the dramatic events that forever fractured the lives of the Frye family as well as her own. The murder of Betty Frye goes unpunished for decades. Kane, ex-wife of Betty's son Doug, finally decides to tell her story by fictionalizing the events she witnessed as well as those about which she simply speculated. The result is the novel "Quiet Time." She shortly finds out, however, that fiction can oftentimes accurately mirror reality. In her new true-crime non-fiction, "True Crime Redux," Kane artfully describes the chain of events that followed the publication of her novel and brings a forgotten cold case back to life. She dives deep into the inner workings of modern crime and punishment through the retelling of events she played an involuntary role in.
Author: Stephanie Kane is a lawyer and award-winning author of seven crime novels and one true crime memoir. After graduating from law school, she was a corporate partner at a top Denver law firm before becoming a criminal defense attorney. Her crime novels have won a Colorado Book Award for mystery and two Colorado Authors League Awards for genre fiction. She belongs to the Mystery Writers of America, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Colorado Authors League. She lives in Denver with her husband and two black cats.
