Bihar Days

Prior to 1947, the Maithil Brahmans dominated North Bihar culturally, politically, and economically. Darbhanga Raj, the richest zamindari estate in British India, was owned by a family of the elite sub-group of Brahmans, the Srotriyas. The high prestige of this elite was based on a lifestyle prescribed by ancient law codes involving simplicity of life, daily Vedic rites, and intermarriage within a small network of lineages 24 generations deep. It was a highly conservative, inward-looking, isolationist community.

In 1980, anthropologist Carolyn Brown Heinz was privileged to see inside this elite community with a one-year grant from the Indo-US Subcommission and return trips over the next two decades. Independence had brought elimination of royal titles and dismantling of the vast Darbhanga Raj estate. The last king had died. These changes upended the old order, and she was able to observe the fall-out at close range. Told in first person, this is a highly personal account, told with grace and compassion.

An unexpected development during the same period was the emergence of a women’s art form known as Mithila or Madhubani Art, which Heinz was also able to observe at first hand and describe in this work.

Birds, Beaches, and Biologists

Flamingos, snowy egrets, ospreys, terns, black skimmers: These are nature stories.

What is it like to follow white-tailed tropicbirds in a small plane, miles from land, over the vast Caribbean Sea? Or capture wintering common terns from a small shark fishing boat in southern Trinidad?

Chesapeake Bay, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, Southern France: This is a travelogue. 

How does a “flamingo roundup” in France include people from seven countries (and five languages) working in unison? How did a disappearing island (now being restored) in Chesapeake Bay once sheltering Native Americans, British troops, and a fishing village become a wildlife mecca?

Searing heat, hungry insects, boat problems, rescuing men at sea. This is a true-life adventure.

Learn how fieldwork in Green Bay, Wisconsin on night herons ends with saving two fishermen from drowning.

They are all part of Dr. Michael Erwin’s 40-plus-year career as a wildlife biologist. He brings his colorful experiences – the discoveries, the challenges, the dangers, and the joys – back to life in this riveting recollection of his love affair with our Planet Earth.

Birthed Anew: From Pain to Passion to Purpose

We all have a part deep within us that is fighting to make its exit. Whether it’s hidden secrets, traumatic experiences, or soul wrenching memories, it no longer wants to reside there. Let me introduce you to Grace. She weaves us through the course of her life as she embarks upon this quest for freedom from life’s shackles. On this journey, we experience her deeply rooted pain, and her drive towards deliverance. We witness her attempts of resurrection from the dark pits of pain to the moment of her personal triumph.

Pursing growth commences through the identification of the who, what, where, when and why’s in our lives. Gaining a better understanding of how our past paves our future can help individuals make positive choices that will support authentic healing and restoration.

Birthed Anew: From Pain to Passion to Purpose will shed light on commonly hidden skeletons while simultaneously revealing the beauty of what it actually means to transition from a painful situation to a purposeful one and ultimately experience the gift of forgiveness.

Black-Eyed Peas and Turnip Greens

“A better sister novel for To Kill a Mockingbird, this southern bildungsroman, Black-Eyed Peas and Turnip Greens written by 92-year-old first-time author Bonnie Smith, plants our imaginations vividly in the soil of her poverty-stricken childhood and develops in us not pity but endearing admiration. Both a raw confessional and tale of triumph, Smith’s voice is as fresh and flourishing as her first day of school amid violent bullies and shaming teachers whose relentless taunting only serve to fertilize a bounty of inner strength that will see her from coast to coast through decades of anti-female working conditions, failed marriages, and drug-abusing children. What most amazes and inspires in this sometimes funny, always generous, and deeply soul-searching autobiography, is that Smith remains thankful for the scarlet “P” that poverty etched upon her mind. I want all my high school students to read it as soon as possible, while the author lives to receive our thank you notes."

Lauren Graham

English Writing Instructor

Blind Date

How many of the 6% of marriages that last 50 years began with a blind date? In this powerful and moving memoir, the author shares their own journey of love and adventure that began in Denver and ended in Montana. From a childhood hand injury to finding stability in marriage, the author takes readers on an emotive and thrilling ride that includes skydiving and seizing a sense of adventure. Through even the most difficult episodes, the author’s assured writing style and honesty make this story one that readers will relate to and resonate with. The memoir also includes the wife’s own reflections, adding a charming and unique dimension to their shared memories. This is a story of enduring love and the incredible journey of a life well-lived.

Born A Bastard - Swim Upstream

Dive deep into a saga that blurs the lines between fiction and reality, spanning a century from the 1850s to 1950s. This tale, inspired by true events, unravels the intricate tapestry of a family I was adopted into – a lineage rife with hedonism, deceit, and dark desires.

Each character in this sprawling family epic is a study in contrasts: driven by their insatiable passions, they navigate a world laden with amorality, neuroses, and intense eroticism. Their stories are a testament to the tumultuous times they lived in, filled with ambition and treachery.

In 1946, amidst the serene backdrop of a Hawaiian beach house, a Tsunami loomed, threatening to engulf all in its path. Entrusted to the wrath of nature at the tender age of four, the intention was clear: my demise amidst the surging waters and the house’s obliteration. Yet, fate had other plans. My survival is just one of the many riveting episodes from a past riddled with enigmas.

Venture into a world of intriguing personalities living through history’s defining moments. A tale of resilience, lust, and the lengths to which people go to satisfy their own agendas. Embark on this compelling journey, and uncover the depths of human nature and the indomitable spirit of survival.

Boy Refugee

Boy Refugee: A Memoir from a Long-Forgotten War is the story of a young refugee boy in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The story chronicles his escape from war-ravaged Bangladesh to the relative safety of a barbed-wired internment camp in the foothills of the Himalayas, his day-to-day life as a civilian prisoner of war, and his thousand-mile, two-year-long journey back to Pakistan.

Brain Shift

Today, after 39 years of working for the military and other large organizations, I find myself living a very different life. A long underlying interest in mountaineering, together with my shamanic path has led me to become an outdoor school instructor, a mentor for young men, and most importantly, a shamanic healer. My private healing practice serves those circling in uncertainty, pain, or distress. Seemingly, every time I get comfortable using my gifts, a new spirit helper comes in, a new object with greater power is gifted to me, or something else more profound and more challenging appears. It’s been 30 years since I became aware of my first gift from the spirit world in the sweat lodge. The helpful spirits, using me to do the work, bring my clients healing, wisdom, and peace.

Breaking the Chains of Bondage

Thirty-four years ago, Charles Smith was incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (or ‘Injustice,’ as he would say) with two life sentences. Now, he shares with us the harrowing and horrific experience of life in a Texas prison. Breaking the Chains of Bondage is his personal memoir that guides us through the fields and down the halls of everyday life, torture, and trauma in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison system. It is a read you won’t soon forget.

Despite facing numerous hardships and challenges during his 30+ years of incarceration, Charles persevered and achieved a master’s degree in psychology from UT-Clear Lake in Houston, earning widespread respect as a motivational speaker. He shares his passion for justice for all and his love for Esther and humanity at large. Breaking the Chains of Bondage is a riveting story of courage, resilience, and love. Open it up—take a walk inside.

Broken Kola-Nuts on Our Grandmother's Grave

Kheper’s inheritance cannot slip between his fingers. Grandma’s voice carries us through the family’s origins, retracing both the physical and spiritual realms. 

The Ikin (kola nuts) are ancient divining tools that connect the family to their ancestors. They enable the ancestors to live through the family. 

The art of storytelling, as perfected by Grandma, is alive and well. How can the broken kola nuts be put back together? 

This tale brings forth the first step of this great and wonderful journey. 

Brothers

The world struggles to find peace. Two old guys discovered the answer. Fifty years after they fought in Vietnam, they worked it out. They grew up together and went to the same schools, yet they had never met. They served in the army together, were both shot down in helicopters, and lost some of their best friends in combat, but they had to wait to meet. The answer was not in combat, military training, or book learning. They were tough soldiers who were trained to kill. Ray was a helicopter pilot flying some of the army’s most advanced killing machines. Bruce was an airborne ranger who deployed the army’s artillery with precision. They did their jobs well. Ray and Bruce needed to find an answer to the world’s struggle. They did. See if you agree.

Bubblegum, Bad Food, Bad Doctors

This collection of almost completely true short stories spans six decades. Humor is the main ingredient, spiced up with a spirit of adventure, action and high-risk behavior often bordering on disaster.

First, the stories delve into author Ross C. Dumoulin’s childhood experiences, firmly entrenched in 1960s mentality and culture. You will read about way too much bubblegum and Ross’s kid-jobs as Paladin and Zorro. And you will learn why he put greasy sausages in his pocket. There is also a confrontation with an evil killer plant and its nasty consequences.

Later, the stories move on to family life and moments of panic, such as the day 85,000 L of water tried to make its way into Ross’s basement. We also have a tale of transporting a full can of paint inside his new car. What could possibly go wrong with that?

As Ross slides into his 60s, he experiences a series of medical misadventures. You will learn about little gems of highly dubious advice from his doctor and find out why he was labelled as “borderline normal.”

The last three stories are of the heart-warming variety, as they relate the author’s volunteer work with children and his efforts in making their lives better. These stories celebrate children, their desire to play and laugh, their joie-de-vivre and resilience.

So, if you need a laughter-break from what the world has been going through over the last few years, if you want to escape into a funhouse of thrills and spills, then read on!