Whether you're looking for a good story or practical advice, our alumni authors have you covered!
Non-fiction
(2021)
Michaela Angemeer, BA '15 Psychology
Notable TikTok creator Michaela Angemeer explores connecting with your inner child, loving the worst parts of yourself, coming out as bisexual, and focusing on self-growth in her much-anticipated poetry collection. Please Love Me At My Worst is a collection of four sections of poetry inspired by loneliness, unrequited love, and not being able to let go of past relationships. Written during the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine, the book is a reflection of what it means to yearn for people who are unavailable and how important it is to focus on self-love and healing.
(2018)
Theresa Anzovino, BA '85, Sociology
Walk a Mile is the first text of its kind to combine both cognitive and affective dimensions of studying diversity. It does so through an experiential framework that encourages self-reflection on the part of the reader while providing a strong foundation in the history of diversity in Canada. Using as its starting point the notion that creating a more just, inclusive society, requires each of us to figuratively and empathetically walk a mile in the shoes of others, the framework of Walk a Mile facilitates the development of diversity competencies, equipping students to work and live effectively with people from a wide variety of cultural, religious, economic, sexual, and age backgrounds.
(2019)
Liane Davey, PhD '99 Psychology
In the modern workplace, conflict has become a dirty word. After all, conflict is antithetical to teamwork, employee engagement, and a positive company culture. Or is it? The truth is that our teams and organizations require conflict to get things done. But we avoid conflict and build up conflict debt by deferring and dodging the difficult decisions. Drawing on her twenty-year career as an advisor to the C-Suite, Davey shares real-world examples and practical tools you and your team can use to handle even the most contentious conflicts as allies - instead of adversaries. Filled with strategies you will use again and again, The Good Fight is an essential field guide for leaders at all levels.
(2017)
Maja Jovanovic, MA '08, Sociology |
Do you constantly doubt yourself or your abilities? Do you downplay your achievements or refuse to take credit for a job well done? Do you talk yourself out of doing something just so you won't fail? If so, then you're at the right place. If you're not all in, all the way, all the time, then you're nowhere. My mission is to bring awareness to your bad habits, to push you out of your comfort zone and into action, and to motivate you to reach up, dream bigger, and aspire for leadership positions in all areas of your life.
(2017)
Heike Mertins, BA '94 Political Science
This book documents the idiosyncrasies and mindboggling behaviour that accompany grief. It is the poignant portrayal of one woman learning to accept that grief is not something to move on from, but something that must become part of her story. At times angry, sad, raw, and painful, Heike shows us that grief can also be funny, edgy, and weirdly liberating. Anyone who is grieving will recognize themselves in her writing and find solace in not being alone. As bizarre as grief can be, it is normal, and there is hope.
(2019)
Jesse Thistle, MA '16, History
From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. In this heartwarming and heart-wrenching memoir, Jesse Thistle writes honestly and fearlessly about his painful past, the abuse he endured, and how he uncovered the truth about his parents. Through sheer perseverance and education—and newfound love—he found his way back into the circle of his Indigenous culture and family.
Fiction and poetry
(2014)
Christine Fischer Guy, MA '90 English
From her own hospital bed, the older Hazel struggles to pass on to her grandniece the harrowing tale of her past in the north, including the fate of Gideon and the heartbreaking secrets she left behind. With arresting characters, a richly drawn setting and impeccable prose, author Christine Fischer Guy weaves a story that lingers long after the book is closed.
(2021)
Carolyn Mills, BA '00 Psychology |
Zoe Emmerson has a secret, one she’s kept for years. Her quiet world is shaken when her past finally catches up with her: the investigation into the murder of a six-year-old neighbour is re-opened thirty years after the fact, threatening to destroy her and everyone she’s fought so hard to protect. She was just a child when it happened, scared and confused, and she’s never been entirely sure what she saw. But she kept her brother’s suspected involvement in the murder from the police, and the knowledge that she withheld a crucial piece of information haunts her. As the past collides with the present, Zoe is forced to face a most difficult truth.
(2019)
Samantha Mirandola, BA '21 English
Some want to read minds, but I know that the real power is in having one's mind read. My name is V, and I read minds daily. Though despite my ability to read those around me, I struggle to understand myself. I voyaged across the globe in search of my true identity. What does V stand for? Along my journey, I become intimately familiar with two types of people: the shrinkers, and the dream-catalysts. Both groups will be equally credited in my journey of self-discovery. This largely exaggerated, fictional, autobiography is nothing more than a prolonged session of self-contemplation.
(2020)
Patricia Sands-Ansi, BA '92, Liberal Studies |
What starts as a monthly card game, turns into forty years that span a woman’s journey from youthful optimism to the challenges and opportunities presented as the years pass. The complexities of women’s friendships are played out through a maze of inevitable scenarios. Laughter and tears lead to a crisis that challenges principles and proves the power of friendship. The Bridge Club is a story for anyone who cares about friendship. Not simply the “Hi, how are you?” type, but the kind that weathers all storms, unselfishly celebrates triumphs, and hums along year after year with never an unkind word. It does exist.
(2018)
Herminio Schmidt, PhD '75, Philosophy
Juxtaposed against some of the most pivotal events of the twentieth century, this fascinating and deeply personal story examines the effects of buried secrets and old wounds, and how the protaganists can resonate down through generations. While Herminio starts out damaged by his father’s disappearance, his quest reveals that this moment is central to the man he has become.
(2008)
Paul Schultz, BA '87, History |
Conspiracy threatens to leave the US vulnerable in this heart-stopping speculative fiction. A young U.S. army officer races to stop the scheme of a cabal of German officers and high-powered American supporters in The Fuhrer Virus. 1941: Hitler's Blitzkrieg ravages Europe while a neutral America sits on the sidelines. In the shadows of Washington and Berlin, a malevolent senator and ruthless business tycoon join forces with a cabal of fanatical German patriots to hatch a diabolical scheme that will decide the outcome of the war. Meanwhile, a young U.S. army officer ponders his uncertain future as a fledgling intelligence operative in a new, central agency.
Children's literature
(2019)
Nadia Hohn, BA '01, Psychology
Jamaican poet and entertainer Louise Bennett Coverley, better known as "Miss Lou," played an instrumental role in popularizing Jamaican patois internationally. Through her art, Miss Lou helped pave the way for other poets and singers, like Bob Marley, to use patois in their work. This picture book biography tells the story of Miss Lou's early years, when she was a young girl who loved poetry but felt caught between writing "lines of words like tight cornrows" or words that beat "in time with her heart." Despite criticism from one teacher, Louise finds a way to weave the influence of the music, voices, and rhythms of her surroundings into her poems. A vibrant, colorful, and immersive look at an important figure in Jamaica's cultural history, this is also a universal story of a child finding and trusting her own voice.
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