Book Sketches

This book recounts informal conversations between three long-time friends staying together in a small house in the forest of the Dordogne. Coming from very different paths, they are united in their desire to offer helpful guideposts for life’s journey, sharing their own experiences with candor and humor.

Kim Brooks left her four-year-old son alone in the car in a Target parking lot for five minutes, and you probably think she’s a bad parent.  You’re not alone.  When she first wrote about her experience (and the two-year legal ordeal that followed) for Salon.com a few years ago, she received an onslaught of public comments from internet users eager to tear her apart for being a horrible mother.  Her response, Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age

An avid bird feeder himself, Jones explores the long history of wild bird feeding and the many controversies surrounding it. Does it hamper birds’ ability to forage for food themselves, spread avian diseases, attract predators or encourage pests? Should birds only be fed in the winter time or year round? Are the commonly used seeds appropriate for nestlings? Is the quality of the seed mix  good and free of toxins?

They called themselves the May Mothers, and they met regularly in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York seeking comfort in the company of other new mothers while helping each other get through the new mother jitters. In Molloy’s debut psychological thriller, The Perfect Mothers, the women plan an evening out on the town on July 4 at a local bar to get a much needed break from the demands of motherhood.

Francisco Cantu’s mother, a National Parks ranger, introduced him to the beauty and nature of the Southwest. The daughter of a Mexican immigrant, she talked about the family’s struggle to find their place as citizens of the United States. Francisco went off to college and majored in International Relations but instead of entering the State Department, he found work with the Border Patrol, covering the borderline from Texas to San Diego.