Indie Spotlight: December 2024

In this edition of our monthly thematic roundup of BookLife titles, we feature art and other visually compelling books, as well as uplifting and inspirational works. Want to see your book featured? Check out the Indie Spotlight calendar at booklife.com/indiespotlight.

 

 

Lisa Graham

ASIN B0DJDD87MD

 

Author statement: “My goal with this book was to create something visually engaging, informative, and evidence based. The Art of Beeswax is documentation of my over a decade–long journey as a candle maker. In my early candle making days, it was impossible to find beeswax-specific resources on candle making. I wanted to save others the hours of experimentation and research I’ve put in over the years.”

 

The Autobiography of an Infinite Being, or How I Turned into a Bird on My 80th Birthday 

Adrienne H. Lee

ASIN B0CNV1BBT6

 

Author statement: “In the opening pages of my book, Ailith wakes up on the morning of her 80th birthday, swings a leg out of bed, and discovers a crane’s foot where her human foot was the night before. Ailith is an ‘Infinite Being’ transitioning from human form into her next iteration. Before she turns into a bird completely, she furiously scribbles down her life’s story and all that she’s learned while in human form. In 2019, I went to therapy for a traumatic childhood experience. Then the pandemic hit, and I was right back to survival mode. Writing this book helped me refocus my attention (and intention) during the Covid lockdowns. I found a way to be creative in the midst of a global collective trauma. And I finally told my story.” 

 

Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos

ISBN 978-1-958077-01-6

 

Author statement: “Event Horizon: Stories of No Turning Back is a prose-driven collection of stories themed around the astrophysical phenomenon of black holes and their unforgiving boundaries of ‘no return’—their event horizons. What arises is a tantalizing question for characters grappling with cosmic decisions in their lives, whether in their living rooms, on space stations, or exoplanets: What awaits on the other side of the ‘event horizon’? An array of celebrated artists help answer this through the sequential art of comics, canvas work, and photography. The collection is introduced by comics, prose, and astrophysics academia.” 

 

David Linebarger

ASIN B0DKGCVZLZ

 

Author statement: “Increasingly bored with my own free verse poetry, I began writing short pieces on tennis players. Tennis was one of my passions. I was training for national tennis tournaments while watching countless matches on the tennis channel. After many drafts, ideas emerged: Suzanne Lenglen playing tennis inside a painting by Watteau; Martina Navratilova as the archetypal hero; Pete Sampras as seen through the ideas of Hinduism; Roger Federer as a famous Greek sculpture. More exploration led me to discover works of art depicting famous tennis players, and a conversation between prose and art began. Collaborating with 45 other artists became my greatest challenge, my greatest joy.”

 

E. Adrienne Wilson and Andrea Wilson Woods 

ASIN B0CXLPKZJ5

 

Author statement: “This is the journal of Adrienne Wilson, a teenage artist, poet, and beloved sister. Before her death from liver cancer at the age of 15, Adrienne expressed her funny, bright soul in this prolific journal. Her musings on life, relationships, music, love, and the beautiful grime of her adopted hometown of Los Angeles leap off the page; her deep sensitivity and perspective are captured in full-color prints of her artwork. She was an incredible writer, artist, and poet. Putting together and editing this book was exhilarating, exhausting, and healing for me. All proceeds benefit Blue Faery, the nonprofit I founded in my sister’s name to fight liver cancer.”

 

Martha Siede

ASIN B0DN3VKD2Y

 

Author statement: “I wrote In Pursuit of Normal after surviving a long-term coma. I have always wanted to write a book. After my coma, it was a good time, as the only thing I could do independently was type. I set about writing 500 words four times a week, and steadily my book happened. I am a person with a disability. I have dystonic cerebral palsy, and I use a wheelchair to get around. I want others to know what life is like for me—the effort and determination I put into making every day work.”

 

Tara Rose

ASIN B0C9WBRH1J

 

Author statement: “Trust the Flow is an inspiring memoir about harnessing the power of positive thinking to manifest miraculous solutions to life’s many challenges through intimate, deeply heartfelt stories about spiritual awakening, initiations with plant medicines (cannabis and ayahuasca), nomadic ‘van life’ adventures in the American Southwest, and struggles with money.” 

 

 

Mark David Gerson

ISBN 978-1-950189-11-3

 

Author statement: “The dialogues in this book emerged from the silence and solitude of a fiery autumn and frozen winter. I had just moved 100 miles north of Toronto to the rural outskirts of Penetanguishene, a summer resort town on the shores of Lake Huron. For the fifth time in two years, I had packed my few belongings and followed my heart along the asphalt road of my soul’s journey. Why was I there? To work on my first novel, The MoonQuest. Instead, a different book emerged... a memoir that, in the writing of it, opened my heart, deepened my spiritual faith, and pushed me to be more vulnerable—in my life as much as in my writing.”

 

Craig Cline

ASIN B0D321CKF3

 

Author statement: “This inspirational guidebook goes beyond the realm of self-help to show us how to readily become a higher version of ourselves. Our individual actions will definitely improve the overall conditions within our societies—wherever we live in the world. My book gives us the modern-day evolution of the universally known and respected ethic commonly called the Golden Rule. As a result, we’ll create enriched lives at home, in our communities, and across all societies everywhere.”

 

Balu Athreya

ASIN B0D4KDVG5N

 

Author statement: “The purpose of this book is to point to science and spirituality as the unifying forces of the world, as both aim for universally acceptable and useful truths. Science and spirituality are our wings. Our roots come from our family, society, culture, and traditions. This is a synthesis of the present and the past, science and spirituality, the mind and the heart. This is an offering of some ideas, in the form of aphorisms, to the future children of the world.”

 

Evan Pellervo

ASIN B0CVKLBMFM

 

Author statement: “Short Happy Stories consists of 50 compact stories; since most can be read in a few minutes, they are good for a day’s in-between moments. The stories confront universal uncertainties and try to reach authentic moments of gratitude. Maybe some readers will be inspired to appreciate things that are often overlooked. World news can be pretty depressing, so I decided to write stories that would function as a respite.”

 

Mark David Gerson

ISBN 978-1-950189-35-9

 

Author statement: “The archetypal Fool never experiences lack. The Fool never struggles. The Fool wants for nothing. Isn’t that what we’re all seeking? A life that’s free of lack and struggle? A life of effortless flow? A life of ease and abundance? The Way of the Abundant Fool is your passport to that life—the life of your most audacious dreams!”