`Falling Forward: A Woman’s Journey West’
By Pat
Jurgens
They say people should write about what they know, and Pat Jurgens of Evergreen has done just that in her first historical fiction novel.
She has based her book on her grandmother, who grew up as a Mennonite in northeast Ohio, and her life when she married someone outside that strict religious community. She said she heard the stories for years and decided they would make a great basis for a book.
The story revolves around Louisa in the late 1890s who leaves Ohio and moves to California and eventually Colorado. Jurgens, a retired librarian, has spent many hours researching history of the time period.
“It’s been quite an interesting journey,” she said. “It’s taken me quite a number of years to write it.”
Jurgens, who had a Zoom launch party on Nov. 5, said she doesn’t know if she has another novel in her, though some other ideas are fermenting such as writing a memoir about the year she spent in India or a children’s book.
In the meantime, she continues to write essays, biographical sketches and historical articles.
“Falling Forward” can be found both at HearthFire Books in Bergen Park and at amazon.com.
`Never Turn Your Back on the Tide (Or How I Married a Lying, Psychopathic Wannabe Murderer and Kinda Lived to Tell)’
By Kergan Edwards-Stout
Kergan Edwards-Stout of Evergreen has written a memoir with a title that is sure to hook readers in: “Never Turn Your Back on the Tide (Or How I Married a Lying, Psychopathic Wannabe Murderer and Kinda Lived to Tell).”
He called the title a way to get people to pick up the book, but it’s really about many parts of his life — working in Hollywood, losing a partner to AIDS and raising two African American sons. He wanted to find a way to write humorously about what he called “a horrific ex who dominated a lot of my life.”
“I kept thinking, `I have to write about this,’ but how best to tell it? I didn’t want it to be a victim story, so I came up with a way to tell it humorously. I used that relationship to get the reader to start reading the book.”
Edwards-Stout, who has also published a collection of short stories and another novel, is a full-time writer and editor, and he and his family moved to Evergreen five years ago from California.
His novel has won a 2020 IndieReader Discovery Award.
“Never Turn Your Back on the Tide” is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and on his website, kerganedwards-stout.com.
`The Wisdom of Transition: Navigating Change at Work’
By Cheryl Benedict
Change in the workplace for most people is inevitable, but it creates stress, and people need to understand how change affects them as they work through it.
That’s why Cheryl Benedict of Evergreen has written a book targeted specifically at navigating change at work — whether that’s a new job, loss of a job, a new boss, a promotion and more.
“The key is that change is something that happens to us externally,” Benedict said. “The transition is the internal process that we go through to cope. When you’re in the midst of a major change, you go through some fairly predictable stages.”
She said once people make peace with the transition, they have inner power to move forward.
Those going through transition might notice that they’re forgetful or absent-minded, but that’s all part of the process, she said.
Benedict, who is an executive coach and corporate leadership trainer, has been named best new author in the international Sound Advice Book Awards.
Her book can be found on Amazon.com or on her website, www.TheWisdomofTransition.com.