An engaging, heartwarming story of learning to love what you have

Elizabeth thinks of herself and her husband, Matt, as a modern day Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Together, they’ve endured paint-color mishaps, sewage disasters, pest infestations, and a schnauzer that poops at tornado sirens. It was hardly the domestic perfection a young Liz imagined while reading Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice. Could it be that these literary stalwarts have led her astray?

In this charming read, she tells the story of her own path to happiness, along the way seeking revenge on her literary heroes: Jo March has to cope with a soul-sucking job, Elizabeth Bennett shepherds a Duggar-size brood of kids, and Anne Shirley deals with a penny-pinching husband.

Fresh, funny, and poignant, My (Not So) Storybook Life is old-fashioned humor mashed with literary spoofery. But every comedy is balanced by tragedy. Angela was one of Liz’s closest friends, a kindred spirit who died at the age of 33 from an undiagnosed form of sarcoma. Before Angela, Liz was discontent. But it was the journey she took with this friend that made her realize that her house and its decorations and plumbing and dirty-clothes-covered Man Cave were not burdens to be tweaked and perfected, but blessings to be thankful for.

A fresh, revealing look at the artist who continues to inspire new generations of women

Most people associate Georgia O’Keeffe with New Mexico, painted cow skulls, and her “vagina” flower paintings. She was revered for so long—born in 1887, died at age ninety-eight in 1986—that we forget how young, restless, passionate, searching, striking, even fearful she once was—a dazzling, mysterious female force in bohemian New York City during its heyday.

In this distinctive book, Karen Karbo cracks open the O’Keeffe icon in her characteristic style, making one of the greatest women painters in American history vital and relevant for yet another generation. She chronicles O’Keeffe’s early life, her desire to be an artist, and the key moment when art became her form of self-expression. She also explores O’Keeffe’s passionate love affair with master photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who took a series of 500 black-and-white photographs of O’Keeffe during the early years of their marriage.

How Georgia Became O’Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living delves into the long, extraordinary life of the renowned American painter, exploring a range of universal themes—from how to discover and nurture your individuality to what it means to be in a committed relationship while maintaining your independence, from finding your own style to developing the ability to take risks. Each chapter is built around an aspect of living that concerns women today of all ages: how to find your own path; work with passion and conviction; express yourself; be in a relationship without sacrificing your sense of self; and do it all with an effortless, unique style.

As with Karbo’s previous books, How Georgia Became O'Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living is not a tradition biography, but rather a compelling, contemporary reassessment of the life of O’Keeffe with an eye toward understanding what we can learn from her way of being in the world. 

Lessons learned from the cards, and the incomparable Jane Stern

Once the domain of the esoteric and mystical, tarot today has many practical applications in the modern world. Jane Stern, a fourth generation tarot reader who has read cards professionally for over forty years, has given the art of the tarot a very modern spin. Using the twenty-two major arcana cards (the “heart of the tarot”) as the basis for the chapters in this book, she has gleaned all she has learned over the years and presents Confessions of a Tarot Reader as a witty, readable, and useful self help book. In her own words, the author likes to think of herself as a “psychic Dear Abby,” and by drawing on the wisdom of the tarot deck, to give practical advice in every life situation. Confessions of a Tarot Reader can lift the veil between this world and the unseen world.