My work is helping people get their stories down on paper, and out into the world–from concept development and writing to book design and publishing guidance.
A Wartime PH.D.: One Soldier’s Story of Vietnam and Learning to Live Again
By Judith Kelliher
In 2013, after reading a popular nonfiction book about a World War II soldier’s incredible story of survival, Judith Kelliher began to wonder about her older brother Bobby’s experiences in the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. With 12 years separating the two, Judy was too young to understand what Bobby had been through.
This book, based mostly on interviews Judy led with Bobby, tells the story of his two, back-to-back tours in Vietnam and his life after the war. Bobby barely survived the first year of service as he had more than the North Vietnamese Army with which to contend. A bait-and-switch by the government in his second term landed him again on the front lines serving as an operations and intelligence advisor to the South Vietnamese Army. One incident in particular was so unbearable and incomprehensible for Bobby he would have preferred facing the enemy with guns drawn.
Back at home, Bobby, like so many veterans of the war, was anguished yet vacant, unable to feel or acknowledge his brokenness. Re-entry into marriage, children, and career became unmanageable as Bobby could not escape the horrors of his service. It would take the constant love of family and friends, and the support and guidance of strangers to make him whole again.
The Story of the South End Community Health Center: The Early Days
By Gerald Hass, MD
Dr. Gerald Hass was an assistant clinical professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School at Boston Children’s Hospital and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. His book tells the story of the founding of the South End Community Health Center, which opened its doors in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts, in 1969. The health center gave personal and continuous care to thousands of inner-city families, and its staff members were sensitive to the lives and the needs of all South End residents, including recently arrived Latino families. The Center’s story is told through interviews with its founders, board members, staff, and patients.
Hair of the Dog
Author anonymous
Hair of the Dog is a murder mystery written by a woman who passed away before she was able to publish her work. I edited it at the request of the author’s mother, as a gift for her family. The book is set in Madison, New Hampshire, in the northern part of the state, near Silver Lake, roughly between 1996 and 2007. In the midst of a gripping who-dun-it, readers will also find an important yet subtle subtext. At least a half dozen of the major characters wrestle with alcoholism; those who are in recovery educate about what the disease is, and what it is not.
This book is not for sale.
Last of the Matriarchs
By Judith A. Lundh
Judi Lundh is a retired English teacher who lives not far from my home in the Lakes Region of Laconia, New Hampshire. This book is about Judi’s mother, Virginia, and it was a gift for Virginia on her 90th birthday. The Last of the Matriarchs begins with Virginia meeting the man she would marry in the early 1940s and offers glimpses of special moments in Virginia’s life as a wife and mother—raising three daughters, working hard, spending time with her dear friend Eleanor. The book ends with a poem Judi penned, called “Sonnet of Love.”
This book is not for sale.
Flight of Integrity
By Peter Cichon with Janice Beetle
Peter Cichon spent countless hours daydreaming about leaving his trucking job behind to transition into a career at an airline. He worked sixty-five hours a week, living in his car on weekends, to make the transition in the early 1990s. His new career as a ramp agent exhilarated Peter and made him proud. He became a leader at his airline, where sexual harassment and racism were rampant. In addition to doing his job, Peter became a defender for colleagues who were beleaguered victims of a trio of aggressors. Standing against them was ultimately a major sacrifice.
This novel, based on fact, tells Peter’s story.
Seasoned: A Memoir of Grief and Grace
By Tom Zink
This memoir is the story of Tom Zink’s unwitting grief journey of five decades that began when his older brother Steve was hit by a car and killed while on the paper route the two boys shared. But this is not merely a story of grief and recovery; it is also a poignant and, at times, humorous look at laughter and lightheartedness, winning and losing, and doubt and faith.
Edited by Janice Beetle.
Hand, Horse, and Motor
By James B. Ricci
This book features nearly 200 individuals or corporations that manufactured lawn mowers in this country and offers a snapshot on the patents, products and historical contributions each brought to the industry. It also offers interesting anecdotes, photographs and ephemera from the author’s extensive collection.
Edited by Janice Beetle.