Self Biography

A raw and intimate memoir of one woman’s experience navigating infidelity and divorce, Andrea Merkl illustrates what it means to heal trauma individually and collectively as she gave birth, endured a year-long social media detox, ran a triathlon and discovered a dissociated childhood trauma of sexual abuse.

Like so many American women, Shauna M. Ahern spent decades feeling not good enough about her body, about money, and about her worth in this culture. For a decade, with the help of her husband, she ran a successful food blog, wrote award-winning cookbooks, and raised two children. In the midst of this, at age 48, she suffered a mini-stroke. Tests revealed she would recover fully, but when her doctor impressed upon her that emotional stress can cause physical damage, she dove deep inside herself to understand and let go of a lifetime of damaging patterns of thought.

Sophie Cachia had her white picket fence life. By the age of 25, she was a mother and happily married, and had also built a very successful business by documenting her every move online. But Sophie and her comfortable existence were thrown a curveball when she met a woman who prompted her to ask herself the questions: What more can I do? What more can I learn? What more can I be?

Embracing Schizophrenia is the story of Samantha Mercanti’s experience with schizophrenia. The story is light and positive, but at the same time shows the difficulties Samantha experienced, and continues to experience, in her recovery and her life. Embracing Schizophrenia is a story of struggle, strength, resilience, and hope that opens a window onto mental illness and illuminates it, so we can all understand just a little bit better.

After going viral “reading” the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas finally knew who he was and where he was going. He was living his best life. But then everything changed. In this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas moves back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore (a place he never wanted to return, even to be buried) and behaving completely out of character.

Jono Lancaster was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome - a condition that affects facial appearence - and at only two weeks old, he found himself in foster care. In his remarkable story, Jono shares the highs and lows of his journey and how he turned his differences into his greatest strengths. Inspirational, empowering and moving - this is an extraordinary memoir with a powerful message: you are strong enough to become your own hero. (Cape optional.)

From the moment she nearly drowned in a tank of cold water at the age of three, Ingrid Honkala was aware of other dimensions of life than those most of us normally experience. She was also gifted with the wise input of mysterious “Beings of Light” who gave her invaluable insights and assistance as she faced the challenges of growing up, falling in love, and finding her professional destiny as a research scientist and oceanographer.

At Nightingale-Conant, we have had the distinct honor of publishing some of the finest personal development speakers in the world. Yet, rarely did we ever work with a more enthusiastic, energetic, passionate, innovative, and big thinker than Mark. I still remember back in the 1990s when Mark called me on the telephone to tell me that he (together with his co-author, Jack Canfield) was about to write a book called Chicken Soup for the Soul - an inspiring collection of stories and wisdom to inspire the mind and warm the soul.

Nicolas Hamilton has been exceeding expectations since day one. Born with a form of cerebral palsy, Nicolas was told that he would never walk and would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Today he not only walks everywhere but he is the first disabled athlete to ever compete at the top level of British motorsport, The British Touring Car Championship, where he lines up on the grid alongside some of the world's best drivers. Now That I Have Your Attention follows Nicolas's remarkable journey and shares the valuable, tough, and often surprising lessons learned throughout his life.

Several years ago, Patrick J. Kennedy shared the story of his personal and family challenges with mental illness and addiction—and the nation’s—in his bestselling memoir, A Common Struggle. Now, he and his Common Struggle coauthor, award-winning healthcare journalist Stephen Fried, have crafted this powerful new book sharing the untold stories of others—a special group who agreed to talk about their illnesses, treatments, and struggles for the first time.

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton is a friend of failure. In the 1970s, he brought the Minnesota Vikings to the Superbowl three times - and three times his team was crushed. The first two companies he founded both quickly folded. But by learning how to deal with defeat, Tarkenton discovered the key to success.

After months of following one-size-fits-all advice for a 57-year-old widow, Linda Crill is still miserable, until she makes a rebellious spur-of-the-moment decision: she trades her corporate suits for motorcycle leathers and commits herself to a 2,500-mile road trip down America’s Pacific Northwest coast on a Harley. The problem: she doesn’t know how to ride and has only 30 days to learn. Four short weeks later, Linda joins two men and a woman for a white-knuckled, exhilarating road trip along the west coast from Vancouver, Canada, to the wine country of Mendocino, California....

Death, homelessness, and fear of his future loomed early in his childhood. But through the power of growing his perspective and mindset, Griffin transformed his perception of his situation and turned it into something worthwhile. In Boundless, he shares his astonishing childhood story and major themes he learned along the way to defy the odds set against him. His story is a testament that no matter the obstacles, no matter the difficulties that lie ahead, and no matter the lack of resources, anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Joy's rise from single mother of three to the nation's most celebrated female inventor is truly what dreams are made of. Full of twists and turns, work and love, obstacles encountered and overcome, Inventing Joy is a binge-worthy book in every aspect. Dive in and be swept along for the ride as she relives her incredible and inspiring journey to joy. But there's more: Throughout her story, Joy points out her very own personal lightbulb moments - lessons she learned the hard way and principles she still relies on today.

Adam Braun began working summers at hedge funds when he was just 16 years old, sprinting down the path to a successful Wall Street career. But while traveling as a college student, he met a young boy begging on the streets of India. When Braun asked the boy what he wanted most in the world, he simply answered, "A pencil." This small request became the inspiration for Pencils of Promise, the organization Braun would leave a prestigious job at Bain & Company to start with just $25 at the age of 24.

Imagine a company where people love coming to work and are highly productive on a daily basis. Imagine a company whose top executives, in a quest to create the most "fun" workplace ever, obliterate labor-management divisions and push decision-making responsibility down to the plant floor. Could such a company compete in today's bottom-line corporate world? Could it even turn a profit?

The Five Brothers: Our Journeys to Successful Careers in Law & Medicine chronicles the lives of five African American men pursuing and conquering their educational and professional goals. These five champions demonstrate that sports and entertainment are not the only avenues to success for Black males, and as mentors, husbands, advocates, brothers, community leaders, sons, and men of faith, they share their experiences with the kind of honesty and transparency that leaves us with doses of joy and hope in a time where not enough of these things exist.

School was a struggle for John D. Rodrigues. He knew he was smart, but teachers and classmates didn’t believe him. All they saw was a kid who wore freakish orthopedic shoes, couldn’t sit still in class, and struggled miserably with reading. At age 16, John had had enough. He dropped out, certain he’d never return to school. Thanks to a chance encounter, John discovered ice sculpting. Here, finally, was something the young man was good at, and he took to it passionately. His talent for releasing beauty from massive blocks of ice led to jobs working in famous hotels and on cruise ships.

Leslie White knew she wanted more out of life - She found it in an unlikely place. Devastated from the loss of both parents to cancer nine months apart, Leslie vowed to change her life. She bought the neighbor’s old motorhome, found a job as a traveling histologist, and hit the road. But she found she could not trust the one person she was still holding onto.

First came parents with the good sense to flee Europe in 1940 and the good fortune to reach the land of freedom. Their daughter, Ruth, grew up in the shadow of genocide - but in tandem with the birth of Israel, which remained her lodestar. She learned that although Jewishness is biologically transmitted, democracy is not, and both require intensive, intelligent transmission through education in each and every generation.