We recently devoured these three books that will immediately engage you and hold your attention—a much needed respite from reality. Gaijin is a story of a young woman’s quest for answer. Everyone Dies Famous is a whirlwind read that takes place over 24 hours and is filled with eccentric characters. And the NY Times bestseller, The Beauty in Breaking, is a memoir by an African American woman who is an emergency room doctor.

Gaijin – a young woman’s quest for answers

In her first novel, Gaijin, award-winning journalist and poet Sarah Z. Sleeper tells the story of Lucy, a budding journalist at Northwestern University, is obsessed with an exotic new student, Owen Ota, whom she falls in love with and thinks is in love with her. She also falls in love with his stories of the elegant culture of Japan. When he disappears without explanation, she’s devastated. She accepts a job as reporter for a small newspaper in Okinawa and sets out to find him and the Japan he had told her about. Nothing is as she thought it would and she finds her a “gaijin” a stranger in a strange country.

We were drawn into Lucy’s story with its beautiful writing and the many layers of coming of age, as Lucy comes to terms with her own past, her obsession with Owen, and life in a strange and unwelcoming country. Get the book.

Everyone Dies Famous – A Whirlwind Read

You will be immediately caught up in Len Joy’s gripping novel and its cast of interesting and eccentric characters that takes place over 24 hours! As a deadly tornado is about to come barreling through a small mid-west town it’s unknowing residents are embroiled in their day to day lives. You’ll meet Dancer, once a legend in the town who fell for grace. You’ll learn about Clayton, Dancer’s haunted son who touched the lives of most of the characters in the book—the women who loved him, his younger brother who idolized him, and the tragic accident (or was it?) that took his life. Lost loves, lost chances, second changes, secrets unfolding, are just some of the themes that playout during the 24 hours. It’s a page turner that will keep your interest to the very last page. Get the book.  

The Beauty in Breaking – An Emergency Room Doctor Shares her Memoir

Michele Harper, an emergency room physician tells her story of surviving abuse, divorce, racism and sexism, tells the story of her through encounters with patients she’s treated along the way. She spares no one, least of all herself in her own journey to find and heal herself. You’ll be moved by the deep level of empathy she has for her patients; you’ll be angered by the racism and sexism she has experienced as an African American woman; and you will find important lessons in this honest account of what it’s like to be a doctor in an emergency room, what it’s like to encounter obstacles, and the guts it take to overcome them. Get the book.