Interested in a book written by Trinity Alumnae? Check out these incredible reads. Email alumnae@trinitydc.edu to get added to the list if you have also written a book.
Reinventing the Wheel: Hard Roads Can Lead to Beautiful Places
Patricia A Broderick, ’71
After a life-changing car accident as a teenager, Pat Broderick had two choices: remain in the safe haven of her parents or reinvent herself and find a new path through life as a woman in a wheelchair. She chose the latter. Pat finished her college degree, earned her master’s, and began working as a probation officer. Perturbed by what she observed in the courtroom, she decided to become a lawyer. She graduated from law school, passed the bar exam, and went to work.
My Concrete Village
Irika Ford, ’20
My Concrete Village is about the surrounding support Keiana has of family and friends while experiencing her dad suddenly being incarcerated. This story is a reflection of my own childhood experience and it can be found on my website www.msmasai.com
Skin, Skin, Don’t You Know Me?
Marie Mendoza
This children’s book is about a question we all may ask ourselves over the course of our lives. The question is Skin, Skin Don’t You Know Me? Join us on an adventure as this young girl asks the question and discovers the power in what she tells herself about herself.
A Little Rock and Roll and a Good Cigar
Patricia Aiken-O’Neill ’66
Headlining this collection, in “A Little Rock and Roll and a Good Cigar”, Trinity is featured as a main character from the 1960’s as Patricia Aiken-O’Neill explores and strengthens her relationship with her father and learns the art of negotiation at a young age. In personal and telling stories, “tall” tales and observations about her family and others, she shares wry and candid “amusing musings” about herself and the world around her. Casting a net beyond her family and friends, she invites “new friends” and readers to claim these stories that “could be yours, too”.
She “speeds through life”, challenging familiar norms and discovering deeper connections and meaning, often finding joy and uncovering new truths. A reader notes that “Aiken-O’Neill appreciates and honors the unexpected.” “A Little Rock & Roll…” is a lyrical exposition on the infrastructure of one woman’s life.
About the Author:
Patricia Aiken-O’Neill, a Trinity graduate, is a former attorney and association executive, whose writings have appeared in essay and opinion form in numerous newspapers, a historical biography (opening poem), and professional and commercial journals. She has authored multiple monographs, one which was the basis for federal legislation. Her book of verse, My Life in Verse, was privately published in 2019. She and her husband, John F. O’Neill, MD, spend their time in Naples, Florida and Washington DC (her hometown).
A Little Rock and Roll and A Good Cigar (ISBN # 978 1 62429 483 9), is available through Politics & Prose at its three locations in Washington DC: Tel: 202 364 1919, or online at website, www.politics-prose.com.
I Am Not a Juvenile Delinquent – How Poetry Changed a Group of At-Risk Young Women
Sharon Charde ’64
A Mourning Mother, a Group of Girls and the Power of Rehabilitative Poetry
After the death of her child, a grief-stricken psychotherapist volunteers as a poetry teacher at a residential treatment facility for “delinquent” girls. Here, their mutual support nourish and enrich each other, though not without large quantities of drama and recalcitrance.
Unhinged
Sharon Charde ’64
The poems in Unhinged open wide the doors between love and loss, past and present, life and death. Charde teaches us that to study any subject is to reckon with its opposite: how she can choose the commitment of marriage, while wanting “to keep moving”; how she honors the loss of her son, a grief that still shouts “like the emperor peonies/ burning red in [her] garden,” while also wanting “to lasso [her] life to a more merciful anchor”; how she faces her own mortality, thanking death for giving her “singularity, a kind of dignity” exactly when she is “learning to love the fire” of life. Charde’s honesty is disarming: here, grief is not melodramatic but intimate—these poems teach us that to let grief open us we must let it lead us beyond what›s static, standard, or finite. Only then can we claim the hard-earned understanding that “the life [we] have is/ the one worth living in.
A Breath Too Late
Leticia Callen ’07
Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death.
Squiggling Thru COVID-19: How This Artist Kept from Going Nuts During the Pandemic
Brenda Fettig Murphy ’63
Forced to “stay at home” in a small mid-western city for almost three months during 2020’s COVID-pandemic, artist Brenda Fettig Murphy looked for ways to “keep from going nuts.” One day she went down into her art studio, picked up a pencil, closed her eyes, and drew a “squiggle.” And another…and another. She colored them and they took shape. She began sharing her creations via social media, along with the question: “What do you see?” And boy, did she get responses! No two people saw the same thing. It became a sort of a daily COVID-19 Rorschach test for her growing number of followers. The 46-page book is a stunning compilation of mixed media drawings that inspire readers to find a focus or purpose during a very difficult time in our society. The illustrations are brightly colored and narrated with fun and thoughtful captions collected from her social media community. Pages at the back of the book encourage readers to draw and name their own “squiggles.
The Calling of Mother Adelli
Zoe Keithley ’57
In an exclusive Catholic boarding school outside Chicago, story-time is September, 1948. Former ballerina Mary Agnes Adelli, now a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart and newly appointed Mistress of the Third Cours, expects to make final vows in just nine months when a late registrant, a sixth grade student, Helene Rhenehan, enters her life.
Crow Song
Zoe Keithley ’57
Zoe Keithley’s volume of poems Crow Song is a powerful and ironic meditation on a lifetime’s worth of relationships. These relationships are of many sorts: familial, romantic, erotic, aesthetic, spiritual and artistic. What they have in common is the simultaneously intimate and cosmic perspective in which Keithley views them. In this book we find a complete and satisfying portrait of a poet in love with life in all its forms, one that testifies both to the extreme demands the world places on us and to the dazzling rewards we may reap if we rise to the challenge.
A Poor Girl Who Became the Mother of Life: An Inspirational Look at the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Karen Comfort ’17
This book is an inspirational look at the greatest woman in the Bible and all of history, the Virgin Mary– the Mother of Jesus Christ. By all accounts, Mary should never have been given the awesome assignment of birthing the Savior of the world. She was poor, uneducated, unknown, and unqualified, based on the world’s standards. However, God had already ordained, chosen, equipped, and anointed Mary for a great purpose and destiny!
Evolving Humanity and Biblical Wisdom
Marie Noonan Sabin ’53
Teilhard de Chardin, twentieth-century paleontologist and Jesuit, envisioned an explosion in global communication that could expand human consciousness to the point of universal empathy. In the process, he joined his scientific knowledge to his religious faith. Exploring Teilhard’s ideas in biblical texts, Marie Sabin discovers that his vision has ancient seeds. In the book of Job, the Gospel of John, and in Proverbs’ feminine Wisdom, as well as in the gospels’ Christ, she finds a persistent theme of evolving human consciousness. The texts ground Teilhard’s futuristic thought in ancient wisdom, while Teilhard’s evolutionary insights give these ancient voices contemporary relevance.
The Gospel According to Mark
Marie Noonan Sabin ’53
Sabin asserts that Mark’s Gospel is not an eyewitness account or a work of biography or history. She writes, What Mark gives us is far richer. He interprets Jesus in the light of the Hebrew Bible, showing Jesus to be not only a teacher of Wisdom but Wisdom itself, calling his followers to an unconventional wisdom, a way of living (and a way of dying) that he himself exemplifies.”
Can These Bones Dance: A Memoir of Coming Alive
Elaine Zablotny Madison ’62
A tree struck by lightning awakens the author at seven to a vision of the natural world as spiraling energy continuously renewing itself. Can she connect with that energy and become fully alive? She learns to meditate and finds the bones of her Catholic tradition dancing with mystical wisdom as she follows the path of St. Francis and his Sufi friends. Earthy and enchanting, this is the memoir of a woman who learns that the Creator who sends the lightning yearns to heal her like a tender mother and, like an encouraging father, challenges her to play her part in the world.
Maud Gone
Kathy Rockwell Lawrence ’67
Maud Malone Devlin, 8.5 months pregnant, has two big problems—well, three if you count the size of her belly. Her birthing class instructor, the very definition of blond bombshell, is a fraud intent on selling Maud a “painless birth”. And that’s just the beginning of Maud’s discomfort. On the eve of their first child’s birth, she discovers her husband Jack has his eyes—and hands—set on the instructor when he should be focused on Maud’s meditation exercises.
The Last Room in Manhattan
Kathy Rockwell Lawrence ’67
In one week, Karen Carmody, 30, manages to lose both her job and sublet. She’s unemployed, broke, and homeless. As with every era, heartless landlords and high rents rule in 1980s Manhattan, landing Karen in The Arcadia, a “Home for Young Ladies” – never mind that most of its occupants are in their second or third youth.
Milton Saves the Bakery
Karen McLinden Hickman ’67 and Alexandra Bowman
Milton enjoys the peace and quiet in Pine Cove, Maine where he lives next to a lighthouse, but Milton misses his mother and decides to go home for a visit to Boston. He has never taken a train, so he asks his Uncle Harold for help. Traveling with Uncle Harold is quite an adventure. Milton is a responsible and courageous mouse. Once at home he helps to catch a thief and save two bakeries. Join Milton for his new adventures in Boston. This chapter book offers a variety of quick stories that tie together for Milton’s adventures. Parents will like reading to young children while elementary students will enjoy reading the chapter book on their own.
Milton’s Cousins Come for Christmas
Karen McLinden Hickman ’67 and Alexandra Bowman
Milton, The Lighthouse Mouse gets a surprise visit from his cousins. They want to spend Christmas with him. The snow is falling outside and the air is frigid, so Milton decides its best that they stay. Soon Milton’s quiet lighthouse cottage is alive with activity — and much of it anything but quiet. Then, without warning, another unexpected visitor arrives that could endanger his and his cousins’ lives. Should Milton turn the lost visitor away in the cold weather, or let them in and face the consequences? Read this exciting Christmas tale and find out what happens next.
The Missing Caboose
Karen McLinden Hickman ’67 and Patrick McLinden
Rusty the Red Caboose finds himself stuck. Will the Virginia Southern discover Rusty is missing and come to save the day? Read to find out if Rusty is saved in this charming children’s book with colorful illustrations.
Out-Dancing the Devil: A Journey of Faith, Laughter and Healing: The Story of Helene Savarese Gibbons
Joan Savarese ’68
A unique and poignant memoir, containing the real-life conversations between two sisters as they face the most frightening period of their lives together. One sister, Helene, is dying. The other sister, Joan, struggles with her own grief. Yet the book is uplifting and joyful, infused with the Helene’s feisty spirit and robust faith. Joe Savarese, their brother, illustrated this book with whimsical pictures, and Helene’s son, Sam Gibbons, designed the beautiful cover.
Danya: a Woman of Ancient Galilee
Anne Byrne McGivern ’70
Danya, a literate, independent-minded young woman, grows up in the village of Nazareth. Personal betrayals, social restrictions, and family tragedies crush Danya’s dream of fighting to free her people from Roman domination. Instead she is married off and lives as an outsider in the sophisticated city of Sepphoris, the Roman capital of Galilee. Danya struggles to write her own life, a story woven into the political, religious, and cultural conflicts of the tumultuous world of ancient Palestine early in the first century.
Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess Is Our Message
Nancy McCann Vericker ’78 and JP Vericker
The riveting true story of a young man’s descent into opioid and alcohol addiction, homelessness and violence, and his recovery journey—told by a son, now seven years sober and co-founder of a substance abuse treatment program, and his mother, a spiritual director and youth minister with more than twenty-six years of sobriety. Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess Is Our Message is the inspiring story of one family’s efforts through their faith, the 12-step program, and a tough-love approach to help their son return home—as did the prodigal son of the Gospel—to forgiveness, love, and a renewed life. This book will provide hope for families grappling with the dark world of addiction.
The World Outside Our Door
Elizabeth M. Hawkins ’16
It has been five days since her father’s death, and Liz still feels frozen in time. Left with twenty-one years of memories, Liz knows that John Frederick Smith was not a perfect man or father. She loved her father, but his drinking had always been a source of resentment. As she attempts to grapple with her grief and anger, Liz returns to her memories with the hope of finding the answers she so desperately needs.
From Pigtails and Pinafores: My mother’s life growing up on the Florida Gulf
Elizabeth M. Hawkins ’16
Born May 30, 1931, in a little town called Bagdad, Florida, in Santa Rosa County, Elsie Underwood Smith came from humble beginnings. Her father was a carpenter and her mother was a seamstress. In From Pigtails and Pinafores, author Elizabeth Hawkins helps tell her mother’s life story. Offering a mix of humor, history, and heart, this memoir narrates anecdotes about a young girl growing up in the Florida Gulf during 1930s Depression era and 1940s war era. It details how Elsie was surrounded by family, love, caring, and sharing. She discusses her experiences living with a number of relatives for the first ten years of her life and then with her strict and domineering father until she turned eighteen.
California at War: the State and People During World War
Diane Tarantino North ’66
World War I propelled the United States into the twentieth century and served as a powerful catalyst for the making of modern California. The war expanded the role of the government and enlarged the presence of private citizens’ associations. Never before had so many Californians taken such a dynamic part in community, state, national, and international affairs. These definitive events unfold in California at War as a complex, richly detailed historical narrative.
Maggie the Moomaid
Rachel Terlop ’17 and Marianella Aguirre González
Maggie the Moomaid is an adorable and beautifully-illustrated title that encourages readers to embrace their individuality and pursue their dreams. The story follows Maggie, a healthy, happy, and buoyant manatee who loves nothing more than to flaunt her mermaid costumes around wherever she goes. When she is ridiculed by her classmates for her size, her mother inspires her to embrace her uniqueness as a “moomaid”. Inspirational and creative, this is a great title for children and adults alike.
The Shirt on His Back Escape from Liberia
Dr. Virginia Bergin MacKenzie ’58
Joe and Vera Bailey and their four daughters got caught up in a vicious and deadly civil war in Liberia in 1990. Their daughters were fifteen, twelve, ten, and two. At that time in Liberia, Charles Taylor was trying to take over the brutal regime of Samuel Doe by using even more brutal, dreadful methods. The country was in complete political, economic, and social chaos. Their very lives depended on escaping the country.
Where’s the Math?: Books, Games, and Routines to Spark Children’s Thinking
Mary Hynes-Berry ’66 and Laura Grandau
Make math learning both meaningful and fun by building on children’s natural curiosity to help them grow into confident problem solvers and investigators of math concepts. Using five math-related questions children wonder about as a framework, this book helps you go deeper into everyday math with children.
When I Heard My Father’s Voice: With the Letters of Richard Berry
Susan Berry Eberhardt ’66
In 1944, an American pilot was missing in action in France. After a year, the Army notified his family of his death. Fifty years later, the family learned about his last moments and what happened to his body while the Germans still controlled the area. This book recounts what they learned and also brings to life the pilot’s voice through his letters.
Tiny Bites: Scratch Recipes for the Toy Oven
Susan Berry Eberhardt ’66
Millions of Easy-Bake Ovens and similar toy ovens have been sold over the years, yet there are few cookbooks designed for use with them. Tiny Bites fills that gap with recipes ranging from super-easy brownies to more complicated pies and yeast bread. Children can make pizza, hamburgers and quiche as well as cakes and cookies. There are even instructions for making a pumpkin pie from the eyes, nose and mouth of a jack-o-lantern.
The Richest Girl in the World: The Extravagant Life and Fast Times of Doris Duke
Stephanie Mansfield ’72
A portrait of multimillionairess Doris Duke reveals her rivalry with Barbara Hutton, her secret role with the OSS, and her relationships with Imelda Marcos, Errol Flynn, and others
Whistled Like a Bird: The Untold Story of Dorothy Putnam, George Putnam, and Amelia Earhart
Stephanie Mansfield ’72 and Sally Putnam Chapman
In this extraordinary, true story about an independent woman, a world-famous aviator, and the powerful man who loved them both, Sally Putnam Chapman, the granddaughter of Dorothy Binney Putnam and George Putnam, recounts a treasure trove of memories, spanning the years 1907 to 1961, culled from her grandmother’s diaries and photos.
Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters
Speaker Nancy Pelosi ’62
“Never losing faith, we worked to redeem the promise of America, that all men and women are created equal. For our daughters and our granddaughters today we have broken the marble ceiling. For our daughters and our granddaughters now the sky is the limit.” —Nancy Pelosi, after being sworn in as Speaker of the House.
Passion for Islam: Shaping the Modern Middle East: The Egyptian Experience
Caryle Murphy ’68
Written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, this authoritative and enthralling primer on the modern face of Islam provides one of the most comprehensive accountings for the roots of religious terrorism and Middle Eastern strife.
Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)
Cathie Black ’66
Every woman dreams of having a wise, funny mentor who understands the challenges she faces. Now, Cathie Black—one of Forbes’s “100 Most Powerful Women” and Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business”—offers invaluable lessons that will help you land the job, promotion, or project you’re vying for. You’ll find out how to handle interviews, which rules to break, and why you should make your life a grudge-free zone. Filled with surprisingly candid, personal stories and advice, this is the only career guide you’ll ever need.
Murder at Longbourn
Tracy Kiely ’90
Planning New Year’s resolutions to rid her life of all things unhealthy, Elizabeth Parker has dumped fatty foods, processed sugar, and her two-timing boyfriend. Indeed, the invitation to join her Aunt Winnie for a How to Host a Murder Party on New Year’s Eve at Winnie’s new Cape Cod B and B comes just in time. But when the local wealthy miser ends up the unscripted victim, Elizabeth must unearth old secrets and new motives in order to clear her beloved aunt of suspicion.
Murder on the Bride’s Side
Tracy Kiely ’90
Drawing from the classic Sense and Sensibility, Tracy Kiely continues the adventures of Elizabeth Parker, the likable Austen-quoting sleuth, in this witty and charming series.
Tracy Kiely also has multiple other mystery books. See here for her Good Reads Page.
When One Door Closes, Rejoice!: Living a Life of Victory Using the 4 Attributes of Emotional Intelligence
LaVeer Jovel ’94
When you face change due to disappointments, heartaches, and challenges, it is natural to feel defeated and hopeless. Yet those shocking and painful experiences happen for us, and not against us. There is a Divine Plan for your life. Embrace new beginnings and see the opportunities that await you. It is time to step into the unknown, commit to yourself, and follow your heart with a curious mind and a sense of excitement.
Disclaimers
Myesha Green ’21
Throughout my life I have experienced and observed things that helped shape me into the person I am today. I am learning that if I am able to share my story and accept my history, I can become a better me. I lost my best friend last year due to suicide. She was dealing with some things in her life and I wish I could have been someone she talked to about them. Now, I feel as though I can use my story as a way to help others and show my best friend that I am being strong for her. I hope that maybe my story will inspire others to reach out if they need help with life experiences.
The Love Experience
Dr. DeMoncheri Harris ’06
What is love? Love is defined as being an intense feeling of deep affection, which plays an enormous & unavoidable role in our lives. In the Love Experience, you will discover many facets of the notion of love, such as religious love, romantic love, obsessive love, passionate love, and being in love in general. On this journey, the components of the grand phenomenon called “love” is defined, while providing an understanding of where it comes from, how it works, and what it may mean to you. You will also explore the various types of love, from personal and spiritual to healthy and unhealthy forms of love, as well as, experience artistic expressions from family and friends.
3 Rings and a Promise: Encouragement for Women to Heal from Brokenness
Tarje’ Davis ’12
A Proverbs 31 woman exemplifies characteristics of Poise, Purity, Strength, Dignity, Respect, Purpose, and Self-Love. Yet, 3 Rings & A Promise highlights how misaligned Tarje s journey was compared to the characteristics God ordained for her. Through hurdles of misidentified love, loneliness, lies, anger, and sex, Tarje shares how her misunderstanding of love led her into three engagements and a host of situation-ships.
Raffles That’s My Name
Mary Ellen Forbes McMillen ’55
Thomas Stamford Raffles was born into a very ordinary family but rose to become a knight of the realm. Among his achievements were the founding of modern Singapore and the establishment of the London Zoo, the world’s first scientific zoo. A proud Briton, he came to appreciate deeply the people and culture of Southeast Asia. He was relentless in his opposition to slavery, wherever it existed.
Here we learn of his successes and his failures, not only in the making of the British Empire, but also in offering the world new ways of seeing.
Nervous Ned
Sarah Wysocki ’12
Does your child have irrational thoughts that keep them up at night or hold them back from doing things they really want to do? If so, Nervous Ned is a book for them. Ned is a young boy who is fearful of bad and embarrassing things happening to him. At the park, he’s worried that a monkey might attack him while he does the monkey bars, at school he’s afraid he might get stuck to the seat. But his daytime worries are nothing compared to the worries that keep him up at night, Ned’s mind races from aliens, to dogs, to ducks. With a little help from a friend Ned learns that much of what he is worried about will never happen and that it is more fun to take chances and play. Nervous Ned is a must-read for kids who suffer from anxiety or irrational fears.
Amelia and the Volcano
Sarah Wysocki ’12
What do you do if you live with a volcano? Amelia has a scary secret, nobody at school knows about it, her friends and teachers see her as a nice, happy, funny girl. Amelia is living with a volcano that explodes for the tiniest mistakes, or for no reason at all. Amelia feels lonely and unloved until she discovers that she’s not the only one living with a volcano. Her friend lives with one too, knowing this gives Amelia courage and comfort. A wonderful picture book for children and adults alike, Amelia and the Volcano offers children hope and a sense of control, it also includes helpful tips for parents and caretakers.
Who Controls the Heart? Confessions of a Love Child
Joyce Killebrew ’79
The great diva Ms. Diana Ross sang about me and millions of others like me in her hit tune: “Love Child.” Well, I am a love child. I have spent a great part of my life feeling ashamed of being born out-of-wedlock. Perhaps, I would not have felt so ashamed if I had felt like I had one loving parent, but the person whom I felt should have cared about me constantly made fun of me and belittled my very existence. I retreated into a fantasy world, and I listened to the songs of Elvis Presley like “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Love Me Tender.” Listening to Elvis Presley made me feel wanted, and oh sure! I heard what Elvis Presley was rumored to have said about black people. That still did not stop me from loving his image, because he sustained me when I had no one else to love me. I never saw Elvis in person, but his singing made me feel alive. I am proud that I went in search of my father and myself. The great Greek Philosopher said, “Know thyself.” Well, I have learned many things about myself, and I AM LOVE.
An Ever-Present God
Carlesha Herndon ’09, ’16
An Ever-Present God is an inspirational literary work. Readers should expect encouraging and uplifting words to feed their spiritual beings. The author wants the readers to be encouraged daily to keep pressing on, with God. This book gives examples of the greatness of the Lord and His ability to be everywhere and to do more than we ask or think!
Dear Nolita
Wesley Hawkins ’20
Welcome to the meanest streets in America. Where Wesley Hawkins grew up, abandoned buildings were called “abandominiums.” More families lived in these burned-out houses without utilities than could afford rent or running water. Neighbors shared electricity by running extension cords out of their windows, and and anyone had anything, shared. But it wasn’t all tales of heartwarming community. In such extreme poverty, drugs were the only way out. Whether you were using them – like Hawkins’ mother, whose heartbreaking story inspired his mentorship work – or selling them, like Hawkins was by the age of eleven in order to help feed his brothers and sisters. Some of you readers know exactly the America that Wesley Hawkins grew up in.