Published!

In January 2020, Jennifer Sanfilippo's life was upended when her husband, Jim, was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Thrust into the cancer battle against the backdrop of a roiling Covid-19 pandemic, Jim fought for his life while Jennifer fought to protect their family from the indignities of the healthcare complex. Our Last Walk Home is an exploration of cancer treatment in the US, from diagnosis to death, through the lens of a widow's grief. After Jim’s passing, Jennifer shifted her focus to supporting individuals and families through profound life transitions. She is a certified executive coach (Columbia University) and end-of-life doula (University of Vermont), with advanced training in group facilitation (Center for Group Studies). Today, she provides grief and transition coaching, end-of-life guidance, and community education through forums, Death Cafés, and hospice volunteer work. She brings empathy, clarity, and compassion to every conversation, believing deeply in the power of human connection to ease life’s hardest moments. 

 

Our Last Walk Home is available through the Monroe County Library system, for purchase locally at Writers and Books, Hippocampo Children’s Books, or online at Amazon.

Diamonds in the Dirt: Stories From a Junkyard Girl offers a glimpse of what it was like to grow up living smack dab in the middle of a junkyard in rural Connecticut. In this memoir, Laurie Riedman shares how love can grow among discarded car parts, a rusted-out bus, and a crazy cast of real and imagined characters. The stories tell of a childhood—unique and filled with happiness and trauma. Laurie bravely attempts to connect the dots, some painfully clear and others frustratingly fuzzy, of her fractured memory.

The collection is arranged by theme rather than chronologically and features four parts: Life as a Junkyard Girl, I am Junk, The Power of Pretend, and Diamonds in the Dirt. “I chose to tell my story as a collection of short stories and in a non-linear fashion because this allowed me to bridge those gaps and more clearly share the arc of where I’ve been and where I am. Time jumps even within a single story because that is how I could tie the gaps together and see the themes emerge,” said the author, Laurie Riedman.

 

By sharing and owning the painful truth of her life, the author sends a powerful message of hope, inspiring others to mine the gifts in their lives and own their own stories. This book is perfect for those who enjoy short stories, personal essays, and memoirs about meeting life challenges.

Diamonds in the Dirt: Stories From a Junkyard Girl- is available on Amazon, B&N, Bookshop, and Ingram Sparks.

 

Laurie is also a co-editor and publisher of two anthologies (in a Badass Sisterhood series)—the first is on Blurb, and the second is published on Amazon. She also has an author page and a blog More Than Words Substack.

When a half black synesthete realizes she sees people's personalities as colored but not her own, she must revisit the traumas of losing her Nigerian father to remember what her true colors are. Theory of Color (which is scheduled for publishing in early 2027) is for the creative-thinking, racially diverse, and neurodiverse who are seeking to gain a true understanding of their identity.

 

Leah McGuire received her Bachelor’s in Fashion Design at Philadelphia University and her Master’s in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. In 2019, she quit designing NFL uniforms to write Theory of Color at a Finnish writing residency called Villa Sarkia. Being a West African and Scandinavian American synesthete, Leah uses experimental fiction to explore the uncertainty of racial identity and psychology. Since then, she has been featured in the 2025 Bedford Square Review anthology, written a documentary for Vedavision Studios, and started a writing page on Instagram @leahthecreativewriter.

A memoir about life as an anxiety-ridden little girl in 1970s California who grew up to be an anxiety-ridden writer in Western New York, Sweet Tooth weaves traditional essays together with everything from instructions on how to comb your hair to a discussion about how Jell-O is a symbol of grief. Green delves into the world of dreams, birth, the cosmos, and ancient Mexican folklore –then packages it all up in a Sweet Tooth candy wrapper.

 

Christine Green is the managing editor for Rochester’s (585) magazine, (585) Kids magazine, and Upstate Gardeners’ Journal. She was the founder and host of the popular reading salon Words on the Verge, a member of the Listen to Your Mother 2017 Rochester cast, and a member of the Listen to Your Mother 2020/2021 Production Team. Her essays, articles, poetry, and creative nonfiction appear in literary journals and magazines.