Book Prep helped writers self-publish these books
Surviving Bina’s Secrets: A True Story of Abuse and Recovery in Africa and America
By Bina [Maria Durham]
ISBN: 978-1-937317-49-2 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN: 978-1-937317-50-8: — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Nonfiction — autobiography
Published: February 2020
Surviving Bina’s Secrets: A True Story of Abuse and Recovery in Africa and America is a story of survival, of triumph over persecution and abuse. It’s a story that spans seven decades, a story of redemption, a 6,000-mile journey of desperation that began in the late 1940s on the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. It is a saga that Maria Durham — known since childhood as “Bina” — had suppressed in her mind for years, but about which she has found peace and attained equilibrium in her life by recounting her experiences in writing, in this book.
She explains, “On these pages, I have written the story of my life — the bad and the good but, as you will read, mostly the bad. I used to be so embarrassed about it all, but I’m grown up now — I’m an old lady.” She acknowledged that she initially resisted the notion of mentally revisiting all that she endured at the hands of predators who took advantage of her trusting nature. Yet she found the process therapeutic.
“I’ve been learning how to talk about it to make myself feel better. Writing this book has helped me a lot. It has helped take away the anger and resentment I’ve had since childhood,” Bina explained. “I am very lucky that I have some good friends to talk to. Some of them are here in the United States, and some are still on the islands off the coast of West Africa. I kept this secret all of my life, until after I turned 50.”
While writing the book was cathartic for Bina, she had an altruistic goal in mind.
“I want to help children so they will not go through what I went through,” she said. “I would like all young people to know that you should not wait until you are old to talk about what happens in your life. Find somebody to talk to. Don’t keep it inside; don’t keep it a secret. Find some way to deal with it, or it will deal with you.”
Even though Bina’s story is disturbing, it’s also enlightening and liberating.
“I wrote Surviving Bina’s Secrets about my life to discover who I am. I want to let other women know what went on in my everyday life as a young child and into adulthood. No one should have to live with the things that I lived with. Women need to speak up for themselves,” she asserts. “I’m not embarrassed anymore.”
ISBN: 978-1-937317-50-8: — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Nonfiction — autobiography
Published: February 2020
Surviving Bina’s Secrets: A True Story of Abuse and Recovery in Africa and America is a story of survival, of triumph over persecution and abuse. It’s a story that spans seven decades, a story of redemption, a 6,000-mile journey of desperation that began in the late 1940s on the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of West Africa. It is a saga that Maria Durham — known since childhood as “Bina” — had suppressed in her mind for years, but about which she has found peace and attained equilibrium in her life by recounting her experiences in writing, in this book.
She explains, “On these pages, I have written the story of my life — the bad and the good but, as you will read, mostly the bad. I used to be so embarrassed about it all, but I’m grown up now — I’m an old lady.” She acknowledged that she initially resisted the notion of mentally revisiting all that she endured at the hands of predators who took advantage of her trusting nature. Yet she found the process therapeutic.
“I’ve been learning how to talk about it to make myself feel better. Writing this book has helped me a lot. It has helped take away the anger and resentment I’ve had since childhood,” Bina explained. “I am very lucky that I have some good friends to talk to. Some of them are here in the United States, and some are still on the islands off the coast of West Africa. I kept this secret all of my life, until after I turned 50.”
While writing the book was cathartic for Bina, she had an altruistic goal in mind.
“I want to help children so they will not go through what I went through,” she said. “I would like all young people to know that you should not wait until you are old to talk about what happens in your life. Find somebody to talk to. Don’t keep it inside; don’t keep it a secret. Find some way to deal with it, or it will deal with you.”
Even though Bina’s story is disturbing, it’s also enlightening and liberating.
“I wrote Surviving Bina’s Secrets about my life to discover who I am. I want to let other women know what went on in my everyday life as a young child and into adulthood. No one should have to live with the things that I lived with. Women need to speak up for themselves,” she asserts. “I’m not embarrassed anymore.”
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – a 4-part series
By W.K. “Jake” Wehrell
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 1: Instead of Skipping Stones
ISBN 978-0998763200 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble;
ISBN 978-0998763217 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: March 2017
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part One: Instead of Skipping Stones is the first in a series of books portraying the life of Roger Yahnke, who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s. The book is an unlikely prelude to Roger’s future duplicitous global adventures. It is a collection of innocent and endearing admissions; a fresh and confidentially narrated pre-teen to adult memoir. The reader will be caught up in a succession of delicate, weighty, and progressively more thought-provoking scenarios. Readers will find themselves smiling or wincing at Roger’s adolescent doubts, conclusions, and best-guess responses — up to and including his almost happenstance choice of a life’s work.
In sharing with you his youthful aspirations, efforts, understandings, and misgivings, Roger hopes to gain some credibility and maybe even a bit of affection, before later disappointing you with a surprising string of selfish, inconsiderate and often illegal activities.
Excerpt:
Kids generally listen real hard whenever their parents’ voices go hushed, or if we see them react with unusual concern. Well, I was one of those kids, and Dad frequently gave me occasion to respond accordingly. He had a way of registering a look of shocked disbelief whenever some information came his way that was outside his data base. As good a man as he was, it was not because he had spent his youth reading or perfecting cause-and-effect reasoning. He had his own facts; a long list of things that, irrespective of their lack of statistical or scientific basis, were certainties to him. While growing up, what his “Pop” had told him, or other finger-shaking adults had said, became his encyclopedia.
ISBN 978-0998763217 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: March 2017
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part One: Instead of Skipping Stones is the first in a series of books portraying the life of Roger Yahnke, who grew up in the 1950s and ’60s. The book is an unlikely prelude to Roger’s future duplicitous global adventures. It is a collection of innocent and endearing admissions; a fresh and confidentially narrated pre-teen to adult memoir. The reader will be caught up in a succession of delicate, weighty, and progressively more thought-provoking scenarios. Readers will find themselves smiling or wincing at Roger’s adolescent doubts, conclusions, and best-guess responses — up to and including his almost happenstance choice of a life’s work.
In sharing with you his youthful aspirations, efforts, understandings, and misgivings, Roger hopes to gain some credibility and maybe even a bit of affection, before later disappointing you with a surprising string of selfish, inconsiderate and often illegal activities.
Excerpt:
Kids generally listen real hard whenever their parents’ voices go hushed, or if we see them react with unusual concern. Well, I was one of those kids, and Dad frequently gave me occasion to respond accordingly. He had a way of registering a look of shocked disbelief whenever some information came his way that was outside his data base. As good a man as he was, it was not because he had spent his youth reading or perfecting cause-and-effect reasoning. He had his own facts; a long list of things that, irrespective of their lack of statistical or scientific basis, were certainties to him. While growing up, what his “Pop” had told him, or other finger-shaking adults had said, became his encyclopedia.
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 2: The French Riviera, Leo, June and Big Trouble
ISBN 978-0998763224 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble;
ISBN 978-0998763231 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: August 2018
Roger Yahnke’s decades-long saga of unnerving global escapades (and aggrieved marital status) continues in I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part Two: The French Riviera, Leo, June and Big Trouble. The tale begins in the summer of ’64, at the height of the Cold War. You will gain a new respect (or frightening concern) for the military component of our foreign policy.
Yahnke, a captain in the U.S. Marines, is assigned as a nuclear weapons delivery pilot aboard a U.S. supercarrier. He is assigned his own aircraft, his own bomb, and his own target — an Eastern bloc city that he will vaporize should the Russians launch one ballistic missile westward (or if someone somewhere thinks they did). Stand by for compelling (some mirthful, some tragic, all engaging) shipboard events. But that’s nothing compared to what happens when he’s ashore.
From the bronzed and oiled hedonism of the Cote d’Azur beaches, to bargaining with the KGB in an abandoned house in Bulgaria; from a jail cell in Istanbul where he spends the night with an international film star, to a sunny veranda on the island of Rhodes where he lunches with an exiled king, The French Riviera, Leo, June, and Big Trouble recounts Roger’s baptism to another world and his desperate struggle with his own crippling dilemma.
ISBN 978-0998763231 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: August 2018
Roger Yahnke’s decades-long saga of unnerving global escapades (and aggrieved marital status) continues in I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part Two: The French Riviera, Leo, June and Big Trouble. The tale begins in the summer of ’64, at the height of the Cold War. You will gain a new respect (or frightening concern) for the military component of our foreign policy.
Yahnke, a captain in the U.S. Marines, is assigned as a nuclear weapons delivery pilot aboard a U.S. supercarrier. He is assigned his own aircraft, his own bomb, and his own target — an Eastern bloc city that he will vaporize should the Russians launch one ballistic missile westward (or if someone somewhere thinks they did). Stand by for compelling (some mirthful, some tragic, all engaging) shipboard events. But that’s nothing compared to what happens when he’s ashore.
From the bronzed and oiled hedonism of the Cote d’Azur beaches, to bargaining with the KGB in an abandoned house in Bulgaria; from a jail cell in Istanbul where he spends the night with an international film star, to a sunny veranda on the island of Rhodes where he lunches with an exiled king, The French Riviera, Leo, June, and Big Trouble recounts Roger’s baptism to another world and his desperate struggle with his own crippling dilemma.
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Thinking – Part 3: The CIA Secret Airline and Eureka! She Exists!
ISBN 978-0-9987632-4-8 — paperback, 312 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble;
ISBN 978-0-9987632-5-5 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: December 2019
In the third installment of this adventure series, Roger Yahnke becomes an agent in America's covert paramilitary foreign operations. The saga resumes in Southeast Asia, where Roger is witness to the defilement of humanity, seeing firsthand the results of flawed military policy, and — most importantly — the underestimated will of the Vietnamese “silent majority” (which is the real reason the war was from the onset unwinnable).
Back in the States, finally divorced but dedicated to being the best provider for his family, he finds himself pitifully out of touch with all that surrounds him. After a series of endeavors, including a disreputable “pyramid sales” scheme, he retreats to his comfort zone, cavorting with danger on risky 10-hour Atlantic crossings and all-night flights across the Sahara as the sole pilot in small, puddle jumper single-engine aircraft that were in no way designed for either.
Roger pauses for a cup of tea with Judy Garland, experiences a UFO engagement over the Caspian Sea, survives a crash and capture in the jungle, and he pursues vision-saving surgery at the Clinica Barraquer in Barcelona, the city in which he intrudes on a private dinner with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sadly, these exploits do not mask the deficiency that has subjugated his being. Struggling in an ill-fitting world, he continues to seek that one magic but historically fated-to-failure union. Ashamed and embarrassed, he sincerely and apologetically strives to explain to readers his life-altering condition and his otherwise inexplicable behavior.
ISBN 978-0-9987632-5-5 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: December 2019
In the third installment of this adventure series, Roger Yahnke becomes an agent in America's covert paramilitary foreign operations. The saga resumes in Southeast Asia, where Roger is witness to the defilement of humanity, seeing firsthand the results of flawed military policy, and — most importantly — the underestimated will of the Vietnamese “silent majority” (which is the real reason the war was from the onset unwinnable).
Back in the States, finally divorced but dedicated to being the best provider for his family, he finds himself pitifully out of touch with all that surrounds him. After a series of endeavors, including a disreputable “pyramid sales” scheme, he retreats to his comfort zone, cavorting with danger on risky 10-hour Atlantic crossings and all-night flights across the Sahara as the sole pilot in small, puddle jumper single-engine aircraft that were in no way designed for either.
Roger pauses for a cup of tea with Judy Garland, experiences a UFO engagement over the Caspian Sea, survives a crash and capture in the jungle, and he pursues vision-saving surgery at the Clinica Barraquer in Barcelona, the city in which he intrudes on a private dinner with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Sadly, these exploits do not mask the deficiency that has subjugated his being. Struggling in an ill-fitting world, he continues to seek that one magic but historically fated-to-failure union. Ashamed and embarrassed, he sincerely and apologetically strives to explain to readers his life-altering condition and his otherwise inexplicable behavior.
Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the Shot
Written by Doc Zavod
Illustrated by Orsolya Orbán
Doc Zavod Books, Davis, CA
ISBN 978-1-7331716-0-1 — paperback, 42 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-1-7331716-1-8 — hardback, 42 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Doc Zavod (Matthew B. Zavod, M.D.), author of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the Shot, is a practicing otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and facial plastic surgeon who, as a child, dreaded getting shots. He believes the best medicine is preventive and has strong convictions about maintaining public health. That’s why he decided to write a series of entertaining but instructional children’s books, with his character Dr. Ridiculopickulopot guiding the way.
Dr. Ridiculopickulopot is a clumsy but lovable doctor who bumbles through his day, stumbling over shoes, lunchboxes, and other obstacles while treating his patients. The boy sits diminutively in the doctor’s office, trying to melt into the furniture to avoid the terrifying likelihood of today’s doctor visit: the shot. Nobody likes shots, or bumbling, but the struggles of both Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the boy show us, in a humorous and endearing manner, how the boy overcomes his dread of shots, and how a bumbling doctor is reminded of what it is like to be a patient. At the same time, the boy learns that doctors and shots should not be feared, and that vaccination is important. The antics of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot are sing-songy so preschool and early grade school kids can repeat the words, or at least have a laugh trying.
Dr. Zavod’s passion is entertainment, with humor and music paramount. The Doc lives and sings with his family in Northern California.
Orsolya Orbán, whose nickname is Orshee, is a highly talented children's book illustrator who was born, raised and is living in Transylvania, Romania. Her illustrations always have a healthy dose of humor, like her depiction of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot. Her characters are funny and quirky, but can be sad, if necessary, to convey a mood or a message. Her favorite activity is laughing, however, because it lifts her spirit.
ISBN 978-1-7331716-0-1 — paperback, 42 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-1-7331716-1-8 — hardback, 42 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Doc Zavod (Matthew B. Zavod, M.D.), author of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the Shot, is a practicing otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat doctor) and facial plastic surgeon who, as a child, dreaded getting shots. He believes the best medicine is preventive and has strong convictions about maintaining public health. That’s why he decided to write a series of entertaining but instructional children’s books, with his character Dr. Ridiculopickulopot guiding the way.
Dr. Ridiculopickulopot is a clumsy but lovable doctor who bumbles through his day, stumbling over shoes, lunchboxes, and other obstacles while treating his patients. The boy sits diminutively in the doctor’s office, trying to melt into the furniture to avoid the terrifying likelihood of today’s doctor visit: the shot. Nobody likes shots, or bumbling, but the struggles of both Dr. Ridiculopickulopot and the boy show us, in a humorous and endearing manner, how the boy overcomes his dread of shots, and how a bumbling doctor is reminded of what it is like to be a patient. At the same time, the boy learns that doctors and shots should not be feared, and that vaccination is important. The antics of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot are sing-songy so preschool and early grade school kids can repeat the words, or at least have a laugh trying.
Dr. Zavod’s passion is entertainment, with humor and music paramount. The Doc lives and sings with his family in Northern California.
Orsolya Orbán, whose nickname is Orshee, is a highly talented children's book illustrator who was born, raised and is living in Transylvania, Romania. Her illustrations always have a healthy dose of humor, like her depiction of Dr. Ridiculopickulopot. Her characters are funny and quirky, but can be sad, if necessary, to convey a mood or a message. Her favorite activity is laughing, however, because it lifts her spirit.
Truth, Fiction and Lies: A Merran Scofield Mystery
By Susan Curry
Across Ocean Books, Davis, CA
ISBN 978-0-944176-05-4 — print, 296 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-0-944176-04-7 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: November 2018
An old diary, tucked away in a historical museum since the Great Depression, provides clues about what may have occurred on a farm outside Wirrim, a small Australian country town. Nothing bad ever transpires there — if you set aside the depression-era murder-suicide, and the present-day disappearance of a Japanese exchange student. What really happened?
A class reunion sets the ball rolling. Was the shooting death of a young mother and her three children murder-suicide? Or was her husband responsible? Does knowledge of the history of the time carry some weight?
A teenage Japanese exchange student, Hiroshi Nakamura, chronically anxious and depressed, walks away from Wirrim and vanishes. Has he survived? If so, where is he? If not, is this a suicide? Or murder? Malcolm Richardson, an elderly farmer and son of a Japanese prisoner-of-war survivor, admits that he met the boy but swears that he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Truth, or lies? And where do his father’s letters to his mother from the Middle East in World War II fit in?
These are mysteries that claim the attention of historian Merran Scofield, who grew up in Wirrim but left long ago to pursue an academic career in San Francisco. When she returns for a short study trip and attends a class reunion, she has little idea that her life will never be the same, thanks to former classmates, the local police officer and, again, her knowledge of the times.
Truth, Fiction, and Lies appeals to mystery buffs; to people interested in Australia, particularly its history; and to armchair psychologists. It’s an engrossing, brisk read, with a surprisingly complex plot that will keep you absorbed well into the night.
ISBN 978-0-944176-05-4 — print, 296 pages, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-0-944176-04-7 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: November 2018
An old diary, tucked away in a historical museum since the Great Depression, provides clues about what may have occurred on a farm outside Wirrim, a small Australian country town. Nothing bad ever transpires there — if you set aside the depression-era murder-suicide, and the present-day disappearance of a Japanese exchange student. What really happened?
A class reunion sets the ball rolling. Was the shooting death of a young mother and her three children murder-suicide? Or was her husband responsible? Does knowledge of the history of the time carry some weight?
A teenage Japanese exchange student, Hiroshi Nakamura, chronically anxious and depressed, walks away from Wirrim and vanishes. Has he survived? If so, where is he? If not, is this a suicide? Or murder? Malcolm Richardson, an elderly farmer and son of a Japanese prisoner-of-war survivor, admits that he met the boy but swears that he had nothing to do with the disappearance. Truth, or lies? And where do his father’s letters to his mother from the Middle East in World War II fit in?
These are mysteries that claim the attention of historian Merran Scofield, who grew up in Wirrim but left long ago to pursue an academic career in San Francisco. When she returns for a short study trip and attends a class reunion, she has little idea that her life will never be the same, thanks to former classmates, the local police officer and, again, her knowledge of the times.
Truth, Fiction, and Lies appeals to mystery buffs; to people interested in Australia, particularly its history; and to armchair psychologists. It’s an engrossing, brisk read, with a surprisingly complex plot that will keep you absorbed well into the night.
Nutritional Geography: Representative Lectures and Presentations (1977–2018)
By Louis Evan Grivetti, Professor Emeritus, Department of Nutrition, UC Davis
Volume 1 (1977–1992) 270 pages 978-0-9978109-3-6
Volume 2 (1993–2000) 248 pages 978-0-9978109-4-3
Volume 3 (2001–2018) 246 pages 978-0-9978109-5-0
Published in April 2019 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
When Louis E. Grivetti received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Davis in 1976, he embarked on a distinguished academic career as a professor and scholarly researcher. He became an authority in two areas of inquiry: the origin and continuity of nutritionally sound diets in different regions of the world, and the ways in which migration influenced cultural and ethnic dietary traditions.
This three-volume collection consolidates lecture notes and presentation materials he compiled throughout the decades of his teaching and research activities. Grivetti championed the concept that the science of nutrition and social science of geography can be blended to produce quality education. He also maintained that appreciation of history, geographical location and political controversy, and exposure to great ideas create an intellectual framework through which students gain understanding of the complexities of the 20th and 21st centuries.
This collection of lecture materials was culled from hundreds of presentations that were based on personal research and fieldwork activities, along with fieldwork and laboratory research activities of his graduate students. The representative lectures and presentations in the three-volume set reflect Grivetti’s changing research-related themes and teaching styles over four decades.
Volume 2 (1993–2000) 248 pages 978-0-9978109-4-3
Volume 3 (2001–2018) 246 pages 978-0-9978109-5-0
Published in April 2019 for private distribution, among academic libraries, family members and friends only
When Louis E. Grivetti received his Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Davis in 1976, he embarked on a distinguished academic career as a professor and scholarly researcher. He became an authority in two areas of inquiry: the origin and continuity of nutritionally sound diets in different regions of the world, and the ways in which migration influenced cultural and ethnic dietary traditions.
This three-volume collection consolidates lecture notes and presentation materials he compiled throughout the decades of his teaching and research activities. Grivetti championed the concept that the science of nutrition and social science of geography can be blended to produce quality education. He also maintained that appreciation of history, geographical location and political controversy, and exposure to great ideas create an intellectual framework through which students gain understanding of the complexities of the 20th and 21st centuries.
This collection of lecture materials was culled from hundreds of presentations that were based on personal research and fieldwork activities, along with fieldwork and laboratory research activities of his graduate students. The representative lectures and presentations in the three-volume set reflect Grivetti’s changing research-related themes and teaching styles over four decades.
Memories of a Nutritional Geographer
By Louis Evan Grivetti
Print, 8.5 by 11 inches, 378 pages, color througout
Published in September 2018 for private distribution, among family members and friends only
Throughout the three decades during which Louis E. Grivetti was on the faculty of the departments of Geography and Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, he established expertise in several divergent areas of inquiry. With undergraduate and master’s degrees in paleontology from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in geography from UC Davis, Lou conducted research and taught about cultural influences on human food consumption patterns in the present as well as in the past. His contributions to academic literature offer insights about nutritional status in the United States in comparison to populations in various nations in Africa, Asia and Europe.
A few years after his retirement in 2007, Lou began thinking about documenting the events that led him on his life’s journey. “The mind is like a mirror. Recent images are like clear glass, bright reflections of reality. Past images, however, are chipped, selective and distorted, filtered by the thoughts and actions of others as the years progress,” he realized, as he began organizing his recollections. “Truth, too, changes and becomes embellished; myth emerges from fact as stories are told and retold.”
Lou is the author or co-author of several books that EditPros has published. As his manuscript began to take shape, he naturally turned to EditPros’ Book Prep service to help him publish his memoirs in book form. The book, intended for private distribution only among his family members and friends, became available in September 2018.
“Relating memories becomes an art as the sharp, keen edges of truth are dulled and modified by the passage of time,” Lou observed. “Despite these cautions I have presented my best recollections of the activities and events that shaped my life. My hope is that by putting these memories onto paper, I will help family members and friends better understand the complexities and evolution of my life.”
Published in September 2018 for private distribution, among family members and friends only
Throughout the three decades during which Louis E. Grivetti was on the faculty of the departments of Geography and Nutrition at the University of California, Davis, he established expertise in several divergent areas of inquiry. With undergraduate and master’s degrees in paleontology from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. in geography from UC Davis, Lou conducted research and taught about cultural influences on human food consumption patterns in the present as well as in the past. His contributions to academic literature offer insights about nutritional status in the United States in comparison to populations in various nations in Africa, Asia and Europe.
A few years after his retirement in 2007, Lou began thinking about documenting the events that led him on his life’s journey. “The mind is like a mirror. Recent images are like clear glass, bright reflections of reality. Past images, however, are chipped, selective and distorted, filtered by the thoughts and actions of others as the years progress,” he realized, as he began organizing his recollections. “Truth, too, changes and becomes embellished; myth emerges from fact as stories are told and retold.”
Lou is the author or co-author of several books that EditPros has published. As his manuscript began to take shape, he naturally turned to EditPros’ Book Prep service to help him publish his memoirs in book form. The book, intended for private distribution only among his family members and friends, became available in September 2018.
“Relating memories becomes an art as the sharp, keen edges of truth are dulled and modified by the passage of time,” Lou observed. “Despite these cautions I have presented my best recollections of the activities and events that shaped my life. My hope is that by putting these memories onto paper, I will help family members and friends better understand the complexities and evolution of my life.”
Jacob Cunningham’s Extraordinary Journey to Us
Written by Helen Zaccari
Illustrated by Jaime Shilen
Hardcover, 8 by 8 inches, 36 pages, color throughout
Published in January 2019 for private distribution, among family members only
This is the second volume in a series that author Helen Zaccari conceived specifically as gifts for members of her sister's family.
The inspiration for Jacob Cunningham’s Extraordinary Journey to Us was the confluence of Great-Grandma Mary’s request for her family members to always remember her and meeting Jacob’s cousin Colton Zakovich for the first time. Unlike most children when meeting a stranger, Colton broke into a huge smile and reached out his arms for Helen to pick him up. Not long after that first meeting with Colton, the idea for this series of books was born.
When Helen realized that an entire generation would never know her parents (the boys’ great-grandparents), she knew that she wanted to provide them with a small glimpse of the extraordinary people that contributed to making them who they are today. While she couldn’t manufacture a meeting of this generation and her parents, she could create a bridge between the two. This book serves as that bridge, as Helen explained in her dedication to Jacob: "I hope this book will provide you with both an appreciation for your roots and curiosity to learn more. Never forget how extraordinary you are. Don’t ever lose the spark for life that makes you such a phenomenal individual."
Published in January 2019 for private distribution, among family members only
This is the second volume in a series that author Helen Zaccari conceived specifically as gifts for members of her sister's family.
The inspiration for Jacob Cunningham’s Extraordinary Journey to Us was the confluence of Great-Grandma Mary’s request for her family members to always remember her and meeting Jacob’s cousin Colton Zakovich for the first time. Unlike most children when meeting a stranger, Colton broke into a huge smile and reached out his arms for Helen to pick him up. Not long after that first meeting with Colton, the idea for this series of books was born.
When Helen realized that an entire generation would never know her parents (the boys’ great-grandparents), she knew that she wanted to provide them with a small glimpse of the extraordinary people that contributed to making them who they are today. While she couldn’t manufacture a meeting of this generation and her parents, she could create a bridge between the two. This book serves as that bridge, as Helen explained in her dedication to Jacob: "I hope this book will provide you with both an appreciation for your roots and curiosity to learn more. Never forget how extraordinary you are. Don’t ever lose the spark for life that makes you such a phenomenal individual."
The One-and-Only, Stupendous Colton Zakovich and His Fantabulous Orchard of Family Trees
Written by Helen Zaccari
Illustrated by Jaime Shilen
Hardcover, 8 by 8 inches, 24 pages, color throughout
Published in October 2018 for private distribution, among family members only
This is the first volume in a series that author Helen Zaccari conceived specifically as gifts for members of her sister's family.
Known to her young great-great nephews as "Great-Great-Aunt Lolly," Helen said that the inspiration for The One-and-Only, Stupendous Colton Zakovich and His Fantabulous Orchard of Family Trees was Great-Great-Grandma Mary's request for family members to remember her. She also wanted to preserve the memory of the first time she met great-great nephew Colton. Unlike most children when meeting a stranger, Colton broke into a huge smile and reached out his arms for Helen to pick him up. Not long after that first meeting, the idea for this book was born.
When Helen realized that an entire generation would never know her parents (their great-great-grandparents), she knew that she wanted to create a way to give them a glimpse of their ancestors — extraordinary people who had contributed to making them who they are today. While Helen knew that she couldn't manufacture a meeting of this young generation and her parents, she could use her literary talents to create an enduring bridge between the two.
Published in October 2018 for private distribution, among family members only
This is the first volume in a series that author Helen Zaccari conceived specifically as gifts for members of her sister's family.
Known to her young great-great nephews as "Great-Great-Aunt Lolly," Helen said that the inspiration for The One-and-Only, Stupendous Colton Zakovich and His Fantabulous Orchard of Family Trees was Great-Great-Grandma Mary's request for family members to remember her. She also wanted to preserve the memory of the first time she met great-great nephew Colton. Unlike most children when meeting a stranger, Colton broke into a huge smile and reached out his arms for Helen to pick him up. Not long after that first meeting, the idea for this book was born.
When Helen realized that an entire generation would never know her parents (their great-great-grandparents), she knew that she wanted to create a way to give them a glimpse of their ancestors — extraordinary people who had contributed to making them who they are today. While Helen knew that she couldn't manufacture a meeting of this young generation and her parents, she could use her literary talents to create an enduring bridge between the two.
The Quicksand of Agoraphobia: A memoir of panic disorder
By Diane Mengali
ISBN 978-0999647103 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-0999647110 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: November 2017
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 6 million people suffer from panic disorder each year, and 15 million have a lifetime prevalence of the disorder. Only one in four people who experience panic attacks receives appropriate treatment.
Diane Mengali grew up in Northern California in the 1950s, when family dysfunction was cloaked in denial. On the outside, her family appeared functional and successful, but the part hidden from view was her mother’s depression, alcoholism, and suicidal tendencies, and her father’s intolerant attitude and infidelity. As a child, Diane internalized her mother’s fear and insecurity and by age 10, she had become a chronic worrier.
Diane married Dave in 1966. She had her first panic attack in August of 1967. While disturbing, she saw it as an isolated event, not the life-altering siege it soon became. A world of confusion unfolded in 1975 when Diane met Ellen, a registered nurse. What began as a friendship, turned into an affair, forcing Diane to question her sexuality and to seek counseling. After much turmoil, Diane and Ellen moved in together. Her marriage to Dave ended in 1980.
In 1983, a psychiatrist diagnosed Diane with agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder in which one fears and avoids any situation that may cause panic and is usually accompanied by feelings of helplessness, shame, and being trapped. A few years later, she found a therapist who guided her through long-dormant painful emotions, introduced her to behavior modification and the life-saving practice of mindfulness.
Diane hopes that her story, detailed in The Quicksand of Agoraphobia: A memoir of panic disorder, will help people understand the torment and terror that people with panic disorder and agoraphobia face on a daily basis. Panic disorder need not be a life-altering, frightening struggle. With early diagnosis and treatment, panic disorder can be treated with therapy and medication.
ISBN 978-0999647110 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: November 2017
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 6 million people suffer from panic disorder each year, and 15 million have a lifetime prevalence of the disorder. Only one in four people who experience panic attacks receives appropriate treatment.
Diane Mengali grew up in Northern California in the 1950s, when family dysfunction was cloaked in denial. On the outside, her family appeared functional and successful, but the part hidden from view was her mother’s depression, alcoholism, and suicidal tendencies, and her father’s intolerant attitude and infidelity. As a child, Diane internalized her mother’s fear and insecurity and by age 10, she had become a chronic worrier.
Diane married Dave in 1966. She had her first panic attack in August of 1967. While disturbing, she saw it as an isolated event, not the life-altering siege it soon became. A world of confusion unfolded in 1975 when Diane met Ellen, a registered nurse. What began as a friendship, turned into an affair, forcing Diane to question her sexuality and to seek counseling. After much turmoil, Diane and Ellen moved in together. Her marriage to Dave ended in 1980.
In 1983, a psychiatrist diagnosed Diane with agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder in which one fears and avoids any situation that may cause panic and is usually accompanied by feelings of helplessness, shame, and being trapped. A few years later, she found a therapist who guided her through long-dormant painful emotions, introduced her to behavior modification and the life-saving practice of mindfulness.
Diane hopes that her story, detailed in The Quicksand of Agoraphobia: A memoir of panic disorder, will help people understand the torment and terror that people with panic disorder and agoraphobia face on a daily basis. Panic disorder need not be a life-altering, frightening struggle. With early diagnosis and treatment, panic disorder can be treated with therapy and medication.
The Magic Pen: Cindy’s Castle Adventure
Illustrated by René Hartman Domino
Written by Erin Childs
ISBN 978-1937317386 — hardcover, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-1937317393 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Published: July 2017
A coloring book and box of magic pens were all it took to send Cindy on a fantasy adventure to a beautiful castle, far, far from home. Cindy loves exploring the castle until she starts to miss home.
Author Erin Childs has her bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in graphic design from California State University, Chico. As a child, she loved when her mom read traditional fairy tales to her. While she had fun writing many stories as a child, this is her first published children's fairy tale.
ISBN 978-1937317393 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Published: July 2017
A coloring book and box of magic pens were all it took to send Cindy on a fantasy adventure to a beautiful castle, far, far from home. Cindy loves exploring the castle until she starts to miss home.
Author Erin Childs has her bachelor's degree in communications with an emphasis in graphic design from California State University, Chico. As a child, she loved when her mom read traditional fairy tales to her. While she had fun writing many stories as a child, this is her first published children's fairy tale.
It Only Hurts When I Sit Down: A Bicycle Adventure on Historic Route 66
By Douglas L. Waterman
ISBN 978-0692763407
Paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Published: August 2016
Not long after his retirement from his 35-year teaching career, cycling enthusiast Douglas Waterman hatched the notion of bicycling the entire 2,300-mile length of a highway that no longer officially exists — old U.S. 66. "I was sitting with my dad in his living room in Santa Fe, New Mexico, my eyes wandering over his impressive collection of road maps," Doug recalled. "He and mom had traveled a lot in their lifetime but now in their old age, their deserted maps were gathering dust, fading in the morning sunlight on a bookshelf to my right. I felt like I’d uncovered ancient drawings, long forgotten in a museum basement drawer, each one showing the way to priceless treasure. Back home in California I pored over dad’s maps. I traced the red line that represented Route 66 and imagined following it on my 18-speed road bike. What a thrill it would be to pedal from Santa Monica to Chicago, from the Pacific Ocean to the shore of Lake Michigan, my dream unfolding like the maps dad had given me."
This book chronicles that journey, which Doug used as a means to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. His story weaves the fascinating history of the Mother Road with the obstacles and rewards he encountered — from violent weather and crowded two-lane highways and city streets to interesting and changing landscapes, and the wonderful friends, old and new, who cheered him on.
Paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Published: August 2016
Not long after his retirement from his 35-year teaching career, cycling enthusiast Douglas Waterman hatched the notion of bicycling the entire 2,300-mile length of a highway that no longer officially exists — old U.S. 66. "I was sitting with my dad in his living room in Santa Fe, New Mexico, my eyes wandering over his impressive collection of road maps," Doug recalled. "He and mom had traveled a lot in their lifetime but now in their old age, their deserted maps were gathering dust, fading in the morning sunlight on a bookshelf to my right. I felt like I’d uncovered ancient drawings, long forgotten in a museum basement drawer, each one showing the way to priceless treasure. Back home in California I pored over dad’s maps. I traced the red line that represented Route 66 and imagined following it on my 18-speed road bike. What a thrill it would be to pedal from Santa Monica to Chicago, from the Pacific Ocean to the shore of Lake Michigan, my dream unfolding like the maps dad had given me."
This book chronicles that journey, which Doug used as a means to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. His story weaves the fascinating history of the Mother Road with the obstacles and rewards he encountered — from violent weather and crowded two-lane highways and city streets to interesting and changing landscapes, and the wonderful friends, old and new, who cheered him on.
Oyibo, I Am Coming
By James L. Eagan
Published: November 2017 (Published for private distribution, among family members and friends only)
Oyibo, I Am Coming is a memoir that James Eagan wrote about his family’s experiences living in Ilorin, Nigeria, Africa, from 1979 to 1981. After receiving a job offer to help start the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Ilorin, Eagan and his family traveled to Nigeria and entered a very different lifestyle and culture.
Several years after moving back to Northern California, Eagan took a course in oral history writing from the University of California Extension and decided to interview his three children Lisa, Natalya and Sean, and his wife, Karen, about their recollections of living in Nigeria. According to Eagan, Oyibo is a slang Yoruba word to identify white people. The tone of the word lets you decide how the speaker is feeling about the person it is applied to. The word literally means skin peeled back.
He wrote, “When white people, ‘European’ from any country, enter a small village in Nigeria, the children come running out to see them, calling Oyibo, Oyibo, meant as a friendly greeting. When I walked into a grocery store or stood in a line there, a voice from the back was likely to call out: ‘Oyibo, I am coming.’ It meant, ‘I know you are there and I will come soon.’ I think maybe you would have to go to Yoruba-speaking Nigeria to hear these words to get the full picture. Or, you could ask any of the children mentioned in this story. Although they are adults now, they could still bring up just the right intonation, and you would likely be delighted.”
James Eagan wanted to publish this book for his family, but he died before it came to fruition. His wife, Karen, learned about EditPros LLC Book Prep service and asked if we could help her self-publish her husband’s book. She edited the text and supplied all of the family photos for the cover and inside the book, and choose to have the photos printed in color throughout. While the book is available for wholesale purchase by Karen and her family, she decided against enabling it for sale by Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other retailers.
Oyibo, I Am Coming is a memoir that James Eagan wrote about his family’s experiences living in Ilorin, Nigeria, Africa, from 1979 to 1981. After receiving a job offer to help start the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Ilorin, Eagan and his family traveled to Nigeria and entered a very different lifestyle and culture.
Several years after moving back to Northern California, Eagan took a course in oral history writing from the University of California Extension and decided to interview his three children Lisa, Natalya and Sean, and his wife, Karen, about their recollections of living in Nigeria. According to Eagan, Oyibo is a slang Yoruba word to identify white people. The tone of the word lets you decide how the speaker is feeling about the person it is applied to. The word literally means skin peeled back.
He wrote, “When white people, ‘European’ from any country, enter a small village in Nigeria, the children come running out to see them, calling Oyibo, Oyibo, meant as a friendly greeting. When I walked into a grocery store or stood in a line there, a voice from the back was likely to call out: ‘Oyibo, I am coming.’ It meant, ‘I know you are there and I will come soon.’ I think maybe you would have to go to Yoruba-speaking Nigeria to hear these words to get the full picture. Or, you could ask any of the children mentioned in this story. Although they are adults now, they could still bring up just the right intonation, and you would likely be delighted.”
James Eagan wanted to publish this book for his family, but he died before it came to fruition. His wife, Karen, learned about EditPros LLC Book Prep service and asked if we could help her self-publish her husband’s book. She edited the text and supplied all of the family photos for the cover and inside the book, and choose to have the photos printed in color throughout. While the book is available for wholesale purchase by Karen and her family, she decided against enabling it for sale by Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other retailers.
Bowles Hall Residential College
University of California, Berkeley
Chronology of Activities and Events
By Louis E. Grivetti
ISBN 978-0997810905 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-0997810912 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: August 2016
The chronological history of Bowles Hall Residential College is presented through a compilation of documents, images, and texts. It is a story of family generosity and philanthropy that begins with vision of Mary A. McNear Bowles to honor her deceased husband, Philip E. Bowles, by a gift to the University of California, Berkeley, to construct the first residential college in North America.
Chronicled are the activities, events, and experiences that illustrate the character and changes of Bowles Hall Residential College through the decades since 1927. The content also details the efforts and challenges faced by the Bowles Hall Alumni Association (BHAA), Bowles Hall Foundation (BHF), regional friends, and supportive Berkeley campus administrators, to restore Bowles Hall to its former greatness.
ISBN 978-0997810912 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: August 2016
The chronological history of Bowles Hall Residential College is presented through a compilation of documents, images, and texts. It is a story of family generosity and philanthropy that begins with vision of Mary A. McNear Bowles to honor her deceased husband, Philip E. Bowles, by a gift to the University of California, Berkeley, to construct the first residential college in North America.
Chronicled are the activities, events, and experiences that illustrate the character and changes of Bowles Hall Residential College through the decades since 1927. The content also details the efforts and challenges faced by the Bowles Hall Alumni Association (BHAA), Bowles Hall Foundation (BHF), regional friends, and supportive Berkeley campus administrators, to restore Bowles Hall to its former greatness.
When Your Child Has Lyme Disease — A Parent's Survival Guide
By Sandra K. Berenbaum, LCSW, BCD and Dorothy Kupcha Leland
ISBN 978-0996224307 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-0996224314 — e-book, available from Amazon
Published: September 2015
Lyme disease can cause puzzling symptoms in children, including pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal upsets, learning disabilities, behavioral issues and psychiatric problems. It can be hard to diagnose, however, and Lyme-related controversies in the medical world complicate the situation even more. Parents seeking help for their suffering children often don't know where to turn.
When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent's Survival Guide is filled with information parents need to know about Lyme, as well as practical strategies based on the authors' personal and professional experiences. It offers advice on finding the right medical care, coping with treatment, developing effective boundaries with others who don't understand what your family is going through, advocating for your child's educational needs, and managing day-to-day family life.
Sandra K. Berenbaum, LCSW, BCD, who has counseled Lyme patients and their families for more than 20 years, has developed responsive psychotherapy, a unique approach to helping families overcome the challenges of Lyme disease.
Co-author and mother Dorothy Kupcha Leland is a national activist who writes the blog Touched by Lyme.
ISBN 978-0996224314 — e-book, available from Amazon
Published: September 2015
Lyme disease can cause puzzling symptoms in children, including pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal upsets, learning disabilities, behavioral issues and psychiatric problems. It can be hard to diagnose, however, and Lyme-related controversies in the medical world complicate the situation even more. Parents seeking help for their suffering children often don't know where to turn.
When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parent's Survival Guide is filled with information parents need to know about Lyme, as well as practical strategies based on the authors' personal and professional experiences. It offers advice on finding the right medical care, coping with treatment, developing effective boundaries with others who don't understand what your family is going through, advocating for your child's educational needs, and managing day-to-day family life.
Sandra K. Berenbaum, LCSW, BCD, who has counseled Lyme patients and their families for more than 20 years, has developed responsive psychotherapy, a unique approach to helping families overcome the challenges of Lyme disease.
Co-author and mother Dorothy Kupcha Leland is a national activist who writes the blog Touched by Lyme.
Voices of a Dream — Stories from A Touch of Understanding
Leslie DeDora, editor
Jill C. Mason, editor
Bob Schultz, editor
ISBN 978-0692645901 — paperback, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble
ISBN 978-0692645918 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: March 2016
Do you remember when you were a child in school? Can you picture that one student who was always teased or bullied because he or she seemed “different?” It may have been the way she walked, or the way he struggled to read. He may have had emotional outbursts. She may have used a wheelchair. There was at least one student who was teased or bullied for being different. You may have seen it happen. You may have been the one teased or bullied. Or, you may have been the bully. Everyone has been touched by this destructive cycle.
A Touch of Understanding (ATOU) is a nonprofit organization that helps children who are the victims of teasing and bullying, along with those who witness the incidents and the children who do the teasing and bullying. Voices of a Dream introduces the ATOU team members who helped one woman turn her dream into a movement to promote genuine inclusion of all children in school and community settings — a movement touching thousands of lives each year, breaking down the walls of misunderstanding and abuse, and building bridges of friendship.
Read about an aerobatic pilot who uses two myoelectric hands; a young woman with autism who stretched beyond her comfort zone and is now in film school; and a survivor of a tragic drunk driving accident who was the impetus for this book. Learn about the many people who come together to share their stories to educate and inspire a new generation to welcome those who seem “different” for any reason.
“I was one of the first students to participate in ATOU’s workshops many years ago. I was a second grader at the time, and I remember being so intrigued by the workshop. It opened my eyes to things I had never thought about before. Now, many years later, I have come to appreciate ATOU even more. In fact, I have become a special education teacher....” —Stacie Ohara
ISBN 978-0692645918 — e-book, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
Published: March 2016
Do you remember when you were a child in school? Can you picture that one student who was always teased or bullied because he or she seemed “different?” It may have been the way she walked, or the way he struggled to read. He may have had emotional outbursts. She may have used a wheelchair. There was at least one student who was teased or bullied for being different. You may have seen it happen. You may have been the one teased or bullied. Or, you may have been the bully. Everyone has been touched by this destructive cycle.
A Touch of Understanding (ATOU) is a nonprofit organization that helps children who are the victims of teasing and bullying, along with those who witness the incidents and the children who do the teasing and bullying. Voices of a Dream introduces the ATOU team members who helped one woman turn her dream into a movement to promote genuine inclusion of all children in school and community settings — a movement touching thousands of lives each year, breaking down the walls of misunderstanding and abuse, and building bridges of friendship.
Read about an aerobatic pilot who uses two myoelectric hands; a young woman with autism who stretched beyond her comfort zone and is now in film school; and a survivor of a tragic drunk driving accident who was the impetus for this book. Learn about the many people who come together to share their stories to educate and inspire a new generation to welcome those who seem “different” for any reason.
“I was one of the first students to participate in ATOU’s workshops many years ago. I was a second grader at the time, and I remember being so intrigued by the workshop. It opened my eyes to things I had never thought about before. Now, many years later, I have come to appreciate ATOU even more. In fact, I have become a special education teacher....” —Stacie Ohara
Published authors and editors Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March compose the Book Prep team.
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