BOOKS-April 2011
By Tyler Boucher and Sophie Nelson
Illustration by Eric Hou

Newly published from Maine: Recent favorites by local authors

THE FOREMOST GOOD FORTUNE
Susan Conley
Knopf, February 2011
With honesty and openness, Maine native Susan Conley details the bitter- sweet experience of moving her family to Beijing and subsequently being di- agnosed and treated for breast cancer. Conley shares the unique sense of dis- placement brought on by her illness, the tightening of family bonds in a crucial moment, and finds strength and hope in opening herself up to China.

DOG DAYS, RAVEN NIGHTS
John + Colleen Marzluff
Yale, March 2011
This thorough and compelling narrative, cowritten by husband and wife John and Colleen Marzluff, chronicles the joys, hardships, and triumphs of the couple’s experiences researching ravens in remote sections of western Maine. Sled dogs provide companionship, transportation, and humor for the young couple as they embark on their three- year biological study. Striking linocut illustrations by Evon Zerbetz.

QUIRK
Hannah Holmes
Random House, February 2011
This new book by Portland resident Hannah Holmes explores and celebrates the great diversity of human personalities populating the globe, providing neurological explanations— by way of a mix of anecdotes and modern science—for everyone from Debbie Downer to Chatty Cathy.

LIFE YOUR WAY
Amy Wood
Modern Sage, December 2010
Amy Wood, Psy.D., of Kennebunk offers well-versed advice on finding success, facilitating growth, and overcoming challenges in this new book. Wood writes in a pragmatic and straightforward style that applies well to the subject matter, and delivers it all with a good sense of humor.

THE SWEET LIFE OF MISSING CHILDREN
Sarah Braunstein
Norton, February 2011
Portlander Sarah Braunstein’s debut novel offers an intimate, through-the- keyhole look into the lives of char- acters motivated by the desire to be free from the grip of strange and deep kinds of love. In rapid prose she cuts to the core to reveal the shimmering pain and strength of her characters as they weave into each other’s lives.