Skip to main content
search
Category

Book Reviews

Surviving Day-to-Day ActivismBook ReviewsEducationFamilyHomelessness

Surviving Day-to-Day

The chaos of homelessness often makes clear thinking impossible for homeless families; a new book shows us how to truly care for those who need structure, calm, and hope

Diane Nilan has dedicated forty years documenting the reality of family homelessness in America. She’s and traveled more than 500,000 miles across the country, made more than 100 films and has written four books on the subject. Her work combines storytelling with advocacy, helping turn statistics into personal human experiences. Her newest book, Making Bad A Little Better, is a practical and compassionate look at family homelessness. The Reporters Inc. talks with Nilan and offers exclusive excerpts.

(more)
Olivia
July 15, 2026
Bearing Witness ActivismBook ReviewsCrimeHealthRapeSexual AssaultSurvivorsWomen

Bearing Witness

How one survivor reframes recovery and healing from sexual violence

For JoDee Neil, the sexual violence she experienced didn't change her life goals--she still became an attorney and mother of two--but it did change the way she functioned. In her new book Outcry Witness, Neil uses her own personal experience and professional knowledge to help other survivors. She claims "being witnessed is the beginning of healing," and urges other women to share their own stories.

(more)
Olivia Hines
May 28, 2026
How to Survive Homelessness Book ReviewsFamilyHomelessnessWomen

How to Survive Homelessness

Three women named Melissa share their stories, struggles

If you were a parent and suddenly found yourself homeless, would you know how to get by? In a new book, The Three Melissas: The Practical Guide to Surviving Family Homelessness, three mothers--coincidentally named Melissa--share their advice, wisdom and inspiration for anyone struggling with similar experiences. The Reporters Inc. talks with the authors and is honored to present exclusive excerpts.

(more)
Diane Nilan
May 28, 2025
10,000 Miles of Miracles ActivismBook ReviewsBusinessCareersTravel

10,000 Miles of Miracles

How two middle-aged 'Dames Gone Wild' found purpose during a cross-country road trip

After her marriage collapsed and her son suffered a severe head injury, Carol Hasbrouck thought she met her quota on hard times. Then came the 2008 Great Recession. In her new book, Hasbrouck chronicles her travels with her friend/roommate Joyce Claflin. Known as "The Dames," they traverse the country during a "summer service adventure" to get their mojo back.

(more)
Kim Whiting
May 16, 2024
War’s Over, Come Home Book ReviewsHomelessnessVeterans

War’s Over, Come Home

A father searches for his son, an Iraq war vet who descended into mental illness, homelessness

Next time you pass a homeless person on the street, and he or she happens to be holding up a sign claiming to be a veteran, Patrick Smithwick has a request: Take those people at their word. In his new book, War's Over, Come Home: A Father's Search for His Son, Smithwick details his frustrating, heartbreaking, and so-far unsuccessful journey to find his son Andrew.

(more)
Brian Gabrial
November 9, 2023
A Novel Approach to Critical Thinking Book ReviewsDrugsMurderRace Relations

A Novel Approach to Critical Thinking

Real life murder used to explore racial, education concerns in rural South

Based on the real-life murders of a young wife and her toddler in rural Texas several decades ago, John Yearwood’s new novel Jar of Pennies explores the region’s culture and racial complexities. We've got exclusive excerpts and reporter Kim Whiting talks with the author to better understand his keen racial awareness and critical thinking.

(more)
Kim Whiting
April 24, 2023
Yes, YOU Might Go to Prison Book ReviewsCrimeWrongful Convictions

Yes, YOU Might Go to Prison

California Innocence Project director describes horrifying real-life scenarios in new book

In his new book You Might Go to Prison, Even Though You’re Innocent, Justin Brooks, the director of the California Innocence Project, describes horrifying real-life stories of people who were convicted and imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit. We've got exclusive excerpts and reporter Lynn Moller talks with Brooks who makes it crystal clear---if it can happen to them, it can happen to you.

(more)
Lynn Moller
March 10, 2023
From the Brink to the Bench Book ReviewsDrugsHealth

From the Brink to the Bench

The astounding transformation of a methamphetamine junkie turned federal judge

"In 2014, twenty years into my sobriety, I zipped up my judge’s robe and looked in the mirror. I smiled at myself..." In her new memoir From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction, Mary Beth O'Connor recounts how she went from injecting methamphetamine regularly to almost three decades of sobriety and success.

(more)
Kim Whiting
January 11, 2023
The Advocate Book ReviewsEducation

The Advocate

New novel puts human faces on need for Universal Pre-K education

"Why are we facing so much mental illness, so many economic disparities, and so much divisiveness?” asks author Tim Munkeby. He believes one of the primary reasons is a lack of early education. In his new book The Advocate, Munkeby argues for Universal Pre-K Education, a policy framework that gives all families the opportunity to voluntarily enroll their child in a publicly-funded pre-kindergarten care and education program.

(more)
admin
August 24, 2022
In Our Blood Book ReviewsHealth

In Our Blood

A therapist's honest reckoning with her own mental health

Psychotherapist and author Caitlin Billings’ new memoir, In Our Blood, follows her journey and challenges with bipolar disorder while raising two children and fighting to regain her footing as a clinician. She’s garnered wisdom and strategies in the name of letting go of shame, releasing the need to look good to others, and accepting her life and herself as they are—she’s had to, in order to survive.

(more)
Eliza Staton
August 22, 2022
15 Years on The Road Book ReviewsHomelessnessTravel

15 Years on The Road

Author witnesses, documents families experiencing homelessness across the U.S. 

In her memoir Dismazed and Drive: My Look at Family Homelessness in America, author Diane Nilan chronicles the lives of several families experiencing homelessness in the United States. She spent 15 years living on the road and visited 49 states to document the "unheralded survival of courageous parents and kids whose homes have vanished for countless reasons." (more)
admin
December 16, 2020
Dear America Book ReviewsPoliticsUnited States

Dear America

Impassioned letters show artists' and community leaders' hope and defiance 

Ever since the 2016 presidential election, America has been barreling headfirst toward a crossroads. Conflicting political, racial and social perspectives reflect a need to collectively define our moral imperatives, clarify cultural values, inspire meaningful change, and seek common ground. In that patriotic spirit, hundreds of writers, poets, artists, scientists, and political and community leaders are sharing their impassioned letters to America. The Reporters Inc. is pleased to present five excerpts from the anthology, Dear America: Letters of Hope, Habitat, Defiance and Democracy. 

(more)
admin
July 1, 2020
Close Menu
Skip to content