Book Blitz of Tree Trek A daughters Walk Through Grief by Stephanie Mirocha

A Daughter's Walk Through Grief

Nature, Botany of Trees, Healing Through Nature, Grief Journey

Date Published: 05-23-2025

Publisher: Holy Cow! Press

These intimate portraits of trees are a balm that heals grief.

In this memoir, Stephanie Mirocha weaves a blend of botany, philosophy, personal reflections, and healing through nature from grief after the loss of her father. Trees provide the backdrop of friendly support she clings to as she revives her father's educational Tree Trek. She "speaks for the trees," bringing enthusiasm to the treks she leads. Each chapter focuses on the science of a different tree, connecting the reader with the beauty of nature, and the vitality that comes from listening to the guiding wisdom of one's inner voice.

Excerpt

In my scientific study of trees, I have learned the particular traits and idiosyncrasies of each species which, in a nonscientific way, imbues them with personality. As my dad used to say about any species, “That’s their nature, just the way (fill in the blank) are.” These traits can reflect our own inner natures and make connections to our own lives. A swamp white oak in winter holding onto its leaves may strike some people as stubborn, others as steadfastly persevering, still others as merely decorative, or it might make a connection to some memory from long ago. Depending on what experiences we bring to the situation, we will be drawn to one or more favorite trees that somehow speak to us.

They reflect what we need, like healing from grief, as we focus both within ourselves and beyond ourselves at the same time. In this way, trees bring us home.

Let’s fill in my dad’s blank with juniper. Imagine a juniper coming into view as we walk through the forest. Juniper stands there pure, unmasked, with no agenda at all. Something makes us stop and admire her, feeling her truth flow through us. What does juniper give us? Different things for different people. She is just benignly there, presenting her dark blue “berries” amidst her prickly fronds, always extending an invitation to rest beneath for a while and contemplate…what?

That is for you to find out!

There are many paths to take through grief. Nature offers one way to help move through this powerful emotion and find our way forward, but each path is different and deeply personal. As you walk with me on my grief trek through the trees in these pages, my hope is to open one possible doorway for you to process your own suffering. I have found that spending time in nature offers a trail leading directly into the heart, and, at the very least, to a sense of calm. This is doable for everyone because we are part of nature. The calmness we find beyond ourselves reflects the meditative truth and beauty of our own inner wisdom shining from within. One key moment is all it takes to start things in motion

  

About the Author

Stephanie Mirocha is a visual artist, author, Minnesota master naturalist and science communicator who grew up climbing trees and exploring the city park across from her childhood home. Her creative art expression not only takes form in her passion for writing but also translates into her career as a fine art painter. Besides creating the art for this book, she has illustrated four children’s picture books connecting children to nature. Frog in the House won the 2016 Giverny Award for a science picture book in English, and My Little Book of Bald Eagles won 1st place, Juvenile Nonfiction, in the 2010 Next Gen Indie Book Awards. She and her scientist father shared a poetic heart and a love for nature, each informing and supporting the other throughout their close relationship. Graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Philosophy, Stephanie followed her free spirit and embraced the unconventional life of an artist after moving to Aitkin, a small town in north central Minnesota. This is her first written book. Her art business website is https://stephaniemirocha.com/.

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Book Blitz of You Are Your Own Lost Love by Susanne Landgrebe

Memoir • Inspirational • Spiritual Growth • Personal Transformation • Mindfulness • Self-Help

Date Published: July 15, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

Our journey through life is rarely smooth sailing. We weather tempests of anguish, traverse valleys of despair and fractured hopes, and carry the scars of battles fought both within and without. Trauma becomes an indelible mark etched upon our souls, a testament to survival. Landgrebe, a cancer survivor, shows us that amidst these tempests, and within the quiet recesses of our being, lies a sanctuary, a realm where healing begins and self-love blossoms. It beckons us to shed the veils of doubt, to release the burden of seeking validation, and to speak the truth of our own worthiness. This book is a guide through the labyrinth of self-discovery, healing, and love. It invites you to embark on a transformative quest: to heal the wounds of the past, to nurture the seeds of compassion, and to bloom into a positive force. You will journey through the art of becoming whole again. Through stories, ancient wisdom, and practical practices, YOU Are Your Own Lost Love leads us from the shadows of trauma into the luminous expanse of self-acceptance and peace. Join Landgrebe on this sacred pilgrimage to return to the heart of our existence. Together, you will rediscover the brilliance within and unveil the timeless truth that has been waiting all along: YOU are your own lost love.

 

About the Author

 

 There comes a moment in every life when the search outward becomes a journey inward.

For more than three decades, Susanne Landgrebe has devoted her life to helping others remember what she believes is the deepest truth of the human experience: we are not broken, and we have never been separate from the love we seek.

A Nurse Practitioner certified in Family Practice, Dermatology, and Integrative Medicine, Certified Yoga Therapist, and Certified Meditation Teacher, Susanne has spent more than twenty-five years blending the wisdom of modern medicine with contemplative practice, mindfulness, and the profound healing that arises through self-compassion, presence, and authentic connection.

Her understanding of healing has been shaped not only by decades of caring for patients, but by walking through her own darkest valleys. As a survivor of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple life-threatening complications, she discovered that even in the face of profound uncertainty, the human spirit possesses an extraordinary capacity to awaken, love, and begin again.

A lifelong meditator, retreat leader, writer, mother, grandmother, and mountain climber, Susanne finds her greatest teachers in both silence and nature. Whether sitting in meditation on the Iowa prairie, leading others in retreat, or standing atop a fourteen-thousand-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains, she is continually reminded that the outer journey mirrors the inner one: every ascent begins with a single courageous step, and every summit reveals an even wider horizon.

Her writing weaves together science, spirituality, psychology, and lived experience with warmth, honesty, and hope. She invites readers to move beyond fear, perfectionism, and the endless search for fulfillment outside themselves, returning instead to the quiet wisdom and love that have always lived within.

YOU Are Your Own Lost Love is the first of what she hopes will be many books exploring healing, awakening, resilience, and the extraordinary beauty of being fully alive. Her greatest wish is that every reader closes her books feeling a little lighter, a little freer, and more deeply at home within themselves.

Because the greatest journey we will ever take is not toward becoming someone new, it is toward remembering who we have been all along.

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Book Blitz of Who Will Carry The Fire? By Darrell J. Pedersen (#contests- Win A Gift Card.)

More Reflections from a North Woods Lake

Memoir

Date Published: 04-07-2025

Publisher: RiverPlace Press

Who Will Carry the Fire? More Reflections from a North Woods Lake by Darrell J. Pedersen thoughtfully examines the value of human history, traditions, memories, and relationships and reiterates the importance of preserving and faithfully passing these along to the next generation. Through a collection of essays and the retellings of his early days as a son, brother, husband, and father, Pedersen shows readers that we all have been gifted these irreplaceable stories by those who came before us. These remembered stories will work to keep the thread of storytelling alive while passing down the life-giving flames of laughter, human community, and hope to our children and future generations. Using a blend of wisdom, humor, reflection, and life stories in Minnesota, Pedersen expertly weaves a book that is both a memoir/collection of essays and a celebration of life.

Excerpt

Five Young Men And Christmas 2020

 

A hairy arm, plaid flannel sleeve rolled up, extended out of the pickup window and held high a fist with middle finger raised. A week before Christmas, at the end of the tumultuous year 2020, I was headed for the dump. Driving where four lane transitions to two, loud rumbling acceleration of an engine caught my attention. There he is, up ahead of me in the right lane, a big pickup. Speeding up, he slid in front of a small car. That’s when I spotted his obscene gesture. What, I wondered, did that other driver do to earn that reaction? Drawing close behind the little car, I spotted the offense. This little old lady had made the mistake of sporting a small presidential campaign sticker in her back window. I guessed giving her the finger was a victory for him.

Witnessing this attack on humanity by a bearded young man in a big pickup caused me to reflect on his place in our society and world. I thought about the large number of bearded young men I had lately witnessed in televised protests, a few packing assault rifles. Some, recently, shouted obscenities at me and others for standing in silent support of Black Lives Matter. I wondered, has this whole generation been lost? But then I recalled, my own son is bearded and drives a noisy, old jeep, and he’s currently using his vocational skills to put together a virtual Christmas Eve service for his church.

That was Friday. Today, Monday, my wife and I pulled into a long line outside Burger King. I immediately took notice of the young man ahead of us in the row. He was driving an old pickup, paint peeling off and rusty jagged holes in its fenders. Seeing him watching us in his mirror, I wondered if he was another of these young ruffians.

Behind us, a brand new, red Jeep slipped into line. In my mirror I saw another young man driving. I noted huge tires, winch, fancy mirrors, decals, all the options. Lots of money for that one, I thought. I wonder what kind of a job he has? I never had money to buy something like that when I was his age. I don’t have money to buy something like that even at age 68.

A long wait; we were one car back now. The young driver in the rusty pickup carried on an extended conversation with the window person whose hand held the outstretched plastic tub awaiting payment. Is he hassling that poor cashier? Finally, he put his credit card in the tub, received his food, and drove away. Our turn. The twenty-something man in the window, masked, said, “Your meal has already been paid for. The fellow ahead of you took care of your bill.”

“What?”

He repeated. Bill paid. Young man in the pickup truck. $17.84.

“Well, can I pay for the people behind me?”

“Yes, if you want to.”

“Yes, please, let me pay for their bill.” His bill. I remembered; it was the young fellow in the expensive Jeep. I handed the cashier my credit card and he rang it up.

“How much was it?”

“Just over three bucks.”

“Well, can I pay for the next car too?”

“Sure.”

“How much is that one?”

“That one is $24.95.”

“Okay, thanks, that will be just fine.”

Bill paid. Food delivered. Credit card returned. Ready to coast away, I looked my young fellow in the eye and offered, “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas and God bless you,” he replied.

“And God bless you too,” I said to one of my new young friends at Burger King.

Five young men just before Christmas in 2020. Pandemic, political strife, racism. So much trouble all around. Five young men and an old guy. Maybe there’s still hope.

 

 

About the Author

ABOUT THE "LITTLE DICKENS"

Darrell J. Pedersen was raised in the 1950-60s, on a little lake in Minnesota’s North Woods. He grew up and moved away, but his heart has never left that place. His family, the lake, woods, and critters that embraced his young life taught him to appreciate today and to be hopeful for tomorrow. He learned to care for the creation and the neighbor. To leave the world a little better place than he found it.

Since retirement, he has published his first memoir/collection of essays, Campfire in the Basement: Reflections from a North Woods Lake. One year later, Who Will Carry the Fire? More Reflections from a North Woods Lake is now in your hands. Both books include real life stories of everyday people living one day at a time in a challenging, yet amazing world. Hard work, laughter, tears, wins and losses. He believes you will find your story here too. Darrell and his wife, Jennifer, live in Baxter, Minnesota.

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Interview of Mary Lawlor author of the of fighter pilot's daughter (#Memoir)

 

  The story of the author as a young woman coming of age in an Irish Catholic, military family…

 

Title: Fighter Pilot's Daughter

Author: Mary Lawlor

Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield

Pages: 323 

Genre: Memoir 

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audiobook

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter: Growing Up in the Sixties and the Cold War tells the story of Mary Lawlor’s dramatic, roving life as a warrior’s child. A family biography and a young woman’s vision of the Cold War, Fighter Pilot’s Daughter narrates the more than many transfers the family made from Miami to California to Germany as the Cold War demanded. Each chapter describes the workings of this traveling household in a different place and time. The book’s climax takes us to Paris in May ’68, where Mary—until recently a dutiful military daughter—has joined the legendary student demonstrations against among other things, the Vietnam War. Meanwhile her father is flying missions out of Saigon for that very same war. Though they are on opposite sides of the political divide, a surprising reconciliation comes years later.

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter is available at Amazon.

Interview: 

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

While I was growing up, my father was transferred every two or three years, so I ended up attending fourteen different schools by the time I went to college. Eventually I went to graduate school, became a literature professor, and held the same job teaching at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania for many years before I published Fighter Pilot’s Daughter. My job gave me a much stronger sense of stability and self-worth than I’d had when I was younger. Most recently, I’ve been writing fiction and have just finished a novel called The Translators. My husband and I have a little house in Spain and have spent a lot of time studying Spanish history. The Translators is set in Spain in the 1100s and is based on a couple of historical figures — people who, like me, came to live here, learned the language, and found a deeper sense of identity, even as foreigners, than they had at home.

Can you tell us about your latest book, Fighter Pilot’s Daughter?

Fighter Pilot’s Daughter tells the story of my peripatetic family during the Cold War years and the1960s. Since my father flew for the US Marine Corps and later the Army, he had to move wherever they told him to, following the needs and priorities of US foreign policy. That meant my mother and sisters and I had to move with him. The book narrates those shifts of our household across the US and to Europe. The climactic moment takes place in Paris, where I was attending college and demonstrating against the war my father was fighting. In the aftermath, we found our way back to each other and were reconciled by the time he passed away.

Is Fighter Pilot’s Daughter your only book?

No, I’ve published two others, Recalling the Wild (about the end of the frontier in American history and what that meant for writers) and Public Native America (about tribal communities in the US and the museums, powwows and casinos where they invite non-natives to come and learn about them). I’ve also written a novel, The Translators, (set in 12th century Spain) which I hope will be published next year.

Since part of this is about being part of a military family, did you ever tire of all that moving and what locations did you live?

Moving so much was often difficult, and I dreamed of a more stable home, like the one where my cousins lived in the New Jersey countryside. At the same time, moving could be exciting. My sisters and I often looked forward to the new places where we were headed and had fun meeting new kids there. When the kids turned away or the places were dull, I would turn to my imagination for entertainment and for confirmation of my self-worth.

Was it hard to make friends knowing you’d be moving at any moment?

Yes, it was often hard to make friends, but not because we didn’t want to. Instead of base schools, my parents tried whenever possible to enroll us in Catholic schools, where the kids had been together since kindergarten. They knew each other well. They saw my sisters and I as outsiders — clueless and irrelevant. But sometimes we made friends, especially when we got to be a little older. And yes, it would be hard to leave them a year or two later. The experience of meeting new people over and over again meant that we became good at walking into a room, introducing ourselves, and carrying on conversations with strangers. The challenge was in learning how to be a real friend over time, caring for a friend, thinking about them, going through things with them that helped us grow, as real friends do.

What part of the Sixties did you enjoy the most?

What an interesting question. My first thought is the communal sensibility that came with being young in the Sixties. So many of us — strangers to each other, really — identified with the political and cultural breaks from the America of the 1950s. That identification drew us to each other, made us want to understand and experience life together. In cities across the country and elsewhere in the world, you would see young people who you knew shared your views and your efforts to escape the strictures of the Fifties. You could see it in their dress, their speech, their manners. Their hair! It was a wonderful thing to feel that.

What part of the Sixties do you miss now as an adult?

I miss that sense of belonging to something larger than myself and my family, my friends. In some ways, we feel it now, as the demonstrations against the current government seem to be gaining momentum. There’s a shared sense of caring for fellow citizens and for their well-being, a sense of caring that we maintain the safety and prosperity we’ve always known. In that sense, it’s sort of opposite from the Sixties, when we were thinking more about breaking out from safety and prosperity for more adventurous ways of being. Now that I’m older, I see the value of those things and want to protect them!

What part of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter did you enjoy writing about the most

The Paris chapters were the most enjoyable to write. It was great to remember those times. I was a very young woman living in this wonderful, beautiful city, and my eyes were opening to all kinds of new ways of seeing life — to politics, philosophy, sex, rock & roll. As I was writing, I really sank back into those years. This is where the climax of the book takes place, when my father came to “rescue” me from the city I’d come to love. Writing those episodes, I came to see them in a different light and grasped in ways I hadn’t before how difficult the experience was for my Dad as well as for me. I realized how he and my mother struggled with the question of what to do with or for or about me. I wasn’t the only one who was turned upside-down by the conflicts between us. That wasn’t necessarily enjoyable, but it taught me a great deal about myself and those times.

Thank you so much for this interview, Mary. What’s next for you?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve just finished a novel, The Translators, which my agent is looking at right now. I hope it will be published in the coming year. I’ve also started another novel, this one set in Cádiz, Spain in the 18th century. It’s based on another historical figure, an Irish woman who married a Spanish nobleman and who lived and died in Spain. She was part of an entire emigre society that had left Ireland to escape English persecution. It’s a fascinating story, and I’m looking forward to finishing it.

 

 

 

Book Excerpt 

The pilot’s house where I grew up was mostly a women’s world. There were five of us. We had the place to ourselves most of the time. My mother made the big decisions—where we went to school, which bank to keep our money in. She had to decide these things often because we moved every couple of years. The house is thus a figure of speech, a way of thinking about a long series of small, cement dwellings we occupied as one fictional home.

It was my father, however, who turned the wheel, his job that rotated us to so many different places. He was an aviator, first in the Marines, later in the Army. When he came home from his extended absences—missions, they were called—the rooms shrank around him. There wasn’t enough air. We didn’t breathe as freely as we did when he was gone, not because he was mean or demanding but because we worshipped him. Like satellites my sisters and I orbited him at a distance, waiting for the chance to come closer, to show him things we’d made, accept gifts, hear his stories. My mother wasn’t at the center of things anymore. She hovered, maneuvered, arranged, corrected. She was first lady, the dame in waiting. He was the center point of our circle, a flier, a winged sentry who spent most of his time far up over our heads. When he was home, the house was definitely his.

These were the early years of the Cold War. It was a time of vivid fears, pictured nowadays in photos of kids hunkered under their school desks. My sisters and I did that. The phrase “air raid drill” rang hard—the double-A sound a cold, metallic twang, ending with ill. It meant rehearsal for a time when you might get burnt by the air you breathed.

Every day we heard practice rounds of artillery fire and ordinance on the near horizon. We knew what all this training was for. It was to keep the world from ending. Our father was one of many dads who sweat at soldierly labor, part of an arsenal kept at the ready to scare off nuclear annihilation of life on earth. When we lived on post, my sisters and I saw uniformed men marching in straight lines everywhere. This was readiness, the soldiers rehearsing against Armageddon. The rectangular buildings where the commissary, the PX, the bowling alley, and beauty shop were housed had fallout shelters in the basements, marked with black and yellow wheels, the civil defense insignia. Our dad would often leave home for several days on maneuvers, readiness exercises in which he and other men played war games designed to match the visions of big generals and political men. Visions of how a Russian air and ground attack would happen. They had to be ready for it.

A clipped, nervous rhythm kept time on military bases. It was as if you needed to move efficiently to keep up with things, to be ready yourself, even if you were just a kid. We were chased by the feeling that life as we knew it could change in an hour.

This was the posture. On your mark, get set. But there was no go. It was a policy of meaningful waiting. Meaningful because it was the waiting itself that counted—where you did it, how many of the necessities you had, how long you could keep it up. Imagining long, sunless days with nothing to do but wait for an all-clear sign or for the threatening, consonant-heavy sounds of a foreign language overhead, I taught myself to pray hard.

– Excerpted from Fighter Pilot’s Daughter by Mary Lawlor, Rowman and Littlefield, 2013. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

 

Mary Lawlor is author of Fighter Pilot’s Daughter (Rowman & Littlefield 2013, paper 2015), Public Native America (Rutgers Univ. Press 2006), and Recalling the Wild (Rutgers Univ. Press, 2000). Her short stories and essays have appeared in Big Bridge and Politics/Letters. She studied the American University in Paris and earned a Ph.D. from New York University. She divides her time between an old farmhouse in Easton, Pennsylvania, and a cabin in the mountains of southern Spain.

You can visit her website at https://www.marylawlor.net/ or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.

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Spotlight of the Memoir From Turmoil to Peace by Delia E. Hayward (#contests- Enter to win an Amazon Gift Card- 2 winnwers.)

 

A single mom with a troubled past finds hope and peace when she discovers God’s love.…

 

Title: FROM TURMOIL TO PEACE

Author: Delia E. Hayward

Publisher: Emery Press Books 

Pages: 206

Genre: Christian Memoir 

Format: Paperback, Kindle

Delia Hayward, one of eight children, grew up during the Hippie Era in a dysfunctional family, for whom emotional and physical abuse was a normal occurrence of her childhood. Her marriage further deteriorated what little self-esteem she retained from her childhood.

Perhaps these torments are what made her desperately seek God and a personal relationship with Him.

When her marriage fell apart, she rose to the challenge of raising three sons alone. With the help of God and sheer determination, Delia managed to instill positive self-esteem and a love for God into the hearts of the next generation.

As you read this book, may you also find hope in the midst of your storm, and may God bring you from turmoil to peace.

Read sample here.

From Turmoil to Peace is available at Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

 

Book Excerpt

I continued attending Al-Anon meetings to improve my life. One day, my sponsor advised me to make a God Box; I needed to learn how to trust God. I was to put all the things I could not handle, could not afford, or could not change down on strips of paper. Then I was to put those strips of paper into the box and give them all to Him. Then I was to wait to see how many of those things were taken care of by Him.  

As I put each strip of paper into my God Box, I wept with relief. With every folded piece of paper, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was giving my worries to God and would trust Him to take care of them. A calm and peace came over me and I knew God was with me. I remembered many years ago when I had screamed at God in desperation, and He told me I didn’t trust him. Finally, I was learning how to trust Him.  

One day, I didn’t have enough money to buy food for the week, but I knew that God would take care of us. When I walked to the mailbox, there was a check for $70, just for switching telephone companies. That check paid for food for that week. Other times, I would find money in my pockets just when I was out of cash. God was taking care of me.

In Al-Anon, I learned more about God, life, reactions, and forgiveness. It was now time for me to forgive the man I hated; the man who had done so many terrible things to me and our boys. How was I supposed to forgive the man who tried to kill me? I was told that I had to pray for John every day, ask God to bless him, and give him everything he needed.  

I didn’t want to pray for John. I wished he was dead. I hated him. He continued to harass me by telephone. However, I prayed for John as I was told. This was supposed to help me get rid of the hate inside me. Soon after I began praying for him, I could feel my anger and hatred towards him fade away. They were replaced by compassion for the man who had lost a beautiful, loving family, and didn’t know God. The harassing phone calls suddenly stopped. God was awesome!

Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Give me the strength and power to extend that same mercy and grace to those in my life who have hurt me.

– Excerpted from From Turmoil to Peace by Delia Hayward, Emery Press Books, 2025. Reprinted with permission. 

About the Author

Delia Hayward is a proud mother of three wonderful sons, a beautiful granddaughter and a precious grandson. God put it on her heart to write this book “From Turmoil to Peace” so that people could benefit from her life experiences. She has been blessed and hopes her book blesses others.

You can visit her website at https://deliahayward.name/ and follow her at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/delia.hayward.14. 

 

Delia E. Hayward is giving away TWO $25 Amazon Gift Cards!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
• This giveaway starts August 18 and ends on September 18.
• Winner will be contacted via email on September 18.
• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

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