

SARAH'S BOOKS
Sarah's full length memoir focuses on the period of time her mother was incarcerated with Alzheimer's disease. Acknowledging the loss of autonomy and privilege an Alzheimer's placement outside the home engenders, she explores the dichotomies between hopes for care and the realities of care. While working on her full length memoir, Sarah discovered other stories waiting to be written. Some of these stories have been published in the Shaking the Tree anthologies.

Shaking The Tree volume 2
ISBN- 978-0-9888882-4-1
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The San Diego Memoir Writers Association is honored to present the second volume of compelling true stories drawn from our annual Memoir Showcase contest. This year's winning selections address the theme of Things We Don't Talk About, and our writers bravely answered the call to share the most intimate narratives of their lives.
The authors take on bold issues such as hidden racism, physical and sexual abuse, illicit affairs, the tragic loss of a child or parent, secret family members, and the painfully awkward experiences of adolescent first love. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying or mysterious, the stories within these pages challenge us to check our assumptions, seek out understanding, and connect with the triumphant bravery it takes to shine a light on our secrets.
You can't make this stuff up.
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Shaking the Tree volume 1
ISBN-978-0-9974413-6-9
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Shaking the Tree features twenty-nine talented authors in one stunning anthology. The Memoir Showcase, Marni Freedman, and Tracy J. Jones are proud to present a selection of our most compelling, true stories drawn from our annual contests. These pivotal portraits speak to our diverse community and its willingness to share the most challenging, awe-inspiring moments that make up the human experience. From life-changing moments with a Maasai warrior to a wild and unexpected coming-of-age tale in a carnival, Shaking the Tree reveals moments of courage, vulnerability, humor, and honesty. The stories within these pages are breathtaking. You can’t make this stuff up. In This Edition: Mahshid Fashandi Hager Anastasia Zadeik John Cunningham Judy Reeves Kelly Hudson Shawna Rawlinson Elizabeth Oppen Eshoo Cherie Kephart Laura L. Engel Barbara Huntington Natalie Freedman Donna Jose Kathleen Holstad Pease KM McNeel Richard Farrell Philip Pressel Marijke McCandless Sara Mohtashamipour Ruth Laugesen Danielle B. Baldwin Leslie Johansen Nack Catherine Spearnak Steve Montgomery Sarah Vosburgh Ilene Hubbs Kristen Balelo Nancy G. Villalobos Dilia Wood
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Shaking the Tree volume 3
ISBN-978-0-9974413-2-1
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The San Diego Memoir Writers Association is honored to present volume three of compelling true stories drawn from our annual Memoir Showcase contest. This year’s winning selections address the theme of I Didn’t See That One Coming. While these stories were written before the global pandemic, they offer insight and reflections on how unseen events shape our lives.
The stories within these pages are awe-inspiring. Our authors bravely share their life-altering surprises and vulnerable moments no one ever saw coming in a collection that is thrilling, heartwarming, humorous, and moving.
This bold and entertaining volume is filled with stories about being kidnapped at gunpoint and solving the mystery of a father you never knew, to having the best sex of your life in your eighties. In the spirit of the Shaking the Tree series, this book goes there—unapologetically.
You can’t make this stuff up.
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Shaking the Tree volume 6
ISBN-979-8-218-56350-9
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The International Memoir Writers Association is thrilled to present the sixth volume of compelling true stories from our annual Memoir Showcase contest. This volume’s winning selections are inspired by the theme, What Just Happened?
This engaging and entertaining volume is filled with stories, such as a little Iranian girl in Tehran watching the U.S. hostage crisis unfold on TV, a teenager in Germany who learns how fast life can change
in seven-point-nine seconds, and a young woman tripping on acid who meets her birth father for the first time. In the spirit of the Shaking the Tree series, this anthology goes there unapologetically.
IN THIS EDITION:
Mahshid F. Hager, Anastasia Zadeik, Mary Ann Horton,
Janet Hafner, Jocelyn Hough, Robert Kirk, Nancy L. O’Sullivan,
Melissa Jordan Grey, Suzi Finkelstein, K'Cee Scoggins,
Hannah Andrews, C.A. Gilchrist, Chuck Dunning,
Sarah Church Vosburgh, Amy Lisewski, Diane L. Schneider, MD,
Indra Gardiner Bowers, Janell Strube, Nicole Antoinette Lewis,
Davey Smith, MD, Laura L. Engel, Lenore Greiner,
Ruth Magdi Hargrove, Kathy Pease, Heather M. Berberet,
Saadia Ali Esmail, Jeniffer Thompson, Lauren Woolley,
and Mary-Jean Zampino.
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