Feb 2020 Local Authors

The Other Family

By Loretta Nyhan of La Grange Park

Colorful characters, sharp wit and a heartwarming story-line are artfully woven together in The Other Family, a novel of hope, healing and the search for true family. 

With a dissolving marriage, strained finances, and her life in flux, Ally Anderson longs for stability. But these problems pale in comparison with her anxiety about her young daughter, Kylie, whose perplexing illness doctors have been unable to diagnose. A DNA test to trace auto-immune diseases may provide answers — but Ally, who is adopted, knows nothing of her genetic history. Setting out to track down medical data, Ally starts out on a path that leads her to an aunt and then to a whole other family she never new existed. Despite the cautions of her own resistant mother, Ally walks into new relationships that reveal much more about her history than she had anticipated. By embracing the uncertainty and beauty of family — both the one she was born into and the one she chose — Ally learns to cope with the problems of her own life while helping her daughter recover. 

Loretta Nyhan is the bestselling author of Digging In and All the Good Parts, as well as books for teens. A resident of La Grange Park, she is a lifetime reader who turned to fiction after years of contributing to trade magazines and teaching writing to college freshmen. Like some of the female characters in her novels, she considers herself a late bloomer. 

A Computer Geek Speaks 

By Alexandra Georgas of Downers Grove  

In a series of short essays, Georgas tells of the many humorous and surprising escapades of life as a woman in the computer technology field. With stories of mistakes made and lessons learned, unexpected 

adventures and even love interests, Georgas looks beyond the usual, humdrum perceptions of life as a geek, to the fun to be had and fascinating people to be met in the tech world. 

Tumbling

By Elizabeth Joyce of Yorkville

This heartfelt collection of poetry and prose peeks inside the lives of those who struggle with mental health issues and their families. Joyce, who has experienced anxiety disorders and depression, shares the intimate thoughts that have tumbled through her mind at different stages of her life. The collection, which touches on dark moments as well as periods of hope, seeks to chip away at the stigmas surrounding mental health and psychotherapy.  

The Memory Thief

By Lauren Masny of Wheaton

This young-adult fantasy is set in a world where memories reign as currency, to be gifted or stolen. In a bid to rescue her mother, 17-year-old Etta pledges allegiance to a rebel group. To prove her fealty, she must steal a memorized map of a high-security prison. In a heart-racing series of events, Etta finds adventure and romance — and uncovers a conspiracy that challenges everything she thought she knew about herself and the world around her. 

Generation Optimism

By Juan David Campolargo of Naperville

This socially inspired book is written for readers in Gen Z — the post-millennial population born from 1996 – 2010. As part of this demographic, Campolargo challenges stereotypes of the group as tech-addicted and anti-social. Instead, he sees the potential for a generation of doers and dreamers, and provides ideas and stepping stones to help develop the "skill" of optimism as a path to self-fulfillment.