At FriesenPress, we celebrate each and every book we help our authors publish. Here are some of our team’s recent favourites – happy reading!
On Challenging Journeys We Find Out Who We Are Apartheid is a powerful memoir of Una's Personal and political struggles growing up in the peaceful community of Vrededorp, Johannesburg, South Africa. By age nine, the political arena in South Africa changed; Una and her family are assessed, segregated and uprooted from their home in Vrededorp by the Aparteid Authorities and moved to Coronationville, a Johannesburg suburb. Witnessing "The Sharpville Massacre" in March 1960, a sudden shift of lens brought a new focus on her young mind that forever changed how she viewed those in power. After a failed marriage, she is now a single mother and determined to find a better life for herself and her son. She falls in love with a German immigrant. With her fierce spirit, she begins challenging the Immorality law and they fight for their love under the watchful eye and harassment of the local police. Her poems bring raw vulnerability and frustration to the forefront of what it feels like to be held back and watch injustice continue.
When Jasper Ramsey, the sixth Duke of Wexcombe, demands a meeting with his London wharf tenant L.K. Russell, there is only one problem—L.K. Russell is a woman. Set in early 19th century England, the story of Louisa and Jasper highlights the emerging revolutionary concepts of women’s rights and independence, an uncommon twist to the Regency Era romance genre. Louisa operates a successful import/export business from her estate in Sussex; Jasper is a wealthy peer, driven by duty and used to having his own way. At their first calamitous meeting there is little upon which their heads agree—their hearts, however, are another matter. Jasper is smitten, despite his best efforts to avoid romantic entanglement. Louisa knows that giving in to her growing desire will compromise her reputation. Further, marriage would jeopardize her business interests and her inheritance. Nevertheless, the couple hesitantly embark on a romantic romp which includes a battle of the sexes disguised as a fishing competition, an impromptu poetry recital, and a dunk in the muddy Thames as a means of revenge. Their family and friends are cheering them on. But will Louisa risk her independence and follow her heart? And will Jasper finally realize that he is free to choose love over obligation?
A saga tells of a heroic journey where characters find out who they are, face fear and peril, and with comrades, fight to save their world. The whimsical tales of Edgar & Elouise make up two such sagas. But how do we know – and even change – how we see ourselves? A strangely wise and wordy porcupine seems to be able to tell us! And after all, he says, “We all need new stories – new ways to see.” There is also, as in most sagas, a monster to defeat. But first, to even turn and face a monster, there are key questions: How do we face our fear? What can we do in the face of overwhelming odds? Sagas are about being human in an uncertain and dangerous world. How do we sculpt an inner strength and strong connections with others, and how can we protect what we love – our frail and magical world? Stories are like magic – they help us survive.
Mia lives an idyllic life in a tiny hut in the desert beneath a range of jagged peaks. Mia’s mother is a healer. Her father is a potter who can work magic into the clay. But Mia does not believe in magic or the stories told by the elders. While on a run in the desert, she is attacked by demons who have risen from their tunnels beneath the arroyos. After a narrow escape with the help of her dog, Mia, her parents, and her three mysterious uncles set off on a journey to a legendary land where they hope to find the secret to defeating the demons. On the journey, Mia discovers the magic hidden in the world around her and the magic deep within herself. Her special magic could be the key to her people’s survival, but the only way to find out is to tread a perilous path into a dark and dangerous world from which no one has ever returned.
Never Wake a Sleeping Nanny is a playful children’s picture book with a heartfelt message. While Nanny rests she dreams of all the fun adventures she will have with her grandchildren when she wakes up. The story speaks to the importance of grandparents in the lives of children as they share not only love but also wisdom and guidance. What a special bond! I hope all grandparents have the opportunity to not only dream of days together but to explore the world with their grandchildren. I know being a grandmother has brought me immeasurable joy!
Small towns are places where everyone knows each other’s names—and each other’s business, despite it being none of their own. Yet, folks in small towns never seem to want to talk about mental health. Rural living can be isolating with hours spent on the farm caring for the land, animals, the home, and everyone else first before yourself. Women especially know this struggle all too well. Author Lewellyn Melnyk has experienced this her whole life, suffering from depression in her early teens that left her with what felt like only one option: to take her own life. Rooted: How I Stay Small Town Strong When Life Gets Hard and How You Can Too: A Guide to Finding Joy, Learning from Struggle, and Coming Together One Season at a Time is a blend of self-help and memoir to get you through the tough times and show you how to live with compassion and joy while caring for yourself first. Through humour, vivacious attitude, and a soundtrack to match, this guide acknowledges and dispels the myths around rural living and shows that mental injuries are often rooted in the culture of these communities. Whether you live on a farm or in an apartment in the city, you’ll relate to these small town stories, and find these simple strategies achievable so you can improve your mental and physical health. Rooted is for anyone ready to take the next step and get their hands and heart dirty.
Now in her nineties, a woman reflects on the seminal decision she made, to flee an abusive husband in Vancouver and take her little boy to live with her on the remote, northern farm that her late parents had created from the wilderness. As she adjusts to the harsher rural life, she finds deep reserves of strength and tenacity and discovers how her rural friends and neighbors support each other’s survival in their wild and often treacherous surroundings. And she even begins to find love again…that is, until her raging husband tracks her down and she’s faced with an escalating danger. With beautiful, sensory writing and a deft sense of humour and adventure, author Bev Christensen vividly evokes the world of rural life in northern B.C. in the 1950s and presents a compelling heroine with indomitable pioneer spirit in her DNA.
The modern world is full of challenges. But with yoga, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence, kids can access the tools they need to become resilient, happy, and self-aware. Little Yogis, Big Feelings teaches emotional awareness for kids. Through a daily self-awareness check-in and friendly animal costumes, they learn to recognize emotions and how they may change over time. Then, they are offered the tools and strategies needed to help them express and cope with those feelings while relating to others in a healthy way: • Breathing practices • Animal costumes linked to emotions • Yoga exercises • Daily affirmations • A journaling opportunity The integrative approach to the tools and practices in this book gives kids the chance to express emotions in a creative way; practice reading, spelling, vocabulary, writing skills; while building physical activity and fitness into their daily routine.
