Staff Picks
At FriesenPress, we celebrate each and every book we help our authors publish. Here are some of our team’s recent favourites – happy reading!
Season of Life
by
Jeff Janoda
The Battle of Gettysburg is over. Tens of thousands lie wounded and untended across the battlefield, and thousands are dead. Basil Biggs returns through the devastation to find his farm ruined by Confederate troops, but soon finds himself embroiled with the intrigues of Union spymaster John Babcock, who must track the beaten Confederate army as it retreats. Biggs is helped in this new adventure, to his vast surprise, by the spirit of his late mother, the famous healer Rosalie Biggs. Meanwhile, young Cornelia Hancock arrives on the battlefield as a volunteer nurse and must struggle against the awful conditions and her own sense of horror at what she witnesses. Biggs returns from his espionage work, carrying a wounded Babcock to the new field hospital on the battlefield, Camp Letterman, where Babcock comes under the care of Cornelia Hancock. Soon after, Biggs begins the monumental task of re-interring the thousands of hastily buried Union soldiers across the battlefield into the new National Cemetery. All three come to the attention of an ancient entity fascinated by humanity across the ages, strangely drawn to all three of them, and which will change their lives forever.
In Memoria, Hand Stitched
by
Bryony Dunsmore Manders
In Memoria, Hand Stitched is an art book, specifically a fibre art memorial book, and is a reproduction of the artist's handmade, hand stitched fabric book of some of Emily Dickinson's poetry about grief, pain, suffering, faith, and hope. It will appeal to a wide variety of viewers and readers: fibre art artists and others involved in or appreciative of textile art, fans of Emily Dickinson's poetry, and all those who are looking for an accompaniment in the journey of bereavement. It consists of 64 colour images of hand stitched pages.
The Next Rooster
Chianti Classico's Next Generation by
Michael Godel
The Next Rooster is a portrait of continuity in motion. Through 44 essays, it brings together the stories of families whose lives, vineyards, and futures are rooted in the hills of Chianti Classico, one of Italy’s most historic and dynamic wine regions. United by the symbol of the Gallo Nero—the Black Rooster—these daughters, sons, nieces, and nephews represent the next generation stepping into roles shaped by inheritance, responsibility, and change. The book begins with the generation that transformed Chianti Classico during the 1970s and 1980s, when producing wine in the region demanded conviction, sacrifice, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty. Their efforts helped establish the prosperity and international reputation the territory enjoys today. Yet this is not a book about looking backward. It is about what comes next. Chianti Classico has always been defined by diversity—of soils, elevations, philosophies, and people. That multiplicity remains its greatest strength. As the region enters a new era marked by technological connectivity, environmental challenges, and evolving global markets, a new generation is emerging with its own ideas, ambitions, and understanding of place. Rather than presenting a chronology of wine history, The Next Rooster tells a human story, exploring succession, adaptation, and the enduring connection between family and land. Rich with Tuscan culture, food, wine, and history, these essays reveal how continuity is preserved not by standing still, but by moving forward. Chianti Classico has always had something new to say. This book listens to the voices now preparing to say it.
The Seven Wonders of Watson
by
Kiki May Healey
Life is perfectly peaceful for the cat until a dog named Watson arrives. Watson is curious, impulsive, and full of big ideas. Every day he wonders about the world, but when his imagination meets real life, things don’t always go as planned. Mishaps pile up, messes multiply, and the cat is not amused. But when Watson starts to wonder what it really means to be a good friend, his wild week leads to a surprising discovery. A heartwarming story about imagination, empathy, and friendship.
The Strength Behind The Smile
by
Carla Thompson
Have you ever received a diagnosis that hit you like a punch in the gut, folding you over and totally derailing your life? What about a prognosis that shortens that life and sets out to redefine its potential quality and worth? The Strength Behind The Smile is a thought-provoking and inspiring biographical account of a single lifetime riddled with exactly those sorts of unwelcome derailments, from childhood illnesses to kidney failure, years of dialysis, multiple transplants, multiple cancers, life-threatening complications, and so much more. And yet its author has never lost her smile. In fact, it has stood as a cornerstone in her fight not only to survive but to thrive … a solid foundation upon which she’s built a lifetime full of laughter in spite of the tears, positivity in spite of medically justified pessimism and bitterness, and the kind of love that lifts people up when they can’t find the strength to lift themselves. Life isn’t always fair, and buckling under the weight of that fact is rarely a choice. It’s just normal human frailty. But what we can choose is whether or not to let it continue crushing us. No matter the pain or illness, no matter the burden, with positivity— consciously chosen—we can find the strength and courage to keep living every day to its fullest … with a smile.
Space Is Not Empty
How Hidden Fields Are Shaping Your Life and Our World by
Alan Briskin and Mary V. Gelinas
Have you ever walked into a room and known immediately that something was off? Maybe your skin tingled or your stomach clenched, maybe you noticed how eyes were averted or chatter was strained. Or maybe the opposite was true and you were walking into a place of safety and comfort, where your breathing came more easily, your heart rate calmed, and your tension melted away. In this groundbreaking interdisciplinary book, Alan Briskin and Mary V. Gelinas weave together a combined eighty years of experience in social psychology, systems thinking, and contemplative practices to explain how fields influence us physically, emotionally, and intuitively—often without our conscious awareness. What if we could learn to pay attention to these fields that are operating in and around us, understand their messages, and use them to act more intentionally and compassionately? Discover how awareness of these dynamic spaces can help foster collaborative relationships, bridge social, political, and religious divides, and effect more constructive, meaningful and lasting change.
Bye Bye Belly Flies
by
J. Robinson
Bye Bye Belly Flies is the third book in The Nanny Series following Never Wake a Sleeping Nanny and You Can Have Mine. This time Nanny is helping her granddaughter navigate feelings of anxiety. The granddaughter innocently refers to her feelings as "Belly Flies" and Nanny knows just what to do. Through rhyme, gentle calming phrases and love, nanny guides her grandchild through a grounding exercise using the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch - referred to as the 3 S's and 2 T's. The special bond between grandmother and grandchild is clear and with nanny's soothing words and wisdom the child is able to get past those feelings in her belly and find joy and happiness again.
The Least of Men
by
Michael J. Collins
Sixteen years ago, Chicago surgeon Dr. David Carroll lost everything. When Russian mafia boss Dimitri Barkov tried to seize Carroll’s medical practice, David refused. Barkov’s retaliation was swift and brutal—David’s wife murdered, federal agents gunned down, and David forced into hiding in the remote wilderness of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. The world believed the story ended there, with David dead and the Barkov empire untouched. They were wrong. Now, in 2021, a far more disturbing criminal enterprise is flourishing—an international network trafficking young girls to wealthy clients who are willing to pay anything to satisfy their darkest desires. At its center stands Amy Arnold, a ruthless mastermind who has built her empire on violence, secrecy, and the belief that no one can stop her. But buried in the past is a man who has already lost everything—and men like that are the most dangerous of all. As investigators, criminals, and survivors collide across continents, old crimes resurface and long-hidden truths emerge. In a world where power protects the guilty and innocence is a rare commodity, justice may depend on the least likely champions. And the least of men may prove to be the most relentless.
When the Moonbeam Comes to Call
by
Sandra Appleby
For children young and old, the long glorious days of summer are magical. In this lyrical swim through memories in the making, the days of playing in the water, card games at night and campfires on the beach, all lead to their favourite activity of all. What fun fills family time in the summer months? What are the moments of magic in a place shared with nature? What is possible when the moonbeam comes to call? Sandra Appleby’s lyrical text is beautifully interpreted by Madison Appleby’s dream state illustrations of the connections cousins cultivate sharing time and place at a summer lake.
Through the Grey Skies
A Mother’s Journey of Grief and Hope by
Megan Hewson
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way.” Every mother carries hopes and dreams for her unborn child, rarely imagining a motherhood journey that veers so far from the path she once envisioned. Through tender storytelling and honest reflection, Megan Hewson invites readers into her deeply personal journey to motherhood—one marked by breathtaking joy and profound loss. From multiple IVF attempts and complicated pregnancies to the devastating death of her infant son, Tucker, Megan guides readers through the emotional terrain of fierce love and deep grief. With openness and vulnerability, she shares a rare perspective on an “out of order” loss: saying goodbye to a baby who had just barely arrived. At its heart, this is a story about love—love that endures even when everything has changed. Megan writes about parenting her surviving son while grieving Tucker, navigating friendships strained by loss, and learning how to carry both sorrow and gratitude forward. Megan and Tucker’s story is a testament to the strength of parental love, the importance of connection, and the complicated, nonlinear nature of grief. This is a story of courage, vulnerability, and the bonds that hold us together—offering gentle reassurance that even when storm clouds gather, the sun, and moments of joy, can return and be claimed again. Above all, Through the Grey Skies honours Tucker’s life and ensures he will never be forgotten. Though his time was brief, his impact was profound.