Catherine Shields
Catherine (Cathy) Shields writes about parenting, disabilities, and self-discovery. In debut memoir, The Shape Of Normal, A Memoir Of Motherhood, Disability And Embracing A Different Kind Of Perfect, Cathy explores the truths and lies parents tell themselves. Her book was named a category WINNER in the 2023 American Writing Awards, and her writing has twice been nominated for a Pushcart. Her essays have been published in NBC Today. Newsweek, Bacopa Literary Review, Grown and Flown, Brevity Blog, Mother Magazine, U Revolution, and Write City Magazine. Cathy resides in Miami, Florida with her husband. They enjoy taking long bike rides and kayaking. Follow her on her Instagram @cathyshieldswriter..
If you like author Catherine Shields here is the list of authors you may also like
Buy books on AmazonTotal similar authors (37)
-
Jocelyn Jane Cox
Jocelyn Jane Cox holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in English Literature with a focus on Creative Writing. She competed in the United States Figure Skating Championships with her older brother, Brad, four times (twice in pair skating and twice in ice dance). She has been coaching kids, teenagers, and adults in both skating and writing for over 25 years. Her creative nonfiction was included in the anthology Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness, edited by Diane Gottlieb (ELJ Editions, 2023). Among other publications, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Newsweek, Good Men Project, WIRED, Belladonna Comedy, The Offing, HAD, Cleaver, Litro Magazine, Li
Buy books on Amazon -
Jennifer Lang
American-French-Israeli hybrid; obsessed with identity, language, home, belonging
Buy books on Amazon
1995-today: stories in Parenting, Woman’s Day, Baltimore Review, Under the Sun, Barren Magazine, Citron Review, Coachella Review, Consequence Forum, NPR
MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts; former Assistant Editor at Brevity Journal
Yogini, practicing since 1995, teaching since 2003, leads YogaProse
https://www.instagram.com/jenlangwrites
https://www.facebook.com/jenlangwrites
AWARDS for Landed:
*Winner of Best Middle-or-Late-in-Life Coming-of-Age, Zibby Awards 2025
*Gold Book Award Winner, Literary Titan 2024
*Finalist for Adult Nonfiction, Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2024
AWARDS for Places We Left Behind:
*Finalist for Autobiography/Memoir, Foreword Review -
Kate Evans
Kate is the author of the best-selling memoir duo: WANDERLAND: LIVING THE TRAVELING LIFE and CALL IT WONDER: AN ODYSSEY OF, LOVE, SEX, SPIRIT & TRAVEL, named "Best Memoir" at the Bisexual Book Awards--where Kate was also lauded as "Writer of the Year" by the Bi Writers Association.
Buy books on Amazon
Her other books include two novels (FOR THE MAY QUEEN & COMPLEMENTARY COLORS), two poetry collections, and a book about teaching. Her stories, poems and essays have appeared in more than 50 publications. With Mary Janelle Melvin, she co-authored a French Revolution historical romance, REVOLUTIONARY KISS (under the pen-name Mary-Kate Summers).
Recipient of a PhD from the University of Washington and an MFA from San Jose State University--where she is Emeritus Facult -
Kate Brandt
Kate Brandt is a writer, adult literacy teacher, traveler, and student of Buddhism. She is a graduate of the MFA Writing program at Sarah Lawrence College, and her work has appeared in literary anthologies and a number of publications, including Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Literary Mama, and Redivider.
Buy books on Amazon
Hope for the Worst is her first novel--a book about being in love, despair, magic, and the redemption of female friendship. To read more of Kate's writing, go to her website, Katebrandt.net. You can also find her on instagram and twitter @Kbrandtwriter. -
-
Kathleen Collins
Kathleen Collins’s nonfiction books include Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows, Dr. Joyce Brothers: The Founding Mother of TV Psychology, and a memoir, From Rabbit Ears to the Rabbit Hole: A Life with Television. Study in Hysteria is her first novel. She is a professor and librarian at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Her first novel will be published by Vine Leaves Press in February 2024.
Buy books on Amazon -
Melanie Brooks
Melanie Brooks is the author of the memoir A Hard Silence: One daughter remaps family, grief, and faith when HIV/AIDS changes it all (Vine Leaves Press, 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017) She teaches creative nonfiction in the M.F.A. program at Bay Path University and in the M.F.A. program at Western Connecticut State University and professional writing at Northeastern University. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast writing program and a Certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She has had numerous interviews and essays on topics ranging from loss and grief to parenting and aging published in The B
Buy books on Amazon -
Melissa Monroe
Melissa M. Monroe, Ph.D., L.Ac was awarded Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest 2023 Self-Published Book Awards for her book, "Mom's Search for Meaning." She is a mom, freelance writer, acupuncturist, and host of the podcast This Club Suuucks: Grief Support for Parents After the Lasagnas Are Long Gone. She lives with her daughter and dog in Los Angeles but heads to the mountains whenever possible.
Buy books on Amazon
For more, visit www.melissamariemonroe.com -
Ona Gritz
Ona Gritz writes memoir, essays, and poetry for adults, verse novels for teens, and fiction for children. Her memoir, Everywhere I Look, will be released on April 16th from Apprentice House Press of Loyola University.
Buy books on Amazon
Ona’s nonfiction has appeared widely, including in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Utne Reader, Brevity, Parents, The Rumpus, and River Teeth. Among her recent honors are two Notable mentions in The Best American Essays and A Best Life Story in Salon.
Ona’s poetry collection Geode was a finalist for the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. Her poems can be found in Ploughshares, The Bellevue Literary Review, One Art, Catamaran Literary Reader, Stone Gathering, SWWIM, Literary Mama, and elsewhere. In 2020, she won The Poetr -
-
Martha Engber
Martha Engber is the author of six books. SCATTERED LIGHT (https://vineleavespress.myshopify.com...), the sequel to WINTER LIGHT, an IPPY Gold Medal Winner for YA, will be published Nov. 25, 2025.
Buy books on Amazon
Her other fiction includes THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD, a historical novel, and THE WIND THIEF. Her nonfiction includes BLISS ROAD, a memoir about her neurodiverse family, and GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers.
A workshop facilitator and speaker, she’s had a full-length play produced in Hollywood and fiction published in a variety of literary journals. She and her screenwriting team have optioned a TV series to a studio. She encourages readers to connect via her website, MarthaEngber.com. -
-
-
-
-
Andrea Dunlop
I'm the author of three novels and the mother of one small human. I write complex, suspenseful books about families with dark secrets and women trying to discover themselves in a world full of contradictory expectations. My stories are set in exciting and exotic locations such as French Riviera, New York City, and Buenos Aires which I hope will give readers an escapist thrill.
Buy books on Amazon
I love to hear from readers and aspiring authors. I have a background in book publishing as well as writing, and I share my advice and expertise in weekly videos which you can find on Instagram and here on Goodreads. -
Ramani Durvasula
Dr. Ramani Durvasula is on a mission to demystify and dismantle the toxic influence of narcissism on all of our lives. Dr. Ramani Durvasula is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica and Sherman Oaks, CA and Professor of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles, where she was named Outstanding Professor in 2012. She is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg.
Buy books on Amazon
She is the author of the modern relationship survival manual Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship With a Narcissist (Post Hill Press) She is also the author of You Are WHY You Eat: Change Your Food Attitude, Change Your Life, as well as the author of numerous peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters an -
Jocelyn Jane Cox
Jocelyn Jane Cox holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in English Literature with a focus on Creative Writing. She competed in the United States Figure Skating Championships with her older brother, Brad, four times (twice in pair skating and twice in ice dance). She has been coaching kids, teenagers, and adults in both skating and writing for over 25 years. Her creative nonfiction was included in the anthology Awakenings: Stories of Body & Consciousness, edited by Diane Gottlieb (ELJ Editions, 2023). Among other publications, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Newsweek, Good Men Project, WIRED, Belladonna Comedy, The Offing, HAD, Cleaver, Litro Magazine, Li
Buy books on Amazon -
Sara Hosey
Sara Hosey's debut novel, IPHIGENIA MURPHY, about a runaway who starts a new life in a wooded city park, has been called "gritty and unflinching" and named an audible buzzworthy listen. Kirkus Reviews calls her latest YA novel, SUMMER PEOPLE, "a timely mystery exploring multiple complex themes."
Buy books on Amazon
Sara's debut short story collection, DIRTY SUBURBIA, traces the experiences of girls and women living in a world that often hates them. -
Kathleen Collins
Kathleen Collins’s nonfiction books include Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows, Dr. Joyce Brothers: The Founding Mother of TV Psychology, and a memoir, From Rabbit Ears to the Rabbit Hole: A Life with Television. Study in Hysteria is her first novel. She is a professor and librarian at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Her first novel will be published by Vine Leaves Press in February 2024.
Buy books on Amazon -
L.L. Kirchner
L.L. Kirchner is an award-winning screenwriter and Pushcart-nominated author whose life and work as an expat in Asia became the basis of two memoirs that combine humor with “her discerning eye” (Foreword Reviews)—or, as an NPR interviewer said, her memoir is “like Eat, Pray, Love, but funny.” She lives in Florida with her favorite husband. Drawing on her eclectic background as a religion editor, dating columnist, and bridal editor, Kirchner’s work explores feminist narratives. Read more at her blog, IllBehavedWomen.com or LLKirchner.com. She lives in Florida with her favorite husband.
Buy books on Amazon
In 2024, Kirchner will launch her highly anticipated trilogy, the Queenpin Chronicles, with her debut novel, FLORIDA GIRLS. Set in 1940s Florida, this multi-P -
Melanie Brooks
Melanie Brooks is the author of the memoir A Hard Silence: One daughter remaps family, grief, and faith when HIV/AIDS changes it all (Vine Leaves Press, 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017) She teaches creative nonfiction in the M.F.A. program at Bay Path University and in the M.F.A. program at Western Connecticut State University and professional writing at Northeastern University. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast writing program and a Certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She has had numerous interviews and essays on topics ranging from loss and grief to parenting and aging published in The B
Buy books on Amazon -
Lilly Dancyger
Lilly Dancyger is the author of Negative Space (2021), a reported and illustrated memoir selected by Carmen Maria Machado as a winner of the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards; and First Love, a collection of personal and critical essays about the power and complexity of female friendship, forthcoming from The Dial Press in Spring 2024. She is also the editor of Burn It Down (2019), a critically acclaimed anthology of essays on women’s anger, and her writing has been published by Guernica, Literary Hub, The Rumpus, Longreads, Off Assignment, The Washington Post, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and more. She lives in New York City.
Buy books on Amazon -
Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella is the author of the essay collections It Was an Ugly Couch Anyway and Good Apple, which was named a Best Book of the Year 2021 by Real Simple. A former editor at Real Simple and Vogue, she has spent more than 20 years writing about food, travel, home design, and parenting in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents, Martha Stewart Weddings, Coastal Living, Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn, and Southern Living. Elizabeth grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and now lives in New York City with her family.
Buy books on Amazon -
Ronit Plank
Ronit Plank is author of WHEN SHE COMES BACK, a memoir about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation and HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE, a collection of short fiction which won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award.
Buy books on Amazon
A Seattle-based writer, teacher, and editor, her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, The Rumpus, American Literary Review, Hippocampus, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere.
She is nonfiction editor at The Citron Review and her stories and essays have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the Best of the Net, and the Best Microfiction Anthology. Her short fiction has won prizes and/or special mention in The Iowa Review, American -
-
Anne Pinkerton
Anne Pinkerton is author of Were You Close? a sister's quest to know the brother she lost.
Buy books on Amazon
Anne’s poetry and essays have appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Ars Medica, Modern Loss, “Beautiful Things” at River Teeth Journal, Sunlight Press, Stone Gathering, The Bark, Entropy, Lunch Ticket, The HerStories Project, among other journals, as well as the anthologies, The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: Gen X Women on the Brink and Nothing Divine Dies: A Poetry Anthology About Nature.
Anne holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Bay Path University and studied poetry as an undergrad at Hampshire College. -
-
Karen DeBonis
Hello reader!
Buy books on Amazon
I’m glad you clicked here so I can give you some background to my story. I started writing my memoir in 1999, two years after my son Matthew was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Fast forward over 20 years, and in May 2023, Growth: A Mother, Her Son, and the Brain tumor They Survived will become real. Like the Velveteen Rabbit, only better.
I write about motherhood, people-pleasing, and personal growth, and my work has appeared in the New York Times, HuffPost, Newsweek.com, Today.com, AARP, and numerous literary journals. Whether I’m writing or pursuing other creative outlets, I relish my hard-won empty nest in upstate New York with Michael, my husband of forty years. Growth is my debut memoir. You can read more here: www.karendebon -
Melissa Monroe
Melissa M. Monroe, Ph.D., L.Ac was awarded Honorable Mention in Writer's Digest 2023 Self-Published Book Awards for her book, "Mom's Search for Meaning." She is a mom, freelance writer, acupuncturist, and host of the podcast This Club Suuucks: Grief Support for Parents After the Lasagnas Are Long Gone. She lives with her daughter and dog in Los Angeles but heads to the mountains whenever possible.
Buy books on Amazon
For more, visit www.melissamariemonroe.com -
Jennifer Lang
American-French-Israeli hybrid; obsessed with identity, language, home, belonging
Buy books on Amazon
1995-today: stories in Parenting, Woman’s Day, Baltimore Review, Under the Sun, Barren Magazine, Citron Review, Coachella Review, Consequence Forum, NPR
MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts; former Assistant Editor at Brevity Journal
Yogini, practicing since 1995, teaching since 2003, leads YogaProse
https://www.instagram.com/jenlangwrites
https://www.facebook.com/jenlangwrites
AWARDS for Landed:
*Winner of Best Middle-or-Late-in-Life Coming-of-Age, Zibby Awards 2025
*Gold Book Award Winner, Literary Titan 2024
*Finalist for Adult Nonfiction, Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2024
AWARDS for Places We Left Behind:
*Finalist for Autobiography/Memoir, Foreword Review -
-
-
Mimi Zieman
Mimi Zieman is a physician, writer and speaker. In addition to Tap Dancing on Everest, she is the author of The Post-Roe Monologues, a play that has been performed in multiple cities. An OB/GYN specialized in Complex Family Planning, she has also co-authored sixteen editions of Managing Contraception. Her writing has appeared in The Sun Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Newsweek, Dorothy Parker’s Ashes, NBC News THINK, The Forward, and other publications. She’s spoken nationally and internationally and has been interviewed by major media outlets. Ranking high on her list of favorite things are a good adventure, dancing, and a rich cup of coffee. Learn more at https://www.mimiziemanmd.com.
Buy books on Amazon -
-
Casey Mulligan Walsh
Casey Mulligan Walsh is a former speech-language pathologist who writes about life at the intersection of grief and joy, embracing uncertainty, and the nature of true belonging. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, HuffPost, Next Avenue, Modern Loss, WebMD, and Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, as well as in Split Lip, Hippocampus, Barren Magazine, and numerous other literary journals. She is also a contributor to Daring to Breathe, an anthology about living with the foreverness of grief. Casey is passionate about supporting those who grieve all manner of losses, including those that are spoken of and those too often shrouded in silence.
Buy books on Amazon
In addition, she serves on the Board of and as an Ambassador for the Family Heart Fou -
Anne Pinkerton
Anne Pinkerton is author of Were You Close? a sister's quest to know the brother she lost.
Buy books on Amazon
Anne’s poetry and essays have appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Ars Medica, Modern Loss, “Beautiful Things” at River Teeth Journal, Sunlight Press, Stone Gathering, The Bark, Entropy, Lunch Ticket, The HerStories Project, among other journals, as well as the anthologies, The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: Gen X Women on the Brink and Nothing Divine Dies: A Poetry Anthology About Nature.
Anne holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Bay Path University and studied poetry as an undergrad at Hampshire College.