A Grip of Time (prison slang for a very long sentence behind bars) takes readers into a world most know little about-a maximum-security prison-and into the minds and hearts of the men who live there. These men, who are serving out life sentences for aggravated murder, join a fledgling Lifers' Writing Group started by award-winning author Lauren Kessler. Over the course of three years, meeting twice a month, the men reveal more and more about themselves, their pasts, and the alternating drama and tedium of their incarcerated lives. As they struggle with the weight of their guilt and wonder if they should hope for a future outside prison walls, Kessler struggles with the fiercely competing ideas of rehabilitation and punishment, forgiveness and blame that are at the heart of the American penal system. Gripping, intense, and heartfelt, A Grip of Time: When Prison Is Your Life shows what a lifetime with no hope of release looks like up-close.

"Straight from the trenches, a mom's tale of weathering her daughter's transformation from sweetheart to snark mouth." - "People"

With the eye of a reporter, the curiosity of an anthropologist, and the open-and sometimes wounded-heart of a mother, award-winning author Lauren Kessler launches an eighteen-month mission, embedding herself in her about-to-be-teenage daughter Lizzie's life. Everywhere from middle school classrooms to the mall, from summer camp to online chat groups, Kessler observes and chronicles-and sometimes participates in-the vibrant, dynamic, and scary life of a twenty-first-century teen.

"An excellent book...an emotional and ruminative anchor...She leaves her readers with hope."-- San Francisco Chronicle One journalist's riveting and surprisingly hopeful in-the-trenches view of Alzheimer's Nearly five million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's. Like many children of Alzheimer's sufferers, Lauren Kessler, an accomplished journalist, was devastated by the disease that seemed to erase her mother's identity even before claiming her life. But suppose people with Alzheimer's are not slates wiped blank. Suppose they experience friendship and loss, romance and jealousy, joy and sorrow? To better understand this debilitating condition, Kessler enlists as a bottom-of-the-rung caregiver at an Alzheimer's facility and learns lessons that challenge what we think we know about the disease. A compelling, clear-eyed, and emotionally resonant narrative, Finding Life in the Land of Alzheimer's offers a new optimistic look at what the disease can teach us and a much-needed tonic for those faced with providing care for someone they love. Previously published as Dancing With Rose.

Kessler challenges the idea that the worlds of media and journalism have ever conformed to a 'free marketplace' image. This present volume investigates a handful of the many fringe groups who, denied access to the mainstream, started marketplaces of their own. Journalistic efforts in six groups are explored: Black Americans; utopians and communitarians; feminists; non-English speaking immigrants; populists, anarchists, socialists, communists; and pacifists, non-interventionists, and resisters from World Wars I and II. The result is an impressive study which shows that such groups have a diversity of origins, and a tradition which spans one and a half centuries.

Stubborn Twig is a classic American story, a story of immigrants making their way in a new land. It is a living work of social history that rings with the power of truth and the drama of fiction, a moving saga about the challenges of becoming an American. Masuo Yasui traveled from Japan across the other Oregon Trailathe one that spanned the Pacific Oceanain 1903. Like most immigrants, he came with big dreams and empty pockets. Working on the railroads, in a cannery, and as a houseboy before settling in Hood River, Oregon, he opened a store, raised a large family, and became one of the areaas most successful orchardists.As Masuo broke the race barrier in the local business community, his American-born children broke it in school, scouts and sports, excelling in most everything they tried. For the Yasuisa first-born son, the constraints and contradictions of being both Japanese and American led to tragedy. But his seven brothers and sisters prevailed, becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers, and farmers. It was a classic tale of the American dream come trueauntil December 7, 1941, changed their lives forever. The Yasuis were among the more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry along the West Coast who were forced from their homes and interned in vast inland arelocation camps.a Masuo was arrested as a spy and imprisoned for the rest of the war; his family was shamed and broken. Yet the Yasuis endured, as succeeding generations took up the challenge of finding their identity as Americans. Stubborn Twig is their storyaa story at once tragic and triumphant, one that bears eloquent witness to both the promise and the peril of America.

Renowned for its clear presentation of grammar, Kessler and McDonald's WHEN WORDS COLLIDE, 9e equips you with the tips and tools you need to succeed in today's dynamic, cross-platform, multi-media writing environment. This versatile grammar and usage handbook provides an excellent resource for learners and seasoned media writers alike. With its simplified rules, the book appeals to writers from a variety of backgrounds. It combines straightforward explanations and examples with quick and accurate answers to common grammar and usage questions, problems and potential pitfalls. In addition, its unique “from writer to writer” perspective guides you step by step through the entire writing process.