All posts tagged: ” siblings

Samantha Downing is back with a dark, twisted new thriller, HE STARTED IT, about sibling rivalry, money, and more

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By Leslie Lindsay  Three siblings, in a race to win their grandfather’s inheritance, embark on a cross-country roadtrip, but dark, twisted things–and places–keep tracking them.  ~PUBDAY PREVIEW|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ BETCHES BEACH READ OF THE MONTH A most anticipated book by Betches ∙ Hello Giggles ∙ She Reads ∙ Book Page  AVAILABLE LATE JULY~ORDER NOW! In HE STARTED IT (Berkley, July 28 2020), Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan are together again after years of being apart, but this is no happy reunion. Their wealthy grandfather has died, leaving behind an enormous inheritance and a cryptic final message: in order to secure their cut of the money, the siblings must reunite for a cross-country road trip. They must stick to the itinerary of the trip they once took as children with their grandfather—no exceptions. Anyone who ends up in jail along the way or doesn’t complete the journey will lose their inheritance. “Wholly original. Scarily clever. Completely mesmerizing. You will never look at family road trips the same way again.” —Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author Time with family can be …

Wife, mother, and advocate Teresa Unnerstall dives in head-first with her all-hands-on-deck approach to navigating an autism & Down’s syndrome diagnosis in her new book, A NEW COURSE

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By Leslie Lindsay  With humor, kindness, and practical advice, mother, writer, and special needs advocate absolutely has all-hands on deck as she traverses the choppy waters of a child with a dual-diagnosis. ~BOOKS ON MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Teresa Unnerstall doesn’t tip her toes into the water of Down’s syndrome and autism, she dives head-first into the deep-end. Told with wit, compassion, faith, empathy, brutal honesty, and gentle advocacy, A NEW COURSE: A Mother’s Journey Navigating Down’s syndrome and autism (Kat Biggie Press, May 5 2020) is a beacon of light for a parent traversing the rocky waters of a DS-ASD dual-diagnosis. I found myself wholly engaged in this book—the worries, the fears, the emotional ups and downs. Teresa proves that she is just like any other mother—but so much more. She created laminated picture cards for her son and taped them to the shower wall so he’d know the steps for self-hygiene. When she wasn’t doing that, she researched behavioral therapies and looked into school programs and advocated for her son. Somedays, she’s cleaned …

Miciah Bay Gault talks about her luminous literary thriller, GOODNIGHT STRANGER, how she wasn’t trying to write a thriller, finding an agent, reincarnation, plus a fabulous reading list

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By Leslie Lindsay  Deeply compelling and highly disturbing at times, GOODNIGHT STRANGER is a suspenseful literary thriller with themes of grief, love, and human behavior.  This is one of those books that is as eerie as moving, for me, and also has a bit of magical realism/suspended belief that may excite and intrigue. As a debut, GOODNIGHT STRANGER (Park Row Books, July 30) is darn good. Lydia and her brother, Lucas live in their family’s ramshackle home on fictional Wolf Island (just off Cape Cod) and while they are adults, they haven’t exactly ‘launched.’ Lydia is 28 years old when the story begins and she’s a college dropout with dreams of going back. She left Brown when her mother became ill. Her brother is a bit ‘different’ in the way he sees the world. Pathologically shy, Lucas spends his time doing odd jobs and living in the home shadowed by past events. And ghosts. Lucas and Lydia are the two remaining children of triplets. The other child, who is referred to as ‘Baby B,’ died tragically as an …

Wednesdays with Writers: Jane Corry talks about her second novel, BLOOD SISTERS, how glass as art is both beautiful yet lethal, the bond of sisters, her love for her grandchildren & watercolors and so much more

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Three girls. Two sisters. One  dead. BLOOD SISTERS is a tangled web of adolescent deception looking from the present to the past with an eye toward justice.  Having read–and enjoyed–Corry’s first book, MY HUSBAND’S WIFE (January 2017), I was super-excited to get my hands on this gorgeous book, BLOOD SISTERS (January 2018). The beginning few pages completely pulled me in: a woman in her early-mid 30’s who happens to teach stained glass at a local college. BLOOD SISTERS is a slightly different kind of tale—one that is ripe with old secrets, sibling rivalry and justice. BLOOD SISTERS is a split-perspective of two adult sisters in the present looking back at a horrific accident that left Kitty paralyzed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), unable to speak, and aggressive/hostile at times. Kitty lives in an institution and has nearly every need tended to. Meanwhile, Alison is living in London with one eye over her shoulder: she’s waiting for the bottom to drop from an event that happened when the girls were teenagers.  Just what happened?  That story is …

Say That Again: Mother Knows Best

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By Leslie Lindsay Here’s a post that ran over the summer when I was a guest blog on The Speech Ladies Blog.  Thought it was worth repeating as we struggle with myths and facts related to CAS.  Of course, next week is Thanksgiving and you are likely to be spending some time with your own mother (or mother-in-law).  These myths and facts just may help you get through dinner.    (image source: http://www.smashboxstudios.com/yello/2012/05/weekend-shenanigans-may-11-13-2012/vintage-mother-lg/) Your Mother Says:  “Einstein was a late-talker.”  You can respond:  “That may be true, but he was also a mathematical genius.” Einstein began talking at age three but he was still not fluent when he turned nine.  Research on Einstein’s brain suggested to some neuroscientists that he was a late-talker because of the unusual development of his brain, as revealed by an autopsy.  No one knows if this is the reason why Einstein took so long to develop the ability to speak, much less whether this is true of the other people of outstanding intellect who were also late in beginning to speak.  (See “The …

Apraxia Monday: How sibs can help with apraxia

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By Leslie Lindsay I have two kids.  Both of them have red hair.  Both of them have blue eyes.  Both of them of girls.  But that is where the similarites come to an end.  You see, one of them is very, very precocious (read: talkative) and the other, well…not so much.  You know my comparison has nothing to do with love.  It has to do with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). My oldest daughter has CAS.  Her younger sister does not.  When we first learned of the apraxia diagnosis, I was very focused on helping my older daughter get the help she needed.  I shuffled her to and from therapy, I got her into a great language-based preschool program.  I worried about and read about apraxia.  I cried.  I laughed.  I saw glimmers of hope. Now, at six years old, my daughter with CAS is doing a world better.  But, being the oldest, she’s a little sensitive about her speech skills not being quite “up to par” as her chatty little sister.  What’s a parent to …