I could not be prouder to announce the first book for 2017 from MadeMark Publishing is the re-issue of Jean Ryan’s Lost Sister. Jean’s writing has received a Lambda Literary finalist nod (for her short story collection Survival Skills). She’s also been nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize.

Praise for her collection Survival Skills—

Publishers Weekly: “Ryan controls devastating psychological material with tight prose, quick scene changes, and a scientist’s observant eye.”

By Cathy McNease, Herbalist

I have just taken a remarkable journey towards well being. What appeared impossible a short time ago, became a stepping stone to awakening. This journey began 5 years ago when I hurt my hip while gardening. The pain was so bad at the beginning, that I thought death would be a better choice. I wrote a will, put my home in a trust, and picked out my method of death for when the pain became unbearable. I spent every penny of my savings trying to “fix” my hip, short of surgery, with nothing helping the increasingly intense nerve pain from butt to foot. Enduring pain became my stance in life. Then, as hopelessness increased, the Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron, and her beautiful words, got inside my head and changed me. Actually, she changed my relationship with pain. She taught me that facing pain is the way through it, and provided meditation tools to do just that. My journey towards choosing life had begun. Meanwhile, my hip continued to degenerate to the point of constant pain that could be measured 10 out of a scale of 10. Yet, death was no longer on my radar as a solution.