Robbin (Franklin) Armstrong, the creator of "JumpStart," was born on on March 4, 1962, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At the age of 3, Robbin found his vocation by falling in love with the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles Schulz. He was captivated by the stories told through simple but deft drawings, and spent the next three years perfecting his rendition of Charlie Brown. Little did Robbin know that before he turned 27, he would have not only syndicated his own strip but also meet his hero. Robbin become a protegé and a lifelong friend of Schulz, who immortalized Robbin in "Peanuts" as Franklin Armstrong: a character Schulz introduced shortly after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968.
Drawing did not come easily for Robbin, but with steady work and perseverance, he mastered drawing Charlie Brown and Snoopy, followed by characters from "The Flintstones" and a strip called "Wee Pals." The latter was created by Morrie Turner, who would be another mentor to Robbin, introducing him to Schulz and to the world of syndication.
After high school, Robbin pursued and earned a bachelor’s of fine arts degree from Syracuse University.
In addition to his studies, he created and penned a strip called "Hector" that ran in the Daily Orange newspaper. Through juggling his classes and the strip, he learned self-discipline, how to balance play with work and how to push himself mentally and creatively -- habits that come in handy in any career, but especially as a professional syndicated cartoonist.
Robbin stuck with "Hector" after graduating, but when he was unable to get it syndicated, he ultimately created "JumpStart." This strip hit all the right notes, and Robb achieved the Holy Grail of cartooning -- syndication -- in 1989. Unlike many modern cartoonists, Robbin still draws his strip by hand in order to ensure that the art feels dynamic. He finds his humor and inspiration in everyday life, in his own family and from random conversations. "JumpStart" focuses on universal truths about life from people of all ages and races; Robbin believes that it is the shared commonality of life that makes readers truly stop, read and laugh. People Magazine called Robb Armstrong one of the hottest cartoonists in America. His award-winning comic strip, JumpStart is published every day in The LA Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Daily News, The Boston Globe and over 250 other newspapers here in the U.S. and abroad. It can also be seen daily on the internet at gocomics.com. A new book about his life has been published by Readers' Digest called "FEARLESS: A Cartoonist's Guide to Life". It is receiving rave reviews from the likes of Charles Schulz and Quincy Jones. (five-star reviews are available to read at amazon.com). Mr. Armstrong has been featured on Good Morning America, MSNBC, CNN, B.E.T. and Good Day Philadelphia. Articles about Robb have appeared in TIME Magazine, PEOPLE, Ebony and BLACK ENTERPRISE. Cartoons by Robbhave also been published in THE NEW YORKER. His JumpStart characters are also on display in Orlando Florida as part of Universal Studios ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE theme park. Robb has spoken at The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian Institute, and Syracuse University where he graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He has also visited numerous Colleges and high schools around the country, using his incredible life story to inspire others.
About Fearless
Robb Armstrong is one of the lucky ones. Today, Robb is a nationally syndicated cartoonist in more than 300 publications and his strip was accepted in 1989 when black cartoonists were typically overlooked. He was able to meet his idol Charles Schulz who then became a mentor and friend for the rest of his life. And, he works for himself by drawing cartoons - at home where he is able to spend time with his wife Crystal and kids.
But Robb’s life wasn’t always so charmed. Born and raised in a rough neighborhood in West Philadelphia, Robb was one of five fatherless kids living in a cramped, dilapidated apartment where the electric bill didn’t always get paid. And his childhood was marked with tragedy; his older brother was killed in a horrific subway accident, his remaining brother nearly beaten to death by the police for being in the wrong place
Yet, Robb was able to overcome these dire obstacles through viewing them through the eye as a cartoonist, by observing the universal challenges, tragedies and triumphs each of us face and using that enrich his brand of funnies - poking fun at our everyday routines and offering us wry insights about ourselves. This book is a guide how he found his life purpose through weaving together personal stories with easy drawing tutorials and encouraging us all to find purpose in our lives.
Tom Coyne is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author who has been publishing golf stories since 2001. His first book was a the novel A Gentleman’s Game, which was named one of the best 25 sports books of all time by The Philadelphia Daily News. He wrote the film adaptation of the novel, which starred Gary Sinise, Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker, and Mason Gamble. His second book, Paper Tiger: An Obsessed Golfer’s Quest to Play with the Pros was released June 2006, and was an editor’s pick in Esquire Magazine and USA Today, and a summer reading selection in The New York Times. His third book, A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee, was published by Gotham Books in February, 2009, and it chronicles his quest to walk and golf the whole of Ireland. The book was a New York Times, American Booksellers Association, and Barnes & Noble bestseller, and won a silver medal from the Society of American Travel Writers in the category of Best Travel Book of the Year. His anticipated follow-up to A Course Called Ireland was released by Simon & Schuster in 2018: A Course Called Scotland was an instant New York Times bestseller, and chronicles Tom’s quest to play every links course in Scotland, searching the highlands for the secret to golf and a tee time in the oldest championship in sports. Tom’s travel trilogy reaches its conclusion with the release of A Course Called America from Avid Reader/Simon & Schuster in May of 2021. The story follows Tom as he plays his way across all 50 states, searching for the great American golf course. Tom is Senior Writer and podcast host at The Golfer’s Journal, and has written for Golf Magazine, Golfweek, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, and numerous other publications. He is also a host and writer for the travel television series, “The Links Life.” Tom earned an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Notre Dame, where he won the William Mitchell Award for distinguished achievement. He lives outside Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters, and he is an associate professor of English at St. Joseph’s University.
About A Course Called Scotland
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “One of the best golf books this century.” —Golf Digest
From Tom Coyne—the author of the New York Times bestselling A Course Called Ireland, hailed as “a joy from start to finish” by The Wall Street Journal—comes the heartfelt and humorous celebration of his quest to play golf on every links course in Scotland, the birthplace of the game he loves.
For much of his adult life, bestselling author Tom Coyne has been chasing a golf ball around the globe. When he was in college, studying abroad in London, he entered the lottery for a prized tee time in Scotland, grabbing his clubs and jumping the train to St. Andrews as his friends partied in Amsterdam; later, he golfed the entirety of Ireland’s coastline, chased pros through the mini-tours, and attended grueling Qualifying Schools in Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Yet, as he watched the greats compete, he felt something was missing. Then one day a friend suggested he attempt to play every links course in Scotland, and qualify for the greatest championship in golf.
The result is A Course Called Scotland, a hilarious golf and travel adventure throughout the birthplace of the sport and home to some of the oldest and most beloved courses in the world, including St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Prestwick, Troon, and Carnoustie. With his signature blend of storytelling, humor, history, and insight, Coyne weaves together his journey to more than 100 legendary links courses in Scotland with compelling threads of golf history and witty insights into the contemporary home of golf. As he journeys Scotland in search of the game’s secrets, he discovers new and old friends, rediscovers the peace and power of the sport, and, most importantly, reaffirms the ultimate connection between the game and the soul. It is a rollicking love letter to Scotland and golf as no one has attempted it before.
Purchase books at www.TomCoyne.com/Books.
Jim Murray is the co-founder of the Ronald McDonald House and a former General Manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a native of West Philadelphia and is also president of Jim Murray Ltd, a sports promotion and marketing firm.
The son of Irish-Catholic parents who worked long hours at hard jobs, he grew up in a rowhouse in West Philadelphia and attended Our Mother of Sorrows Parish grade school and West Catholic High School. He graduated from Villanova University in 1960. Jim is the brother of Francis W. Murray, who was also influenced by the NFL, in the late 1980s, after Jim’s tenure as GM with the Eagles had ended due to the financial pressures faced by Leonard Tose, the former owner of the Eagles. This influence was truly based in their childhoods, as both brothers, growing up poor Irish kids in West Philadelphia, sought the sanctuary of sports in a tough neighborhood where a basketball court was an impenetrable fort.
Jim and Fran preferred a ball rather than a book, and athletics became a metaphor for where life was a game and to live your dream was the only way to score. One generation later, Jim would influence his nephew and the youngest son of his brother Fran, an independent award-winning filmmaker named T Patrick Murray who produced for ESPN a football documentary entitled THE LAST GAME to which USA Today critic Mike Clark awarded “4 out of 4 stars.”
Jim began his career in sports administration with the Tidewater Tides of baseball’s South Atlantic League. After a tour of active duty with the Marine Corps Reserve, he returned to baseball as assistant general manager of the Atlanta Crackers, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1964, he left baseball to enter the restaurant business in Malibu, California, but returned to Villanova as sports information director in 1966.
In 1969, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles’ public relations staff and became the NFL team’s administrative assistant two years later. In 1974, five years after joining the organization, Murray was named general manager for the Eagles. For more than nine years, Murray served as general manager and took the franchise from the NFL’s cellar to Super Bowl heights. In 1976, he and owner Leonard Tose hired Dick Vermeil as head coach. From 1978 through 1981, the Eagles made the NFL playoffs. After the 1980 season, the Eagles played the Raiders in Super Bowl XV, which was the first Super Bowl appearance in the franchise’s history prior to 2005. Murray left the Eagles in 1983.
During his 14 years with the Eagles, Murray assumed leadership roles in a number of community projects. He helped start the successful Eagles Fly for Leukemia campaign. He was the co-founder of the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia along with Dr. Audrey Evans and persuaded many of his peers in the NFL to become involved in the unique Ronald McDonald House concept. The Ronald McDonald Houses provide temporary homes, at little or no cost, for the families of children undergoing treatment for various illnesses at nearby hospitals. Started in Philadelphia in 1974, there are now over 350 Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide and More than 525,000 volunteers! These activities have endeared Murray to people all around the Philadelphia area. AWARDS: His numerous honors and awards include the first annual Leonard Tose Award in 2002, Citizen of the Year Award from the American Medical Association in 1999, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Legion in 1992, inducted into the Philadelphia City All-Star Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, President Ronald Reagan’s Medal for Volunteers of America in 1987, the prestigious Bert Bell Man of the Year Award from the Bakers Club of Philadelphia in 1983, 2005 Award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership given by the Catholic Leadership Institute.
Murray and his wife, Dianne, reside in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. They have five children and four grandchildren.
Stephen McWilliams
Steve McWilliams teaches in the Communication and Theater programs at Villanova University. Steve received his M.F.A. and Ph.D. from Temple University. Steve has written, directed, produced and acted for the stage, screen, and television. He has produced, co-produced, and directed several award-winning documentaries. His film work with the disabled community has earned him, and his colleagues, several awards including the “Broader Vision Award” from the Garden State Film Association, the United Cerebral Palsy National Service Award, the First Financial Disability Advocacy Award. His work in social justice advocacy film has been recognized by the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Main Line Magazine, ESPN, NBC10, CBS3, and 6ABC.
He has authored three books including, “Green Bananas", "The Wisdom of Father Bill Atkinson,” and “Life’s an Audible: The Jimmy Murray Story.” He is the creator and co-producer of the sports documentary show, “Mission Possible with Eric Legrand,” which aired on Fox Sports. Currently he is developing a docu-sports series for Hispanic television with producing partner John Robertson.
His stage plays including have been produced and staged throughout the United States. McWilliams produced and directed the film, “The Way We Roll.” The screenplay, “The Way We Roll,” was co-written by McWilliams and disabled writer Frank Kineavy. McWilliams recently produced and directed the short film, “The Gun” written by Emmy award writer Patrick Nolan.
His current documentary projects include a film on the Gray Panthers of Greaterford Prison entitled, “The Mayor of Greaterford.” Steve recently returned from Cambodia with his film partner Matt Marencik, where they filmed a project working with several NGO’s that will be a documentary covering land mine and explosive ordinance clearing in that country. He co-produced “Relentless” and “Warrior Class,” with partners John O’Leary and Matthew Marencik.
McWilliams and Marencik have worked extensively in video marketing for non-profit companies producing messaging pieces for many organizations including Theraplay, Overbrook School for the Blind, Villanova University, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inn Dwelling, Gearing Up, Mothers In Charge, Face to Face, the ARC, and Villanova University. McWilliams and Marencik have produced several educational training films for college health departments around issues of Title IX. He has produced documentaries for Special Olympics, The National Polio Survivors Association, and St. Francis DeSales School.
McWilliams and his partners, Matt Marencik and John Stefanic founded Youth Solution Film in 2014. YSF is a creative film/leadership program for high school students. Their project “Bridging the Gap” received national recognition by advocacy and law enforcement organizations across the United States.
In 2020, McWilliams and John Roberts founded Adept, a non-profit company that assists disabled artist in developing and producing their creative works for market distribution.
About Life Is An Audible, The Jimmy Murray Story
In 1974, the Eagles and McDonalds teamed up with Audrey Evans, M.D. and Jimmy Murray to create the world’s first Ronald McDonald House.
Many teams in the NFL followed and created Houses in their home cities and the Houses have now spread throughout the world.
Jimmy Murray, Leonard Tose and their team – including legendary coach, Dick Vermeil – led the Philadelphia Eagles to the Superbowl. But their lasting legacy will be the partnership which built the first Ronald McDonald House and sparked an idea that keeps growing and brings honor to the NFL, McDonalds, and all who give their hearts, money and time to help children and their families in times of dire need.
In “Life is an Audible” we are entertained and taken inside the world of professional sports by a man who is a natural born storyteller. We know that some Irishmen have the “gift of the gab”…one might think that some stories are somewhat “tall” and that the lad’s full of mullarkey … “So, Jimmy, the Pope spots you in a crowd of one million holding up your son, and came over and blessed the boy … then, years later, remembered it when you visited him at his private residence at Castel Gandolfo … you’re sure about this?” A few days later, Jimmy sends you pictures. So when he tells you about running a restaurant in Malibu and hanging out with Peter Lawford and the Hollywood crowd, you have to believe the man. As a recent Villanova grad, heading for his job with the “Atlanta Crackers” (yep, the name’s for real!), he stops by Bill Veeck’s house after writing to ask if he can pick the guy’s brains and the famous baseball owner – who sent in midget Eddie Gaedel to pinch-hit for his Cleveland Indians with the bases loaded in the 9th – of course, says “Sure kid!” to young Jimmy Murray who then spends hours at his house swapping stories like kindred spirits!
Jimmy Murray’s a non-stop storyteller with a heart of gold and the integrity to match – a man raised by solid parents who dropped him at the Augustinian Seminary in Staten Island as a young lad only to have him arrive home after he and his accomplices were thrown out into the cold after shenanigans that left no doubt that the priesthood was not his destiny! Jimmy’s path led to Leonard Tose and the rest is history.
Read it, and laugh and cheer for a good man who has made the world a better place!
“Life Is An Audible” is a collaboration between the publisher, Harrowood Books and Life Is An Audible, LLC.
Purchase at www.LifeIsAnAudible.org/Order-Your-Book/
The Whiteheads are co-founders of the Emily Whitehead Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research. The Whitehead Family travels worldwide as keynote speakers to inspire others and advocate for research funding to develop less toxic childhood cancer treatments. Tom Whitehead works as a journeyman lineman for a power company, and Kari Whitehead is a registered dietitian-nutritionist and research project manager. Emily Whitehead attends high school and plans to become a filmmaker and artist. The Whiteheads live in Central Pennsylvania with their chihuahua Luna.
Author and journalist Danelle Morton has collaborated on sixteen books including four New York Times bestsellers.
About Praying for Emily: The Faith, Science, and Miracles that Saved Our Daughter
Discover the incredible true story of Emily Whitehead, the first child to receive CAR-T cell therapy for leukemia, and learn how faith and science guided her family in the fight for her life.
When their five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, Tom and Kari Whitehead’s world was shattered. They vowed to do whatever it took to help their daughter. As they made decisions about how to best treat her, Tom found his faith coming to him in “whispers,” guiding his decisions and keeping his hope alive, while Kari placed great faith in science and the doctors surrounding her little girl. However, as Emily’s condition continued to worsen, they both prayed for a miracle.
Then, their miracle arrived, in the form of an experimental treatment called CAR-T cell therapy that, against all odds, saved Emily’s life. Because of Emily’s miraculous recovery, this treatment is now used widely to treat cancer. The treatment has saved hundreds of lives and promises to help thousands more. For all the acclaim and attention this important new approach to treating cancer has received, few know the full story of all it took to make this miracle happen.
In Praying for Emily, the Whiteheads share their story, recounting the belief, resilience, and support that got them through the most difficult time of their lives.
Purchase at www.PrayingForEmily.com.
Lu Ann Cahn is the author of the inspirational memoir I Dare Me, an entertaining look back on a year that changed everything for her. The book grew out of a blog called Year of Firsts, which chronicled this veteran journalist, mother and survivor’s daily adventures as she pushed herself to try something new for every single day – an effort to get her life “unstuck,” as her daughter put it.
She went on this year long adventure while working her full-time “day job” as an 8-time Emmy award-winning journalist with NBC10 News in Philadelphia. Cahn’s journey eventually led to a major career change. In December 2014, she left her 40-year career in broadcast news to dare audiences across the country and to help launch the next generation of communicators at Temple University. Cahn is the Director of Career Services for Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication.
Cahn is well known in Philadelphia where she worked for WCAU-TV for 27 years. She filled many roles —breaking news reporter, anchor, and entertainment show host – but is most well known for her years as a hard-charging investigative reporter with a talent for uncovering scandals and scams. In 2005, Lu Ann won a National Emmy for her undercover investigative story “Dirty Little Secret” about an illegal bar run by elected officials in their dry town.
In 1991 Cahn made local and national news when she publicly told her story of battling breast cancer after a missed diagnosis when she was only 35. Her 1992 special report “Breast Cancer: My Personal Story” won her a national Clarion award and two Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmys.
Cahn also had surgery for ulcerative colitis and kidney cancer. She regularly speaks on behalf of Living Beyond Breast Cancer, other area cancer support groups and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. She hopes her survivor experience inspires others.
Earlier in her career, Cahn worked at stations in Jacksonville, Florida; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Huntsville, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Miami, Florida.
Cahn is married to retired NBC10 news photographer Phil Houser. Their daughter, Alexa Houser, is the host of the inspirational podcast InnerBloom.
About I Dare Me
Feeling stuck?
Veteran journalist and cancer survivor Lu Ann Cahn was feeling angry and frustrated. The economy was tanking. Her job was changing. In a word, she felt “stuck.”
Something had to change. Her daughter helped convince her to start a “Year of Firsts.” For the next 365 days, Cahn made a point of doing something she had never done before, every day. Before she knew it, her whole perspective on life had changed. In this inspiring book, Lu Ann recounts how a new “first” everyday brought excitement and wonder back into her world. And more than that, she helps readers see how they can do it too.
• Participate in a Polar Bear Plunge
• Speak to a complete stranger on the street
• Zip-line across a crocodile-infested Mexican lake
• Spend a day in a wheelchair
• Learn to Hula Hoop
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and author of the New York Times bestseller Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which is being adapted as a television series. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The Atlantic’s weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column and contributes regularly to The New York Times and many other publications. Her recent TED Talk is one of the top 10 most watched of the year. A member of the Advisory Council for Bring Change to Mind and advisor to the Aspen Institute, she is a sought-after expert in media such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The CBS This Morning, CNN, and NPR’s “Fresh Air.” She is also the co-host of the new iHeart Radio podcast, “Dear Therapists,” produced by Katie Couric. Learn more at LoriGottlieb.com or by following her on Twitter @LoriGottlieb1 and Instagram @lorigottlieb_author.
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone
“Ingenious, inspiring, tender, and funny. Lori Gottlieb bravely takes her readers on a guided tour into the self.” —Amy Dickinson, “Ask Amy” columnist and author of Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things
Every year, nearly 30 million Americans sit on a therapist’s couch—and some of these patients are therapists. In her remarkable new book, Lori Gottlieb tells us that despite her license and rigorous training, her most significant credential is that she’s a card-carrying member of the human race. “I know what it’s like to be a person,” she writes, as a crisis causes her world to come crashing down.
Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients’ lives—a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can’t stop hooking up with the wrong guys (even one from the waiting room)—she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.
With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb reveals our blind spots, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.
Purchase here.
Sherry V. Ostroff is the author of THE LUCKY ONE, a memoir, and award-winning CALEDONIA, a historical novel. Originally, from Philadelphia, Ostroff earned a Bachelor's in education from Temple University and a Master's in history from Millersville University. She taught all levels: elementary, secondary and college. Ostroff devotes her time to writing, family, reading, and traveling. She lives with her high school sweetheart in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
About Calendonia
Anna Issac’s choices are bleak. Suicide might be the only option rather than marry the revolting Frenchman her spiteful brother has chosen for her. Her only other choice is to beg a man she barely knows, a Highlander, to help her run away. Escape would be a challenge for any fifteen-year-old, but it is particularly difficult for a Jewess living in 17th century Scotland.
Anna’s tale would have remained a secret, except three centuries later the death of Hanna Duncan's father on 9/11 unleashes a chain of events that leads her to an ancient key with a peculiar etching. Once deciphered, the clue points Hanna toward a safe deposit box in Edinburgh where Hanna uncovers Anna’s role in the creation of Scotland’s only colony.
Caledonia promised to be the trading hub of the New World, but starvation, ship’s fever, and incompetent leadership dogged the 1,200 colonists from the moment they left Scotland. More than half would be buried at sea or in the colony's muddy cemetery, and Anna would not be immune from the dreadful conditions. The outpost was deserted in less than a year.
Perfect for those who love historical fiction, CALEDONIA is a tale of these two strong women separated by time but bound by mysterious circumstances. 21st century Hanna keeps uncovering evidence linking her to 17th century Anna. Both women experience romance, adventure, and tragedy as the reader witnesses them becoming more and more connected.
Purchase here.
Though I live just outside Philadelphia now, I was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest child of a textile executive and nurse-turned-architect. My mother is Canadian and my father was born in D.C. so my older brother and sister and I were the first people in our family to have southern accents. The three of us enjoyed a pretty normal childhood, enjoying Greensboro’s great public schools (go Whirlies!), putting on skits, playing ping pong and Bingo at the now defunct Bur-Mill Club, and hugging our golden retriever to death (not literally, but close).
After high school, I found myself at the University of Delaware majoring in History and Journalism, intending to become the world’s most fabulous and fashionable museum curator. But instead of to the Smithsonian, life delivered me into the vague and all-encompassing field of “public relations,” a career I would have for more than fifteen years (and still do, though now for only one beloved client). PR has no easy or exact definition but let me try: For many years, I helped other people explain their businesses, announce mergers, get elected, sell product, influence public opinion and minimize/avoid/redefine catastrophe, while enjoying many a free catered buffet, corporate junket and brainstorming-session-turned-happy-hour.
As a flack, I made some life-long friends, moved from one great mid-Atlantic city to the other (before settling in Philadelphia); got hired, fired, hired again; and eventually started my own PR shop. Along the way, I lucked in to a great relationship and that man and I have been together now for fifteen years. We have two glorious kids, a girl and a boy, who make every day both magical and exhausting. NOTE: These children may be similar to the children described in my book, though my daughter Lulu is not a brat and she hates pink. (And yes, she made me clarify that.)
So where does the novel come in? After fifteen years of writing almost every day for other people, on October 26th, 2012, I began writing THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. The idea came to me when I saw a photo in a magazine of a man I almost dated years before. After my husband and I had a few laughs about how much better my life would have been with him (yuck, yuck), even days later, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. Why do we make the decisions we make? Why does life take us where it takes us? And why do we always imagine the road not taken as far better---never far worse?
Writing this book has given me answers to those questions, and so much more. It has taught me to appreciate not only my own life’s path, but the million and one decisions that kept me on it. It has taught me that those steps are not necessarily random, and that with time, they can be understood. And when needed, forgiven.
But most importantly, writing this book has taught me that the past is just the boring, old past. What lies ahead is the delicious mystery.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope you never look back.
- Leigh
About The One That Got Away
Meet Abbey Lahey . . .
Overworked mom. Underappreciated publicist. Frazzled wife of an out-of-work landscaper. A woman desperately in need of a vacation from life--and who is about to get one, thanks to an unexpected tumble down a Nordstrom escalator.
Meet Abbey van Holt . . .
The woman whose life Abbey suddenly finds herself inhabiting when she wakes up. Married to handsome congressional candidate Alex van Holt. Living in a lavish penthouse. Wearing ball gowns and being feted by the crème of Philadelphia society. Luxuriating in the kind of fourteen-karat lifestyle she's only read about in the pages of Town & Country.
The woman Abbey might have been . . . if she had said yes to a date with Alex van Holt all those years ago.
In the tradition of the romantic comedy Sliding Doors and Lionel Shriver's The Post-Birthday World, Leigh Himes's irresistible debut novel tells the funny and touching story of an ordinary woman offered an extraordinary opportunity to reboot her life, explore the road not taken, and ultimately, find her true self---whoever that may be.
Brad is a husband and a dad, and when he's holding the parenting reins, he likes to go all out. For him that means leading an egg drop competition from the third-floor window of his family's home or heading up indoor games of baseball and hockey, and then having to explain why something else is now in pieces. Luckily, his wife, Mia, is understanding.
Brad is deeply involved with youth nonprofits. He’s on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters and Hopeworks, and he also teaches entrepreneurship at Hopeworks. Brad has also volunteered several summers as a counselor at Ronald McDonald Camp.
One day, Brad hopes to be famous for co-founding a national holiday that features a seven-foot-tall orange tree and more than fifty stuffed monkeys (see chapter nine in HumanKind). In the meantime, he works with tech startups and writes books.
Brad and his family live in Philadelphia.
About HumanKind
Brad Aronson's life changed in an instant when his wife, Mia, was diagnosed with leukemia. After her diagnosis, Brad spent most of the next two and a half years either by her side as she received treatment or trying to shield their five-year-old son, Jack, from the worst of Mia's illness. Amid the stress and despair of waiting for the treatment to work, Brad and Mia were met by an outpouring of kindness from friends, family and even complete strangers.
Inspired by the many demonstrations of "humankindness" that supported their family through Mia's recovery, Brad began writing about the people who rescued his family from that dark time, often with the smallest of gestures. But he didn't stop there. Knowing that simple acts of kindness transform lives across the globe every day, he sought out these stories and shares some of the best ones here.
In HumanKind, you'll meet the mentor who changed a child's life with a single lesson in shoe tying, the six-year-old who launched a global kindness movement, the band of seamstress grandmothers who mend clothes for homeless people, and many other heroes.
Brad also provides dozens of ways you can make a difference through the simplest words and deeds. You'll discover how buying someone a meal or sharing a little encouragement at the right time can change someone's world, as well as your own.
The resource section at the back of the book provides guidance and organizations that will help you channel and amplify your own acts of kindness.
HumanKind will leave you grateful for what you have and provide a refuge from the negativity that surrounds us. This feel-good book will touch your heart. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll be reminded of what really matters.
All author royalties go to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
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