The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib

Hi there.

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're talking about a title that just released last month via St. Martin's Press.  It covers a big topic in an amazing way, while allowing all the feels that go with it to boil over time and again with no regrets.  It's not a "pretty" story, in fact it's rather tragic...especially when you're reliving a memory through one person's eyes only to see it in an entirely new light when viewed from another's mind...and yet, I have no regrets about recommending it in the least.  Ladies and gents, I give you today's book of choice...

The Girls at 17 Swann Street

by

Yara Zgheib

9781250202444

St. Martin's Press

About the book...

The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.

Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.

Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.

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Honestly, I couldn't quite put it down. Once I got use to the style, which is sort of a cross between letters and conversations to ones self, I was all in...unfortunately unlike some of the girls. It's Fiction, but really hits home for so many and, in my humble opinion, does a good job with such a hot button topic.  It allows readers a chance to see how this disease affects everyone it touches...not just the person suffering from it, but EVERY SINGLE PERSON they come into contact with.  Whether it be their loved ones who care so much, but simply can't understand why they won't just eat...or their best friends with whom they've shared everything and yet can't find a why to share this burden...or the waitress who can't fathom why the person placing an order is taking everything down to the lowest common caloric intake possible...or the coworker that watches them waste away to next to nothing, yet all along thought they were perfectly perfect and strove to be like them...it's an invisible killer (to some degree), but it is just as deadly as a person with a knife.  

Though I've not suffered with either aspect of eating disorders as we know them, I have read a book or two that has featured them alongside their characters and I rather appreciated the time the author took to really delve into things.  It makes you realize it's not just that one meal, that one last bite, that one time offered slice of cake, but EVERY meal, EVERY bite, EVERY offer of a snack, drink, or candy that is hard.  The reasons behind what they do vary from person to person, as does the ability to get a hold of the disorder and make it a part of you instead of letting it become you, but it really comes down to the will of the person.  It doesn't matter how much someone else wants them to stop what they're doing and just BE HEALTHY; they have to want it too.  Having someone or something to see as the prize at the end of their struggle helps, but they have to want to do it for themselves as well...that proverbial rock bottom must be hit with them still willing to get back on their feet and try try again.

All in all, a deceivingly amazing read behind a curiously titled work that could easily fly beneath your reading radar...word of advice?  DON'T LET IT.  The characters are memorable, their stories as individual as they are, and their struggle shared, yet unique.  Side note...I also kinda like the ARC cover (seen above) more than the final version (see top of post).  Both work, but the vagueness felt in the ARC version seemed to fit the story better to me...what say you?

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About the author...

Yara Zgheib is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a PhD in International Affairs in Diplomacy from Centre D'études Diplomatiques et Stratégiques in Paris. She is fluent in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish. Yara is a writer for several US and European magazines, including The Huffington Post, The Four Seasons Magazine, A Woman’s Paris, The Idea List, and Holiday Magazine. She is the author of The Girls at 17 Swann Street and writes on culture, art, travel, and philosophy on her blog, "Aristotle at Afternoon Tea".

SITE  |  TUMBLR |  GOODREADS  |  INSTAGRAM

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Special thanks to the St. Martin's Press publishing team for the ARC for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

COVER REVEAL: Something of Substance by Tia Sounders + GIVEAWAY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're shining the spotlight on a new Young Adult Fiction title COMING SOON to a bookstore/virtual shelf near you.  It comes to us from an author that's penned a title or two, but this one in particular hits on a darker subject matter...eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder...and while not on the bright sunny side of things, these situations can and do happen.  So, if you're a fan of emotional and thought-provoking contemporary YA fiction, such as Before I Fall, Tell Me Three Things, and All The Bright Places, this one should definitely be on your must read list.  Ready or not, here comes today's big reveal...

Something of Substance

by

Tia Sounders

RELEASE DATE:  MARCH 28TH, 2018

About the book...

Seventeen-year-old Grace Michaels is determined to be thin, even if she dies trying.

Part of the in-crowd at Providence High, she is steps away from being asked out by the most desired guy at school, winning a prom queen nomination, and her parents’ approval. If she can just get skinny enough, be pretty enough, and popular enough.

But Grace is thin on the outside and fat on the inside. No amount of weight-loss ever seems enough. Convinced the melting pounds will solve her problems, every pound lost brings her closer to her goals. But flesh and bone can only hide the weight of her secret for so long before it kills her.

😊 😊 😊 😊 😊

Be notified when SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE releases!

Subscribe to Tia’s mailing list!

http://eepurl.com/deIqg5

~~~ EXCERPT ~~~

I count the days until prom like I count calories. Ninety-eight days. Thirteen hundred calories.

I almost puke at the number.

Thirteen hundred. Maybe. I’m not even sure, which scares me more than the weight of the number.

How could I not keep track? And how could I go over? Do I really have no self-control? If I keep this up, I’ll be right back where I started—fat and unpopular.

My forehead beads with sweat and my fingers twitch, as I glance at my alarm clock—only three a.m. I turn on my side, then get up, knowing there’s no falling back asleep now. Not with all the numbers running through my head. Not with the fat I must’ve stored throughout the night resettling on my thighs like it found its way back home.

I tip-toe away, out of bed, afraid someone might hear me, which is unrealistic since my mother’s snore rivals a bass drum and my father sleeps like the dead. As for my sister, Kelly, she couldn’t care less what I do.

When I come to a stop in front of the full-length mirror on my bedroom door, I don’t even take the time to assess my silhouette in the moonlight. Instead, I lift the soft cotton of my t-shirt. My eyes home in on my ribs, barely visible under a layer of fat, then move to the paunch above the drawstring of my pajama bottoms. I poke at the skin there and grimace at the cushion I find. All I see are the two cookies I ate at Cara’s house last night and I wonder how many calories were in each bite. Fifty? Twenty-five? I have no idea and my ignorance scares me. I had fun and felt too safe, too included. I let those feelings cloud my judgment and lull me, blanket me into false security, where I allowed myself to lose control.

Stupid.

As I lower my shirt, I silently berate myself, then drop to the floor and lie on my back. With closed eyes, I cross my arms over my chest and start sit-ups. I count as I go. One. Two. Three. I do this until the memory of the cookie fades and my abdomen aches. When I can do no more, I stand back up and bend forward in a deep lunge. I ensure my knee touches the ground each time, my legs at perfect ninety-degree angles. Ten laps around my room, I tell myself, then I’ll try and go back to sleep.

I once read sleep burns more calories than lying awake, something about your body recalibrating your metabolism. I don’t buy it. Regardless, there’s no way sleep burns more than lunging, so as my thighs begin to burn and catch fire, I allow the sensation to ease the fluttering in my chest and the rise of bile in my throat.

Right lunge. It will be okay. Left lunge. I’ll be okay.

I won’t gain ten pounds from two cookies.

But I could gain one.

When I finish, slightly sweat-damp and out of breath, but feeling a tiny bit better, I get back under the covers of my bed. Though I’m too hot with the thick comforter pulled up tight under my chin, I leave it there because it will make me sweat. And while perspiring won’t burn excess fat, it might help me lose water weight, giving me the tiniest bit of peace to help me relax into the mattress and slip off into a light slumber.

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CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

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About the author...

Tia Souders is the author of bestselling women’s fiction novel, Waiting On Hope and the upcoming award-winning young adult novel Better Than This (formerly titled Freedom Road). When she isn’t writing, she’s likely renovating their century home. She’s a wine-loving, coffeeholic, with a sweet tooth and resides on a farm in rural Ohio with her husband and children.


 Website | Facebook | FB Street Team| Instagram

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Special thanks to author Tia Sounders for the chance to bring this bookish celebration to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or her other works, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is set to release MARCH 28TH, so mark your calendar, sign up for a reminder, or pre order your copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Pound for Pound by Shannon Kopp

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're shining the spotlight on a true story of love in adversity, finding yourself among your own emotional wreckage, and the reality of how life changing our fur babies can be.  It's a title that came to my attention thanks to FSB Associates that released the end of last year, but regardless of time, place, or self recognition in the subject matter, it will touch your heart and bring you to tears (trust me, I was bawling while trying to explain what the book was about later on in the work).  Ladies and gents, grab your furry friend as we embark on a journey through the pages to explore...

Pound for Pound:

A Story of One Woman's Recovery and the Shelter Dogs Who Loved Her Back to Life

by

Shannon Kopp

9780062370228

William Morrow

About the book...

The brave, inspiring story of one woman's recovery from a debilitating eating disorder, and the remarkable shelter dogs who unexpectedly loved her back to life.

“The dogs don’t judge me or give me a motivational speech. They don’t rush me to heal or grow. They sit in my lap and lick my face and make me feel chosen. And sometimes, it hits me hard that I'm doing the exact thing I say I cannot do. Changing.”

Pound for Pound is an inspirational tale about one woman’s journey back to herself, and a heartfelt homage to the four-legged heroes who unexpectedly saved her life.

For seven years, Shannon Kopp battled the silent, horrific, and all-too-common disease of bulimia. Then, at twenty-four, she got a job working at the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA, where in caring for shelter dogs, she found the inspiration to heal and the courage to forgive herself. With the help of some extraordinary homeless animals, Shannon realized that her suffering was the birthplace of something beautiful. Compassion.

Shannon’s poignant memoir is a story of hope, resilience, and the spiritual healing animals bring to our lives. Pound for Pound vividly reminds us that animals are more than just friends and companions—they can teach us how to savor the present moment and reclaim our joy. Rich with emotion and inspiration it is essential reading for animal lovers and everyone who has struggled to change.

PUBLISHER  |  AMAZON  |  B&N  |  BAM  |  INDIEBOUND

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I start every Memoir review the same...they are hard to review.  You can't judge them the same way you would a work of Fiction, after all...this was someone's LIFE.  It is what it is or rather what they made of it; we're just here to come along for the ride afterward.

Here, we have a woman whom had struggled with her inner demons throughout her life.  They started out small but grew over time, and as it seemed, no manner of therapists, psychologists, medications, or close friends were going to be the saving technique to pull her through.  So, what was...as this isn't a book written postmortem...?  ANIMALS but more specifically, those four legged friends many call themselves parents to (*raises both hands*)...DOGS.  Though people showed her understanding, lent their ears, shoulders, and time, welcomed her into their homes and their hearts, nothing ever quite broke her protective shell like the unconditional love emanating from the eyes, nose, tongue, and tail of a dog.  Whether stray, family, or current "pound puppy" seeking a forever home, she felt their tug on her heart the moment she sighted their happy grins, recognized how they accepted her as she was with their playful antics, and longed for the freedom they expressed as they seized the moment every second of the day.

Now, Shannon's story isn't one big happy ending in the making once she finds her comfort within the canine ranks.  No siree.  There is much heartache ahead for our narrator, and those she cares for along the way.  I'm sad to say that not every encounter led to a happy ending, and your heart will truly break as she struggles valiantly to save one soul in particular (*SPOILER ALERT* - she manages to make the impossible possible!  Sorry, had to share that...pet lovers would kill me for leaving them in a lurch like that!). In time she is stronger for all she's been through and finds the balance, the love for others, and HERSELF that she needed all along.  She puts that newfound strength to good use in not simply healing her own life, but those of the pups needing love, care, and forever homes in her home area...something that many of us can achieve on a smaller level at least by volunteering our time at our own local shelters.

In the end, I learned as much about eating disorders and how they affect the mind, body, and soul, as I did about the HUGE role animals play in our own welfare (though that latter part I know first hand).  It's hard watching someone go through struggles in life, but a work like this serves several purposes.  First as a reach out for those experiencing similar issues in life; there is a way out, a light at the end of the tunnel...it's simply a matter of getting the help you need and continuing to reach for that goal.  Second, as a reminder that everyone has their own obstacles to overcome in life;  big or small at the time, it's a journey none of us can escape.  Last but not least, the overwhelming positive affects that our furry companions can have on our lives but also that WE can have on THEIRS. 

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About the author...

Shannon Kopp, author of Pound for Pound, is a writer, eating disorder survivor, and animal welfare advocate. She has worked and volunteered at various animal shelters throughout San Diego and Los Angeles, where shelter dogs helped her to discover a healthier, more joyful way of living. Her mission is to help every shelter dog find a loving home, and to raise awareness about eating disorders and animal welfare issues. 

SITE  |  FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER

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Special thanks to Leyane at FSB Associates for the copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, or those promotions on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now via William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time...happy reading!