Earlier this summer, alumni authors assembled their latest publications during 2024’s Reunion Weekend at the University of Mary Washington. More than 40 books were displayed during the event, covering poetry, short stories, novels, essays, biographies, travelogues, self-help books, children’s stories, and more.
Pick up these pages by classmates with a few summer reading recommendations below. Copies can also be found in Simpson Library or through online vendors. Kick back and read on …
Pushing Your Boundaries: A Memoir
By Jerri Barden Perkins, MD ’61
July 2023
Dr. Perkins’ memoir chronicles her fascinating life as a chemist, physician, researcher, author, and philanthropist. Growing up as a young woman in the 1950s, she went on to work with the Food and Drug Administration during the AIDS epidemic, established six scholarships to support UMW students, met Pope Francis during her world travels, and has made health and well-being a priority through teaching yoga and other athletic endeavors.
Along the way, she earned a chemistry degree from Mary Washington and a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia and completed a fellowship with the National Institutes of Health, where she conducted groundbreaking research into rheumatoid arthritis.
“We never know what awaits us on the road ahead and being open to possibilities could bring about many surprises,” the book’s description reads. “So just say ‘yes!’” All proceeds from the book’s sales support UMW’s General Scholarship Fund.
Everybody Here Is Kin
By BettyJoyce Nash ’73
Madville Publishing, September 2023
This coming-of-age novel was named first runner-up in the commercial fiction category for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Award.
Living on Boneyard Island, Georgia, 13-year-old Lucille navigates life without her mother, who left her and her half-siblings to rekindle a romance with an old flame. The book’s description reads: “Everybody Here Is Kin explores the lives of this sinking family, the island community, and fears of exposing wounds, old and new, when natural disaster forces them to trust, and depend on, strangers.”
BettyJoyce Nash’s writing has been published in literary journals, newspapers, magazines, and online. Her work has earned prestigious fellowships and awards, including from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, which selected her as a fiction fellow for the Tyrone Guthrie Center in Ireland. She currently teaches at WriterHouse, a nonprofit literary arts center in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Capitol Secrets: Leadership Wisdom from a Lifetime of Public Service
By William Leighty ’78
Holon Publishing/Collective Press, April 2023
As chief of staff to two former Virginia governors, Bill Leighty has shared moments with the likes of Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Hanks and enjoyed the satisfaction of a career promoting the common good. His recent memoir, Capitol Secrets, is packed with riveting anecdotes and insider details about getting things done at the highest levels of government.
He and wife Marti, both former UMW Board of Visitors members, returned to their alma mater in spring 2023 to announce a $100,000 philanthropic commitment to the William H. Leighty ’78 and Martha Kearns Leighty ’75 Fellows Program.
Proceeds from the book will support Mary Washington juniors and seniors who aspire to careers in state government, helping to provide funding for internships with state legislators, public officials, or state agencies.
What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better
By Jody Hobbs Hesler ’90
Cornerstone Press, October 2023
Jody Hobbs Hesler’s story collection is full of bleak portraits, including a young mother affected by the death of a loner in her community and a husband who is wracked with guilt over a long-term affair as his wife is dying.
“Told with restraint and deep compassion against the backdrop of Virginia back streets and small towns,” the book’s description reads, “[Hobbs’] collection shines with its portraits of longing, disconnection, and the ache for renewal and redemption that comes from our own frailties.”
Hobbs’ début novel, Without You Here, will be published by Cornerstone Press this fall. Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains, she teaches at Charlottesville’s WriterHouse and is assistant fiction editor for The Los Angeles Review.
Join the Mary Washington Mother of All Book Clubs to connect with fellow bibliophiles. The club, which is run by alumni volunteers, is open to alumni, students, families, faculty, and staff.
– Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04
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