In her author’s note, Marion Winik writes that in Mexico on the Day of the Dead, “people build altars to their loved ones . . . they go to the cemetery and stay all night, praying, singing, drinking, wailing. They tell the sad stories and the noble ones; they eat cookies shaped like skeletons. They celebrate and mourn at once.” Striking that balance, The Glen Rock Book of the Dead presents snapshot portraits of The Jeweler, The Driving Instructor, The Bad Influence, The Queen of New Jersey—and roughly fifty others who have touched Winik’s life, from her son’s second grade teacher to Keith Haring. Tied together by the inimitable, poignant voice of Winik, these losses form not only an autobiography but a story of our time, delivering a lyrical journey that ultimately raises the spirits.

If you love David Sedaris, you’ll have to read Marion Winik’s anything-but-traditional tales of traveling with her cranky family in tow. From lost teenagers and missed connections to overpriced drinks and gambling mishaps, Winik–author of seven memoirs, and a Morning Edition commentator on NPR– illuminates the unexpected pleasures of journeying out of your comfort zone. Ranging from Paris to Peru, from New Orleans to Uganda to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, these travel essays are full of life, humor, and humanity. Whether or not you’re hitting the road solo or with loved ones trailing behind, you’ll want these on your e-reader before you set out.

"Winik has many gifts as a writer, but one I appreciate the most is her ability to write about the hardest, darkest subjects with a light, knowing hand." —Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, in praise for The Glen Rock Book of the Dead When Cheryl Strayed was asked by The Boston Globe to name a book she finds herself recommending time and again, she chose The Glen Rock Book of the Dead. Now that beloved book has a sequel, The Baltimore Book of the Dead, another collection of portraits of the dead, their compressed narratives weaving a unusual, richly populated memoir. Approaching mourning and memory with intimacy, humor, and an eye for the idiosyncratic, the story begins in the 1960s in Marion Winik's native New Jersey, moves through Austin, Texas and rural Pennsylvania, and settles in her current home of Baltimore. Winik begins with a portrait of her mother, the Alpha, introducing locales and language around...

A cross between Nora Ephron and David Sedaris, longtime NPR commentator Marion Winik has a uniquely hilarious and relatable way of looking at life. Her stories of being single in middle age, marked by stylish writing and stunning candor, left readers bent double with laughter when they appeared in her column, rated "Best of Baltimore" by Baltimore Magazine.Highs in the Low Fifties follows Winik's attempt to rebuild her world as a once-widowed, once-divorced single mom. With her signature optimism, resilience, and poor judgment, Winik dives into a series of ill-starred romantic experiences. Her clarity about her mistakes and ability to find humor in the darkest moments—in love, and in all parts of life—has won her a growing crowd of devoted followers . . . and a few voyeurs.

If you love David Sedaris, you'll have to read Marion Winik's anything-but-traditional tales of traveling with her cranky family in tow. From lost teenagers and missed connections to overpriced drinks and gambling mishaps, Winik–author of seven memoirs, and a Morning Edition commentator on NPR– illuminates the unexpected pleasures of journeying out of your comfort zone. Ranging from Paris to Peru, from New Orleans to Uganda to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, these travel essays are full of life, humor, and humanity. Whether or not you're hitting the road solo or with loved ones trailing behind, you'll want these on your e-reader before you set out.