Margaret Renkl

Twenty-six bestselling authors return to the teenage bedrooms, school hallways and college dorms of their youth to share passionate essays of love lost and found and lessons learned along the way. Whether heartbreaking or hilarious, their soul-baring honesty reminds us to keep reaching for true love wherever we can find it and for as long as it takes. Their intimate reflections will fascinate and move any reader who remembers her first love.

During the Civil War, Tennessee was perhaps the most conflicted state in the Confederacy. Allegiance to either side could mean life or death, as Union militia captain and longtime Tennessee native William K. Byrd discovered in the fall of 1861 when he and his men were ambushed by a band of Confederate sympathizers and infantrymen. This unauthorized raid led to the arrest of thirty-five men and the death of several others. Details of this mysterious skirmish have remained buried in archives and personal accounts for years. Now, for the first time, A Unionist in East Tennessee uncovers a dramatic yet forgotten chapter of Civil War history.

Have you ever felt caught between the tension of a day job and a dream job? That gap between what you have to do and what you d love to do?

“Engaging and accessible for nonspecialists and thought provoking for scholars, this well-written, feisty book offers cutting-edge historiography, tools for teachers, and insights for all of us. It is a must read for anyone interested in the freedom struggle and in a just, democratic society.”