Step into your strength, embrace your brilliance, and rise—no matter the challenges life presents. This is Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble's heartfelt message to every young person seeking healing, hope, and belonging. Drawing on 30 years of research, clinical experience, and community work, she leads a journey of self-discovery and growth, blending practical guidance with culturally grounded science rich in heart, history, and humanity. This is a living toolkit for thriving. Dr. Breland- Noble, a psychologist, scientist and mental health thought leader is founder of The AAKOMA Project and one of Melinda French Gates's Leaders, championing innovative solutions to advance the health and wellbeing of women and girls worldwide. She's a regular media contributor to The Grio, Today Show, The Breakfast Club, the NY Times and others.

Dawn Smith, a veterinarian tech living in rural South Carolina, catches her new, hot boyfriend in a series of lies and abruptly ends their relationship. He is not happy. He begins to stalk and harass her, forcing Dawn to seek a restraining order. Undeterred, he launches a deeply personal attack —inventing a false scenario to sue for guardianship and conservatorship of Dawn's infirm mother. And just when Dawn thinks things can't get any worse, she is faced with an impossible choice: rekindle the relationship or lose her mother forever. Liz Lazarus' riveting thriller is based on her own harrowing experience battling for the guardianship of her 88-year-old mother. Liz has an engineering degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Sheila Yasmin Marikar delivers a sharp, "White Lotus"-style satire set at a luxury Maldives resort. Celebrating their fifth anniversary, Sarah Shetty and Sam Gupta escape their failing marriage and stalled careers with a lavish vacation funded entirely by points and miles. At the resort, they become entangled with an older, wealthy couple whose generosity masks troubling inconsistencies. As Sarah imagines the opportunities this friendship could bring, tensions rise and hidden motives surface. When a body is discovered beneath the resort's overwater bungalows, paradise quickly unravels. With wit and emotional precision, she explores marriage, ambition, disappointment, aging, and the fragile illusions people create to survive. Marikar's travel writing, culture chronicles and feature-length profiles have appeared in such prominent outlets as The New Yorker, The NY Times, The Economist, and Vogue.