Just Jessie by Jessie James Decker (Dey Street Books)
Jessie James Decker wears a lot of hats: country music singer, reality TV star, wife to NFL wide receiver Eric Decker, fashion designer, and mother to three young children. In her first book, the Nashville-based entertainer shares what it was like growing up poor, being bullied in school, and staying true to her dream of making it in country music even when the hard knocks kept coming. (Available now.)
When the Men Were Gone by Marjorie Herrera Lewis (William Morrow)
Based on a true story, this former sports reporter’s debut novel presents the story of Tylene Wilson, the World War II-era assistant prinicipal who became the coach of a local high school football team when no one else would. Wilson helps hold the town together while the rest of the world is falling apart. (Available now.)
Joy: And 52 Other Very Short Stories by Erin McGraw (Counterpoint)
In McGraw’s latest short story collection, a mother mourns the tragic loss of her child, a college student mocks the absurdity of a team-building exercise, and a man reckons with the truth about himself after taking a young boy’s life. Each of the Sewanee-based author’s 53 stories is only a few pages long but provides a searing look inside the story’s narrator, striking an often darkly funny tone. (Available now.)
Afoot and Lighthearted: A Journal for Mindful Walking by Bonnie Smith Whitehouse (Clarkson Potter)
Created by a Belmont University English professor, Afoot is the perfect gift for all those who love to—or would like to—more fully soak in the world around them. Divided into sections devoted to sense of place, well-being, attention, exploration, devotion, and transcendence, Whitehouse’s walking journal is meant to get mind, feet, and pen moving with engaging prompts and space to write and sketch. (Available now.)