{"title":"Annie's Featured Releases Spring 2026 Literary First Look","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"joyful-anyway","title":"Joyful, Anyway","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBestselling author and Duke University professor Kate Bowler reveals the surprising magic of joy--and how we can access it even when happiness feels out of reach.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoy won't cure you, but it will carry you.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter surviving a stage-four cancer diagnosis, Kate Bowler knew she was supposed to be grateful. She was alive. Blessed, even. But still she ached--for more connection, more surprise, less resentment on an ordinary day.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo she went looking for joy. Not the toxic positivity kind. Not a 5-step plan. But the type that sneaks in unexpectedly, seemingly out of nowhere. A lemur sunbathing. A belly laugh at a funeral. A dive into the Atlantic with a shark wrangler.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWitty and honest, in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoyful, Anyway\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Bowler shows how joy can surprise us--even in the middle of pain, boredom, and longing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is not a book about fixing your life. It is about how we can all find more--feel more--by making room for small, extraordinary moments.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor anyone who has ever felt stuck or achy for meaning, who has been undone by loss, or who believes that joy is just out of reach and wants, simply, to have more fun, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoyful, Anyway\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a delicious, insightful tour through the questions that sit in the deepest part of our souls. 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Or could she have been killed by someone in her own inner circle?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eForty years later, Lillian's disappearance has still never been solved. 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This revelation propels her on a quest to untangle the threads of her family's history while confronting the forces that have shaped her identity and her professional mission.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs Mary struggles with the oppressive realities of the medical-industrial complex and the growing attacks on women's reproductive rights, she chooses a path of bold defiance. Inspired by her grandmother's legacy and her own commitment to compassionate care, she decides to take her work out of the hospital and on the road: she converts an RV into a mobile women's health clinic. This innovative act allows her to deliver personalized, critical reproductive health care services across the Pacific Northwest, creating community and enduring friendships along the way.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"When women don't have a choice, bad things happen,\" Mary writes. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLabor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is an intimate, immersive personal story, a rallying cry in a post-Roe world, and an inspiring example of what women can do when they \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003edo\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e have a choice. Rich with the voices of her patients and the vibrant cultural threads of her Iranian heritage, Mary's story challenges us to rethink the boundaries of health care and reclaim the autonomy of women's bodies and lives. With warmth, insight, and humor, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLabor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e ultimately offers a vision of transformation, resilience, and the power of reclaiming one's path and saving other people's lives in the process.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Bookshelf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51454965612861,"sku":"9781668015407","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0695\/3235\/2829\/files\/Labor.jpg?v=1772812573"},{"product_id":"cleo-dang-would-rather-be-dead","title":"Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA darkly humorous yet uplifting novel about a grieving mother who starts working at a funeral home and discovers that the best way to honor the dead is to live--from the author of the \"insightful, moving\" (Taylor Jenkins Reid,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebestselling author)\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunshine Nails\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll Cleo Dang has ever wanted is to be a mother. The day she discovers she's pregnant is the happiest of her life, especially when she learns that her best friend, Paloma, is also expecting. It's a wonderful surprise, and together, they enjoy their pregnancies. But when they both go to the hospital in labor, something goes very, very wrong. Paloma comes home with a baby. Cleo does not.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRavaged by grief, Cleo must now navigate life after losing her baby. She alienates herself from the world, particularly her best friend, who is living the life she so desperately wanted. Forced to take leave from her demanding job as an actuary, Cleo manages to find work at a funeral home, where she meets a revolving cast of bereaved locals and discovers the power of confronting grief.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDarkly humorous yet uplifting, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eCleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003efollows a grieving mother who starts working at a funeral home and discovers that the best way to honor the dead is to live.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Bookshelf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51454971740477,"sku":"9781668080863","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0695\/3235\/2829\/files\/CleoDang.jpg?v=1772813398"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookshelfthomasville.com\/collections\/spring-2026-literary-first-look-may-releases-copy.oembed","provider":" The Bookshelf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}