Böcker av Valerie Miner

Loss and renewal in the lives of an individual and a community

As World War II rages abroad, a group of women forge the bonds of sisterhood in AmericaIn 1938, while tensions in Europe are reaching a boiling point, four young women with big ambitions enter secretarial school in San Francisco. Motivated to attain the financial stability that eluded their parents, they go to battle for their futures. Moira, of Scottish descent, dreams of being an actress. Ann yearns for the education her Jewish immigrant parents provided for her brother, but not for her. Japanese American Wanda experiences firsthand the racial injustices running rampant in the United States. And Teddy, who left the Dust Bowl for sunny California, comes to startling realizations about herself as the war progresses. These women will be both buoyed and challenged by their dreams, experiencing love, loss, and everything in between. Against the backdrop of a nation gripped by fear and paranoia, Miner eloquently captures the spirit of wartime on the home front.

An assistant professor's fight against campus harassment soon becomes a fight for her life in this ';totally compelling and utterly modern mystery' (Judy Grahn, American Book Awardwinning author). Assistant professor Nan Weaver, an outspoken feminist, is working toward tenure at Berkeley. Nan's blue-collar family left her with a legacy of endurance and hard work, and she is dedicated to her ideals and her students. But Nan's bold campaign against on-campus sexual harassment may be putting her career prospects in jeopardy. When an infamously chauvinistic male English professor turns up dead in his office, everyone suspects activist Nan. But she is innocent. And she knows who the murderer is. A fast-paced, nontraditional mystery that places a strong woman in a battle for her innocence and principles,Murder in the English Departmentis a must-read for academics and mystery lovers alike.

Two old friends who have not seen each other for decades spend a week hiking through the stunning scenery of California's High SierraTwenty-five years ago, a group of five high schoolers trekked through the High Sierra. Now, two of themlesbian Kath and straight Adelecome back to repeat their journey and renew their friendship. In chapters that alternate between the women's voices, they reveal their pasts, their thoughts, and their reactions both to the scenery and to each other. For Kath, the sublime topography of the Sierra is inspiring and invigorating. Adele is more trepidatious. Over the course of their journey up to High Country, old stories, tensions, dreams, and disappointments come to the surface.A unique study of the complexity of the bonds between women, this transporting book, written with elegance and restraint, is among Miner's finest work.