Unconventional Memoir, Recently Named Winner of the Independent Publisher (IPPY") Book Award, Continues to be a book club favorite

Miriam Sagans book Searching for a Mustard Seed: One Young Widows Unconventional Story is not what one might initially expect from a widows memoir. The authors unique take on widowhood, which is laced with humor and forthrightness, is earning this book a diverse and enthusiastic readership. The title was recently named the winner of the 2004 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Award for memoir.

(PRWEB) May 26, 2004 -- As Miriam Sagan, a Jewish poet who was married to a Zen priest, chronicles her unique experience as a young widow, it seems unlikely that her words could have universal appeal. Still, her book, Searching for a Mustard Seed: One Young Widows Unconventional Story, has been adopted by such varied reading groups as a New York Catholic High School Alumni Club, the National Dear Reader (formerly Chapter-a-Day) Book Club, a Los Alamos University Womens group, and the Minnesota Frost Bite Falls Seven". The Minnesota group, profiled in the May 2004 edition of Bookmarks magazine, recognizes Searching for a Mustard Seed as giving them The best discussion weve had..."--in their 18-year book club history. The Independent Publisher Book Award is the most recent recognition for Mustard Seed: The IPPY awards honor excellence and innovation among titles from independent presses.

What is it about this slim, surprising memoir that so many find engaging?

When Miriams husband dies unexpectedly at age 36, she suffers crushing grief, loss, and daunting fears about her future. She also feels an overwhelming need to continue her own life. In the months following his death, she takes up weightlifting, travels to Korea, and even embarks on an unapologetic quest for a boyfriend. Unflinching directness is a hallmark of her work: She gives candid glimpses into her bohemian past, her unique courtship, her struggles to address her own (and her husbands) religious and spiritual concerns...she even lets us read her journal. Incredible insights and powder-keg prose convey the honest love she had her husband, as well as the many moments of dire awkwardness, tremendous doubt, and laugh-out-loud humor along the way. She gives the impression that shes sharing confidences with a close friend.

Though her own life experience has been what many would term non-traditional", she taps into many universally held feelings. Ironically, this humble recounting of a widows experience offers a poignant reminder that life is a wonderful thing, and that even the loss of a friend or spouse doesnt mean that everything good about it ends. The IPPY award is just the latest recognition for this popular memoir: It has been touted by widows, Jewish groups, and readers interested in New Age, inspirational, and spiritual books, among many others. It has been featured in dozens of national newspapers, web sites, and print magazines, and interest continues to spread by word of mouth across the country.

Miriams invitation to share insights goes beyond the book itself; her frankness has earned her requests for attendance at book club meetings across the country. She is happy to oblige requests for phone calls and attends book club meetings as travel permits (she lives in Santa Fe, NM). Groups interested in having author Miriam Sagan participate in the discussion of Searching for a Mustard Seed can schedule meetings or telephone calls through her publisher, Holly Gruber, at Quality Words In Print (hgruber@qwipbooks.com).