Published on Show Me Mizzou Sept. 16, 2025
Looking for your next great read? These Tigers have penned everything from engaging narratives to poignant personal essays for bookworms of all ages. By Mara Reinstein, BJ ’98
Character Matters: And Other Life Lessons from George H. W. Bush, by Jean Becker, BJ ’78. The former chief of staff for the 41st president has compiled warm personal stories from his colleagues, friends and family, including former Secretary of State James A. Baker and comedian Dana Carvey (Twelve, 2024).
Fifteen Cents on the Dollar, by Louise Story and Ebony Reed, BJ ’00. With meticulous research and vivid examples, the authors trace the economic journey of the Black diaspora in America, placing it within a broader historical perspective on the nation’s evolving financial system (Harper, 2024).
Reviving Rural News, by Teri Finneman, MA ’10, PhD ’15, Nick Matthews and Patrick Ferucci. The authors studied rural publishers extensively to offer guidance on how to adapt the financial strategies of weekly newspapers to the habits of modern readers (Routledge, 2024).
Drought, by Scott Alexander Hess, BJ ’84. For this novel, lonely New Jersey-living Parnell inherits his estranged uncle’s farm in rural Kentucky. He takes this surprise development as an opportunity to start over and find his purpose (Rebel Satori Press, 2025).
Prompting Originality: The A.I. Handbook for Humans, by Norty Cohen and Delaney Ehrhardt, BJ ’23. This International Book Awards finalist shows how to maximize the ever-growing AI landscape to enhance human creativity and productivity (Ideapress Publishing, 2024).
The Monk, the Trunk & the Junk, by Alan D. Harris, M Ed. A spiritual parable, Harris’s book blends Benedictine wisdom with practical guidance to help readers discern what to keep, what to release and how to live more meaningfully by letting go (Eckhart & May, 2023).
Loving Someone with a Mental Illness or History of Trauma, by Michelle Sherman, MA ’97, and DeAnne Sherman. A clinical psychologist and her mother offer research-based guidance, practical tools and personal stories to support those caring for loved ones with mental illness or trauma (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).
Birth Behind Bars, by Rebecca M. Rodriguez Carey, BS ’11. An associate professor of sociology and criminology at Emporia State University, Rodriguez Carey draws on interviews with formerly incarcerated women to reveal how overlapping justice and confinement systems disrupt motherhood, endanger health and fracture families during and after pregnancy (University of California Press, 2024).
No Less Strange or Wonderful, by A. Kenra Greene, visiting assistant professor in 2025. In 26 sublime essays, the renowned writer ruminates on love, connection, death and grief through a series of everyday encounters (Tin House Books, 2025).
The Routledge Companion to American Journalism History, edited by Melita M. Garza, Michael Fuhlhage, M.A., ’07 and Tracy Lucht. The book explores media history across several platforms in sections that cover the origins of American journalism in the United States, as well as pivotal moments, personalities and key issues (Routledge, 2025).
Home Fires, by Claire Booth, BJ ’96. This is the sixth book in the mystery series about Missouri Sheriff Hank Worth. Here, he investigates an explosion at the local fireworks distribution warehouse, as well as the possible murder of his mother-in-law (Severn House, 2024).
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