Published on Show Me Mizzou April 24, 2026
This season’s alumni books range from a deep investigation of a wrongful conviction to new poetry and a study of Ghana’s drum conflicts. Together, they show the breadth and precision alumni bring to their work.
Art for Everyone: How to Collect Art & Personalize Your Space on Any Budget by Liz Lidgett, BJ ’07. The art advisor, Martha Stewart Living contributor and gallery owner provides a welcoming, practical guide that helps anyone confidently choose and buy art on any budget (Simon & Schuster/Simon Element, 2026).
Duct Tape and White Lies: A Woman’s Practical Guide to Real Life Success by Emily Lampkin, BA ’95. A candid, practical guide that gives women real tools to navigate the pressures, expectations, and invisible labor of leadership (Regalo Press, 2026).
If We Don’t Get It: A People’s History of Ferguson by Stefan M. Bradley, PhD ’03. A gripping, interview-driven history of how young Black activists transformed the unrest in Ferguson into a national movement for justice (The New Press, 2025).
Maintenance by William Trowbridge, BA ’63, MA ’65. A poetry collection from Missouri’s former Poet Laureate, praised for his witty and compassionate take on the everyday work of keeping things together (Spartan Press, 2025).
Gwendolyn & Eddie by Michael O.L. Seabaugh, BJ ’69. A 1950s homemaker leans on an unruly monkey as her marriage crumbles and tragedy approaches (Kohler, 2025).
The Noise Silence Makes: Secularity and Ghana’s Drum Wars by Mariam Goshadze MA ’12. A study of Accra’s long-running drumming ban and the clashes it sparked between traditional authorities and Pentecostal and charismatic churches (Duke University Press, 2025).
Injustice Town by Rick Tulsky, BJ ’72. An exposé of the wrongful conviction of Lamonte McIntyre and the police and prosecutorial corruption uncovered in Kansas City, Kan., praised by John Grisham and Buzz Bissinger (Pegasus, 2026).
The Illustrated Mark Twain and the Buffalo Express by Thomas Reigstad, MA ’72. The notable Twain scholar compiled ten of Mark Twain’s Buffalo Express stories and presented them with a century of illustrations to create a historically layered look at his 1869–70 newspaper writing (North Country, 2024).
The Amazing Life of Jeffrey Deroine by Greg Olson, MA ’09. A biography uncovering the remarkable life of trader, diplomat and frontier settler Jeffrey Deroine, who was born enslaved in 1806 St. Louis (University of Missouri Press, 2026).
The Bootlegger’s Bride by Rick Skwiot, MA ’92. Set in St. Louis’ Polish immigrant neighborhoods, this historical novel weaves murder, family drama, and coming-of-age struggles across prohibition through Vietnam (Amphorae Publishing Group, 2025).
Opening Boxes: How to Navigate Life When You Have Autism by Jay Rothman, BA ’83. Part memoir, part guide offering practical guidance for autistic adults from an author who penned a chapter in the second edition of Temple Grandin’s Different…Not Less. (Jay Rothman, 2025)
Scalable Talent Management: Proven People Strategies for Excellence in Organizations of Any Size by Deborah Snellen, BS Ed ’79. A practical guide introducing Snellen’s 4C Model (culture, capacity, capability and career) to help organizations of any size build stronger workplaces (Kendall Hunt, 2025).
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