The Pilgrim’s Way Community Bookstore & Secret Garden in Carmel-by-the-Sea recommends great books written by local women.
The Pilgrim’s Way highlights the works of author Meredith May. In 2017, this Carmel Valley resident published I, Who Did Not Die, the true story of an Iranian child soldier. This former San Francisco Chronicle reporter is also known for her memoirs and children’s books, including The Honey Bus (2019), a memoir about growing up with her grandfather, an eccentric Big Sur beekeeper.
A story of learning to live with and love a sensitive golden retriever puppy.
The Pilgrim’s Way is proud to offer the work of Carmel Valley resident Jane Smiley, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres (1992). Smiley’s latest book, A Dangerous Business, takes on life in a Monterey bordello during the California Gold Rush. Described as “Edgar Allan Poe meets California gold country,” Smiley’s book is at once a Western, a thriller and a feminist tale that will have you rooting for its gutsy, unlikely heroine.
India-born writer and Central Coast resident Alka Joshi’s debut novel and first in a trilogy, The Henna Artist, not only became a New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club Pick in 2020, but also is now in development as a TV series. The novel addresses a woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society that pivots between the traditional and the modern, the fascinating and the cruel. The second book in the series, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (2021), will be followed by The Perfumist of Paris later in March.
The first book by Carmel resident Wanda Straw, is a darkly funny memoir that addresses the author’s grieving process alongside a cat named Sasha. Set against a backdrop of Carmel and Big Sur, where Straw has lived and worked since 1987, the writer’s journey slowly moves toward healing and growth and honors the nature of love and the power within us all. A forthcoming short story collection, Julia Child Said My Name, will offer a peek behind the curtain of the area’s food and wine industry, in which Straw worked for 19 years
Linda Kohanov extends the wisdom of her book The Tao of Equus (2007) a step further in her latest work The Power of the Herd: A Nonpredatory Approach to Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Innovation (2015). Using the same guiding principles of the behavior and social structures of horses, the author explores how the nature of power in the workplace and in relationships can foster creativity, help deal with conflict and improve awareness. Kohanov speaks and teaches internationally and established Eponaquest Worldwide, an organization that explores the healing power of working with horses.
In her new book Tuning In: A Memoir of Transformation Through the Magic of Radio, Sandy Miranda reveals her journey from growing up abandoned and poor in the San Francisco area to becoming a popular international public radio broadcaster. In 1988 on KPFA FM, she produced and hosted “Music of the World,” “Focus on Women in Music,” and the weekly series “Women, Spirit, & Peace,” focusing on Hawaiian musicians. Miranda’s engaging storytelling highlights the life-changing power of music. This is a perfect book to gain insight into working women.
