Josie and Vic: When Josie Serafini's brother, Vic, loses his family in a tragic accident, she drops everything and goes to LA to help him. While there, she confronts broken relationships with her estranged father and rebellious, singer-songwriter daughter and begins a long-distance relationship with the equine veterinarian caring for her beloved horses back home in New York. (She Writes Press)

Drawing Breath: In Drawing Breath, PEN/Bellwether Prize-winning writer Gayle Brandeis' essays explore both the writing life and the embodied life, along with potent intersection between the two. From the title essay investigating the connection between writing and breath to the final essay, which delves into Brandeis' experience with long-haul Covid and its impact on her creative voice, this collection is infused with the urgency of mortality, thrumming with grief, authenticity, and a deep love for both language and the world of the senses. (Overcup Press)

Debra Thomas and Gayle Brandeis discussing their latest releases, Josie and Vic and Drawing Breath: Essays on Writing, the Body, and Loss