Amy Friedman is an author and creative writing teacher whose books include Desperado's Wife: A Memoir, Kick the Dog and Shoot the Cat, and Nothing Sacred: A Conversation with Feminism. She also works as a ghostwriter and editor, and her articles, essays and stories have appeared in magazines, newspapers and numerous anthologies. Since 1992 Amy has written the internationally syndicated newspaper feature Tell Me A Story for Universal UClick, a column that has spawned two book collections and three audiobooks.
Amy lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the teacher and writer Dennis Danziger with whom she recently created POPS the club. Please visit POPS, Pain of the Prison System.
When Ivy League educated newspaper columnist Amy Friedman walked into a prison to write about life inside, she never expected to fall in love with a man serving time for murder. But that's what happened. Desperado's Wife tells the story of their seven year marriage and what happens to those who love someone inside. David Dow, death row lawyer wrote: Maybe Amy Friedman is not really fearless, but you could not tell that from her memoir, which grabs your shirt in its fist on page one and forces you to see humanity in places most of us are too scared to go. Everybody who has ever given up on anyone must read this book.
"Smart, accomplished, attractive reporter goes on the prison beat. Meets a seductive inmate, a murderer. Falls in love. Marries him and helps get him out of jail. Loses friends, battles age-old prejudice and the dark politics of the prison system. There are so many ways a memoir like this could have gone wrong in the telling, and Friedman avoids every pitfall. Much more than that (though that alone is amazing enough): with an open heart, a clear mind, and a superbly honed, quietly direct writing style, she takes you on a journey that at the outset you can’t imagine will become so real, so familiar, so under your skin. Friedman’s naturalistic honesty and instinct for detail dissolve every preconceived notion you will bring to this book. Desperado’s Wife enlarges the house of human feeling and stokes a fine anger at everything that damages it and seals it off." ~ Thomas Frick, author of The Iron Boys
Find out more about Desperado's Wife
Anne Willan demystified classic French culinary technique for regular people who love food. Her legendary La Varenne Cooking School—in its original location in Paris and later in its longtime home in Burgundy—trained chefs, food writers and home cooks. One Soufflé at a Time tells her story and the story of the food-world greats—including Julia Child, James Beard, Simone Beck, Craig Claiborne, Richard Olney—who changed how the world eats and who made cooking fun. Tens of thousands of students have learned from Willan, not just at La Varenne, but through her large, ambitious Look & Cook book series and twenty-six-part PBS program. Now One Soufflé at a Time, featuring 50 of her favorite recipes, brings Willan's own story of her life to the center of the banquet table. Get the book now.
Books Worth Buying: September's Best Food and Drink Releases (Saveur)
Q. & A. | The French Culinary Legend Anne Willan Dishes on the Changing Food Landscape (T Magazine/NY Times)
Winner, 2014 IACP Book Awards, Literary Food Writing
