Samantha J. Flowers

With poignant prose and a deeply authentic personal story, this harrowing account exposes the stark and painful realities of childhood abuse, painting a heart-breaking picture of the lasting pain and fear that it inflicts on its victims. Spanning 30 years, in this coming-of-age memoir, author Christina Vitagliano recounts in vivid detail the frightening nights spent when her father loomed in the doorway of her bedroom, along with the psychological toll that the relentless familial abuse took on her psyche.

At the Manhattan knitting store founded by Georgia Walker, the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club - including Georgia’s college-age daughter, Dakota - rely on each other for help, even as they struggle with new challenges. As the club’s projects - an afghan, baby booties, a wedding coat - are pieced together, so is their understanding of the patterns underlying the stresses and joys of being a mother, wife, daughter, and friend.

Walker & Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club is the ad hoc creation of some of Georgia's regulars, who stroll into the shop looking for tips on knitting and end up finding much, much more. Once a week, they gather to work on their latest projects and to chat - and occasionally clash - over their stories of love, life, and everything in between.