Self Discovery Fiction

Biff Temperance, a gentle and withdrawn yet brilliant commodity futures trader, experiences a devastating emotional attack triggered by childhood memories. His breakdown is bad enough, but the timing is even worse. It occurs on a chaotic trading floor and leads to a catastrophic financial loss for his firm. His future in shambles, Biff abandons the meticulously structured life disengaged from the world, which he built for himself in New York City. He embarks on a trip to find his estranged father, who he hasn’t seen since he was five. His only clue about him is a recent letter containing ...

When two best friends hit a major road block in their life, the solution seems obvious; take a road trip and hope all their issues solve themselves. Unfortunately for Jack and Devon, the world doesn't work that way. This is a story for anyone who has hit rock bottom, and needed a boost from friends and family. The great thing about true friends and family is they're always there for you, even when you act like an idiot and try to push them away.

What’s that saying about the devil you know? For Bernadette Murphy, it’s the devil she never expected that changes everything. Her father’s sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. But with the discovery of her father’s book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. When Bernie finds herself in trouble at home, out of work, and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter, she discovers what her father always knew. In life, you either ...

Jack Reeves, a 45-year-old divorced contractor, has spent his entire life conforming to society's expectations. From his rigid upbringing to his picture-perfect marriage that fell apart, Jack has always lived for others. But when Jack becomes aware of the existence of a secluded gay nudist colony called Freedom Ridge, an urge stirs in him. Drawn the promise of liberation and authenticity, Jack decides to leave everything behind and take a leap of faith. At Freedom Ridge, he is thrust into an unapologetic world where inhibitions are shed along with clothing. Amidst the camaraderie of the gay...

Fate brought her two very different women. When she’s the one with the crisis, will they be the rock she needs? Gwen presents a confident façade to the world. But the hardworking bakery owner fears change, and with her only child off to college and her husband’s job in jeopardy, she’s terrified her perfect life is about to fall apart. So when a single mom crashes her minivan in front of the shop, she eagerly puts aside her own concerns to help the struggling divorcée. Amazed that the accident founds a friendship between them and a customer who was present, she slowly lets down her ...

Brooklyn Thomas is pretty sure she's mostly dead. She can't feel her heart beat and she's disappearing: her reflection keeps vanishing from mirrors. No one else seems to notice. Not her coworkers at the artisanal doughnut shop she works at after failing at her high-paying marketing job. Not her crush, whom she keeps humiliating herself in front of. Not her parents, whose basement suite she's stuck living in. She's hallucinating stars from all her favorite TV shows who want Brooklyn to pull herself together and face the truth about what happened to her.

1944, Chicago. From desperate small-town teen to star of the burlesque circuit, Violet Ernte has survived tough choices and more than one reinvention. Now, framed for an underworld murder, she has one way out: agree to keep Marcie, a reckless USO showgirl and mobster's daughter, on the straight and narrow. Vi's new act: play innocent ingenue and join the all-American song-and-dance troupe bound for overseas to a war-torn Italy.

Quigley Tree drops out of college. At age 23, she's been a complete failure. If she doesn't do something soon, her life will careen into a deep, dark, irrevocable void. Tick Tock. That soon is now. From the publisher: Five-Star Review from Readers' Favorite by Lorraine Cobcroft: Quigley Tree, the protagonist of Linda A. Lavid’s novel of the same name, is a young woman with an odd name. A college dropout from a dysfunctional home, and recently escaped from a relationship with a narcissist, Quigley needs to find a new place to live, quickly. A unique idea sets her on a path to find ...

Some inheritances change your future. This one will help you find your way back home. Jana Calloway has built a perfect life—or so it seems. Maren Foster spends her days helping others heal, but her own heart remains guarded. Ivy West would rather run than risk being hurt again. They haven’t seen each other in over a decade, not since their friendship shattered under the weight of an unbearable loss. When their beloved college professor leaves them Winterfield Manor—a sprawling Tudor estate deep in the Oregon mountains—the three women are brought back together to confront not just ...

Sonja is ready to get on with her life. She's over 40 now, and the Swedish crime novels she translates are losing their fascination. She sees a masseuse, tries to reconnect with her sister, and is finally learning to drive. But under the overbearing gaze of her driving instructor, Sonja is unable to shift gears for herself. Sonja hoped her move to Copenhagen years ago would have left rural Jutland in the rearview mirror. Yet she keeps remembering the dramatic landscapes of her childhood - the endless sky, the whooper swans, the rye fields - and longs to go back.

Newly heartbroken, a woman embarks on a glamorized summer of couch surfing to rediscover herself and learns that though life may not go according to plan, there is magic in the unexpected.

Recently and abruptly divorced Veronica Barrington is anxious for a new direction when she answers a listing for a travel companion. It’s from Mariah Ellsworth, a young woman adjusting to an injury that ended her Olympic career. She’s also grieving her mother, Rachel, a lauded food writer, and Mariah aims to trace the steps of her mother’s final, unfinished project so she can heal and also honor the woman she misses.

Originally published in 1994, When the World Was Steady is award-winning author Claire Messud's first novel.

When Loretta Ashton dies suddenly, her family is shattered. As a devoted wife and mother, Loretta was their rock—a woman admired by the entire community. But at her funeral, an unexpected guest turns their grief into confusion. A stranger claiming to be Loretta’s sister takes a seat with the family, only to vanish before anyone can confront her. The problem? Loretta was an only child.

Follow the tale of a dog’s ten lives and learn life’s most important lessons from man’s best friend’s viewpoint. Funny, realistic, and sometimes sad, Dogs Get Ten Lives is an emotional roller coaster that provides a different perspective on human relationships and the role of dogs in our lives and the wisdom they provide.

Some inheritances change your future. This one will help you find your way back home. Jana Calloway has built a perfect life—or so it seems. Maren Foster spends her days helping others heal, but her own heart remains guarded. Ivy West would rather run than risk being hurt again. They haven’t seen each other in over a decade, not since their friendship shattered under the weight of an unbearable loss. When their beloved college professor leaves them Winterfield Manor—a sprawling Tudor estate deep in the Oregon mountains—the three women are brought back together to confront not just ...

Before she tried to sell the island out from under her daughter, Coco Baxter was just a girl who wanted to be seen. Coco grew up in Miami with money, privilege, and picture-perfect parents. But behind the designer clothes and poolside smiles were secrets, lies, and a growing storm of betrayal. At sixteen, Coco was angry—and determined to burn it all down. Shoplifting. Sneaking out. Older boys with fast cars and bad intentions. It was all just a game… until the consequences weren’t so easy to walk away from. This is the story of how Coco became Coco—the woman Holly Baxter loves, ...

Dartmouth professor Dan Jackson did not want to murder his students. Yet, when he finds two pistols perched on top of the mid-term exams in his briefcase, he cannot resist the impulse to pull out the guns and start shooting. Now Dan struggles to find the answer to the question that haunts him: why did he kill 15 of his students? Dan's search for the answer must be pursued through his defense to the criminal charges and possible death penalty.

Fannie Johnson has seen darn near all the world has to offer at her Thank the Lord Boarding House. It is home to a variety of interesting people who regard each other as family. One such is Sarah Jolene Tilman, who is ready to strike out on her own. In stark contrast, Richard Peterson has done more than his share of living and is looking for simpler pleasures. Under Fannie's watchful eye, each will embark on a path of self-exploration and find that life is nothing if not a wildly unpredictable journey.

Most people think the reason Prudy Millings married the best-looking preacher in the Carolinas—who inexplicably turned psychotic and mowed her down with the church van—is that she was raised all wrong. So not true. Prudy's reclamation of her life begins two years after the crime spree that nearly stopped her heart. She packs up her two precocious children and settles in her parents' South Carolina hometown where she deals with a delightful Proverbs-spewing mama who pretends her grown daughters are virgins.