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NONFICTION BOOKS



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Changemaker Playbook: The New Physics of Leadership in a World of Explosive Change by Henry F. De Sio, Jr.

Winner
Nonfiction: General
2022 Best Book Awards

Finalist
Best New Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

The Game Has Changed!

What would you do if the game you had been preparing for your whole life had changed?

This is the question we all face today. Our one-leader-at-a-time past has given way to a present reality where everyone has the potential to lead in every aspect of life. We all have at our fingertips the tools of change that were once available to only a few. This shift from one-leader-at-a-time to everyone-leading-in-every-moment has created a changemaker effect on society. Change is no longer linear and faster, it's explosive and omnidirectional—and we are the first generation to navigate this reordered reality.

Our iEverything world requires a new playbook.

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Touching Two Worlds: A Guide for Finding Hope in the Landscape of Loss by Sherry Walling, PhD

Winner
Best New Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

A trauma psychologist explores the inner workings of her own grief—and leaves an invaluable guide for those seeking hope in the aftermath of loss.

As a therapist, Dr. Sherry Walling knew all the “right” things to say to help people through grief. But when she lost her father to cancer and her brother to suicide within six months of each other, she had the unfortunate chance to encounter two types of mourning up close—the slowly unfolding terminal illness and the sudden and stigmatized death by suicide. She realized we’re getting grief all wrong.

In Touching Two Worlds, this trusted expert dares to open the inner workings of her own grief—and in the process, provides an invaluable resource for those seeking hope in the aftermath of loss. Written with honesty, gentle humor, and deep understanding, this book was created to bring comfort to friends and family when there are few helpful words to say.

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Highway Heist: America's Crumbling Infrastructure and the Road Forward by James T. Bennett

Winner
Best Cover Design: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

In this eye-opening book, Professor James Bennett guides readers through centuries of one of the most underrated yet widely used aspects of American life—roads.

Relying on history and economic data—and with a humorous and oftentimes sharp tongue—Bennett explains how important America’s highways and byways have been to everything from policymaking to everyday life.

Crafting America’s roads took persuasion, planning—and more taxes than any politician could have dreamed of. And far too often their realization, thanks, in Bennett’s view, to flawed interpretations of the power of eminent domain, required destruction, sometimes on a massive scale, of long-established neighborhoods and important cityscapes.

Likewise, the upkeep of America’s highways has been the center of many a policy battle, waged by Republicans and Democrats alike.

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The Can-Do Mindset: How to Make Things Happen with Enthusiasm by Denise Gabel

Winner
Best Interior Design
2022 Best Book Awards

Finalist
Best New Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

The Can-Do Mindset will . . .

  • Empower you to take action, even during times when it’s hard to realize that can is still in your vocabulary. (Trust me, it never left.)
  • Uncover how the greatest power that you have isn’t perfected in a gym . . . it is built from within. There is power in choice—more power than you know.
  • Give you permission to focus on accomplishing the right things, despite the circumstances.

Imagine what living with a can-do mindset can do for you. Denise knows the possibilities that await. She lives this and helps others live it, too.

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Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within by Jocelyn Jones

Winner
Nonfiction: Creative
2022 Best Book Awards

Jocelyn Jones is one of Hollywood’s most prized secret weapons. A legendary acting teacher, coach, and artistic advisor to the stars, she has served as a confidential Creative Consultant on some of the highest-grossing pictures of all time.

Now, she shares her personal journey—and the secrets behind her unique methodology—in Artist: Awakening the Spirit Within.

How do you tap into the power of creation? A great teacher doesn’t just tell you; they show you! With forthright vulnerability, Jones shares the memories and lessons that shaped her, both spiritually and as a world-class teacher—proving beyond question that the same creative process she offers actors can help you discover andmanifest a life in coherence with your own heart.

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The Southern Awakening: A Black Man's Guide to Liberating the Rural South by Barnard Sims "Barnard The Barber"

Winner
Nonfiction: Cross-Genre
2022 Best Book Awards

Barbers and beauticians are expertly positioned to have a hand on the pulse of their communities—and Barnard the Barber is no exception. Learning from his village as the barber, the author shares those lessons learned on how we can liberate the rural South by building antiracist communities everywhere. This book provides actionable steps that each of us can take, in righteous indignation, to sign our own Emancipation Proclamations!

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Mosaic Heart: Pieces of an Unfinished Life by Donna Mazzitelli

Winner
Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 Best Book Awards

Mosaic Heart is not a book solely about cancer, but cancer is an integral part of this story. As her teacher and guide, cancer helped Donna Mazzitellisee that the world and her family would go on, with or without her. Yet, if she wanted to continue to be a part of life and living, she had to learn to care for herself first. As her companion, cancer insisted it was time to take in this lesson of self-care, self-love, and self-compassion.

Donna’s story reflects a deep dive into the exploration of pieces of her life—most especially her marriage, family life, and the discovery of her life’s purpose beyond midlife. Above all else, this is a love story, as Donna began to rebuild her heart.

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Empathic Mastery: A 5-Step System to Go from Emotional Hot Mess to Thriving Success by Jennifer Elizabeth Moore

Winner
Legacy: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

Empathic Mastery is a no BS -tell it like it is- guide written for empaths by an empath who’s cracked the code on how to go from psychic overwhelm and distress to calm, confident and able to use your abilities for good.

Inside this book you will discover:

  • How to recognize what’s yours and what isn’t
  • How to release the toxic energy you absorb
  • How to protect yourself physically, emotionally and psychically
  • How to replace negativity with light and positivity
  • How to act and live in alignment with your Highest Good

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Alphabet Soup: The Essential Guide to LGBTQ2+ Inclusion at Work by Michael Bach

Finalist
Nonfiction: General
2022 Best Book Awards

Everything you need to know about creating LGBTQ2+ inclusive workplace, from A to Z.

What you aren’t doing about creating an LGBTQ2+ inclusive workplace is costing you more than might think. Every year, companies who aren’t doing the necessary work are losing millions of dollars to low productivity, staff turnover, missed opportunities, and reputational damage?and no, simply slapping a rainbow over your company logo every June isn’t going to cut it.

In this myth-busting follow-up to the 2020 breakout bestseller Birds of All Feathers, diversity and inclusion expert Michael Bach breaks down everything you need to know about creating inclusive workplaces for people who don’t fit squarely into the “straight” and “cis” box. And don’t worry if you’re already feeling lost; by the time you’ve finished this book, you’ll know exactly LGBTQ2+ means?and a whole lot of other stuff to boot.

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Beyond Linear Thinking: Changing the Way We Live and Work by Linda Seger, ThD

Finalist
Nonfiction: Cross-Genre
2022 Best Book Awards

In this clear and accessible book, Dr. Linda Seger takes us on a journey through the images that represent the qualities of Linear Thinking, Circle Thinking, and Spiral Thinking. She arrives at the intricate images of Web Thinking, which combines the line, the circle, and the spiral. This is a metaphor for the elegant, complex bonds that are represented by the spider web, the interconnected model that makes up the World Wide Web, and our relational and social connections with each other.

Drawing upon science, history, archaeology, business models, aviation, the military, the arts, and theology, this insightful book shows us a path for the future. This model has been proven to be more joyful and more effective and can influence all aspects of our work and our relational, social, and spiritual lives.




Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right by Michael Bach

Finalist
Legacy: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

Birds of All Feathers is a timely call to action for employers, HR professionals, managers and employees to address diversity and inclusion—because it’s not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do.

Michael Bach helps you develop a better understanding around the nuances of terms like diversity versus inclusion and equity versus equality, and shows how diversity and inclusion can drive innovation and creativity—critical to any business’s survival in today’s fickle marketplace. You’ll learn how to craft a D&I policy that’s effective, and how to start the work of dismantling systemic racism and inequity by creating safe work spaces where people can bring their whole selves, find advancement, and succeed.

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Both Things Are True: A Journey from Fearing Trust to Trusting Fear by Janine Valentine

Finalist
Best Cover Design: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

The vacation of a lifetime ended abruptly with a positive test for COVID-19. Janine was whisked off her luxury dive boat in the Maldives, ordered into isolation, and left to fend for herself on a conservative Islamic island on the other side of the world, terrified and alone.

Though well into the pandemic, the Maldivian government had no clear plan to provide shelter, food, or medicine for tourists required to quarantine. Fighting for her own survival with a language barrier, only $38 cash, worsening symptoms, and a quickly diminishing sense of safety, Janine came face-to-face with her greatest fear: abandonment. She soon realized her many coping mechanisms, and the limiting beliefs behind them, were no longer sustainable.

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Courtesy Boy: A True Story of Addiction by Mike Matson

Finalist
Nonfiction: Creative
2022 Best Book Awards

A Message from the Author:

“Thirty years after my last ingestion of chemicals, I inventoried the traits and behaviors connected with my addiction, chronicled my early adult life, and wrote a book. My motivation is to help those suffering and their loved ones connect the dots between the destructive traits and behaviors—and the potential for addiction. In so doing, infuse some fresh air into the oppressive stigma that clings to addiction and mental health. Addiction itself is not linear. It’s an insidious mosaic of multi-layered behaviors, circumstances, traits, and events that leads eventually to a perspective that can only be gleaned, accurately and wholly, in hindsight. Courtesy Boy is the reconstruction of that mosaic.”

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Designing Camelot: The Kennedy Restoration and Its Legacy by James Archer Abbott and Elaine Rice Bachmann

Finalist
Best Cover Design: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

On February 23, 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy launched the most historic and celebrated redesign of the White House in its history. The White House announced Mrs. Kennedy’s plan to locate and acquire the finest period furniture, with which the historical integrity of the Executive Mansion’s interiors would be restored. Thanks to the vision of the young first lady, who was determined to make her new home the most perfect house in the United States, a committee was formed, a law was passed, donations were sought, a nonprofit partner was chartered, and an inalienable museum-quality collection that would belong to the nation was born. An illustrated chronicle of the restoration, this hardcover volume celebrates the sixty-year legacy of one of the most influential interior design projects in American history.

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Destiny Lives on Fairhaven Street by C.J. Hudson

Finalist
Nonfiction: Cross-Genre
2022 Best Book Awards

His abusive family tore him away from her. Would destiny be enough to bring him back?

At ten years old, Chris didn't have good looks, a caring family, or a bright future. But what he did have for three years was the love of Danielle, his beautiful neighbor on Fairhaven Street who showed him a glimpse of a life he desperately wanted.

To escape his abusive father, Chris was forced to move out of state with his mother to the icy hills of Michigan. All he could leave Danielle with was half of a heart-shaped pendant and a promise that he would one day return for her. To have any chance of getting her back, he had to end over one hundred years of abuse in his family, something his family claimed he was destined to carry on. All he had to keep him going was his half of the pendant, which tarnished over the years from his refusal to take it off.

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Doing Grief in Real Life: A Soulful Guide to Navigate Loss, Death & Change by Shea Darian

Finalist
Best New Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

Like hope or love, grief is as common as rain in Pensacola, but we humans collectively know so little about it. Grief educator and hospital chaplain Shea Darian aims to change that. Doing Grief in Real Life: A Soulful Guide to Navigate Loss, Death & Change makes learning about grief and grieving a growth-inspiring, life-shifting event. The book translates Darian’s new paradigm of the grieving process, the Model of Adaptive Grieving Dynamics (Illness, Crisis & Loss, Vol 22(3) 2014), into a personable, story-rich, family-friendly guide for everyday grievers, care providers, and professional healers. Filled with healing wisdom, inspirational stories, and practical ideas, Doing Grief in Real Life will inspire you to become your own best grief expert and encourage your loved ones of all ages to do the same. Read it and let the healing begin.




Eris' Green Kitchen by Erisbelia Garriga

Finalist
Legacy: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

A collection of family and friends' easy to prepare recipes using root vegetables (viandas), fruits and other meatless ingredients. 368 pages, more than 250 recipes with more than 400 color photos.




Ethically Challenged: Private Equity Storms U.S. Health Care by Laura Katz Olson

Finalist
Nonfiction: General
2022 Best Book Awards

Revealing the dark truth about the impact of predatory private equity firms on American health care.

Private equity (PE) firms pervade all aspects of our modern lives. Unlike other corporations, which generally manufacture products or provide services, they leverage considerable debt and other people's money to buy and sell businesses with the sole aim of earning supersized profits in the shortest time possible. With a voracious appetite and trillions of dollars at its disposal, the private equity industry is now buying everything from your opioid treatment center to that helicopter that helps swoop you up from a car crash site. It may even control how and when you can get your kidney dialysis.

In Ethically Challenged, Laura Katz Olson describes how PE firms are gobbling up physician and dental practices; home care and hospice agencies; substance abuse, eating disorder, and autism services; urgent care facilities; and emergency medical transportation. With a sharp eye on cost and quality of care, Olson investigates the PE industry's impact on these essential services. She explains how PE firms pile up massive debt on their investment targets and how they bleed these enterprises with assorted fees and dividends for themselves. Throughout, she argues that public pension funds, which provide the preponderance of equity for PE buyouts, tend to ignore the pesky fact that their money may be undermining the very health care system their workers and retirees rely on.

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Everything Has Meaning by Scott Roux

Finalist
Best Cover Design: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

When two tons of truck smashed into his vehicle, Scott Roux's life would never be the same.

Leaving the hospital with a broken foot, severe headache and a sore back, Scott thought all he had to do was heal.

But traumatic brain injury would change his life forever.

Losing his short-term memory and his ability to continue as an executive salesman, his comprehension dropped to a third-grade level. How could he continue his life when he wasn't who he used to be?

Scott used his passion for life to push himself forward in the face of crippling circumstances.

Now he shares his secrets to a fulfilling life with you. Through stories of the past and hope for the future, this book will help you to understand that Everything Has Meaning.




Full Speed Ahead: Screw the Swimmers by Gerry Benoit

Finalist
Best Cover Design: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

FULL SPEED AHEAD will take you on exciting journeys over land and sea. You have to hang onto your seat as you fly over the Key's in a stunt plane. Later only to top it off jumping out of one! Chapters that make you laugh followed by a tear flow, so have some tissues ready. Experience the fun and all out craziness of playing in bands from the sixties through the decades until the nineties. This adventure will take you into the Air Force for a grand experience, if we tell you all, we'll have to kill you! Come scuba diving with this book on some deep technical dives that would terminate you with a mistake. You will ride the East Coast on a Harley adventure of a lifetime, you'll be glad your angels came!

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Hippie at Heart: What I Used To Be, I Still Am by Lynne Zotalis

Finalist
Nonfiction: Creative
2022 Best Book Awards

What was she to do stuck in Mexico, Nick’s body interned in a coroner’s seamy examination room? When her husband died the day after their 30th wedding anniversary, Anne had to employ every ounce of fortitude and cunning greasing the wheels of corruption to obtain release of her beloved. Hippie at Heart (What I Used To Be, I Still Am) follows Anne’s 50’s childhood continuing through the tumultuous 60’s and 70’s. Two years stoned on pot, with side trips of acid, mescaline, opium, and peyote, following the pied piper of rock concerts and free love, took its toll. ‘Back to the land,' a 60’s mantra, led Nick and Anne to the untamed mountains of northern New Mexico.

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Humanity Reimagined: Where we go from here by Martin Fiore

Finalist
Nonfiction: General
2022 Best Book Awards

For years, executive Martin Fiore has been advising leaders from a wide range of industries about technological trends that are reshaping the world of business, from artificial intelligence and the rise of autonomous systems to human/machine convergence. Now, in Humanity Reimagined, Fiore explores how these trends are disrupting industries, changing the world of work, transforming the economy, and creating both threats and opportunities for leaders at all levels, from entrepreneurs nurturing start-up businesses to C-suite leaders at the world’s biggest corporations.

Fiore’s main focus is on what we can do to ensure that the forces of change now sweeping the planet will protect and enhance the most cherished qualities of human life rather than undermining them. He offers thoughtful recommendations for addressing many of the big issues that today’s transformational technologies are raising, from the threats to privacy posed by misuse of big data to the infiltration of autonomous systems by racial and gender bias. Most important, Fiore provides advice on how to prepare for an unpredictable future that business leaders, policy makers, and individuals forging their careers will find both practical and inspiring.

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Inhabiting Bliss by Kathleen Kinkopf

Finalist
Best Interior Design
2022 Best Book Awards

Finalist
Nonfiction: Creative
2022 Best Book Awards

Inhabiting Bliss is a delicious collection of compelling narratives and stunning imagery that satisfies our mortal craving for comfort and inspiration, particularly in the light of today’s complex and challenging times. It allows the reader to turn down the noise and immerse themselves into an imaginary landscape of words and pictures that dance across pages and weave morsels of self-reflection into a tapestry of inspiration, encouragement, and possibilities. ‘Inhabiting Bliss’ is thoughtfully composed and artfully crafted, connecting the wonders of nature, the blessings of the universe, and the power of the spirit through complex montages of flowers, animals, water, symbols, and powerful female figures.

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Ivy Lodge: A Memoir of Translation and Discovery by Linda Murphy Marshall

Finalist
Nonfiction: Creative
2022 Best Book Awards

After both her parents die, Linda Murphy Marshall, a multi-linguist and professional translator, returns to her midwestern childhood home, Ivy Lodge, to sort through a lifetime of belongings with her siblings. Room by room, she sifts through the objects in her parents’ house and uses her skills and perspective as a longtime professional translator to make sense of the events of her past—to “translate” her memories and her life. In the process, she sees things with new eyes. All of her parents’ things, everything having to do with their cherished hobbies, are housed in a home that, although it looks impressive from the outside, is anything but impressive inside; in short, she now realizes that much of it —even the house’s fancy name—was show.

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Manifesto: A Call for Men to Become Warriors for Kindness by Richard Matzkin, MA

Finalist
Best Interior Design
2022 Best Book Awards

From the Author: "The motivation for me to write this poetic essay, this call to action for men, was my coming to realization of my blindness to a truth that has been hiding in plain sight.

The news media is filled with reports of mass shootings, child molestation, road rage, vandalism, sexual harassment and domestic violence. We instinctively assume that men are the likely perpetrators. . .and in the vast majority of cases. . . . they are. The incidence of war, rape, crime, torture, genocide, and terrorism are mostly at the hands of men. Though women are certainly not blameless, the reality is that a far greater amount of the evil, hurtful and unloving actions in the world are committed by men--men who are not in touch with their heart."

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On My Way to Greatness: Understand the Power of Affirmations, Unlock Your Potential and Manifest the Power Within You by Wildine Pierre

Finalist
Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 Best Book Awards

When your goals seem far away, all you need to do is own your greatness — Read more to unlock the greatness within using proven strategies!

“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” — Mohammad Ali

You may wonder why you’re still stuck in the same place, same mindset, or same circles when there is a big world of opportunities out there. So, what’s holding you back? Is it financial status? Few growth opportunities? Narrow professional network? Whatever it may be, the truth remains: Your greatness is mostly dependent on YOU.

Yes, all these external factors play big roles in your success. But, more often than not, it’s YOU who get in your own way. You just don’t realize it yet. And if you do, you don’t know how to overcome the negative beliefs that keep you down.

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Raising Jess: A Story of Hope by Vickie Rubin

Finalist
Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 Best Book Awards

Raising Jess is the powerful story of one family's survival when faced with adversity. Written with compassion, honesty, and humor, it tells of a family changed forever by the birth of a child with special needs and their courageous decision to choose hope.

Facing the challenges of caring for her daughter, marriage struggles, and the question of having more children, Vickie Rubin gives a glimpse into the world of her family and transformation while Raising Jess. This beautiful, gripping memoir will delight and leave you wanting more.

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Saints, Sinners, Survivors: A True Story of Tragic Events and Heroic Deeds by Gary P. Jones

Finalist
Legacy: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

Saints, Sinners, Survivors --- an exciting and true portrayal of the classic battle of the good guys versus the bad guys in todays modern law enforcement profession.




Shifting Shorelines: Messages From A Wiser Self by Terry Helwig

Finalist
Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 Best Book Awards

If only you could meet your younger, greener self, along life’s shore, what might you say?

Terry Helwig explores this perennial question and how the human heart, tested by time and adversity, broken open by love and beauty, ripens and bears fruit. Her lyrical and compelling reflections awaken us to our place in the vast universe, to the currents of joy and loss, and to the sacred treasure of being alive.

Inspired by her beloved Florida barrier island, Helwig discovers a landscape of fierce beauty within as well as without. She uncovers the solace of following the phases of the moon, the curve of a shell, and the solstice path of the sun. Nature reconnects us to our true center—that place where wisdom blooms.

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Sweating Together: How Peloton Built a Billion Dollar Venture and Created Community in a Digital World by David J. Miller

Finalist
Nonfiction: General
2022 Best Book Awards

The ultimate front row look at the meteoric rise of Peloton, one of the hottest consumer and fitness brands in the world. In Sweating Together Miller brings readers directly into the center of the sweat soaked, adrenaline fueled, NYC phenomena that is Peloton and provides a first-hand account of the rise of one of the most important ventures of tomorrow’s economy.

In 2012 John Foley and a group of co-founders launched Peloton, an interactive fitness and media company. In less than 10 years the company would be worth billions, disrupt the fitness industry and create a rabid, life changing community of members using sweat to span the digital and physical worlds.

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The Finger of God: From the Lineage of David to the Presidency of the United States by Jesse L. Jackson Jr.

Finalist
Nonfiction: Cross-Genre
2022 Best Book Awards

From the Author: "Let me offer an early disclaimer. I know exactly who the Founders were. I know exactly the crimes against humanity that they were responsible for and those they inherited and were not responsible for. I do not spend time extolling the virtues of Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Adams, Mr. Franklin, and Mr. Madison. Nothing in this work or in my experiment (my life's work) can change the fact or alter the history of the debasement of humanity that preceded the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1787), and the Bill of Rights (1791) they were a part of and the obvious fact that the major accomplishment of the Founders' theories about self-government did not apply to African Americans and Native Americans, women, and specifically Black women in their thinking.

Still, there exists in their theological imagination infinite hope for their experiment. This work seeks to identify the evidence that shows and suggests that some of them were aware of a grand architectural experiment and design for the nation and its future.

Every cracked, broken, and imperfect vessel can be used to bring forward hope. I am a personal witness to this fact of human existence."




The Fun Master: A Father's Journey of Love, Loss, and Learning to Live One Day at a Time by Jeff Seitzer

Finalist
Nonfiction: Creative
2022 Best Book Awards

A self-involved academic struggling to cope with his own neurological problems, Jeff could hardly take care of himself, let alone a child with special needs, when his son, Ethan, was born. But despite multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, serious breathing and swallowing problems, hearing loss, and a challenging social environment in his first months of life, Ethan thrived—all the while teaching Jeff to take things as they came. And eight years later, the arrival from China of adopted baby sister Penelope took Jeff's on-the-job training to a whole new level.

Ethan's instinct for fun proved the perfect complement to Jeff's determination to live life fully. He died too young, but not before he, Penelope, and their mother, Janet, taught Jeff that the true path to happiness was putting other people's needs before his own—and living in the moment rather than trying to control it.




The Heroic and Exceptional Minority: A Guide to Mythological Self-Awareness and Growth by Gregory V. Diehl

Finalist
Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 Best Book Awards

Many people struggle throughout their lives, unable to identify the source of great inner existential discontent. No matter their material comfort or good fortune, they cannot escape the idea that they do not live the lives they ought to. They are not in environments that support their deepest personal growth and development. They are not the people they feel they are meant to be, and the world never works the way they know it could.

Every day, exceptional minds like these begin to suspect that the way they operate is different than the norm. They realize early on that they have profound capacities for original insight, feeling, action, choice, and meaning. But without mentoring guidance or a sense of social belonging, they feel lost—alone and alienated in their individuality.

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The Home for Friendless Children by C.L. Olsen

Finalist
Nonfiction: Inspirational
2022 Best Book Awards

Abandoned on a remote mountain in eastern Pennsylvania by his father at age five, and discarded at an orphanage by his mother a few years later, this is the remarkable true story of one boy's impenetrable resilience and courageous hope; holding onto his dreams in the face of heartbreaking loss, loneliness and betrayal.

Little Robbie Olsen, his two brothers, sister, and mother would be saved from starving to death by the kindness of the Mennonite family who farmed the hills far below. Forced to leave their mountaintop home, they would walk fifteen miles into town, carrying what little they had in paper bags, finding lodging in a two-room apartment above Arlene and Ray's Bar.

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The Space Pen Club: Close Encounters of the 5th Kind, UFO Disclosure, Consciousness and Other Mind Zoomers by Martin Keller

Finalist
Nonfiction: General
2022 Best Book Awards

A truly landmark achievement in UFO literature, this multi-layered memoir of an “experiencer”—who was also an insider of the UFO researcher world —is not only deeply personal but resonantly objective. Martin Keller spent 10 years embedded in the Close Encounters of the 5th Kind movement, which aims for human-initiated contact and increased governmental disclosure about the phenomenon. The writer’s adventures with the elites of ufology took him to many unusual and “active” high strangeness locations including his own bedroom. The reader is pulled into the author’s provocative odyssey as he explores the compelling historical and cultural context for UFO/UAP activity, sifting through the ample evidence in search of fresh insights, which are abundant. Endorsed by Dan Aykroyd, this highly readable book was released just as the Big Thaw in UFO disclosures was beginning. A must-read for UFO newcomers and veterans alike!

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Voices of Diversity by Vanessa Caraveo

Finalist
Nonfiction: Cross-Genre
2022 Best Book Awards

Voices of Diversity is a collection of poetry that encapsulates the features of social interactions. Each poem tells a story of the struggles, pains, challenges, and victories we record in our daily lives in our quest for love, inclusion, and acceptance.

This compilation seeks to help every young adult identify their voice and personality in a constantly evolving society. It endeavors to encourage this unique set of individuals to discover themselves, know where they belong in the world, and learn how they can contribute their significant quota and desired changes wherever they find themselves.

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We The Presidents: How American Presidents Shaped the Last Century by Ronald Gruner

Finalist
Best Cover Design: Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

Finalist
Best New Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

Imagine a non-partisan presidential history spanning Warren G. Harding to Donald Trump that never mentions Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative.

Rather than politics, WE THE PRESIDENTS focuses on the issues which affect Americans today. Soaring inflation, resurgent nativism, income inequality, budget deficits, the Ukraine crisis and other critical issues, all have their roots in presidential administrations over the past century.

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When Mortals Play God by John Erickson

Finalist
Best New Nonfiction
2022 Best Book Awards

American history is full of examples of discrimination in all forms, but never before has the wreckage from America’s infatuation with eugenics and its state-sanctioned policy of hate toward the mentally ill been put in such personal terms.

In this extraordinary debut book, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Erickson answers the questions that have long haunted an immigrant family: Why was a mother in her early twenties imprisoned and then sterilized? What caused her three children to be taken from her and placed in an orphanage that later preyed on children? What led her oldest son to commit an unspeakable act of violence? And, finally, whatever happened to her youngest son who disappeared from her life and was never seen by the family again?

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Zen (and Rage) and the Art of a Never-Ending Home Renovation by Marcia E. Formica

Finalist
Nonfiction: Cross-Genre
2022 Best Book Awards

Zen (and Rage) is Marcia Formica’s first, and perhaps forever only book. It’s a humorous and sometimes harrowing account of surviving and even thriving through a decade-long home renovation project co-produced with her husband. This is the story of the monumental project they undertook to morph their adorable little colonial reproduction home into an energy-efficient, sustainability-minded house over twice the size in just over three times the original timeframe—with almost no lasting loss of sanity.

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