Lake Forest Bookstore
Join us while we welcome author Rowan Beaird to discuss her new novel: TENDERNESS Wednesday, September 16, 2025, 6pm-7pm Books available for purchase and signing Refreshments will be served RSVP at 847-234-4420
Patrick “Kick” Kilpatrick hates the ocean. Has always been terrified of it. And now he’s in a real pickle. Drifting alone in the sea after falling (or jumping? He can’t remember as the all-inclusive drinks on the cruise he was taking with his extended family were, well, inclusive) Kick must survive. Breath by breath, hour by hour in the lonely sea. As the waves crash over him, so too do the thoughts and memories of just how he got there. A Thanksgiving cruise with an obnoxious brother-in-law he has to bite his tongue to keep from screaming at. A father who gives the Great Santini a run for his money. And a mother, who already left the family boat, so to speak, a long time ago. His family may be complicated, and the pains of life may seem unbearable—infuriating enough to leap from the deck—but maybe the will to survive is stronger. Man Overboard! is an inventive, slyly hilarious, and inspiring novel about what it means to be alive, stay alive, and what keeps us going no matter how choppy the waves of our journey become. Hold on for dear life! Refreshments will be served. RSVP at 847-234-4420
Join us while we welcome author Leah Weiss to discuss her new novel: THE CREEK, THE CRONE, AND THE CROW Monday, August 17, 2025, 6pm-7pm at Lake Forest Book Store 662 N. Western Avenue Lake Forest, IL 60045 Books available for purchase and signing Refreshments will be served RSVP at 847-234-4420 An outsider to the Carolina hills inherits a gift that could change everything for her beloved creek town on the verge of dying out, from an author of whom NPR said writes "with a deep knowledge of the enduring myths of Appalachia...vividly portraying real people and sorrows." Summer, 1980. Kate Shaw has lived in Baines Creek for ten years, teaching at a one-room schoolhouse on the brink of closure. A skeptic by heart, she rejects superstition and the belief in Appalachian folklore, much to the chagrin of Birdie Rocas, a lively and reclusive witch with a trove of secrets. Yet when Birdie dies and leaves Kate her Book of Truths and a trunk of illuminated manuscripts and journals, Kate is thrown into a mystery, overwhelmed by a collection that spans centuries back to Scotland. Enter Lydia Brown, a psychic with a curious birthmark whose visions stopped the day her parents died. Grief-stricken, without her gift, and in need of spiritual guidance, she travels to Appalachia in search of Birdie. From there, the two women’s stories intertwine, as they investigate the questions surrounding Birdie’s death and legacy, through secret rooms, underground tunnels, and back country graveyards. LEAH WEISS is a Southern writer born in North Carolina and raised in the foothills of Virginia. Her debut novel If the Creek Don’t Rise was released in August of 2017. Her short stories have been published in The Simple Life magazine, Every Day Fiction and Deep South Magazine . You can contact her on her website: leahweiss.com.
$75 includes lunch and a copy of the book (additional copies on hand for sale) Please call to RSVP: 847-234-4420 In one golden summer, Frances trades her working-class world for an elite Maine lakeside estate—where privilege and betrayal turn into a deadly game. Frances believes she’s found a ticket to paradise when a wealthy couple hires her for the summer as their mother’s helper at their lakefront summer home in Maine. The vintage wooden boats, the days at the country club, a shiny new bicycle, and a tennis racquet—suddenly Frances has everything her modest childhood lacked. Best of all, she gets to spend the summer with Forrest Emerson, her father's charismatic childhood friend who escaped their neighborhood when he married into money. But below the glittering surface of Lake Catherine, nothing is what it seems. When Forrest’s wife, Regina, pulls Frances into her private obsession, the girl finds herself witness to the intimate secrets of adult lives. As the summer heat builds, so do the tensions within Wonderland’s walls. By Labor Day, a death will shatter the seemingly perfect family, leaving Frances to question everything she thought she knew about privilege, power, and the price of belonging.
This poetry book takes the reader on the profound journey from the dark closet of hiding a drinking addiction, to the sad wake up calls that life throws at you in the hopes you will wake up, to the emergence that happens once you make the decision to leave the dark closet and choose yourself. Living in the clarity of sobriety. My greatest desire is to have those who read this book to fee seen, heard and less alone in their own journey. Hannah been in recovery from alcohol for over two and a half years. Her journey toward sobriety began while she was studying at university in Paris—a pivotal chapter of her life both personally and creatively. It was during this time, while working on her thesis, that she began writing The Clarity of Chaos, a poetry collection born from the emotional turbulence of early recovery. Overwhelmed by the urge to drink, she turned to writing as a form of expression and healing. Through poetry, Hannah found a way to process pain, reclaim my voice, and share her truth. The Clarity of Chaos is not just a book—it’s a reflection of Hannah's journey and a message of hope. The goal is to inspire others who are navigating similar paths or grappling with their own struggles with substance use. Refreshments will be served. RSVP at 847-234-4420
Join us at The Forester Hotel t for a luncheon with author Laura Kamoie as she discusses her new historical novel: A FOUNDING MOTHER $75 includes lunch and a copy of the book (additional copies on hand for sale) Please call to RSVP: 847-234-4420 In time for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the United States comes a sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams—wife of one president and mother to another—whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. A stunning historical novel with modern-day implications from the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton. In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independence—managing their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to “remember the ladies” in the new government. Through it all, she becomes his most trusted confidante and indispensable ally. When peace is secured, Abigail steps onto the world stage—exchanging ideas with Thomas Jefferson in the French countryside, navigating court life as the wife of the Minister to Great Britain, and presiding over the parlor politics of the early American republic in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Even after her husband’s presidential administration, she continues battling political foes and working behind the scenes to advance her family, secure independence for the women in her life, and ensure a better life for the next generation of Americans. From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time—one whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today.
Join us at The Gallery of Lake Forest for a luncheon with author Lisa See in she discusses her new novel: DAUGHTERS OF THE SUN AND MOON Monday, June 22nd, 2026, 12:30pm-2:30pm 202 Wisconsin Avenue Lake Forest, IL 60045 $75 includes lunch and a copy of the book (additional copies on hand for sale) Please call to RSVP: 847-234-4420 Beloved New York Times bestselling author Lisa See draws on the vibrancy and turmoil of post-Civil War Los Angeles to tell the story of three Chinese women who managed to survive and, eventually, thrive, despite all odds. In 1870, three Chinese women arrive in the small, dusty, and violent pueblo of Los Angeles. Dove, the bound-footed daughter of an imperial scholar, is entrancing and innocent. These characteristics should bring her great rewards, beginning with her arranged marriage to a much older merchant. Petal, the big-footed daughter of peasants, has grown up hungry and with dirt between her toes. In a moment of desperation, Petal’s father sells her to buy money for rice seed, and she is loaded onto a ship to the Gold Mountain—America—where she is once again sold. Moon is married to a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She is educated, speaks fluent English, and has been endowed with a face of great beauty, yet her failed footbinding as a child has left her with a limp that lessens her value in the eyes of many. Each woman has her own desires. Dove wants to love and be loved, Petal desires freedom, and Moon seeks justice. Together they face a larger society that wishes them not one ounce of good will. Anti-Chinese sentiment is strong in Los Angeles, and this eventually leads to the Night of Horrors during which all three women are challenged in ways they could not have imagined. Brought together by hardship and heartbreak, they must use their bravery, endurance, and ability to “eat bitterness” to discover their voices, find freedom, and connect through solace and friendship. Together they are daughters of the sun and moon.
This memoir is a story of survival-survival of the loss of a husband and sister and survival of the heartbreak and hardship of caring for a spouse with early-onset Alzheimer’s. This is also a love story between two kindred spirits who found each other despite vastly different backgrounds and two sisters who forged a bond amongst the chaos of their childhood and relied on that bond throughout lives steeped in tragedy and trauma. I found ways to survive and my hope is that my memoir will accompany those on their own journey of grief and trauma towards their own path of survival. Refreshments will be served. RSVP at 847-234-4420
How can you ever share true love's kiss without feeling like you're going to throw up? Phoebe Berman is on the verge of turning thirty and still hasn’t lost her virginity. So she drafts up the ultimate "Guide to Losing My Virginity" checklist and complete all the steps in a month. Actions as simple as “compliment a stranger on his outfit” or “redownload Hinge” are the easiest steps, while others, like “Go on a random dating app date” or “get drunk and make out with a stranger,” feel nearly impossible. Why? Phoebe has debilitating intimacy anxiety. And then suddenly, her relatively boring (basically non-existent) dating life is filled with suitors. There's a new fourth grade teacher at her school with perfect arms, a childhood crush resurfaces via Words with Friends, and then there's Jonathan, her college best friend who might be a friend no more... Rapidly, Phoebe’s love life is taking center stage in a way she never anticipated. But this love square she has gotten herself into, and the stomach cramps and dizziness that surface whenever she gears up for a potential date, are making things complicated. Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It is a love story for those who devour romance novels and the latest Netflix rom coms, but struggle to find protagonists that feel authentic, grounded, and like real people. Join us at The Lake Forest Club for a luncheon with author Brooke Averick! $80 includes lunch and a copy of the book with a personalized Phoebe Berman cherry-designed bookplate (additional copies on hand for sale). Please call to RSVP: 847-234-4420
WHO YOU ARE MEANT TO BE, THE ENNEAGRAM EFFECT is about remembering who you are at your essence. As you read, you will awaken to yourself in a deep way as you learn the 7 Mainstays of each type including the Strengths & Challenges, Blind Spots, Passions, Wellness Map, Wing style, Instinctual Center, and Ways to Practice Balance. Complete with a helpful Discernment Quiz that will help you determine your type if you don’t already know it. Learning about your type as well as the types of those close to you will open up your world for more of its positive effects on your life. Rosemary Hurwitz is an Enneagram author, certified coach, and dynamic workshop presenter. Since 2002, she has helped individuals cultivate greater emotional wellness and self-awareness through the transformative power of the Enneagram. Passionate about living an inner-directed life, Rosemary found her own path to clarity and purpose through this profound system. A longtime advocate for deeper consciousness and personal growth, Rosemary is an accredited professional member of the International Enneagram Association (IEA) and currently serves as Director of Communication and Recruiting for Enneagram Collaborative Global (ECG). She is a contributing author to twelve inspirational anthologies—many of them Amazon bestsellers. Her most recent contribution, Start Up to Stand Out (June 2025), is a mentoring guide featuring stories and insights from twenty entrepreneurial women. She is a proud wife, mother of four grown children, and grandmother to four. Rosemary brings warmth, wisdom, and decades of experience to all she does. Refreshments will be served RSVP at 847-234-4420