Cheryl Fusco Johnson sits down for a conversation with Iowa native, Beth Howard. Beth, a journalist for more than 25 years, has recently written "Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie". Her book recounts the sudden loss of her husband and her healing journey across the country that culminates in her return to Iowa, where she currently resides in the world famous American Gothic House and runs the Pitchfork Pie Stand.

Beth has recently appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Real Simple, Midwest Living and much more. Her previous writing has appeared in such publications as Shape, Elle, Fitness, Travel & Leisure. She has worked as senior editor for Sports Travler, web publisher, PR manager, and more.

Don't miss this delightful conversation!

Humorist, Polly Frost has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and many other magazines. Her humorous essays have also been anthologized, including in two of The New Yorker’s “best of” collections. Her 2010 humor collection, "With One Eye Open", inspired Elle columnist, E. Jean Carroll, to call Polly Frost “the Edith Wharton of her generation."

Polly will be performing her one-person show, "How To Survive Your Adult Relationship with Your Family", Saturday, May 19 at The Englert Theatre, in Iowa City. Combining storytelling, anecdotes and humorous tips, Polly presents a heartfelt and humorous exploration of the journey families take as they grow and change in often unexpected ways. 

You'll definitely want to take time to sit back and enjoy this week's wonderful edition of Writers' Voices.

Our guest is Priscilla Warner, who has written the new book, "Learning to Breathe: My Yearlong Quest to Bring Calm to My Life". For many years, Priscilla struggled with anxiety and panic attacks despite having a loving family and a successful book ("The Faith Club"). This book chronicles her journey and transition from panic to peace. Testing spiritual chanting, Ayurvedic oil treatments, meditative painting, meetings with mystical rabbis, silent retreats, self-examination and much more, she attempts to find a place of calm.

Don't miss this delightful conversation!

At age 13, Frank Meeink became a SkinHead. At 18, he was a SkinHead leader and Neo-Nazi recruiter. In "Autobiography of a Recovering SkinHead: The Frank Meeink Story as Told to Jody M. Roy, Ph.D.", Frank tells his raw story, from his angry childhood that found an outlet in the Neo-Nazi movement through his time in prison, encountering cons of all backgrounds and race, that first caused him to question his anger and rascism. The book is a journey into the dark depths of the rascist American underground.

Since turning his life around, Frank has become a noted speaker, author and founder of "Harmony Through Hockey".Currently living in the Des Moines area, Frank's life is now dedicated to tolerance, diversity and mutual understanding.

Don't miss this incredible and moving story and conversation!

Cheryl Wilfong, our guest this week, is a Master Gardener and mindfulness meditation teacher, who has brought her two passions together in her book, "The Meditative Gardener". This book guides readers in practical easy-to-follow ways to bring full awareness into your gardening.

By sitting, walking, strolling or bending over in your garden, you can learn to enjoy it, just as it is and notice the joy in provides.

Cheryl is a teacher at Vermont Insight Meditation Center and has written a previous book, "Following the Nez Perce Trail: A Guide to the Nee-Me-Poo National Historic Trail"

Caroline Preston, our Writers' Voices guest this week, has created the first ever scrapbook novel, "The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures". Pulling from her collection of vintage ephemera, including vintage postcards, magazine ads, ticket stubs, catalog pages, fabric swatches, fashion spreads, menus, and more, Caroline captures the spirit of the 1920s as seen through the eyes of the lovely, spirited, and ambitious Frankie Pratt.

Caroline Preston, who started collecting antique scrapbooks while still in High School, is the author of three previous novels, including "Jackie By Josie", a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and "Gatsby's Girl". She currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Cheryl Fusco Johnson hosts Writers' Voices this week with guest author, editor, blogger, and humorist, Wendy McClure.  She is the author of "The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie"; and a recently released e-book, "Don’t Trade the Baby for a Horse and Other Ways to Make Your Life a Little More Laura Ingalls Wilder", that explores her obsession with all things Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Her published works also include essays in The New York Times Magazine; columns for Bust magazine; and the weblog Poundy, which she launched in 2000 to explore body image issues and to make fun of aerobics instructors. She’s written children’s picture books, such as "The Princess and the Peanut Allergy"and a memoir, "I’m Not the New Me".

Local author, Rudy Wilson, makes a return visit to Writers' Voices to discuss his novel, "Girl Walking Backwards".

Rudy, best known for his novel, "The Red Truck", has an MFA in English/Fiction Writing, from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, where he was a manuscript reader for admissions to the prestigious graduate writing program. He has received a James Michener Fellowship, a CCLM-GE Award for Fiction published in The Paris Review, and an NEA Fellowship for Fiction, in 1989. He has conducted a series of workshops in fiction writing since 1986 in Iowa, Minnesota, and Maui.

Emerging writing, Rae Bryant comes to Writers' Voices this week. Rae teaches in the John Hopkins University graduate writing program and is editor-in-chief of the program's new literary and arts journal. Her short story collection "The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals", is a Pen Hemingway and Pushcart award nomee. Her collection pushes the boundaries and explores all the humor and tragedy found in everyday modern life.

On Friday, March 30th, she will doing a reading at at Prarie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City as a part of The Mission Creek Literary Series, which will be running from March 27 - April 1.

This week the 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction, Luis Alberto Urrea will discuss his most recent novel, "Queen of America". This sequel to Urrea's "The Hummingbird’s Daughter", follows Teresita Urrea, beloved healer and "Saint of Cabora," as she flees with her father from Mexico on to a journey through turn of the century New York, San Francisco, St. Louis and beyond.

Born in Tijuana, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother, Luis Urrea has authored over 13 books, and has won numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. On Tuesday, March 27th, he will doing a reading from Queen of America at Prarie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City. This will be the kick-off event for The Mission Creek Literary Series, which will be running from March 27 - April 1.