In Between The Pages with James Lott Jr.

At first, silence felt holy. Then the music started—and nothing was ever the same.In the gripping second volume of his memoir series, Chaz Holesworth steps out of the wreckage of his Philadelphia childhood and into a new wilderness: adolescence, longing, awakening, and the dangerous freedom of life beyond the rules that once defined him.Raised in a world where faith meant fear and obedience meant survival, Chaz enters his teenage years numb and isolated. Emotions are weakness. Questions are sin. Desire is the enemy. But when first love cracks open the cage, and forbidden music floods in, everything he has been taught about identity, God, and himself begins to unravel.With every lyric he wasn’t allowed to hear, and every mile he runs from home, Chaz discovers pieces of a self he never knew he could claim. Friends become family. Music becomes prayer. And movement becomes the only escape from a growing storm of shame, confusion, and spiritual fallout he doesn’t yet have language for.Drugs, heartbreak, adventure, and raw curiosity collide as Chaz tries to live fast enough to stay ahead of his past. But survival has a cost, and reclaiming his voice means confronting everything silence once protected him from.Lyrical, honest, and unflinchingly human, Life and How to Live It: Near Wild Heaven is a coming-of-age memoir about breaking indoctrination, surviving first love, and learning to choose life after years of enforced silence. Set against the pulse of mid-90s music and youth culture, it is a story for anyone who has ever tried to outrun their past, or finally stopped running.
Chaz Holesworth is a Philadelphia native and the author of the memoir series Life and How to Live It. Raised in a world shaped by poverty, addiction, and fear-based religion, he writes with unflinching honesty about survival, identity, and the long work of unlearning shame. Music runs through his story as a lifeline, a language, and a way back to himself. Chaz lives outside Philadelphia with his wife and their dog. When he is not writing, he is usually chasing live music, finding new roads to travel, and advocating for the rights of workers and animals. chazholesworthbooks.com

Author of Mob Justice, out now!

Brianna Labuskes is the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Amazon Charts best-selling author of psychological thrillers and historical fiction. Her books have been translated into several languages worldwide. She grew up in Pennsylvania, lived in Washington D.C. for many years and now calls Asheville, N.C. home. She enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time with her pup. For more: visit her at briannalabuskes.com.

After surviving a terrorist nightmare, Justice Department lawyer Blake Hudson takes on a new enemy: the Chicago mafia. Assigned to the Organized Crime Strike Force, he dives into a world that’s nothing like the movies. The Chicago Outfit may still live in Al Capone’s shadow, but its power has evolved—slicker, smarter, and more dangerous than ever. At its center is Enzo Renzi—a polished consigliere with an Ivy League mind and a conscience buried beneath layers of loyalty. To Blake, he’s the key to bringing the Outfit down. To others, he’s a marked man. Ruthless killers close in, and neither Enzo nor Blake knows who’s behind the crosshairs. When a secret meeting between rival gangs threatens to ignite a citywide war, Blake races to stop it—only to uncover something far darker than mob violence: a hidden network whose reach extends deep into America’s institutions. Chad Boudreaux is a Washington insider hired by the U.S. Department of Justice the night before the September 11, 2001 attacks—launching him immediately into counterterrorism work that earned him high accolades at an early age. His success in the Justice Department carried him to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where his role as Deputy Chief of Staff allowed him to work directly on significant policy, operational, and legal issues facing the Department. He currently is the chief legal officer of a publicly traded, Fortune 300 company and America’s largest military shipbuilder. Boudreaux leverages his unique, high-level experience in global security matters and his extensive legal expertise to craft breathtaking, insider stories of mystery and intrigue that are ripped from today’s headlines and are sure to shock his readers. book out now!