From the author of "The Binding Chair", this follow-up to memoir "The Kiss" explores the bonds of motherhood between four generations. When Kathryn Harrison was a little girl, her young mother left her in the care of her British grandmother who was raised in Shanghai. To Kathryn, her mother's mother seemed an almost unimaginably powerful figure: an imperious arbiter of good taste and a master storyteller, who, when coaxed, might reveal stories of a magic and vanished world. She jilted an array of suitable men before concluding that she was not quite modern enough to have a baby without a husband. At the age of 43 she finally married, and the fruit of this union, Harrison's mother, was no more interested than she in being bound by convention. An occasional witness to her daughter's growth to adulthood, she would appear sporadically in film-star clothes and urge unwanted glamour on her shy child. Harrison grew up a spectator of the remarkable, striving to comprehend these women and yet find her own way to live. In this touching memoir, Harrison writes of the ties that bind mothers to their children - and the forces that can drive them apart. She ponders the legacy of storytelling she inherited from her grandmother, and peers into the deep well of family history from which she draws inspiration for her novels. Reconsidering her past as she watches her own children grow, she recalls the thrilling risk of shoplifting; the longing for perfection that resulted in a fierce eating disorder; and the thunderous fights that showed how impossible and how necessary it was to leave home. "Seeking Rapture" conveys the aching tenderness Harrison feels toward her children, and her awe of their imaginary worlds that no adult can enter. The evocative book will awaken readers to sift through their own sense of motherhood, loss and regeneration as it chronicles the unforgettable episodes that form the drama of domestic life.

Seeking Rapture : A Memoir

Kathryn Harrison

Fourth Estate Paperbacks

Envy

"Kathryn Harrison is a wonderful writer…Spellbinding."- The New York Times Book Review"A juicy story of psychosexual suspence"- The Wall Street Journal"Shockingly complex and compulsively readable."- O, The Oprah Magazine"[Envy] has to be considered another succcess for one of the most interesting writers of her generation."- St. Louis Post Dispatch"Complex and disturbing… Envy is a masterfully constructed, insightful novel of psychosexual suspense that explores the destructive power of loss, betrayal, guilt and envy…an engaging, beautifully written story."- The Boston Globe“A compelling, beautifully written, well-constructed look at family problems that initially might seem insurmountable….Harrison is a truly gifted writer.”- Deseret Morning News"The characters, their conflicts and their conversations do seem real, and their story, however improbable, will keep you turning the pages."- Newsday“Her ability to train an unflinching eye on some of the more frightening aspects of eroticism and the human psyche, combined with her uncommon wisdom, distinguishes her as one of the finest and most fearless storytellers writing today.”–BookForum “Envy is full of Harrison’s astute, often mordant powers of physical and psychological observation…the fact is that Kathryn Harrison is one of our more earnestly impassioned and intellectually engaging players. Long may she run.”–Elle magazineWill has a good sex life–with the woman he married. So why then is he increasingly plagued by violent erotic fantasies that, were they to break out of his imagination and into the real world, have the power to destroy not only his family but his career? He’s about to lose his grip when he attends a college reunion and there discovers evidence of a past sexual betrayal, one serious enough that it threatens to overpower the present, even as it offers a key to Will’s dangerous obsessions.Hypnotic, beautifully written, this mesmerizing novel by “an extremely gifted writer” (San Francisco Chronicle) explores the corrosive effect of evil–and how painful psychological truths long buried within a family can corrupt the present and, through courage and understanding, lead to healing and renewal. “Like Scheherezade in the grip of a fever dream, Kathryn Harrison . . . has written one of those rare books, in language of unparalleled beauty, that affirm the holiness of life,” said Shirley Ann Grau, about Poison. And the same can be said about Envy.

envy

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Fourth Estate

Seal Wife

Harrison, Kathryn, author

HarperCollins Publishers, Limited

Enchantments

From one of the most admired literary voices of our time, a magical, riveting story of doomed love, set at the fall of Russia's last Tsar.St. Petersburg, 1917: as the New Year dawns, a diver pulls the murdered body of Rasputin, the Mad Monk, from the icy waters of the Neva River. Hours later, his daughters are taken to the Tsar's palace, where the Tsarina makes a shocking request: would Masha, 18, take on her father's role as healer at the sickbed of the Tsarevitch Alyosha? Shaken, Masha agrees to do what she can for the young prince, haunted as she is by questions about her father's powers and her future in a country accelerating toward political apocalypse.Two months later, the Bolshevik Revolution forces the Tsar to abdicate, and the whole royal family is placed under arrest in the Alexander Palace. Trapped together in increasingly harsh living conditions, Masha and Alyosha find themselves taking increasing solace in one another's company. The two teenagers, with radically different experiences of Russia, of Rasputin, and of Alyosha's parents' unlucky reign, create a private realm of magic and of love, as Masha introduces the young Tsarevitch to a wild and beautiful land he will never live to rule.An unusual love story, stitched delicately into the rich tapestry of Russian history, Enchantments brings to life the final days of Rasputin and the Romanovs. It is a breathtaking tour-de-force by one of our most acclaimed writers.

Enchantments: A Novel. Kathryn Harrison

5 Audio disks, unabridged and read by Kathryn Harrison.

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

BOOKS ON TAPE]

<p>The pampered daughter of successful and deeply religious tradespeople, Thérèse entered a convent at the early age of fifteen. There, she embraced sacrifice and self-renunciation in a single-minded pursuit of the "nothingness" she felt would bring her closer to God. This is a powerful story -- of a life lived with enormous passion and a searing, triumphant voyage of the spirit.</p>

Thorndike Press

<p>A young girl and her Nana hold a special bond that blooms in the surroundings of Nana’s magical garden. Then one day, the girl finds many weeds in the garden. She soon discovers that her beloved Nana has Alzheimer’s Disease; an illness that affects an adult brain with tangles that get in the way of thoughts, kind of like how weeds get in the way of flowers. As time passes, the weeds grow thicker and her Nana declines, but the girl accepts the difficult changes with love, learning to take-over as the garden’s caregiver. Extending from the experience of caring for her mother, artist Kathryn Harrison has created this poignant children's story with rich illustrations to candidly explore dementia diseases, while demonstrating the power of love. It is a journey that will cultivate understanding and touch your heart. After the story, a useful Question and Answer section is included. $1 from the purchase of this book will be donated to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. The Alzheimer Society is Canada’s leading health charity for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.</p>

Weeds in Nana's Garden

Children's Books

Flipturn Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kathryn Harrison. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kathryn Harrison

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kathryn Harrison. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Seeking Rapture : A Memoir

envy

Envy

Seal Wife

Enchantments

Enchantments

Enchantments: A Novel. Kathryn Harrison

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Weeds in Nana's Garden