I live for the moments when I say something shocking enough that my husband closes his eyes on a slow inhale and shakes his head back and forth. Joy bubbles through my chest, and I celebrate with an energetic fist pump. LOL! Yes, I got him! He is my real life alpha hero. A big personality with a smart wit and a generous heart in a football player physique. And he teases me relentlessly. I’m more silly than funny and my wit runs on the slow side. I’m the person who three days after a conversation will think of the perfect come back. Craaaaaaap…too little and way too late. So, my weapon of choice to tease my husband (and face life in general) is my inappropriate humor, and I embrace it with passion. At this time in my life, and after beating breast cancer (fingers crossed it stays that way) I’ve come to realize that life is way too short to live it satisfying someone else’s expectations or comfort. I want to laugh, I want to love, I want to find joy in the little things and reach for the big things (sooooo many jokes running through my head right…

While I run when someone asks me what my favorite book is, I happily stand and talk if they ask what my favorite reads of the present calendar year are. Of course, even narrowing the books in a time span of 365 days is rough, but I love reflecting back on my year as a reader and remembering what books I enjoyed. 2015 has been a dynamite of a year for great reads, so this week’s column and next week’s will be devoted to highlighting some of my favorite YA books of 2015. From surprising unreliable narrators to small towns that won’t let go to humor and action at their best, here is part one of my most beloved 2015 books that I will likely reread many, many times in the years to come. BONE GAP by Laura Ruby About BONE GAP “Bone Gap marks Laura Ruby as one of fiction’s most original voices. She is capable of moving you to tears, terrifying you on deep and dreamlike levels, and making your heart shout with happiness. This book is magic realism at its most magical.” —E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars BONE GAP is the story of Roza, a…

I won’t lie: When my husband and I decided to open our marriage, I thought, “This is going to be interesting … I better take notes!” And the events of that first two years, getting to date again, having new lovers, shaping our sexual identities—did not disappoint, gifting me with the kind of rich, dramatic material that make books compelling. “Taking notes” spiraled into “processing,” which evolved into blogs, and then into a memoir. Writing WIDE OPEN often felt like slipping between two worlds and landing in a miracle zone. I was writing about possibly the most magical time in my life. Revisiting the discovery that I could have both my husband of twenty years and my new love, Oz, was a delicious treat. And another lovely morsel: writing candidly about open marriage grew an unprecedented loyal readership of people eager to share information and insight on the taboo subject of open marriage; having this supportive audience was a boon, especially since there were times when I felt put in the line of fire. Before publishing the book, I was threatened with a lawsuit and was forced to take a pseudonym. Some family and friends confessed to me that the…