Essence Lafontaine and Grace Woodson don't know each other, but soon Hurricane Katrina will force them together. Evacuated to Houston from New Orleans, Essence finds herself in the posh world of St. Catherine's Academy. She and her little sister, Chardonnai stay with the Woodson family as they fight bullying and racism in their new community. Buoyed by the lessons they learn from reading To Kill a Mockingbird, Essence and Grace leave old ties behind to forge a new friendship of healing and renewal.

Nancy Owen Nelson's engrossing memoir is about her search for her mysterious grandmother, Nannie B., who died while giving birth to the author's mother in 1905. She was subsequently erased from the family memory, her death a too painful memory for Nancy's grandfather, successful Alabama businessman Robert Chandler. However, that erasure had a significant impact not only on the author's mother, but also on the author. Nancy Owen Nelson’s search resulted in raising more questions about herself, even as it answered questions about her mysterious grandmother. Nonetheless, in the end her journey toward discovery was one of startling self-awareness and connection.

There Will be Cyberwar had its genesis in a Master's dissertation at King's College London. It describes how the US military moved into network-centric war fighting with little forethought of cyber security.