The Alchemy of Sass: A Memoir of Becoming and Belonging
Paperback now available for preorder. Release date March 2027. All editions, including audiobook, coming soon.
I've had five last names and none fit. Each one burried some secret it's time to face.
A Sampling of the Buzz Around The Alchemy of Sass
“This exciting memoir charts the author’s attempt to arrive at her best, least deferential self through a series of hair-raising escapes...She never gives up, and we the readers are her beneficiaries.”
— Phillip Lopate
Editor of The Art of the Personal Essay and winner of the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Christopher Lightfoot Walker Award
“If resilience is the heart of the book, then compassion is its backbone.”
— Debra Gwartney
Author of I Am a Stranger Here Myself, winner of the River Teeth Book Prize and the WILLA Literary Award
“I confess I love sassy women, and Amy Lou Jenkins is their queen.”
— Bob Shacochis
National Book Award–winning author of The Woman Who Lost Her Soul
“She writes about hard things, emotional things, and personal things with equal force and felicity.”
— Tom Bissell
Author of Creative Types and Other Stories
“Amy Lou Jenkins’ memoir is a poignant and unblinking look into a rich and deep soul.”
— Michael O’Keefe
Actor & Writer
“A book I read in one sitting, unable to stop until I had reached the thoughtful and satisfying ending.”
— Sandra Worsham
Author of Going to Wings and Patterns
You’ve arrived at a meaningful time.
As Amy Lou Jenkins completes the draft of her second memoir, The Alchemy of Sass: A Revolution of Becoming and Belonging—a memoir that unravels lies, secrets, and assumptions —you’re invited to begin the journey of authenticity that started it all.
Walk the woods, marshes, and wild places with Amy and her son as they explore what it means to live, belong, and speak with truth.
At this special moment, the best-selling, award-winning Every Natural Fact: Special Edition is available at no cost when you join the Lit Friends community.
First-Person Writing is all about You
If you have ever thought about writing about your life and the things and ideas that are important to you, you are a first-person writer.
Millions of readers are enamored with the personal narrative. I am too. I retired from my nursing career to study writing and earned an MFA at Bennington. Then I taught at universities and workshops for more than a decade. When an engaged voice leads a reader on an entertaining journey to a deeper understanding, the world can shift. I've helped hundreds to write their stories. You can write your life stories.
Write your true story, memoir, or essay and give your life experience voice and legacy. Claim your free guide to find your story and write your memoir: Download.
Use Your Writing to Create Gifts.
Gift-Writing Mastery: A Course in Personalized Gifting.
Write gifts that will be cherished long after others are forgotten, so that you bring joy to every gift-giving occasion.
The Write-a-Gift framework inspires, teaches, and supports you to transform words and ideas into physical manifestations of caring so that your gifts are remembered and cherished for years to come. You'll become a master of thoughtful gift-giving. If you are a professional writer or new to sharing your writing, you can turn words into great gifts without getting hung up on tech or presentation issues.
Green and Wildish Living Celebrates and Defends our Earth
Nature lovers are sometimes portrayed as people who eat bark and live in the rough and wild wilderness. Are you enamored by almost every natural thing, but also attracted to a comfortable bed and a warm shower? You are wildish.
Those of us who believe in good science and laws of nature know that our planet is under duress. The Earth needs advocates. While defending the planet, let's celebrate the natural world around us. Join me in living the Green and Wildish life. Claim your resource guide to the best 15 free resources for the green and wildish: Download.
