"Between Fires is a wrenching, healing, grief-defying, awe-inspiring journey. Prepare for tears and laughter." Marcia Orland, Afterglow Media The story begins in 1961, when the fierce Santa Ana winds hurled flames across the thirsty hillsides of Bel Air, on the west side of Los Angeles. A young woman ran with her two babies and a dog to escape the wildfire that burned her home to the ground. Eighteen days later, her husband died of a heart attack. What follows is a courageous story of dramatic choices-some foolish, some wise but all emotionally honest and inspiring. Marilee Zdenek's seventh book offers a story that goes beyond surviving to creating an abundant life, drawing on her past to help define her choices for the future. What did she learn when she was twenty-one, living in Paris, acting in a film, trying to fall out of love with a complicated man who won her heart in spite of the warnings? How did she learn to love again, then lose again, then go on? The year is 2014. She has loved and lost two extraordinary men, endured the grief and faced the challenges. "Lessons I learned through dangerous choices and wise ones, lucky ones and embarrassing ones-were all a preparation for the important ones I must make in this season of my life. The species that doesn't adapt, doesn't survive and that's true of widows, too. In fact it's true of anyone who wants to make a meaningful life after devastating loses. "Now, as I turn eighty, I embrace the uncertainty that tomorrow holds and whisper my gratitude for all that remains."
About the Author: Marilee Zdenek is the best-selling author of six books and a pioneer in the application of brain research to enhance creativity. The Right Brain Experience: An Intimate Program to Free the Powers of your Imagination was published in hardcover and paperback by McGraw Hill; it was re-published in paperback by Two Roads Publishing. Marilee's other books include: Inventing the Future: Advances in Imagery that Can Change Your Life, Someone Special, and Splinters in My Pride. God is a Verb! and Catch the New Wind were written in collaboration with Marge Champion. Someone Special was adapted as a theatre piece and was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and The Dorothy Chandler Theater in Los Angeles. Her pioneering work in the use of right-brain techniques for creativity and mental health led to a research project for Psychiatric Clinics of North America that was published in their medical journal. She presented programs for the White House Task Force on Innovative Learning, and gave five presentations at The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She has also spoken at the Kongresshalle in Berlin, Stanford University, University of Southern California, and University of California Santa Barbara. For twenty-five years, she taught at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Marilee served as Vice President and Literary Awards Chairperson for Pen West (now PEN CENTER, USA). As Founder/President of Right-Brian Resources, Inc., Marilee has lectured for many corporations in the United States and Europe. Her work has been recognized by Barbara Walters, Newsweek, The Today Show, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and many others in the U.S. and Europe. Currently, Marilee is on the Board of Directors of Hospice of Santa Barbara, where she leads programs for medical professionals on how to use guided imagery to comfort patients who are at the end of their lives and to give emotional support to their families. Marilee's website is helpful for readers who want to know more about her work: www.MarileeZdenek.com She always likes to hear from her readers. Her email address is: Marilee@MarileeZdenek.com