My sister gave me this biography of playwright Wendy Wasserstein for Christmas. It is a masterfully told tale of a complex woman, and a fantastic profile of what it takes to make art. I'd recommend it for anyone interseted in theater, writing, creativity and women making their way in the world.
The Thre
I urge you to buy from your local independent bookstore, but you can click cover to purchaseadbare Heart
The Threadbare Heart is a love story inspired by my mother’s recent marriage to a man she met on the same blind date where she met my dad, 54 years ago. It’s a mother-daughter story, as well. Readers of my last book, The Only True Genius in the Family, won’t be surprised to hear that the mother-daughter relationship is fraught with jealousy and tension. This time, however, I really amped it up. At the same time that a daughter loses the great love of her life, her mother — a woman in her mid-70s — gains the great love of her own. In the midst of all this, a prized piece of fabric, which the daughter has been saving for more than 40 years, is the last thing saved from a house destroyed by wildfire. That piece of fabric becomes the bridge between a mother and a daughter torn apart by grief, jealousy and misunderstanding.
"The Threadbare Heart is exquisite. I was riveted to the many hairpin turns in Nash’s lovely prose, and having just finished reading, feel both the trauma and comfort of a deeply felt and written novel." • Luanne Rice •
"Jennie Nash gets all the details right: the quirky obsession of fabric hoarders who dream of the possibilities woven into a piece of cloth, the smell and panic of southern California brush fire season, and the roller coaster ride we call marriage.The Threadbare Heart may do more than "Project Runway" to bring sewing machines out of storage." • Kitty Felde • NPR
"With The Threadbare Heart, Jennie Nash has accomplished the extraordinary: a quietly profound novel about the many jagged, heart-wrenching, transcendent ways one person can love another. The story of Lily and Tom stayed with me long after the last page was turned." • Hope Edelman • The Possibility of Everything
"Following multiple characters through the intricacies of love, grief, and desire, Jennie Nash writes with honesty and simple grace about the most complex human emotions." • Laura Brodie • The Widow’s Season
READ AN EXCERPT OF THE THREADBARE HEART
The Only 
I urge you to buy from your local independent bookstore, but you can also click cover to purchaseTrue Genius in the Family
An IndieNext Notable Pick, this is a story about three generations of artists who are grappling with the source of creativity and the limits of love. Claire has a successful career as a food photographer, a loving husband, a gorgeous home on the beach, and a daughter whose career as a painter is in the brink of taking off. The one thing she doesn’t have is the acceptance of her father, a legendary landscape photographer who believed that, in their family, genius skipped a generation. When her father drops dead, Claire suddenly loses confidence in herself and her art. Even worse, she starts to feel jealous of her daughter’s success. As she helps prepare a retrospective of her famous father’s work, she uncovers evidence that he struggled and loved in ways she never imagined – a revelation that changes everything she believes about herself. This story was inspired by the years I spent as a child in the wildnerness of the American West with my dad, a leading figure in the environmental movement.
"I finished reading The Only True Genius in the Family, and I have to say I like it more than your first! Loved the realism of the character, flaws and all. Keep writing!"-- Gayle, Inklings Bookshop, Yakima WA
"Last night I finished The Only True Genius in the Family and was sorry to have it end. It was a wonderful read, with characters so well carved out I could see them in a movie. I could picture the paintings, the photographs, the scenes both at the beach house and in Driggs.... could even hear the voices of Claire and Bailey. I just loved it!" -- Kathryn, Kat4Studios
"Just a quick note to say I LOVED your novel! Gobbled it right up! I can't wait to blab to everyone about it." --Cynthia M, blogger
"I absolutely loved it. In fact, I couldn’t put it down." Melissa Donovan, Writing Forward
“A 5-star most enjoyable read…perfect for book clubs.” -- Armchair Interviews
“A true page-turning delight.” -- Book Club Classics
“My heart started pounding as I read it. You touched on some profound ideas. It’s a beautiful story.” -- Jim Brandenburg, wildlife photographer,
“Honest, deeply felt, smartly paced, and highly relevant.” -- Beth Kephart, novelist
I urge you to buy from your local independent bookstore, but you can click cover to purchaseThe Last Beach Bungalow
After five years cancer-free, April Newton should be celebrating, but instead she’s suffering. She feels her husband slipping away, and though the spectacular, stylish house he’s building for her should be a fresh start, April finds herself resenting it. As their move-in date approaches, she becomes obsessed with winning the right to buy the last Redondo Beach bungalow, convinced that the quirky, lived-in little house represents everything she is missing in her life—comfort, completeness, survival. And though her quest for the bungalow will take some surprising twists, it may put back together the pieces of her heart…
“This…wonderful story… allows us to see what our yearning for home is really about.”—Sarah Susanka, The Not So Big House
“Nash writes with gentle certainty of the fact that life is full of uncertainty.”—Booklist
“[A] winning debut…This grown-up fable replaces the erotics of sex with the erotics of floor plans.”—Publishers Weekly
“A lyrical first novel from Nash about a breast-cancer survivor searching for a home…A sensitive novel that will appeal to many women and resonate with cancer survivors.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Nicholas Sparks, move over.” – Lazy Readers’ Book Club
More than 100,000 copies in print! I urge you to buy from your local independent bookstore, but you can also click the cover to purchase.The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming and Other Lessons I Learned From Breast Cancer
Breast cancer made me a wise old woman at the age of thirty-six. I learned, among other things, that the fight against breast cancer can be a surprisingly positive, life-affirming experience for patients, family and friends.
From detection and surgery to reconstruction and recovery, I give readers a road map for a journey no one chooses to take. I details both the large and small lessons learned along the way: the importance of a child’s birthday cake; the pleasure of wearing a beautiful, provocative red dress; and how to be grateful rather than guilty when someone brings lasagna to the door.
A celebration of survival for everyone, this story transforms one of life’s most harrowing experiences into a story of reassurance and enlightenment.
“More revealing than a low-cut blouse and more uplifting than a Wonderbra! I laughed, I cried, I checked for lumps! Celebrate life and buy this book today.”--Rosie O’Donnell
"Jennie Nash more than survives cancer; she transforms the experience of the disease for herself and for others. Celebrating life as she accepts the spectre of death, her story makes it very clear that life is bigger than any disease. She tells her story from a place so close to her heart, that you can’t but feel it in yours.” -- Marianne Williamson
“In her introduction, Jennie Nash writes, `Stories help. Stories heal.’ Indeed they do, especially when they’re as wonderfully written as hers.” -- Betty Rollin, author of First You Cry
READ AN EXCERPT OF THE VICTORIA'S SECRET CATALOG NEVER STOPS COMING
Raising a Reader: A Mother's Tale of Desperation and Delight
Out of print
Altared States: Surviving the Engagement
Out of print