Ink

The latest alumni books in print.

Kitchen Conversations

By Barbara Ballinger ’71 and Margaret Crane

The kitchen is the epicenter of the home. To serve its multiple purposes, its design must be functional, comfortable and chic. Whether you are working on a budget, sparing no expense or trying to find a nice balance, this book will guide you to make crucial decisions on details large and small, and be your companion on the journey of imagining, planning, designing and building the kitchen of your dreams. 

Securitizing Marine Protected Areas

By Elizabeth M. De Santo ’95

Drawing on more than two decades in the field, De Santo, a professor of environmental studies at Franklin & Marshall College, makes the case that Marine Protected Areas are not only a critical tool for protecting marine biodiversity in a changing climate, they also play an important role at the intersection of geopolitics and environmental justice and provide a case study of environmental governance at the science-policy interface. With an interdisciplinary and critical approach, the book provides key insights to help the international community move toward meaningful, equitable and effective conservation approaches.

Aiming for Net Zero

By Julia A. Flagg, Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies

Among the few nations that have committed to ambitious emission reduction plans to mitigate climate change is the small Central American country of Costa Rica. Its pioneering policies include a Payments for Environmental Services program, a carbon neutrality pledge and a goal of decarbonizing the economy. Drawing on archival evidence and interviews, Flagg offers many lessons for other nations aiming to curtail planet-warming emissions and shows how investments in the public good enhance social development.

Party Animals

By Tara Lazar; illustrated by Anna Raff ’88

This delightful picture book is equal parts silly and thoughtful—perfect for read-aloud parties and library-going parties and learning-to-be-friends parties. Beatrix, Theodore and Phoebe are party animals; they can make a party out of anything. Then they meet Horace. He’s a party pooper. “You can’t have so many parties!” he says. Could Horace be right? Join the Party Animals in this whimsical celebration of friendship and empathy.

Body Image Inside Out

By Deb Schachter ’89 and Whitney Otto

With playfulness and humor, Schachter, a seasoned therapist, and Otto, an executive coach, expertly guide readers through a new approach to body image healing. Weaving together Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness and Attachment Theory and highlighting a diverse spectrum of client stories and bodies, each chapter features teachings, journaling prompts and innovative exercises to help readers find a kinder, more collaborative relationship with body image.

In Common Things

By Jefferson Singer, Faulk Foundation Professor of Psychology

Singer’s meditative lyric and narrative poems trace patterns of relationships over a full life course encompassing origins, conflicts, steady habits and loss. They explore the roots of creativity and spiritual awakening with gratitude for every common and uncommon pleasure—“the hallelujah of azaleas everywhere” and “the spark, the light, the yes.”

Write About Now

By Jonathan Small ’89

When Small began interviewing bestselling writers for his podcast Write About Now, he didn’t anticipate how moved and inspired he’d be hearing their origin stories. Now, he’s curated these revelations into a book of surprising, insightful and heartwarming conversations with a mind-boggling list of the best of the best in journalism, fiction, nonfiction and illustration, including science writer Mary Roach, Secret Life of Bees author Sue Monk Kidd, designer Betsey Johnson, and New York Times bestselling author—and former Conn classmate—David Grann ’89. 

This Is A Love Story

By Jessica Soffer ’07

This achingly intimate novel takes readers on a 50-year journey of love and loss. The story begins at the end, with Jane dying and Abe recounting their life together to keep them going. Readers follow them when they first meet in Central Park as starry-eyed young lovers and aspiring artists. Soon they find themselves as frustrated and exhausted parents, later as creatives watching their careers take flight. From the outside, their lives seem ideal, but the years bring undeniable struggle—depression, temptation, failure, denial, terminal illness and more. Through rotating perspectives, Soffer captures the magic and heartache of life unfolding in its various seasons.