The Maple Staple Spotlights Five Compelling Stories of Courage, Change, and History in New Shelf Collection

Blending memoir and historical narrative, this new Spotlight Shelf captures resilience, renewal, and the enduring impact of personal stories.

ETOBICOKE, ONTARIO, CANADA, September 4, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Maple Staple Digital Spotlight Shelf turns its spotlight this time onto another diverse collection of biographies, memoirs, and historical novels. Although different in setting and circumstances, these works share a common thread: they reveal the ways in which little stories can throw light upon larger truths. From the struggles of a newspaper columnist facing an industry in decline, to one man’s defiance of illness, the unconventional journey of a physicist toward mental health, and finally, the two novels reckoning with Europe’s turbulent past, each book is a testament to the power of storytelling in preserving resilience, inviting contemplation, and bridging generations.

In “Dogs Chase Cars”, JP Pasquale, a Kansas City sports columnist, is on the verge of losing his job. The novel takes place over a single day, yet its flashbacks bring to life a career full of defining moments: covering the earthquake of the 1989 World Series, breaking news from unusual places, and self-relationships sacrificed to lure bylines. It occurs not only as a fiction but also as a layered commentary on the decline of print journalism and the arrogance of decision-makers who believed the golden age would be eternal. It is truly a story that captures the emotions of a human experience and gives the comic relief needed for an exciting, outcome-changing experience: change, ambition, and choices.

The writer behind the novel has more than 40 years of journalism experience, spent in California and the Midwest. Patrick Sangimino reported on the NFL, served as a columnist and editor, and won awards for his work before retiring in 2024. Well-versed within the walls of the newsroom, every page of his debut novel is dedicated to the past he conceives such as the outright recognition of change within it.

“Happy Soxx: Cancer Hates Color” by Mac Churchill brings a more personal kind of courage to the shelf. With candor and warmth, Churchill shares his journey with MDS, chronicling not only the challenges of his diagnosis but also the joy and resilience that defined his response. He writes about fitness, community involvement, and his socializing activities, showing that thriving and enjoying despite living with a serious illness is possible. Readers encounter a life not only about survival but about living to the maximum — golf games, breakfast clubs, charity committees, and travels around the globe fill the pages with life and humor. His memoir shows that being ill does not make one lose identity and that optimism can become its own form of defiance.

Churchill's influence stretches well beyond words on the pages. He was such an effective and successful businessman in Fort Worth, Texas, and managed and expanded the family business while directing the employees to give their best. He devoted his energies to civic organizations, charities, and local projects and reflected these values in personal and professional life. All that determination and generosity shine through his book.

Hugh Drummond Fulcher writes about mental health in his book “One Bipolar Cure!: 28 Years without an Episode!”, where he talks about how science is interwoven with faith and personal. Fulcher developed practices that helped him reclaim his balance following many painful manic episodes. His book explains these methods—ranging from physical exercises to meditation—and frames them within both spiritual insights and scientific analogies. For Fulcher, healing is not just survival; it is a disciplined learning that ties mind, body, and faith together.

Fulcher, who brings the scientific rigor into his story, holds degrees in Physics and Nuclear Engineering from Virginia Tech and has worked in academia, nuclear design, and software development. His professional background adds weight to his reflections, while his personal journey ensures they remain deeply human. His writing challenges readers to consider new ways of understanding both illness and healing.

History, memory, and regret permeate “The Wound Closest to the Sun”, a novel that moves between Bavaria in 1919, France during World War II, and France in the 1960s. It focuses on Yann—the journalist and professor whose life is characterized by a pattern marked with hesitation and loss. Through Klaus, a child of a German soldier who once saved him—Yann is made to revisit buried stories. Memories of Madeleine, a Resistance fighter he failed to join in action, still haunt him. The novel paints a portrait of guilt and the heavy consequences of choices that were made—or avoided—during war. This book was made available in French Version titled “La a la plus Proche du Soleil: Roman”

A similar reckoning with history underlies “Clipperton”, whose extravagant adventure opens with the discovery of a dossier connecting the dead father of Frank Herrman to a remote Pacific Island and Auschwitz. Unable to resist, he goes to the island with his nephew and another, where rivalries, storms, and smugglers trap them in chaos. Beyond the adventure, an account of inherited trauma and truth-seeking in the shadows of the past lies. “Clipperton” is also available in German version.

Karl Berger, author of “The Wound Closest to the Sun” and “Clipperton” was born and raised in Munich in 1941 during World War II, and later moved to the United States, where he became a pediatrician and writer. Mostly affected by Germany's post-war silence, his works ponder the burdens of one generation affecting the next. His career as a physician involved caring for communities in Pennsylvania, while his novels, in contrast, tell the darker sides of history with frankness and humanity.

Together, these five titles remind us that life’s trials—whether professional, personal, medical, or historical—can be transformed into tales of resilience and renewal. Currently featured in The Maple Staple Digital Spotlight Shelf, these books can be purchased from online retailers, awaiting to inspire readers of different generations.



About The Maple Staple:

For bookworms, by passionate writers.

At The Maple Staple, books come alive beyond mere pages. It's more than a bookstore—it's a community hub for book enthusiasts and budding authors. Celebrating diversity, they curate books from up-and-coming independent writers, and offer a platform to underrepresented voices. With captivating events and book clubs in the heart of Toronto, they foster a vibrant literary community, igniting inspiration and transformation through the enchanting power of words.

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