About
Maegan Carberry has been a provocative independent voice in our national conversation, working as a journalist, media strategist, and digital entrepreneur for 15 years. She provides media strategies to organizations and individuals, and is an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. In 2016, Maegan will release her first novel, Do I Have To Vote For Hillary Clinton? The book chronicles the rise of ambitious political journalist Amy Underwood, her English bulldog Mindy Kaling, and a variety of adventures that would make Susan B. Anthony proud and Bridget Jones giggle.
Maegan began her career as a reporter and columnist with the Chicago Tribune, where she wrote some amusing columns she really hopes you won't google and interviewed exciting folks like Jennifer Lopez, Hugh Hefner, and an up-and-coming senator named Barack Obama. She later worked as Arianna Huffington's Chief-of-Staff during the early days of The Huffington Post, was Communications Director of Rock the Vote, and the first curator of Upworthy.
When she is not working, Maegan is designing and sewing dresses for 100 inspiring women through her project, birdbrain. birdbrain benefits the creation of The Long-term Guide to Surviving Sexual Assault.
She Does Not Fear the Snow
Description
<p><font color="#000000" face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><span style="line-height:normal;">An Amazon #1 bestseller with 50+ glowing reviews. </span></font></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">Available in Kindle and print.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">From the very start of her faith autobiography, ‘She Does Not Fear the Snow’, author Bobbie Ann Cole reaches out across the page and endears herself to her reader. You will very quickly feel that you know her, and will be richer for the knowledge. </span></p><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;height:auto;"><div>She comes to Israel, seeking meaning and purpose for her life, following breast cancer and the demise of her long-standing marriage. There, God claims her and lays a trail of miracles that lead her from her native England to a new husband of faith in Atlantic Canada. <br />Though she is upfront about her ending, you’ll find yourself longing to learn the next step in her discovery of new love and deeper faith journey. This is one of those books you just can’t put down. Potentially, you’ll be following the twists and turns of her journey into the wee small hours. <br />‘A mysterious rug with a life-changing message, a Ruth-type love story, fascinating interactions with other believers, poetic descriptions of landscapes many native Canadians take for granted—and a message of God’s love and salvation,’ writes critic Margaret Welwood. ‘Bobbie Ann Cole’s story is a little too strange and untidy to be fiction. As a true story, it will leave you satisfied, yet wanting to know more.’ <br />‘Often times, life will take us to the end of our rope, leaving us helpless and at our wit’s end. Yet, even in such dire situations, our God is not helpless. He will bring in plentiful harvest – a harvest of renewal, hope, joy and happiness in our life,’ says Khamneithang Vaiphei. ‘She Does Not Fear the Snow is an incredible testimony that will have a profound impact on you.’ <br />If mystery, romance, women’s faith issues, the Jewish roots of Christianity, Christian living or outreach appeal to you, you will find much to enjoy.</div><div> </div></div>
Story Behind The Book
After 15 years of working in politics and media, when people started asking me if I supported Hillary Clinton for the presidency all I felt was a gigantic brain fog and the tugging of my heartstrings. I couldn't tell which way was up anymore. I've worked with some of the most traditionally-powerful women in the world, studied the field and the issues, and had my own experiences with misogyny and violence. They all blurred together. Hillary Clinton was my childhood hero, and inspired me to be an ambitious woman. At 35, it feels like feminism and gender roles are at a critical turning point in America — one which some of our predecessors aren't quite wrapping their heads around and my generation may be taking for granted. It comes at a time when the pros and cons of identity-based voting are emerging as a serious factor for the country's electorate, commensurate with our changing demographics. Many Americans will have to face oversimplification just to gain representation, while ultimately trying to cast ballots based on the best possible policy approach. It's a welcome-but-murky science at best.
Before I could have anything interesting to say on the subject, I sought out first to process my own life. In the fall of 2015, I fled my life in Los Angeles and rented a condo in the beautiful Palm Desert a couple hours east, where for weeks I spoke only to my pilates instructor and scribbled notes all over the walls like the guy in A Beautiful Mind. It was a weird-but-good time. The result was a unique story that came from my heart. The book's characters and themes are all composites and variations on my real experiences. Writing was cathartic and eye-opening. I opted to write fiction for several reasons. Foremost, I didn't want to be another blowhard pundit preaching to the choir. I also wanted to create an alternate universe where difficult conversations had room for gray areas; this is the kind of reflective opportunity we no longer experience in mainstream media or crowd-sourced internet hysteria. And, of course, I'm a book nerd. This moment has been in the making since I read Anne of Green Gables back in second grade.
As I started to understand what happened to me, I pushed myself to attempt to articulate broader societal trends. I teach college students, so I thought about the kinds of questions I get from them. I prioritized providing them with a story that would illuminate their unique moment as young voters. However, this book is one that folks of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy. Frankly, it doesn't fit in one genre or on a specific shelf in the bookstore, which is exactly why I opted to self-publish. It was scary, but I'm a populist. I listened to Macklemore's song Victory Lap every morning, savoring the words: "Nowadays make good music, the people are your label." I wrote a compelling story, and now I entrust it to those souls who will find it.
Don't be fooled by its chick lit vibes. While certainly a zany adventure, this book is rigorous, serious, and sometimes quite dark. Just like me. :)
