So don't let anyone tell you you can't go back to your home town. 

Standing room only.  May I say it again, Standing room only, and my name in lights at the Palace -  Great thanks to Michael Heagarty and his staff for hosting us at the mighty Palace Theater - please look at these pictures and find yourself  in them!!! 

There were over 75 people who came - and over 100 books were bought in the 3 days of the Syracuse tour - I would love to hear your comments. 

And while it was wonderful to connect with old friends - what was truly amazing was the way the community resonated to this book - so many people I had never known came out and made thoughtful comments as they bought books - I just want to thank you all - and ask that you all keep passing the word along!  

Thanks from me, Stephanie, and "Bluff Island Rescue Service", the little engine that could. 

Please leave comments on the Bluff Island Rescue Service Facebook page

Read this book! This lyrical memoir by Stephanie Hubbard is breathtaking in its honesty. For anyone who has grown up in the shadow of a charismatic, narcissistic, larger-than-life parent, this book will resonate deeply. Hubbard's lifelong struggle to balance her desperate need for the love of a domineering father, with her own need to survive is painful to read, but brilliant writing. 

Review by Hillary McGregor Journalist & Writer

 All is moving forward for a great tour of Syracuse!

I will be doing a reading on Campus at SU at the Jabberwocky  at 4 pm Sunday November 14th, so if you are on campus - this reading was designed for YOU!!!

If you are working downtown please come say hello at the 7 Rays Bookstore in Armory Square - I will be there Monday Lunch from 11-2  

New reader reviews continue to roll in!  

From Amanda Byrd:

Brutally honest and humorous and heartbreaking all at the same time, Hubbard paints a can't-look-away picture of the flaws and frailties of everyone around her - including herself. Her sympathetic eye, and her willingness to take on her own share of responsibility, are what make her difficult characters into real people.

This is one of those books that linger, coloring my mood and staying on my mind long after I finished it. An unusual and great read.

From Amie B. Kosberg, Literature teacher:

Stephanie Hubbard's Bluff Island Rescue Service is by far one of the best memoirs I have ever read. I was immediately transfixed and immersed and then surprised. The narrator's voice is genuine and in the moment.

For me, this young girl's power to somehow save herself is a testament to the free will every human being carries deep inside. Stephanie Hubbard's spirit and her art are admirable, inspirational and unforgettable.

Please read it!

Hey there friends, readers, you name it!!  Please come for a terrific reading and signing of "Bluff Ilsland Rescue Service"  It will be at 3:30 in the beautiful back room of the amazing Bloom Cafe at 5544 Pico Blvd - so you'll be able to have cool coffees, smoothies and jiuices - salads, desserts - WHAT EVER you want at 3:30 on a Sunday Afternoon.

See you then!    email for questions.... Stephanie 

Wow - so I went to Oakland - FB status-ing all the way - and met with my first book sellers. Well, there were some I'm so excited about - some who have already asked me for events, some who are reading the book - and others who are ordering the book. SO if you are in Northern California - or who have friends who go to independent book stores - Please ask them to ask for the book!!!!

Here is a review that just got posted on Amazon today - I am so humbled, and emboldened. Please share this book!  

I Dare You To Put It Down!

Uplifting, chilling, funny and humane, Stephanie Hubbard's memoir is a bold, beautiful page turner. Spare, filmic chapters reveal a childhood dominated by a charismatic and narcissistic father whose single-minded self-absorption makes him a danger to his family and an unforgettably compelling character for the reader. Compelling too is young Stephanie's attempts to survive her childhood, win her father's love, mend her broken family and, when grown, to numb her pain with copious amounts of alcohol. Filled with well-observed, searing moments, Bluff Island Rescue Service comes from a place of hard won emotional truth. Better than any book I have ever read, it shows what dysfunction does to a child, how it plants the seed of future dysfunction and how it can be triumphantly overcome. Do not miss this book!