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Catherine Ryan Hyde

Biography

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 40 published and forthcoming books. An avid hiker, traveler, equestrian and amateur photographer, she has released her first book of photos, 365 DAYS OF GRATITUDE: Photos from a Beautiful World.

She is the co-author, with fellow author and publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE: A Self-Help Guide.

Her novel PAY IT FORWARD was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. Both BECOMING CHLOE and JUMPSTART THE WORLD were included on the ALA Rainbow List, and JUMPSTART THE WORLD was a finalist for two Lambda Literary Awards. WHERE WE BELONG won two Rainbow Awards in 2013, and THE LANGUAGE OF HOOFBEATS won a Rainbow Award in 2015.

More than 50 of her short stories have been published in the Antioch Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train and many other journals; in the anthologies SANTA BARBARA STORIES and CALIFORNIA SHORTS; and in the bestselling anthology DOG IS MY CO-PILOT. Her stories have been honored in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and by the Tobias Wolff Award and nominated for Best American Short Stories, the O. Henry Award, and the Pushcart Prize. Three have been cited in Best American Short Stories.

She is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation and still serves on its board of directors. As a professional public speaker, she has addressed the National Conference on Education, twice spoken at Cornell University, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with Bill Clinton.

Catherine Ryan Hyde

Books by Catherine Ryan Hyde

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Women's Fiction

When 19-year-old Jill Moss goes missing near the Utah-Arizona border, everyone has an opinion. Only Norma Gallagher, a search-and-rescue volunteer, knows the real story. Norma already has found Jill, huddled in a cave and terrified that her abusive boyfriend, Jake, will kill her. To protect Jill from a dangerous man, Norma quietly delivers the girl to her grateful parents in California, even though she’s conflicted. Keeping Jill safe and hidden from Jake, the press and the public will be their secret. Five years later, the disappearance stirs a new media frenzy when Jake is arrested for the murder of Jill Moss --- and Norma knows he didn’t kill her. As Jake is about to stand trial, lust for retribution inflames public opinion, and Jill’s family refuses to come forward, forcing Norma to make a life-changing decision.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

Raised off the grid in the middle of nowhere, Remy Blake is days shy of his eighth birthday when his survivalist father unexpectedly dies. As seasons pass, supplies run out, and fending for himself grows more desperate, Remy sets out on foot, unprepared for the great unknown of civilization. He is found --- near feral, silent and terrified --- in the small rural town of Blaire. To Anne, a nurturing mother of two adopted teenagers who’s still dealing with her own childhood rejections, Remy is not a lost cause. Just a challenging one. As Remy cautiously adapts to his new foster home, his family wants nothing more than to reassure him that he can trust the world. But to do so, they must first reexamine how much they trust the world themselves, and how much they should.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

Lewis Madigan is young, gay, out of work and getting antsy when he’s roped into providing end-of-life care for his insufferable homophobic neighbor, Chester Wheeler. Lewis doesn’t need the aggravation, just the money. The only requirements: run errands, be on call, and put up with a miserable old churl no one else in Buffalo can bear. After exchanging barbs, bickering, baiting and pushing buttons, Chester hits Lewis with the big ask. Lewis can’t say no to a dying wish: drive Chester to Arizona in his rust bucket of a Winnebago to see his ex-wife for the first time in 32 years --- for the last time. To Lewis, it becomes an illuminating journey into the life and secrets of a vulnerable man he’s finally beginning to understand.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

Never knowing his parents, 11-year-old Stewie Little and his brother have been raised on a farm by their older sister. Stewie steadfastly tends the chickens left by his beloved late grandmother. And every day he goes door to door selling fresh eggs from his wagon --- a routine with a surprise just around the corner. It’s his new customer, Marilyn. Prickly and guarded, yet comfortably familiar, she reminds the grieving Stewie so much of the grandmother he misses more than he can express. Marilyn has a reason for keeping her distance: a secret no one knows about. Her survival tactic is to draw a line between herself and other people --- one that Stewie is determined to cross.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Historical Fiction

Steven Katz is the son of prosperous landowners in rural California. Although his parents don’t approve, he has found true friends in Nick, Suki and Ollie, sons of field workers, and is beginning to acknowledge that his feelings for Nick amount to more than friendship. When the bombing of Pearl Harbor draws the US into World War II, Suki and his family are forced to leave their home for the internment camp at Manzanar. Ollie enlists in the army and ships out. And Nick must flee. Betrayed by his own father and accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he turns to Steven for help. Hiding Nick in a root cellar on his family’s farm, Steven acts as Nick’s protector and lifeline to the outside world. After Nick unexpectedly disappears one day, Steven’s life focus is to find him.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Thirteen-year-old Abby Hubble lives in an unhappy home in the Sierra Nevada foothills where her father makes life miserable for her and her mother, Mary. One day, Abby witnesses a man dump a litter of puppies into the nearby river. Diving in to rescue all seven, she knows she won’t be able to bring them home. Afraid for their fate at the pound, she takes them to an abandoned cabin, where all she can offer is a promise that she’ll be back the next day. To grieving widower Elliot Colvin, life has lost meaning. Looking for solace, he retreats to the hunting cabin he last visited years ago, before his wife’s illness. What he discovers is not at all what he expected: seven puppies and one determined girl with an indomitable heart.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Nearly a year after his brother died in a tragic accident, 18-year-old Anton Addison-Rice is still wounded --- physically and emotionally. Alone for the holidays, he catches a glimpse of his neighbor Edith across the street one evening and realizes she’s in danger. Anton is determined to help Edith leave her abusive marriage. Frightened and 15 years Anton’s senior, Edith is slow to trust. But when she needs a safe place to stay, she lets down her guard, and an unlikely friendship grows. As Anton falls in love, Edith fears both her husband finding her and Anton getting hurt. She must disappear without telling anyone where she’s going. What would happen, though, if one day their paths should cross again?

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Brooke is a divorced single mom who holds tight to the one thing that matters most: her two-year-old daughter, Etta. Then, in a matter of seconds, Brooke’s life is shattered when she’s carjacked. Helpless and terrified, all she can do is watch as Etta, still strapped in her seat, disappears into the Los Angeles night. Miles away, Etta is found by Molly, a homeless teen who is all too used to darkness. As unpredictable as her life is, she’s stunned to find Etta, abandoned and alone. Shielding the little girl from more than the elements, Molly must put herself in harm’s way to protect a child as lost as she is. Out of one terrible moment, Brooke’s and Molly’s desperate paths converge, and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances is formed.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Historical Fiction

In the summer of 1969, 14-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues. To find relief from the chaos, Lucas takes long, meandering walks, and one day he veers into the woods. There he discovers an isolated cabin and two huge dogs. Frightened, he runs. And the dogs run with him. Lucas finds unusual peace in running with the dogs, and eventually he meets their owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Closed off and haunted by a tragic past, Zoe has given up and wants out. But Lucas doesn’t want her to go, and he sees an opportunity to bring more than one friend back into the light.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn’t belong. After his best friend moves away, he has only two real connections: to the feral cat he’s tamed and to a blind 92-year-old woman in his building who’s introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez? Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two. Despondent at the loss of Luis, Mildred isolates herself further from a neighborhood devolving into bigotry and fear.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Women's Fiction

No longer tolerating her husband’s borderline abuse, Faith escapes to her parents’ California beach house to plan her next move. She never dreamed her new chapter would involve befriending Sarah, a 14-year-old on the run from her father and reeling from her mother’s sudden and suspicious death. While Sarah’s grandmother scrambles to get custody, Faith is charged with spiriting the girl away on a journey that will restore her hope: Sarah implores Faith to take her to Falkner’s Midnight Sun, the prized black mare that her father sold out from under her. Throughout the sweltering summer, as they follow Midnight from show to show, Sarah comes to terms with what she witnessed on the terrible night her mother died.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

As he struggles to cope with a trait he’s buried since childhood, 40-year-old cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte falls in love with Gwen, a single mother whose young son bears a burden of his own. Sullen and broken from his experiences with an abusive father, Milo has turned to acting out in violent and rebellious ways. Aiden can feel the boy’s pain, as well as that of his victims. Now he and Milo must sift through their pasts to find empathy with the innocent as well as the guilty, to come to terms with their deepest fears, and to finally discover the compassionate heart of a family.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

Bea barely has been scraping by since her husband died. After falling for a telephone scam, she loses everything and is forced to abandon her trailer. With only two-thirds of a tank in her old van, she heads toward the Pacific Ocean with her cat --- on a mission to reclaim what’s rightfully hers, even if it means making others pay for what she lost. When 15-year-old Allie’s parents are jailed for tax fraud, she is sent to a group home. But when her life is threatened by another resident, she knows she has to get out. She escapes only to find she has nowhere to go --- until fate throws Allie in Bea’s path.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Historical Fiction

On an isolated Texas ranch, Dr. Lucy cares for abandoned animals. The solitude allows her to avoid the people and places that remind her of the past. Not that any of the townsfolk care. In 1959, no one is interested in a woman doctor. Nor are they welcoming Calvin and Justin Bell, a newly arrived African American father and son. When Pete Solomon, a neglected 12-year-old boy, and Justin bring a wounded wolf-dog hybrid to Dr. Lucy, the outcasts soon find refuge in one another. Lucy never thought she’d make connections again, never mind fall in love. Pete never imagined he’d find friends as loyal as Justin and the dog. But these four people aren’t allowed to be friends, much less a family, when the whole town turns violently against them.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

Jackie and Paula envision a quiet life for their kids, but they quickly butt heads with their neighbor, Clementine, who is incensed when their teenage foster daughter, Star, befriends her spirited horse, Comet. When Star disappears with Comet, the neighbors are thrown together --- far too close together. But as the search for the pair wears on, both families must learn to put aside their animosity and confront the choices they’ve made and the scars they carry.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

August Shroeder, a burned-out teacher, has been sober since his 19-year-old son died. Every year he’s spent the summer on the road, but making it to Yellowstone this year means everything. The plan had been to travel there with his son, but now August is making the trip with Philip’s ashes instead. An unexpected twist of fate lands August with two extra passengers for his journey, two half-orphans with nowhere else to go.

by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction, Young Adult 14+

After Elle’s mother kicks her out, Elle befriends her sweet, charming new neighbor, Frank, and his girlfriend. When she learns that Frank is transgender, Elle’s world turns upside down. But a nearly fatal accident forces her to face the true meaning of friendship, acceptance and love.