Have you heard the one about the ghostwriter who walks into the afterlife?

Samantha Rose’s book, Giving up the Ghost: A Daughter’s Memoir (Sybelline Digital First, 2025) is the highly personal work of a professional ghostwriter, stepping forward with her own story to unravel the mystery of her mother’s suicide, wrestling and jousting with the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship. “Raw, resilient, and with surprising humor, Giving Up the Ghost explores the layered complexity of mental health, the love between mothers and daughters and how, in the aftermath of inconceivable loss, we can release our inner ghosts and write a new story for ourselves.”

May 29th at Bird & Beckett, Samantha will engage in conversation on our stage with her colleague, the writer Susannah Kennedy (Reading Jane: A Daughter’s Memoir. Sybelline Press, 2023) to map the path she’s taken in telling her own, and her mother’s, tale.  Call the shop to reserve a seat – 415-586-3733.

Read the San Francisco Chronicle’s review of Giving Up the Ghost in yesterday morning’s paper! Or read it at this link — https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/books/article/giving-up-ghost-rose-review-20339476.php

more praise, from two of Samantha’s peers in the writing game…

“Samantha Rose’s mastery of words is a gift—Giving Up the Ghost is an intimate, unfiltered, heart wrenching and, at times, hilarious account of a family story forever changed by suicide. In these confusing and increasingly lonely times for us all, Rose’s memoir is a must read for anyone coping with grief and surviving loss.” —Eve Rodsky (Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space)

“A beautifully written and piercing reflection on grief, the bonds between mothers and daughters and the importance of finding your own voice. Rose’s journey of resilience inspires us to dig deep for the answers that will set us free and that have the power to ripple outward and offer hope and healing to us all.” —Cathy Heller (Abundant Ever After)