Non-Fiction:

What can you learn from the most successful companies in the world? The Capital One Story will help you understand and adopt the competitive strategies, workplace culture, and daily business practices that enabled an unlikely credit card startup to revolutionize the credit industry.

After twenty-five years in the credit card business, Capital One has earned its place in wallets across the world. When the company’s two young founders set out to individualize credit, the financial world thought they were crazy… until it was clear that they weren’t.

Working in the banking industry, Richard Fairbank and Nigel Morris saw that the one-size-fits all standard that the credit card companies employed was leaving big money on the table. They cracked the code and figured out how to customize the credit card experience by offering personalized designs, credit limits, and rewards, revolutionizing the way the credit card industry operated.

Known for their ubiquitous advertising campaigns with A-list talent such as Jennifer Garner and Samuel L. Jackson, the youngest bank in the business was once turned down by every one of their competitors but has since grown to dominate the industry.

Through the story of Capital One, you’ll learn:

• How to recognize underserved sections of a market.

• How rejection by every company in the business doesn’t mean it’s time to quit.

• How to determine what people want and how to get it to them.

• And how to employ marketing campaigns that will change the way people live.

What can you learn from the most successful companies in the world? The Sephora Story will help you understand and adopt the competitive strategies, workplace culture, and daily business practices that turned the makeup retailer into a paradise for makeup enthusiasts everywhere.

Sephora is a playground for women, chock full of lipstick, eyeshadows, foundations, blushes, and so much more, just waiting to be experienced. It's where teens learn to apply foundation and adults learn how to create the perfect smoky eye. It's the cosmetic birthplace for the iconic Kardashian contour. And it's a dominant brand, taking home a large portion of the $48.3 billion-dollar makeup industry.

The Sephora Story teaches listeners how Sephora was born in Paris in 1970 and has exploded since it opened its first North American store in 1997. Now, with at least one store in almost every mall, you may find yourself fighting to navigate the store.

But it's just makeup, right? Wrong. It's an experience, and this book will teach entrepreneurs, innovators, marketers, and executives everything they need to know about creating an iconic experience for their customers. Through Sephora's story, you will learn:

• How to lead the evolution of a decades old brand and how to relaunch it in a new market.

• How to create a customer experience that revolutionizes an industry.

• How to bring together multiple brands under one roof without compromising their identities.

• And how to reach a younger audience and ignite a passion for your product.

Novels: Proof of Heaven and Proof of Angels (William Morrow/HarperCollins)

A mother's faith, a child's bravery, and a doctor's search for healing come together in this moving and thought-provoking fiction debut that explores the meaning of  family, faith, and love. Though he might be young, Colm already knows the truth about himself—that he’s very sick, and he may not get better. His mother, Cathleen, takes comfort in the certainty that, whatever happens, Colm will be protected by the God in whom she so fiercely believes. But her son is not so sure. Afraid to tell his religious mother about what he fears may happen “after,” Colm faces each day with a wisdom far beyond his years, and eventually turns to his benevolent and logical doctor for advice. 

And though Colm has come to terms with the realities of his short life, he does have one special wish—to meet his long-lost father, the man who left before Cathleen gave birth to her beautiful auburn-haired, green-eyed angel. But the quest to find his father will become something far more indelible—a journey of emotional discovery that will test their love, force them to confront their fears and their faith, and face the ultimate question: Can a child give his loved ones hope, peace, and proof of heaven? The answer may just be the cure they all need to heal their broken hearts.

Winner: Silver, Mom's Pick Awards

November 1, 2011 William Morrow/HarperCollins www.harpercollins.com

From the critically acclaimed author of Proof of Heaven comes an unforgettable novel about hope, renewal, and the gift of angels among us—friends, family, lovers . . . and even mystical others—sure to touch your heart.

Sean Magee is a firefighter—a hero who risks his own life to save others, running into dangerous situations few have the courage to dare. While fighting a horrific blaze, Sean becomes trapped by flames and is nearly overcome by smoke. Just when it seems that all is lost, he’s led to a window—by what he swears is divine intervention. And then he jumps . . .

. . . into a new life. For years, Sean has shut down his feelings, existing in a state of emotional numbness. Coming through that fire, he knows that he can no longer be that man whose heart is closed to the world. But before he can face his future, he must confront his past and everyone in it: the family, the friends, the woman—and the love—he carelessly left behind.

 Praise for Mary Curran Hackett

"Proof of Heaven belongs on any keeper shelf. It’s beautifully written, mesmerizing and tragic, thought-provoking, and a reaffirmation of faith. The story of a mother’s love for her son was touching...but it was the tale of one boy’s search for heaven that brought me to tears. I loved this book.”— Shelley Shepard Gray

An “intriguing” Fall Pick! ––Gawker.com

Cathleen knows there’s something deeply wrong with her son, Colm. Prone to fainting spells that stop his heart and require a team of EMTs and defibrillation paddles to revive him, Colm is a fragile little boy with an unknown condition. Continually disappointed by the fact that “the next doctor” and “the next test” don’tproduce a specific diagnosis for Colm, Cathleen begins to turn elsewhere for answers. Proof of Heaven is a remarkable first novel that explores the intersections of science and religion, medicine and faith. Hackett uses a unique blend of scientific terminology and religious history to illustrate Colm and Cathleen’s journey, adding a layer of realism to an incongruous premise. While Cathleen’s maternal trials could have been amplified to melodramatic extremes, Hackett’s lyrical restraint allows the character to shine. Hackett also takes full advantage of her supporting characters, allowing Colm’s newest doctor and Cathleen’stroubled brother to carry portions of the narrative. Reminiscent of Carol Cassella’s recent work, this is an emotionally fulfilling, spiritually inviting, thought-provoking novel.––Booklist

“Does heaven exist? Are our loved ones waiting to reunite with us? Can near–death experiences offer proof? In Hackett’s debut novel, everything hinges on an intriguing young boy, Colm, whose rare medical condition repeatedly causes him to die and come back to life. Indeed Colm physically manifests the dilemma each character in this novel faces: How can brain and heart, reason and faith, speak to each other?” ––Kirkus 

“At the center of Curran’s first novel is Colm Magee. Abandoned by his father before birth, much loved by Cathleen, his mother, Colm has a condition that eludes diagnosis: his heart stops beating without warning, and resuscitation is increasingly difficult. Medical science provides no answers until they come across Dr. Basu, who has lost a son of his own and who makes an immediate connection to Colm and Cathleen both. Dr. Basu pinpoints the diagnosis, one that provides no hope or treatment, and so Cathleen digs ever deeper into her religious convictions. But Colm, by the age of seven, has rejected the idea of God and heaven, a fact he doesn’t want to share with his mother. In Dr. Basu he finds a mind more like his own, though initially his mother’s not too sure. In Cathleen, Dr. Basu sees an example of “grief never ceasing to transform,” and indeed the focus on her struggle to reconcile faith and loss… overwhelms.” ––Publishers Weekly

“Proof of Heaven by Mary Curran Hackett is an astonishing debut-a moving, inspiring, and wise first novel that explores beautifully the meaning of family, faith, and love. The story of a mother's unshakable belief, a child's bravery, and a doctor's dedication to healing, this is extraordinarily compelling contemporary fiction certain to appeal to fans of the acclaimed works of Alice McDermott, Mary Karr, Ann Lamott, and Jodi Picoult; to readers who made the inspirational novel The Shack a phenomenal success; and to all of us with questions of life, death, God, and the afterlife at the forefront of our minds.”––HarperCollins

“This book is a must-read for all parents, especially moms! Proof of Heaven by Mary Curran Hackett is a page-turner; cinematic and philosophical, spiritual and mindful.  While I have found myself shying away from hard topics after having kids, I could not stop reading this.  Proof of Heaven book cuts right to the quick: a mom, single, with a sick child.  But where most books will leave you weeping in the hospital room with horrible diagnoses and debilitating pain, Hackett moves the story forward well beyond our physical lives.  Can love save us?  How?  What are the boundaries of belief?  In God?  And in love?  This book will challenge the reader to look into dark corners, but rather than making it scary and lonely, Hackett provides compelling characters and a storyline that leaves the reader feeling…hopeful?  Challenged and thoughtful for sure, yet hopeful nonetheless.  An excellent debut for an up-and-coming writer…Proof of Heaven is your next fall book club selection!—Meghan Leahy,  Columnist, Washington Times,  www.meghanleahyparentcoach.com