Life As I Know It...So Far

Mandy Osterhaus Ream would prefer life not be a journey. She would just as soon resolve all her issues and get on with it. However, life doesn't work this way. As she continues trying to accept this, Osterhaus Ream explores the undeniable fact that to be alive means to be in process.

Her first essay collection offers a candid, vulnerable, and humorous, look at life and the things she's learned thus far. Things like facing her biggest ethical dilemma at a farmer's market to finding out she was going to have a son with Down Syndrome. Osterhaus Ream also shares an honest examination of her inner world, wrestling with depression and the harsh internal voices that are often so loud they threaten to overtake her.

Readers are invited to not only explore life from the author's vantage point but also consider their own journey and the shared experience of being human.

Mandy Osterhaus Ream is a part-time professor of Communication Studies in Southern California and a full-time woman in middle age. Married for 24 years with two teenage sons, Osterhaus Ream loves examining the complexities of life. And when that feels overwhelming, she can be found in water. The colder the better.