A Smoke and a Song

2023 Living Now Book Awards Gold Medalist in Inspirational Memoir - Female

"In lyrical, at times searing, prose, [Sidoti] captures her core loneliness. Her story is a riveting intergenerational tale of women doing the best they can, sometimes failing painfully."
-Kirkus Reviews

“A Smoke and a Song will have you crying, laughing, and shaking your head in amazement . . . Please do not pass up this book, but put it on the top of your reading list as you will not regret it.”
—Readers' Favorite, 5 stars

“She [Sidoti] ultimately makes peace with these past selves by discussing her traumas with her family and using various spiritual practices, including yoga, to remind herself that ‘new life is blooming. Loss is looming. And both gladness and grief grip at the gate.’ This is powerful stuff.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Inspiring and reflective, A Smoke and A Song should be required reading for anyone looking within and beyond. Sherry Sidoti weaves us through a journey of self-discovery, heartbreak, and self-actualization. She brings to life each part of ourselves—the parts we know and the parts we have a harder time listening to—all in the name of self-love.”
—Chelsea Handler, #1 New York Times best-selling author, comedian, and Dear Chelsea podcast host

“Sherry Sidoti’s wisdom and compassion are a powerful gift that she generously shares in this achingly beautiful story of loss, survival, and healing.“
—Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Glass Castle

“Earthy and magical, A Smoke and a Song is a woman’s anthem. With the heart of a mother and the soul of a warrior, Sherry Sidoti takes us on her unwavering quest towards self-agency, braiding music, poetry, art, culture, and mysticism with grounded spirituality and a wry New York City ‘edge.’ This story is steeped in healing tools from the author's decades of study and teaching, without being pushy or prescriptive. Sidoti trusts her readers to mine the raw ore from her story and polish it into gold for their own.”
—Anita Kopacz, best-selling author of Shallow Waters: A Novel

“A Smoke and a Song is a winning book! Sherry Sidoti’s prose is absolutely gorgeous—lyrical and tender, moody and insightful, mystical and relatable. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. A memoir told with such nuanced self-awareness; you’ll find yourself needing to put the book down at moments just to pause, take in her reflections, and make meaning of your own story through hers.”
—Nancy Slonim Aronie, author of Writing from the Heart and Memoir as Medicine

“I discovered the poet Stanley Kunitz while I was a college student at NYU and his words saved my life; still do. All these years later, his granddaughter’s words are saving my life and if that isn’t magic, I dare you to tell me what is. By sharing her story, Sherry Sidoti invites us to remember what it is to love deeply and then to go out into the world with that knowing so that we can live big, beautiful, and messy lives.”
—Jennifer Pastiloff, best-selling author of On Being Human

“Sherry Sidoti beautifully weaves together a deeply moving memoir that captures the many complexities of love and our relationship with the ones we care about the most. I came away moved and inspired by her willingness to be so transparent and authentic.”
—Paul Samuel Dolman, author of Hitchhiking with Larry David and What Matters Most podcast host

“A seeker&