When the Shoe Fits...: Essays of Love, Life and Second Chances

When a hard fall from a tall horse landed Mary T. Wagner-then a freelance writer and a soccer mom with four young children-in a body cast for three months with a broken back, she didn't take it as a sign to ease back on the throttle. Instead, she changed careers, went to law school, took a job as a criminal prosecutor, and bought her first pair of spike heels. And THEN she started writing again.

More than a dozen national and regional writing awards later, Wagner has compiled this "best of" collection of her inspiring and empowering essays from her first three books, and added a few more for good measure. Wagner's earlier books, "Running with Stilettos," "Heck on Heels" and "Fabulous in Flats," earned recognition for humor, inspiration and memoir, and their kudos included both an Indie Excellence Award and a silver IPPY. Two were finalists in ForeWord Review's Book of the Year Awards. Her legal experience has been similarly eclectic, ranging from handling speeding tickets to arguing cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court...sometimes in the same week!

In essays ranging widely from "Turbo Dating-the Year in Review" to "Riding Pillion," "The Limoncello Diaries" and "Angels in the Snow," Wagner's signature writing style combines humor, insight, and grace under pressure. Whether reflecting on subjects as diverse as motherhood, the view from the back of a Harley, the impending loss of a parent or the therapeutic effects of a post-divorce bonfire, Wagner's inspiring and empowering essays resonate with universal experiences of love, life and reinvention. A must-read for any woman who's asked herself "is there at least one more dream I can reach for?"... and then answered "YES!!"