Teaser Tuesday Trifecta: Two Memoirs & a Beer Cozy

I missed teasing last Tuesday because I was visiting family in Brooklyn. So I'm making up for it with a Teaser Tuesday Trifecta this week.

First, to celebrate Nonfiction November, I have two memoirs:

Maybe just the practice of coming here has been my transformation. Somehow my long personal aversion to all the apparatus of preaching and saving has fallen away, and I'm able simply to sit here and receive.

-- The Mountains of Paris: How Awe and Wonder Rewrote My Life by David Oates. Oates spent a winter and spring living in Paris. In his new memoir, he writes about how the art, music, architecture, and Notre Dame in particular shifted the trajectory of his spiritual journey.

From the back cover:

In long years of mountaineering, Oates fought the self-loathing that had infused him as the gay kid in the Baptist pew. And in The Mountains of Paris, he ascends to a place of wonder.

The next night at the Easter Vigil after Father had sung the Exsultet, and I approached the lectern to read, I looked in his eyes. It was a split second, but I could see how excited he got.

-- Celibate by Maria Giura. Giura fell in love with a Catholic priest and writes about their complicated, angry relationship in her new memoir.

From the back cover:

Celibate focuses on her ten-year struggle to let go of this priest, to heal from her childhood, and to finally embrace her true calling.

And, as we head into the holidays, a cozy beer-themed mystery set in the Bavariana town of Leavenworth, Washington sounded perfect.

After the tour, I poured the group a tasting tray and had them put their newfound beer education to the test. I smiled as they took turns holding each tasting glass to their nose before sipping.

-- Beyond a Reasonable Stout by Ellie Alexander. This is the third mystery in Alexander's Sloan Kraus series featuring a brewer Sloan and her sidekick Garrett Strong.

From the back cover:

Alexander has created an appealing cast of characters and a lovely setting for them to live in. Best of all, she treats the reader to a fascinating look at the skill and artistry involved in brewing craft beer.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by The Purple Booker. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from the book they are reading or featuring. Please remember to include the name of the book and the author. You can share your teaser in a comment below, or with a comment or link at the Teaser Tuesday site, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.