“Publication” Class Notes

Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) appears on two recent BluRay video releases: he recorded an audio commentary for Flight to Mars and wrote and narrated a documentary included on The Brotherhood of Satan. 

Robert Graboyes (Col ’76) interviewed Eric Topol (Col ’75) on the podcast “Healthcare’s Reluctant Revolution.” The two discussed artificial intelligence, the doctor-patient relationship, medical ethics, mRNA vaccines, CRISPR, telehealth and other topics—including a personal experience at UVA Student Health in the 1970s. Graboyes is a senior research fellow and healthcare scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a former clinical professor at the UVA School of Nursing. Topol is founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, a professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Institute and a senior consultant at the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Scripps Clinic.

Geoffrey F. Weiss (Engr ’91 CM), a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, will publish first book, The New Art of War: The Origins, Theory, and Future of Conflict in September.

Marcia Thompson Friedman (Col ’89) recently published her second cookbook, The Essential Jewish Cookbook. The book includes a brief history of Jewish culinary traditions along with 100 recipes. Her first cookbook, Meatballs and Matzah Balls: Recipes and Reflections from a Jewish and Italian Life, was published in 2013. In June 2021, she received the honor of membership in Les Dames d’Escoffier, a prestigious international culinary organization.

Craig W. Sampson (Col ’90, Law ’93) has coauthored Family Law: Theory, Practice, and Forms, 2021 ed. (Vol. 9, Virginia Practice Series). Sampson is a shareholder at Barnes & Diehl P.C. in Richmond and parent of Sabrina Sampson (Col ’21).

Anna Caritj (Col ’12) published her debut novel, Leda and the Swan, in May 2021. The book follows Leda, a sorority girl in her third year at a Southern university. Leda’s crush, Ian, is implicated in the disappearance of a fellow classmate, Charlotte Mask. As the campus rouses itself to respond to Charlotte’s disappearance, rumors swirl, suspicious facts pile up, and Leda’s obsession with Charlotte grows. She soon finds herself reassessing her commitment to Greek Life and all that it entails. Her allegiances and motivations begin to blur. The novel examines contemporary youth culture and the dynamics surrounding sex, consent, risk, regret and power.

Andrew Taylor-Troutman (Grad ’11) has published a new book. Hope Matters: Churchless Sermons in the Time of the Coronavirus is a collection of weekly editorials he wrote for the local newspaper over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part memoir, part social commentary, he draws on biblical interpretation and theological reflection to make connections with a reading audience beyond my faith community in a time in which we were all tested. One hundred percent of the profits support a food assistance ministry in his community that began during the pandemic: the church partners with a local farm and restaurant to provide nutritious meals to people living with special needs.

Deborah E. Sheetenhelm Hammond (Arch ’82 CM) published her 24th novel, These Foolish Things. The second in her Someone to Watch Over Me series, the book brings to life the story of Victoria Sloan and Matthew Madison. They met at the wedding of her best friend, Alexandra Wesson and sparks flew. The problem is, Victoria lives in New York City and owns a marketing firm. Matthew lives on a horse farm in rural Virginia and rescues people in peril for a living. Can these two seemingly diverse lives mesh and if they do, will the precarious nature of Matthew’s vocation endanger them both?

These Foolish Things is available on Amazon.com along with the prior 23 novels of the author and at local book signings and events in the tri-state area. For more information, contact the author at downtongirl13@gmail.com  on Facebook at dhammondbooks and Twitter @DeborahHammon18.

A Falling Waters, West Virginia, resident, Hammond was also recently appointed to a four-year term on the West Virginia Broadcasting Foundation Board of Directors. She also serves on the Eastern West Virginia Home Consortium and has worked as a fundraiser for United Way of the Eastern Panhandle for six years.

Peter Coy (Col ’71) published a book of plays, A House In The Country and Other Plays. The collection, by the award-winning playwright, includes A House in the Country, Will’s Bach, The Gift of the Magi, Poe & All That Jazz and A Shadow of Honor. Coy’s plays explore chaos and emotional depth as his characters confront disorder, wrestle with love and struggle with the effects of trauma and loss. He tackles these issues with a mixture of psychological realism, offbeat humor, musicality and theatrical inventiveness. Currently based in Nelson County, Virginia, Coy has directed more than 60 productions and written or adapted more than 45 plays. His plays have been produced in Washington, D.C., New York City, across Virginia, and beyond, including at the Charter Theatre, Barter Theatre, Capital Fringe Festival, D.C.; Theatre at Saint Clement’s, Keegan Theatre, Lime Kiln Theater and more.

Jay B. Marcus (Law ’66) published The Coherence Effect: Tapping into the Laws of Nature Governing Health, Happiness, and Higher Brain Functioning. The book, which he wrote with Chris Clark and Robert Keith Wallace, is about the daily health routines followed for centuries by yogis and sages and what these routines can do for health and clarity of mind today. He also published an article adapted from the book and produced a short podcast promoting the importance of brain wave coherence. This is his fifth book on this topic. 

Nebil Husayn (Col ’04) published his first book, Opposing the Imam. Husayn is an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Miami. His research broadly considers the development of Islamic theology, historiography and debates on the caliphate. Husayn earned his doctorate in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University and a master’s in Arabic and Islamic studies from Harvard University. He is the recipient of a Fulbright award and the University of Miami Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities. 

Phil Garn (Col ’82 CM) and his old master chief, Jim Gray, wrote Warboats: 55 Years of Naval Special Warfare Combatant Craft History for their veteran’s nonprofit organization, the Combatant Craft Crewman Association. This is the first history of “The Silent Ones” and traces the history of what is now known as Special Warfare Combatant Craft Crewmen (SWCCs). They have been part of naval special warfare since their inception late in the Eisenhower administration and deployment early in the Kennedy administration. Initially the largest individual component of the former Naval Operational Support Group during the Vietnam War, SWCCs currently compose more than a quarter of the operators in naval special warfare, including the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Heavily illustrated with many never before published photos, documents, insignia and veterans recollections, it is available through the Combatant Craft Crewman Association Website.

Carolyn DeMain Pipitone (Engr ’94, ’96 CM) self-published her first book now available on Amazon. Based on her personal experience, Make Your Boomer Parents Do This Now!: A Generation X Guide to their Boomer Parent’s Estate Plans, provides a short and manageable list of the critical documents and accounts every Gen Xer needs their Boomer parents to make immediately. Convenient “Gotcha Tips” provide hints for how to avoid pitfalls you would never know about until you live through them.

Golara Haghtalab (Col ’17) published Immigrant, a book about change and adaptation and explores the personal and professional identities of a 30-year-old immigrant woman. She writes: “I wrote this book because I believe everyone can learn something about accepting what is, letting go of what is not working, and starting anew from immigrants.

I hope that, in reading this book, you will discover the resilience of a 30-year-old immigrant woman and her journey to self-realization in a new country. In this book, I hope to instill in you the same sort of passion and excitement I have for immigrants and the lessons of enduring change and achieving adaptation. Ultimately, I want you to see this book as a tool to help you unlock your superpowers when faced with a new situation that is unknown to you.

Because of the current state of the world, I decided to build a community around the immigrant journey topic. The New Degree Press gave me the best shot at it, so here I am building a community, and I would love for you to join us too!

Your support won’t be for the book alone. It will be for immigrants in the U.S. to be heard and seen. After all, aren’t we all immigrants in the U.S.?

Please join me in my journey by pre-ordering my book.“

J. William Lewis (Law ’68) will publish his debut novel, The Essence of Nathan Biddle, in June 2021. The book is a timeless coming-of-age tale that, as novelist David Armstrong observed, “is like discovering The Catcher in the Rye all over again.” 

Timothy Shelley (Grad ’98) has written two books, Stories When Little: Growing Up Under MK-ULTRA and Playboy’s Progress: Coming of Age Under MK-ULTRA, which are available for free at his website, Fighting Monarch, which now has more than one million hits. The books are an epic detective story exploring the themes of memory, forgetting, sexual programming, personal and national identity, globalism, and their intersection with conspiracy theories.

Lloyd F. Stamy Jr. (Col ’73 CM) published his newest book, Strangers No More, a sequel to Reunion of Strangers published in 2018. Interwoven plots of passion and patriotism collide in this gripping drama of global cyberwarfare and looming economic enslavement. Stamy serves up a riveting tale of intrigue, espionage, cyberterrorism, betrayal, revenge, the dethronement of an American president, and a reconciliation of anxious hearts and flawed psyches – all during the throes of a global pandemic. He lives in Fox Chapel, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and the direct link to his author page is: 

www.amazon.com/author/lloyd.stamy

Richard F. McGonegal (Grad ’75 CM) published a mystery novel, Sense of Grace. While attending UVA, he studied creative writing with Peter Taylor, who later won a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 1973. McGonegal and his wife, Kristie, live in Jefferson City, Missouri, where their two adult daughters, Heather and Jane, also live. He retired in 2017 after a 41-year journalism career at the Jefferson City News Tribune, a daily newspaper in Missouri’s capital city. Twenty-four of his short stories have been published in magazines, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

Ian Jenkins (Col ’97, Med ’01) has published his first book, Three Dads and a Baby: Adventures in Modern Parenting, a memoir about becoming the first polyamorous family recognized as the legal parents of a child anywhere in the world. Learn about the legal, personal and health struggles the family overcame on their journey to being proud parents of two amazing children. The story has been covered in the Huffington Post, CNN, DailyMail, numerous blogs and podcasts, and international media from Latin America to Spain, Austria, and Australia.  

John B. Gordon III (Col ’95, Educ ’00 CM) published his first book, The Teacher’s Lounge: The Real Role of Educators in Your Schools. The semi-autobiographical book describes the impact of educational decisions from our past, and how local and national pop culture and political events changed the culture in education. This is not your typical book about education that overwhelms the reader with research, while not thinking about the practical application in schools. Instead, readers will be provided with insight into how education has changed based on everyday experiences, the increased levels of accountability, and the influence of social media and technology in schools and student lives. The Teacher’s Lounge further looks at the role each stakeholder plays in education, and how those roles work together and unfortunately, sometimes are in opposition of each other. From the growing diversity in schools in the 1970’s, to the effect of Reagonomics in the 1980’s, the educational system became the platform for politics. The influx of reality television and music in the 1990’s, and the effect of technology and social media in the 2000’s, gave all audiences a broad view of what it is like to be a student in school today. The Teacher’s Lounge is guaranteed to make you laugh, reflect, and begin the debate on what is needed for the future of education.

Gerry Kruger (Educ ’83 CM) released her third book, On Kruger Pond: Charlie’s Legacy, about an unforgettable goose who formed a special bond with Kruger while overcoming setbacks and challenges. This book offers readers updates about three generations of his descendants. Her second book, Two of Us: A Father-Daughter Memoir, traces the ways in which her father’s compassion for others and dedication to service shaped her own life and beliefs.

Ashley Bristow Bartley (Col ’06) published her first two children’s books in a social emotional learning picture book series with Boys Town Press: Diamond Rattle Loves to Tattle  and Opal Octopus Is Overwhelmed. Bartley was featured in The Winner’s Circle by The Institute for Writers. Her other publications include articles featured in The Joyful Life Magazine, Kindred Mom, Bright Futures Counseling, and Boys Town Press. 

Hayden Saunier (Col ’79 CM) published her fifth collection of poetry, A Cartography of Home. Her other poetry books include How to Wear This Body, Say Luck, Tips for Domestic Travel, and a chapbook, “Field Trip to the Underworld.” Her work has been awarded the Pablo Neruda Prize, Rattle Poetry Prize, Gell Poetry Award, published in numerous journals, (including Beloit Poetry Journal, Tar River Poetry, and VQR), featured on Poetry Daily and read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac. 

Yolanda Burrell Taylor (Col ’76) has published her seventh book of poetry; she writes as Y.B. Taylor. As an African American woman, her poetry provides insights, truths, history etc. of growing up and experiencing life in segregated and integrated America—the highs, the lows, the disparity the bias. She provides footnotes/endnotes to assist those who are unfamiliar with African American experiences, African American history and commonly used idioms in African American communities. Every poem is preceded by an epigraph, which provides insight into the focus of the poem. Taylor’s books of poetry are available through Amazon, her website, and the gift shop at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 

Victor Deupi (Arch ’86 CM) has published two new books. Cuban Modernism: Mid-Century Architecture 1940-1970, written with Jean-Francois Lejeune focuses on the modernist generation of Cuban architects active from 1940–70 and extols the national and international importance of their architecture and urban works. The second book, Stables: High Design for Horse and Home, produced with the publisher Oscar Riera Ojeda, and distributed by Rizzoli, showcases beautifully designed stables by contemporary architects and designers around the world.

Jack Sutor Jr. (Col ’69) has published a novel and a collection of short stories. Lovers in a Small Cafe is the second part of a novel about the hardships of living decently in a broken world surrounded by troubled people. Like Part I, The Ice Meadows, Lovers is published under the pen name Edmund Burwell. The short story collection, Thanksgiving, is published under his own name. All are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He can be reached at mattsdad284@gmail.com.

Robert A. Hilliard (Col ’74 CM) has published two novels, What Are The Odds? The Calculus of Coincidence and All In?…Beware the Cross Currents, as part of the Cutter/Wellington trilogy. The story centers around two rival families steeped in the rich tradition of thoroughbred racing—the Cutters of Leesburg, Virginia, and the Wellingtons of Lexington, Kentucky. Fellow UVA alums will gravitate toward TJ Cutter III, a 1974 graduate of Mr. Jefferson’s academical village. The third book in the series, Life’s Elusive Horizon, is slated for release in the first quarter of 2022. Mr. Hilliard’s first book was a memoir about bringing professional baseball back to NJ in the 1990s.

Anand Yang (Grad ’76) published a new book, Empire of Convicts. The book focuses on male and female Indians incarcerated in Southeast Asia for criminal and political offenses committed in colonial South Asia. A major contribution to histories of crime and punishment, prisons, law, labor, transportation, migration, colonialism, and the Indian Ocean World, the book narrates the experiences of Indian convicts, and shows how they exercised agency in difficult situations, fashioning their own worlds and even becoming “their own warders.” Yang brings long journeys across the ocean to life in a deeply researched and engrossing account that moves fluidly between local and global contexts.

Olga Akopiants (Educ ’22) will publish her first novel, Air Unplugged, a sci-fi book about survival against all of the odds, in April 2021. Her book is available for pre-orders until January 23.

Jim Irving (Col ’76 CM) published his first novel, Friends Like These, the first in a series of three books. The sequel, Friend of a Friend, set to be published next year. Friends Like These is available in print and eBook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Jeanne LaSala Taylor (Col ’97 CM) published her first children’s book, Just Bunny and the Great Fire Rescue, in February 2020. Based on a true story, this book is a thank you to firefighters everywhere and a portion of the proceeds go to the NYFF Burn Center Foundation. 

Robert Bové (Col ’74 CM) has published his third full-length book of poems, Pandemic Poetry Reader, available on Amazon as Kindle and paperback. He and his wife live in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

L. Flick Hatcher (Col ’77 CM) has published his first novella, The Last Word, an uplifting book about betrayal, forgiveness, healing, hope, resilience, and the power of the human spirit. The Last Word is available in print and ebook versions on Amazon and BookBaby.com  His second book, Telling Tales, will be released in spring 2021. Hatcher is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco, where he lives with his husband, Lou Marano.

John Howard (Col ’83 CM), professor emeritus of arts and humanities at King’s College London, has published his second documentary photobook with University of Valencia Press, Spain. Felling & Pining depicts life, death, faith and doubt in the poorest and most pious parts of the United States—the Deep South piney woods of Alabama and Mississippi.

Tom Evans (Col ’53, Law ’56 CM), former U.S. Congressman from Delaware, is the subject of a new book by Lois Hoffman, Barriers: The life and legacy of Tom Evans. With our nation divided between left and right, Barriers reflects on a time when politics worked in Washington. Evans represented Delaware in the 1970s and 80s and worked his way into the center of political power. He built coalitions of Democrats and Republicans, including President Reagan, to pass major environmental legislation despite opposition from big-money lobbyists. The Coastal Barrier Resources Act, touted by the New York Times as “the most important environmental legislation no one has ever heard of,” and the Alaska Lands Act are among his most significant achievements. He’s hopeful his neighbor, President-Elect Joe Biden, will also champion sound environmental policies. The book is available on Amazon.com. 

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Although he ran with the biggest names in Republican circles while in Congress, his influence extended before and far after his time there. Evans gave hundreds of speeches at political and non-political venues to share wisdom and inspire his audiences. At 89, he continues to give interviews and pen op-eds to chastise politicians who are on the wrong path or tap the consciousness of the American people.

Barriers is a window into his life’s work. It speaks to a common-sense approach to legislation and consensus building in interactions with others that got lost in the last decades since he served.

Tom’s legacy is a message for those serving in political office and a call to citizens — use your voices before we cease to have them. 

“Tom Evans worked tirelessly in Congress and afterwards as a lobbyist and advocate to protect wetlands essential to our coastline and wild lands in Alaska. Evans reminds us all of the proud conservationist tradition of the Republican Party who built our national park system and preserved large tracts of national forests and wilderness. Evans worked across the aisle to achieve great things in preserving America’s wild spaces and biodiversity, and his story is both important historically and an inspiration for our future.”

~ U.S. Senator, Chris Coons

Robert Schwab (Col ’79, Med ’83 CM) will publish his third novel, Eddie’s Boy, in February 2021. The novel is a sequel to his first, Holy Water. Dr. Schwab serves as chief medical officer for a hospital in the Texas Health Resources health system based in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex. He also teaches an undergraduate seminar on the healing power of stories at the University of Texas at Dallas. He returns to UVA regularly to serve as a guest lecturer in the post-baccalaureate premedical program in the School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies.

Karen Young Foley (Col ’87, Educ ’08) published her second picture book, Santa’s Sleigh Is Stuck: A Hog Island Christmas Tale. The story, illustrated by Michelle Simpson, takes place on one of Virginia’s beloved barrier islands. 

Sheldon Zablow (Col ’73, Med ’77), a psychiatrist, published a nutrition book, Your Vitamins Are Obsolete:The Vitamer Revolution—A Program for Healthy Living and Healthy Longevity. This book is about the disparity between what we expect of our vitamins and what they provide. Food often has its natural bioactive vitamins (vitamers) stripped out while the synthetic forms are substituted back in. This vitamer deficiency is exacerbating the universal illness of chronic inflammation which contributes to the onset of depression, dementia, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc. The book explains the newly understood mechanism by which this occurs by focusing on the two most essential vitamins—B12 and folate. Vitamers are the forms of vitamins that are used by cells and are critical to the functioning of biochemical activity from the expression of genes to the production of energy molecules to the cleansing of cellular waste. For example, if there is plenty of Vitamin D and calcium but a deficiency of B vitamers, osteoporosis still occurs. The unhealthy pro-inflammatory mechanism explored is the relationship between the deficiency of the vitamer forms of B12 and folate and reduced DNA epigenetic methylation. I call this process the Vitamer Revolution.  

Brenton Sullivan (Grad ’13) published a new book, Building a Religious Empire: Tibetan Buddhism, Bureaucracy, and the Rise of the Gelukpa, this fall. Sullivan teaches religion at Colgate University.