Rachel Simon Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Rachel Simon is an American published author. She was born in 1959 in Newark, New Jersey.

She is known for writing both fiction and nonfiction books. The books that she is known for writing include her memoir, Riding the Bus with My Sister. Simon has seen her work be adapted for different mediums that include radio, television, film, and stage.

NPR also adapted the title story from Little Nightmares, Little Dreams for their program Selected Shorts, which was adapted for an episode of the Lifetime program ‘The Hidden Room’. The short story ‘Paint’ from this same book was adapted for the stage by Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company.

Rachel is one of the few writers that has been picked twice for the Barnes & Noble Discover New Writers Program, one in fiction and once in nonfiction. She has received a Secretary Tommy G. Thompson’s Recognition Award courtesy of the U.S. Dept. of Human and Health Services for contributions that have been made to the disability field.

She has received two creative writing fellowships from the Delaware Division of the Arts as well as three creative writing fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. She also received a fiction fellowship from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation.

She attended high school at Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania. After the co-ed boarding school she went to Bryn Mawr College and graduated with her Anthropology degree in 1981. Jobs she has worked include working as a community relations manager at a large bookstore as well as a creative writing teacher at various colleges.

She makes her living as a writing and a speaker who talks about topics related to disability. She is married and resides in Delaware along with her husband Hal Dean, an architect. Her books have been translated into different languages for readers to enjoy all over the world. They are frequently picked as book club selections and are part of school reading programs that exist throughout the U.S.

Her memoir Riding the Bus with My Sister focuses on the year that Simon spent with Beth, her developmentally disabled sister. It was adapted as a 2005 Hallmark Hall of Fame television film. The movie starred Andie MacDowell in the part of Rachel Simon and Rosie O’Donnell playing the role of Beth. Anjelica Huston directed the film.

Riding the Bus with my Sister: A True Life Journey is a 2002 book written by Rachel Simon. If you enjoy a good nonfiction book and especially a memoir, this book is one that you are not going to want to miss. Readers can also check out the adaptation of this book in movie format as well in a story that is guaranteed to touch your heart.

Beth is a spirited woman and Rachel Simon’s sister. She is an individual who lives not only intensely but also in a way that is full of joy even though she has an intellectual disability. Beth spends her days going on buses, riding them through the Pennsylvania city where she lives.

The drivers are an active group and are her mentors. The passengers along with her serve as her community. Beth asks Rachel one day to go with her on the buses for a year. The result is this book, which sums up that interesting time.

Rachel is a college teacher and a writer, someone whose very busy life provided a cover for her emotional isolation. Upon entering Beth’s extraordinary world, she finds out that she has much to learn. There are life lessons gleaned here that Simon shares with the reader so that they also can profit off of them. These include how to live in the moment, pay attention to what matters, how to change, love, slow down, and how to enjoy the ride.

In this book, the author blends together incredible memories of maternal abandonment, sisterly loyalty, and forgiveness. She is able to bring to light the world of mental retardation, which is sometimes nearly invisible, as well as finding heroes in daily life. She is able to show her special sister Beth as the strong, endearing, and indomitable person that she truly is. The result is a special book that you won’t soon forget in a story that is reassuring as well as inspirational.

The Story of a Beautiful Girl is a 2014 novel by Rachel Simon. If you’ve been searching for a great new book to read but you can’t find something you like, go back a little ways in the publishing world and check out this historical fiction work and see what you think.

In the year 1968, Lynnie is a young white woman who has a developmental disability she is contending with. Homan is an African American deaf man and they both have been locked up in an institution. It is the School for the Incurable and the Feebleminded and they have been left to be forgotten and languish on their own.

They are in love and escape and are able to find someplace to rest in Martha’s farmhouse. Martha is a retired school teacher and a widow. Despite all of this, the couple is not on their own. Lynnie has just given birth to a baby, a girl.

The authorities end up catching up to them that very same night. As they do, Homan goes out into the darkness to escape. Lynnie ends up being caught. Before she is made to go back to the institution, she whispers to Martha two words (‘Hide her’). So starts the journey of Martha, Homan, Lynnie, and baby Julia as they live lives that are split up by huge obstacles but also drawn to each other through a pact and their love.

Can they make it through their personal troubles? Are they going to be able to move on from the past? Read this fascinating book from Rachel Simon to find out. Get a copy of The Story of a Beautiful Girl today.