Release Date: January 16, 2024
Size: 5.5x8.5
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57869-157-9
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-57869-158-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-57869-159-3 Click Here to Purchase eBook
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023917849
Booksellers and Libraries: Order Info Here or with Ingram.

Synopsis

We all have a story to tell but rarely does someone craft such an expansive and varied memoir, full of life, love, travels, disappointments, and achievements. Told by first-time author Ken Libertoff, Snapshots of a Life shares universal truths in a conversational tone exhibiting resiliency, family pathos, insight, and humor. From the bleachers at old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Boggiano’s Bar and Grill in Rockaway, and NYC basketball courts, to a full career as a mental health advocate in New England with work and travel to South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland, the stories here capture his life in various settings while never losing sight of home. Libertoff’s sense of humor and wit pervades, even in dark moments, providing rays of sunshine that give hope, meaning, and perspective to a life well lived.

PRAISE

“This memoir by first-time author Ken Libertoff is a gem. It’s beautifully written with engaging, absorbing stories presented in a pleasing authentic voice. The essays are insightful and laced with sharp humor, a sense of poignancy, and a zest for life in all its complexities. Snapshots of a Life takes the reader on a journey through his life’s adventures, challenges, triumphs, and trials, while inviting readers to reflect on their own narratives. This memoir will captivate and delight readers."

—Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont (1991-2003)

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“Ken Libertoff’s poignant glimpses of a life reveal a writer of insight and humor. Whether it’s his first job at a Queens bar and grill, bonding with his grandmother over the Brooklyn Dodgers, or a chance encounter in a New Mexico diner, these vignettes give the reader a renewed appreciation of the small moments in our lives that take on significance with the passage of time.”

—Rick Winston, author of Save Me a Seat! A Life With Movies

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“Libertoff’s book takes the reader back to his childhood in Queens, the work he did in South Africa to reform their mental health system, and all kinds of escapades in the intervening years. (Including his insistence on taking real maple syrup, from Vermont, when he makes his way to a diner anywhere in the world!) It’s a delightful read about a life well-lived.”

—Mark Redmond, director of Spectrum Youth and Family in Burlington, Vermont

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“These are stories about neighbors and friends, loves and lovers, and they brim with empathy and humor. Come follow one life well lived, and get just a tiny bit closer to making sense of what it is to be human.”

—Erika Heilman, Peabody Award winner, reporter, and producer of the Rumble Strip podcast

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“Ken Libertoff has led a life of diverse experiences and adventures. In this book, he invites you to join him on his travels through settings as varied as Coney Island, rural Vermont, and South Africa. Along the way, he shares his insights, observations, and encounters. With a combination of optimism and irony, Ken addresses topics as diverse as sports, politics, and home improvement. Collectively, his stories underscore the themes of creativity, resilience, and redemption.”

—David Fassler, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry at Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont

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“Ken Libertoff is at the tail end of his seventies, and he is reflecting back on his life. The short essays in this volume are windows illuminating episodes from his childhood in Queens to his present life on a backroad in East Montpelier, Vermont. They are beautifully written, poignant, sometimes nostalgic, and often humorous.”

—Bernie Lambek, attorney and author of Uncivil Liberties and An Intent to Commit

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“Snapshots of a Life, a compilation of 30 essays drawn from times, places, and events from his teenage years through 2023, is wonderful. Ken’s life has been very impactful to his adopted State of Vermont, and the many stories from his career, relationships, travels, continued involvement with basketball, and so many other moments of a life well-lived made for very compelling and enjoyable reading. Once I read the first essay, which was so emotionally touching, it was hard to put the book down.”

—Edward J. Mazur

Reviews & In the News

Seven Days, March 12, 2024: Obituary: Ken Libertoff, 1945-2024

Town Meeting TV, February 24, 2024: Celebrate Life - Ken Libertoff

The Times Argus, January 12, 2024: Former director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health publishes memoir

Vermont Business Magazine, January 5, 2024: Former director of the Vermont Association for Mental Health publishes memoir

The Montpelier Bridge, December 5, 2023: Book Review: ‘Snapshots of a Life,’ by Ken Libertoff

MEET THE AUTHOR

Ken Libertoff spent over three decades as a mental health care advocate in Vermont and nationally. When he retired in 2010, he received the Legendary Leadership Award from Mental Health America. He passed away on March 9, 2024, after embracing his new passion for writing, and after his memoir debuted in January. May his memory be a blessing.