We Speak Authors

Lessons Learned and Cherished: The Teacher Who Saved My Life

Published

3 years ago

March 14, 2023

We Speak Media

By Award Winning Journalist

Deborah Roberts

Hits Shelves May 2nd

A giftable collection of essays from celebrity contributors celebrating the great work of teachers or a teacher they admire, curated by ABC journalist Deborah Roberts. Contributors include Oprah Winfrey, Jenna Bush Hager, Robin Roberts, Brooke Shields, Octavia Spencer, Rachael Ray, Misty Copeland and more.

Everyone can name a teacher who had an impact on their life. Educators not only open our minds to new ideas, but they also help us recognize our potential and our passions. However, rarely do they get credit for the life-changing work they do, and often teachers have no idea how their work can influence a student all the way into adulthood.

In Lessons Learned and Cherished: The Teacher Who Changed My Life, award-winning ABC journalist Deborah Roberts curates a collection of essays and musings from celebrity friends and colleagues alike that share how teachers changed them, imparted life lessons, and helped them get to where they are today.

Books are available for pre-order here and the on-sale date is May 2nd, 2023.

We Speak Authors

Machan Taylor’s Bold New Book “Naked Out Loud” — Available Now Worldwide

Published

3 days ago

December 8, 2025

Jimmy Star

Acclaimed singer, songwriter, and creative visionary Machan Taylor has officially released her long-awaited book “Naked Out Loud,” now available worldwide. Published by New Haven Publishers, the book dives into the raw, unfiltered heart of what it means to create, to feel deeply, and to live without apology in a world that constantly pushes people to hide their truest selves.

Part memoir, part artistic manifesto, “Naked Out Loud” crackles with the same emotional honesty that has always defined Machan’s music. She opens the doors to her inner world—creativity, heartbreak, joy, courage, the whole messy, beautiful ride—and invites readers to shed their own masks along the way.

Machan’s career reads like a tour through modern music history: performing with Pink Floyd, Sting, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, and countless others while carving out her own respected lane as a solo artist and educator. In this book, she turns that lens inward, threading poetic reflections through real stories of triumph, doubt, and the relentless pursuit of authentic expression.