Debbie Kaiman Tillinghast

Author of Memoir, Poetry, and Fiction

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"Hear the gentle whispers of your heart."

About

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Debbie Kaiman Tillinghast began writing as she embarked on a quest to reconnect with her island roots, starting with a cookbook for her family. She has also been published in Country magazine, and her poetry has been featured in nine anthologies published by the Association of Rhode Island Authors: Rhode Trip, In a Dark Time, Green, Iconic Rhode Island, Shoreline, Under the 13th Star, Selections, Past, Present, and Future, and Hope.Debbie, a retired teacher and Nutrition Educator, now enjoys volunteering as well as writing, gardening, walking and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Visit Debbie's Facebook page.

Media Mentions

Interview with A.L. Kaplan (2018)
Be My Guest TV Interview (2018)
Interview with Martha Reynolds (2017)
Gina's World of Good (2017)
Meet the Author with Martha Reynolds (2015)

Books

Over the Garden Wall

Finding Moments That Matter

Every season in the garden, like every season in life, has rewards and challenges, and every season holds moments that matter—if we pay attention.In Over the Garden Wall, author Debbie Kaiman Tillinghast shares personal moments of joy and sorrow, struggle and peace, through her lyrical stories and poetry. She invites us to laugh at ourselves and discover moments that matter every day. She offers a hand to hold and says, “You’re not alone.”We often miss the details in life as we rush headlong through the day. When we are present, and notice the moments, it increases our inner peace and well-being. When we don’t pay attention, everything passes quickly, like dreams forgotten in an instant, and we wonder where the days have gone.Venture Over the Garden Wall and enjoy the simple pleasures of being present. Awaken your senses and connect to the moments that matter to you.

Over the Garden Wall is also available at this independent store:

Stillwater Books
175 Main St., Pawtucket, RI

A Gift of Cookies

A Gift of Cookies, A Gift of Love

Generations of cookies, made together and shared with love.

Our family Christmas cookie tradition spans over seventy-five years.A Gift of Cookies, A Gift of Love features time-tested recipes for my family’s favorite cookies and the stories behind them.

Buy the Book:

A Gift of Cookies, A Gift of Love is also available at these independent stores:

Lightning Ridge Farm
519 Putnam Pike
Chepachet, RI

Stillwater Books
175 Main St., Pawtucket, RI

A Dream Worth Keeping

Buy the Book:

A Dream Worth Keeping

The most meaningful journeys encompass more than the distance we travel...

When Martha files for divorce from her controlling and dismissive husband, Tony, she knows she'll have to begin again. Tony persuaded her to abandon her dreams of chocolate and pastry fame, and to break a promise to her grandmother, to follow him and his dreams.Martha's heart pulls her back to her hometown in seaside Maine, to Gram, and to the bakery where Gram is still waiting for her to return. But before she can go home, Martha must learn who she really is, and her journey of discovery leads her south—from Baltimore and Tony's betrayal, to the Gulf Coast of Florida and the friends she'd made in culinary school, when her dreams had felt within her reach.When she eventually returns to Baltimore, life offers her another chance at love. But Martha can't believe in love again until she first believes in herself.A Dream Worth Keeping is a story of friendship and loss, guilt and forgiveness. It takes readers on a journey of love and redemption—and reminds us that we can't love anyone else until we love ourselves.

A Dream Worth Keeping is also available at these independent stores:

Lightning Ridge Farm
519 Putnam Pike
Chepachet, RIInkfish Books
488 Main St., Warren, RI

Stillwater Books
175 Main St., Pawtucket, RIVaccaro's Italian Pastry
222 Albemarle Street
Baltimore, MD

The Ferry Home

Step back in time to a simpler life as you read this captivating memoir of growing up in the 1950s on the small island of Prudence along the New England coast.

A story of reconnecting to long-forgotten childhood bonds and memories, Debbie Kaiman Tillinghast’s The Ferry Home embraces joyful moments with humor and more troubling emotions with compassion.If you have ever faced emotional challenges within your family or had a sibling relationship with both squabbles and shared mischief, if you have found peace in one memorable place, or if you have ever longed for any of these, then this book is for you.Experience the rhythm of life on Prudence Island, the ebb and flow of changing tides and seasons, and the patterns and relationships that emerge. It is a place where independence is fostered, but friends are always there when needed.As Debbie’s vivid accounts unfold, you will feel like you too have just stepped off the ferry and been embraced by the tiny Prudence Island community.

The Ferry Home is also available at these Rhode Island stores:

Lightning Ridge Farm
519 Putnam Pike
Chepachet, RIIsland Bound Bookstore
Water St., Block Island, RI

Paper Packaging and Panache
418 Hope St., Bristol, RILinden Place Gift Shop
500 Hope St., Bristol, RIInkfish Books
488 Main St., Warren, RI

Stillwater Books
175 Main St., Pawtucket, RIWakefield Books
160 Old Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI

Anthologies

Debbie's work features in these anthologies from The Association of Rhode Island Authors.

Available for purchase from Amazon:

Rhode Trip, 2024
In a Dark Time, 2023
Iconic Rhode Island, 2022
Green, 2021
Hope, 2020
Past, Present, and Future, 2019
Selections, 2018
Under the 13th Star, 2017
Shoreline, 2016

News & Events

2024 Events

  • Please contact Debbie if you'd like to invite her to attend your event or book club.

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Contact

Debbie would love to hear from you!Please contact her by email: [email protected]You can also visit her Facebook page.

Please get in touch also, if you'd like to invite her to attend your literary event or book club meeting.