All the arts we practice are apprenticeship. The big art is our life.
M.C. Richards
Libraries
One Woman’s Defiance. The World’s Greatest Artist.
The Story History Almost Forgot.
Behind the world’s most famous artist is a woman the world forgot. After the deaths of Vincent and Theo van Gogh, Jo van Gogh-Bonger is left with a legacy of “worthless” canvases. This award-winning novel follows her defiant battle to save Vincent’s art, changing the course of history forever.
AWARDS:
2025 Grand Prize Second Place IAN Winner (Fiction Book of the Year)
2025 IAN Winner (First Novel Over 90,000 Words)
2025 Gold Medal Readers Favorite (Historical Personage)
2024 Winner American Writing Award (Art)
2025 Indie Missouri collection
Saving Vincent is featured in the IBPA Library Market Selection
Themes & Discussion Topics:
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The Forgotten Woman: Reclaiming Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Move beyond the myth of the “tortured artist” to discover the true architect of Vincent van Gogh’s fame. This narrative explores the “hidden heroine” trope, examining how history often overlooks the women responsible for preserving our cultural heritage.
Resilience & Female Entrepreneurship. Follow the journey of a young widow navigating a 19th-century patriarchal society. Left with a small child and a collection of “worthless” paintings, Jo’s story is a masterclass in grit, strategic thinking, and the determination required to build a billion-dollar legacy from nothing.
Legacy & Stewardship. Explore the emotional weight of inheritance in the retelling of this mother/son relationship. Jo’s journey raises poignant questions about our responsibilities to legacy: How do we honor the brilliance of those we’ve lost while carving out a future for ourselves and the next generation?
Author Support:​
Virtual author visits available for book clubs.
In-person visits for clubs within her home states of Missouri and Arizona.
Available via Interlibrary Loan for your library’s book club!
Contact: