Carolyn Jourdan is an American author, USA Today, Top-10 Audible, and six-time Wall Street Journal Top-10 bestselling memoirist, biographer, and mystery writer.

Carolyn Jourdan
Jourdan in 2006
Jourdan in 2006
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Tennessee (JD, BS)
Period2005–present
GenreMemoir, Biography, Medicine, Science, Wildlife, Travel, and Mystery
SubjectSmoky Mountain culture and Southern Appalachian dialect
Notable worksHeart in the Right Place, Bear in the Back Seat, Medicine Men, Out on a Limb
Website
www.carolynjourdan.com

Biography

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Jourdan's first book, a memoir, Heart in the Right Place, was a Wall Street Journal No. 7 bestseller in 2012[1] and No. 9 bestseller in 2017.[2]

Heart in the Right Place is the true story of a spoiled, high-powered United States Senate lawyer who gives up a glamorous life in Washington, D.C. and comes back home to the Great Smoky Mountains to work as an inept receptionist in her father's rural medical office. It was published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 2007 (hardback) and 2008 (paperback).[3] According to WorldCat, it is held in 1,076 libraries.[4]

Family Circle magazine chose Heart in the Right Place as its first ever Book of the Month, and Elle awarded it a Readers Prize.[citation needed] It was honored in Michigan with a One City One Book in the Capital Area Reads One Book in 2010.[5]

Medicine Men: Extreme Appalachian Doctoring (2012) was Jourdan's second book. It was a Wall Street Journal No. 5 bestseller in 2014,[6] a Wall Street Journal No. 6 bestseller in 2015,[7] and a Wall Street Journal No. 9 bestseller in 2022,.[8] Medicine Men was No. 1 in Biography & Memoir, Science, and Medicine on Amazon. It is a follow-on to Heart in the Right Place and is a collection of true stories from Jourdan's family and over a dozen physicians who practiced in Southern Appalachia.

Bear in the Back Seat: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a two-part memoir with Kim DeLozier. It was a Wall Street Journal No. 9 bestseller in 2013[9] and New York Times No. 7 audio book bestseller in 2016.[10] It describes DeLozier's 32-year career dealing with wildlife.

Her medical mystery, Out on a Limb: A Smoky Mountain Mystery (2013), was a USA Today best seller[11] and voted a Best Kindle Book of 2014. The French translation of the book, Suspendue, was shortlisted for the Cognac Thriller Prize, the Prix Polar International.[12] It deals with East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with an emphasis on the insular and quirky local culture.

Jourdan's work has been translated into French, German, and Hungarian.

Jourdan is a former Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. She has degrees from the University of Tennessee in Biomedical Engineering and Law.[13][14]

Bibliography

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Nonfiction

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Medical

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  • Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir (2007) ISBN 9781565124875
  • Medicine Men: Extreme Appalachian Doctoring (2012) ISBN 9780988564312
  • Radiologists at Work: Saving Lives with the Lights Off (2015) ISBN 9780997201215
  • Talking to Skeletons: Behind the Scenes With a Radiologist (2015) ISBN 9780997201222
  • Nurse: The Art of Caring (2016) ISBN 9780997201246

Wildlife

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  • Bear in the Back Seat I: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (2013) ISBN 9780988564367
  • Bear in the Back Seat II: Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (2014) ISBN 9780988564374
  • Bear Bloopers: True Stories from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (2014) ISBN 9780989930413
  • Waltzing with Wildlife: 10 Things NOT to Do in Our National Parks (2016 ebook) ISBN 9780997201253
  • Dangerous Beauty: Stories from the Wilds of Yellowstone (2017) ISBN 9781946299017

Writing

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  • How to Write, Edit & Publish Your Memoir: Advice From a Best-Selling Memoirist (2018) ISBN 9781946299093

Fiction

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Mystery

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References

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  1. ^ "WSJ Best-Selling Books - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. September 7, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "WSJ Best-Selling Books". Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. ^ "Heart in the Right Place: Main Description: $14.95: Workman Publishing". Workman.com. February 13, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  4. ^ WorldCat item record. Worldcat.org. OCLC 71243903. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  5. ^ "Michigan Reads One Book" (PDF). Michigan.gov. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "Best-Selling Books: Week Ended Oct. 26 - WSJ.com". Wall Street Journal. October 30, 2014.
  7. ^ "Best-Selling Books: Week Ended July 26 - WSJ.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015.
  8. ^ "Best-Selling Books: Week Ended Jul. 2 - WSJ.com". Wall Street Journal.
  9. ^ "Best-Selling Books: Week Ended Dec. 8 - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  10. ^ "New York Times Top 10 Audio Books for the Week Ending July 1, 2016". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books based on sales through Sunday, 7/23/2017". USA Today.
  12. ^ "Editions Diagonale announces Suspendue shortlisted for Prix Polar International". Facebook.
  13. ^ "Carolyn Jourdan – United States Book Author". Pubmatch.com. December 2, 2013. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  14. ^ "Carolyn Jourdan author bio". Bookbrowse.com. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  • "Carolyn Jourdan" in Contemporary authors. : Volume 263 a bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields Gale, 2008
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