Episode Description Georgette Beck launches a brand-new recurring segment on the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast: Book Gems. In this first installment, Georgette pulls back the curtain on three very different books that have shaped her heart, faith, and outlook — introducing each author's story, the heart of the book, her own "Georgette's Gems" takeaways, an invitation for listeners to reflect, and who should pick up each title. From the founding of the Salvation Army to the hidden world of hotel hospitality to a poet's honest reckoning with grief, this episode is a love letter to reading and to every listener who has ever found themselves inside the pages of a book. What's Covered in This Episode Why Georgette is launching Book Gems, and how books have shaped her own journey from brokenness to beauty Book 1: The General Next to God — the story of William Booth and The Salvation Army, by Richard Collier Book 2: Heads in Beds — A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality, by Jacob Tomsky Book 3: Morning in the Burned House — New Poems, by Margaret Atwood How Bella Healing Hearts Foundation's mission connects to the story of The Salvation Army An invitation to reflect: who are we walking past, and what is our response? Book 1: The General Next to God The Story of William Booth and The Salvation Army, by Richard Collier (1965) About the author: Richard Collier (1924–1996) was an English journalist and military historian born in Croydon, England. He joined the Royal Air Force at eighteen and later served as a war correspondent, traveling throughout the Far East. Collier went on to become a bestselling author known for his meticulously researched books on World War II and other historical subjects. The General Next to God, his biography of William Booth, was published in 1965 and selected as a Book Society Choice. Collier passed away in 1996; as a book from an earlier era, there is no active author website or social media to share. About the subject: William Booth (1829–1912) was born in Nottingham, England, and became one of the most consequential Christian social reformers in history. After being expelled from Methodist ministry, he began preaching in the slums of Whitechapel in 1865, eventually founding The Salvation Army — a nonsectarian, nonpolitical organization that today operates in more than 130 countries. Georgette's Gems: Booth's motto — "Go for souls, and go for the worst" — challenges us to ask who we're walking past in our own community, and what our response will be. The book also traces the Army's early fight against child exploitation and trafficking, a cause the organization has championed for over 150 years. Learn more: The Salvation Army (official site): https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ Book 2: Heads in Beds A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality, by Jacob Tomsky (2012) About the author: Jacob Tomsky was born in Oakland, California, to a military family and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. A philosophy graduate with no plan to enter the hospitality world, Tomsky spent over a decade working in luxury hotels in New Orleans and Manhattan — rising from valet parker to front desk manager to housekeeping supervisor. Heads in Beds was his first book, a New York Times bestseller often compared to Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, and was blurbed by Elizabeth Gilbert as "hilarious, literate, canny, ignorant, and kind." Georgette's Gems: Tomsky's memoir humanizes the invisible hospitality workforce and reveals how every industry — even the transactional ones — runs on human connection. His insider wisdom (like the power of a well-placed $20 bill) is as much about generosity and gratitude as it is about getting a room upgrade. Connect with the author: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobtomsky/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacobTomskyAuthor/ Book 3: Morning in the Burned House New Poems, by Margaret Atwood (1995) About the author: Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa, Canada, and is one of the most celebrated and prolific writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, with over fifty books spanning fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. Best known internationally for The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood has won the Booker Prize twice (The Blind Assassin, 2000, and The Testaments, 2019), along with the Franz Kafka Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, among many other honors. About the book: Morning in the Burned House was Atwood's first poetry collection in nearly a decade and was a co-winner of the 1995 Trillium Book Award. The collection is best known for its fourth section, a sequence of poems about the slow death of Atwood's father from cancer — considered among the most honest grief writing in modern poetry — alongside the haunting title poem and reimagined myths of women like Helen of Troy and the woman accused of witchcraft in "Half-Hanged Mary." Georgette's Gems: Grief, when written honestly, becomes a gift to everyone who has loved and lost. The book's central metaphor — a burned house we all carry pieces of inside us — resonated deeply with Georgette's own experience of losing both parents and walking through divorce. Connect with the author: Official website: https://margaretatwood.ca/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealmargaretatwood/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/MargaretAtwood The Invitation This episode's reflection: Who is the "worst" in your community that you're currently walking past — and what is one small, real action you could take this week? Georgette invites listeners to comment or reach out and share their favorite books, too. About Your Host Georgette Beck is an author, podcast host, lay minister, mentor, and Realtor on Florida's Treasure Coast. Her book, Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight (Fedd Books, 2024), won the International Impact Book Award (Inspirational/Transformational category) and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association. She is also the founder of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation, supporting single-parent families through mentorship, education, and scholarships. Connect with Georgette: Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168 Subscribe, share, and leave a review — it means the world!
