Brown is the author of several nonfiction books. She's an eclectic, curiosity-drive writer who often covers mental health, medicine, and issues that matter to women and children.

The Good-bye Window

The Goodbye Window: A Year in the Life of a Day-Care Center is for every parent who's ever walked away from a day-care center or preschool hoping for the best. The lessons Brown learned in a year of observations at Red Caboose Day Care in Madison are universal—and reassuring..

Madison Walks is an entertaining and eminently practical guidebook to 18 of the best walks around Madison, Wisconsin. With photographs by Jamie Young.

Mr. Wrong

Mr. Wrong is the tug behind your navel, the guy who lights you up like a Roman candle, the danger you just can’t resist. Anyone who's ever wound up in a relationship with a guy like this—and who hasn't?—will love Mr. Wrong, a collection of original essays by Jane Smiley, Audrey Niffennegger, Jackie Mitchard, Whitney Otto, Marge Piercy, Roxana Robinson, Ann Hood, and 18 other writers.

These funny, insightful accounts run the emotional gamut, from Whitney Otto’s satisfying tale of a Mr. Wrong who gets his comeuppance in an unexpected way, to Robin Westen’s steamy account of lust with a zen master, to Monika Ekks’ rueful “I Married a Wanker!” Some of these essays are hilarious, like Marion Winik’s “The Ten Most Wanted.” And some, like Joyce Maynard’s “Your Friend, Always” and Catherine Texier’s “Russian Lessons,” take us to the dark side of love and longing.

If you’ve ever trysted with a man you couldn’t trust, this book will make you laugh, cry, and recognize yourself and your friends.

Published by Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, and available at your local bookseller.