“Pyle of Memories” benefits this incredible foundation. HFC was started by comedian Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren who had the unique vision to give grants to both dementia caregivers — and brain health research.
Book-singing event #1 with a few of the contributing authors. (L to R: Suzy Watson, Greg Christensen, Susan Otis, Lesly Pyle, Jack Westerholt, Eric Pyle, and Allison Pyle.)
Book-singing event #2 with a few more contributing authors. (L to R Back: Ethan Rios, Dustin Ballard, Andy Coulston, and “Fake Jack” Westerholt who was on vacation but with us in spirit. L to R Front: Alexis Bingham and Lesly Pyle.)
Greg Christensen’s chapter reading.
Andy Coulston’s chapter reading.
Alexi Bingham’s chapter reading (with visual aids)!
Buy for the cause.
Stay for the entertainment.
The Mission
Every copy sold benefits “Hilarity for Charity,” Seth Rogen’s and his wife Lauren’s dementia caregiving and research foundation. We chose HFC because their mission overlaps ours so well: There really is something to the healing power of humor.
The Results
Our little passion project has already funded two big grants for HFC. So far.
The Book
For the best shot of putting a dent in a disease that affects 55 million families, 36 writers pooled their talents into one book. And within three days of launching, “Pyle of Memories” shot up the Amazon Best Seller List among titles by Tina Fey, Nick Offerman, and Bill Bryson. Most stories are comedies. A few are tragedies. Some are both. All are great. And all support an even greater cause. We can’t thank you enough for doing the same.
The Backstory
In 2014, Lesly Pyle’s grandmother asked Lesly to write a memory about her. Her grandmother had dementia and wanted to hold on to every bit she could. She’s the reason Lesly started a social media series of short stories for dementia awareness called #PyleOfMemories. Some of Lesly’s stories made you laugh, some made you cry, but they all had one goal: to encourage friends to write their own stories down — before they’re lost forever. And the encouragement went both ways. Because her friends urged Lesly to turn her series into this book. So she asked a few of them to help write it:
The Authors
(in alphabetical order by last name)
Brian Bacino, Writer, Chief Creative Officer and Commercial Director.
Rob Baker, Writer and Co-Founder of Baker & Bonner Creative Emporium.
Dustin Ballard, Writer and Creator of TikTok’s famous “There I Ruined It” music series.
Jamie Barrett, Writer, Executive Creative Director and Founder of Barrett Hofherr.
Alexis Bingham, Writer, Associate Creative Director and Dog Foster.
Michael Burbo, Writer and Musician.
Kate Catalinac, Writer and Creative Director.
Greg Christensen, Writer and Group Creative Director.
Andy Coulston, Art Director and Group Creative Director.
Cameron Day, Author of the “The Advertising Survival Guide” trilogy, including “Chew With Your Mind Open,” “Spittin’ Chiclets,” and “Sticks and Stones.”
Suzanne Finnamore, Bestselling Author of “Split,” “Crush,” “Otherwise Engaged,” “The Zygote Chronicles,” and the upcoming book, “My Disappearing Mother: A Memoir of Magic and Loss in the Country of Dementia.”
Michael Folino, Freelance Writer and Creative Director.
Debra Fried, Author of the popular blog, “Ruffle” and Freelance Creative Director.
Jeff Goodby, Writer, Artist, Director, Musician and Co-Chairman of Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
Gerry Graf, Writer, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of SlapGlobal.
Brandon Harper, Essay Writer and Student Athlete at the University of Oklahoma.
Ty Hutchinson, Bestselling Author of two international crime thriller collections, the “Abby Kane” series and the “Sei” series.
Thomas Kemeny, Author of “Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead in Advertising” and Freelance Creative Director.
Kenny Lee, Author of “We, But Me. A Book for Twins” and Creative Director.
Miles Nored, Writer and Medical Marvel.
Susan Otis, Family Raconteur and Retired Small Business Owner.
Allison Pyle, Proofreader and “Reader’s Digest” Contributor.
Eric Pyle, Author of “Alice and the Magic Marker” and Software Developer.
Lesly Pyle, Writer, Associate Creative Director and Creator of the “Pyle of Memories” book and social media series.
Mark Radcliffe, Writer, Creative Director and Musician.
Ethan Rios, Writer and Freelance Photographer.
Russell Rowland, Author of 5 novels, including "Cold Country," and "In Open Spaces," as well as the non-fiction narrative, "56 Counties."
Rich Siegel, Author of “Round Seventeen & 1/2” and Freelance Writer.
Jon Soto, Art Director and Freelance Creative Director.
Matt Stiker, Author of the blog “What’s Next > What’s Now.”
Luke Sullivan, Author of “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This” and “Thirty Rooms to Hide In: Insanity, Addiction and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Shadow of the Mayo Clinic.”
George Tannenbaum, Author of “Ad Aged,” a Business Insider “Most Influential” blog.
Laura Tannenbaum, Writer and Freelance Creative Director.
Julia Tucker, Author of “Fringe Benefits” and “Old Poison.”
Suzy Watson, Writer, Educator, Producer and Pet Lover.
Jack Westerholt, Writer, Creative Director, Yogi and Mindfulness Coach.
______________________________
The Accolades
The following honors give us hope that our book will actually make a difference. Which will be the only thing that truly matters.
_____
Shoutout DFW Magazine | 1.2025
A Dallas Fort Worth publication that interviews “inspiring entrepreneurs and creative people.” Read the article.
Catch+Release Podcast | 5.2024
The venerable Tom Christmann had me on his latest podcast series called “Lost in Found” to discuss how “Pyle of Memories” exemplifies the power of human connection.
_____
Amazon Best Seller List | 9.2023
Three days after launch, our book was on the Amazon’s Best Seller List in the humor category among titles by Tina Fey, Norm MacDonald, David Sedaris, Nick Offerman and Bill Bryson. What?!
_____
TRG’s Connie Andrews Advertising Spirit Award | 11.2023
"May your work on projects such as 'Pyle of Memories' serve as a beacon to others that hard work and an unwavering commitment to excellence always pays off." - Excerpted from the award certificate from TRG Advertising.
_____
Featured in Dan Nelken’s newsletter, “A Self-Help Guide for Creatives,” in the “Escape Artists” column | 10.2023
“Escape Artists” are creative professionals who are taking the time to create things outside of work.
_____
The Side Show Awards | Top Honors | 8.2024
To win a “Top Honor” means the judges voted unanimously. (A few new judges came to town and this book caught their eyes too. See below for more.)
_____
The Side Show Awards | Social Good Category | 11.2023
In 2021, a few sample chapters won gold for writing (see below).
In 2023, “Pyle of Memories” is back on the Side Show charts as a full-on book earning money for dementia research. It’s featured in the “Social Good Gallery.”
_____
The Side Show Awards | Writing Category | 10.2021
A few pre-publication sample chapters won gold at an award show that recognizes side passions by creative professionals.