Books by Bill Hayes

____________________________A moving celebration of what Bill Hayes calls 'the evanescent, the eavesdropped, the unexpected' of life in New York City, and an intimate glimpse of his relationship with the late Oliver Sacks.____________________________'A beautiful memoir in which Oliver Sacks comes wonderfully to life ... Exquisitely wrought, heartrending and joyous' - Joyce Carol Oates'A loving tribute to Sacks and to New York ... Read just 50 pages, and you'll see easily enough how Hayes is Sacks's logical complement' - Jennifer Senior, New York Times____________________________Bill Hayes came to New York in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at forty-eight years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera. And he unexpectedly fell in love again, with his friend and neighbor, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks, whose exuberance is captured in funny and touching vignettes throughout. What emerges is a portrait of Sacks at his most personal and endearing, from falling in love for the first time at age seventy-five to facing illness and death (Sacks died of cancer in August 2015). Insomniac City is both a meditation on grief and a celebration of life. Filled with Hayes's distinctive street photos of everyday New Yorkers, the book is a love song to the city and to all who have felt the particular magic and solace it offers.____________________________'A unique and exuberant celebration of life and love' - Kirkus Reviews

Winner of the New York City Book AwardFrom the beloved author of Insomniac City, a poignant and profound tribute in stories and images to a city amidst a pandemic.A bookstore where readers shout their orders from the street. A neighborhood restaurant turned to-go place where one has a shared drink--on either end of a bar--with the owner. These scenes, among many others, became the new normal as soon as the world began to face the COVID-19 pandemic.In How We Live Now, author and photographer Bill Hayes offers an ode to our shared humanity--capturing in real time this strange new world weΓÇÖre now in (for who knows how long?) with his signature insight and grace. As he wanders the increasingly empty streets of Manhattan, Hayes meets fellow New Yorkers and discovers stories to tell, but he also shares the unexpected moments of gratitude he finds from within his apartment, where he lives alone and--like everyone else--is staying home, trying to keep busy and not bored as he adjusts to enforced solitude with reading, cooking, reconnecting with loved ones, reflecting on the past--and writing.Featuring HayesΓÇÖs inimitable street photographs, How We Live Now chronicles an unimaginable moment in time, offering a long-lasting reminder that what will get us through this unprecedented, deadly crisis is each other.

Through the eyes and ears of a very young Shawn O'Connor, the story of his grandmother, Emily Romain, and her ten children unfolds through the early decades of the twentieth century to the mid-1960's.Shawn tells how Emily Roemain came to America with just her steamer trunk and hopes and dreams. Though she met the love of her life and began to achieve her American dream, the untimely deaths of a child and her beloved husband almost stopped her in her tracks. Shawn goes on to describe how Emily and her ten children would not give up.No matter what setback occurred, Emily used humor, hard work, and prayer to make it through the tough times. This example provided the basis for the numerous stories that Shawn conveys. Each story is a tribute to both his family and and the power of positive thinking, and just when young Shawn, himself, is ready to give up, the example provided by his grandmother provides the strength for him to go on!

The time period is set for the late 1950s, with a clash of a hundred years ago in time. Matthew and his grandfather go on a journey into the past to help a relative. During that journey, they discover the importance of what family really means. Matthew and his grandfather find out that age does not matter, for time passes in the blink of an eye. Life is nothing more than love and standing up for what is right. Together they find the strength and love to join in an expedition for truth, understanding, and what turns out to be a family bond of many years.A little imagination from youth, intrigue of what is around the next corner, and family being the most important thing in life are within the pages of this book. This story goes back to a time, when family members depended on one another, no matter the problem. Respect and admiration of the young and old is the intended purpose of this short writing. While grappling with the problems of today, much of our innocence has been lost. The hope that children today will ever have the opportunity to touch the quietness of youth as older generations had, is all but gone. The simple pleasure of making a snow fort, or riding down that first hill on a sled, with the snow blowing in our faces is something we all have forgotten.