August 2026 - Best Sellers

 

Prose

Uncharted Paths by Lakshmi Kambampati Heaven in a Wildflower by Cynthia Mines The Immigrant Next Door by James Kenyon The Last Rancher by Robert Rebein TIE: Reptile Romance by Harley Elliott   TIE: Disaster at 39,000 Feet by Enfys McMurry

Poetry

Eat Your Words: a Kansas Poetry Cookbook, edited by Traci Brimhall Modern Man by Kent Leatham (pre-order) Birdy Prize finalist Protest as a Love Poem by Huascar Medina Cravings by Linzi Garcia On the Other Side of the Ashes by Dmitry Blizniuk

Visit Meadowlark Bookstore

Celebrate with author Lakshmi Kampampati: You are Invited!

Join us on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 6pm

Watermark Books & Cafe

4701 E Douglas Ave

Wichita, KS 67218

RSVP

About the Book

In Uncharted Paths: A Memoir of Teaching and Learning, Wichita teacher Lakshmi Kambampati shares the most important lessons of her career: not the ones she taught, but the ones she learned from students and communities around the world.

About the Author

Lakshmi Kambampati is a Wichita-based educator, world traveler, and author of Uncharted Paths: A Memoir of Teaching and Learning. Born in India, she moved to North America as a young wife and mother and built a new life while adapting to unfamiliar cultures and circumstances. After settling in Wichita, she taught mathematics, history, and English in public schools, colleges, and alternative educational settings.

Her passion for teaching and learning eventually took her far beyond the traditional classroom. She served as a Fulbright Scholar in India, a two-time Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Liberia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a U.S. Department of State English Language Fellow in Tanzania. She has also participated in educational and cultural programs in Japan, Tajikistan, and other parts of the world. Along the way, she embraced unexpected adventures, including scuba diving and skydiving in her sixties.

In Uncharted Paths, Lakshmi shares her experiences with warmth, honesty, humility, and humor. Her memoir explores teaching, travel, immigration, cultural adaptation, resilience, family, personal growth, and the courage to pursue new opportunities at every stage of life.

The book will especially appeal to educators, travelers, immigrants and newcomers to the United States, women seeking new possibilities, and readers interested in other cultures. It also offers encouragement to young adults beginning their journeys and to older adults who believe—or would like to believe—that it is never too late to take a new path, accept a challenge, or discover a larger world.

Meadowlark Press Releases Memoir by Wichita Educator

Educator’s Dedication to Cultural Awareness and Innovative Teaching Brings Rewards to Kansas Students and Beyond

In Uncharted Paths: A Memoir of Teaching and Learning, Wichita teacher Lakshmi Kambampati shares the most important lessons of her career: not the ones she taught, but the ones she learned from students and communities around the world.

“Uncharted Paths invites us to share a teacher’s colorful and endearing journey among students she met and the teaching problems she encountered in classrooms across the world. The adventures of this teacher-ambassador are sometimes ironic and often thrilling. As years pass, she learns how education happens beyond the seas and in cultures little known to us. Go with her—you’ll be glad you did,” writes William F Woods, PhD, Professor Emeritus of English, Wichita State University.

Originally from India, Kambampati has called Wichita, Kansas, her home for the past four decades. This memoir, a collection of recollections, chronicles her journey as an immigrant, an educator, and a traveler. Through moments of cultural misunderstandings, personal triumphs, and professional growth, she offers insights that inspire readers to embrace diversity, navigate challenges, and find purpose in service.

With a Master of Science in Geography and a Master of Education in School Administration, she taught mathematics at Butler Com­mun­ity College and Wichita Technical College, history at Friends University, and mathematics for Wichita Public Schools.

Her passion for education has taken her across the world. Highlights of her career include receiving a Fulbright Professional Excellence Award, serving as a two-time Peace Corps Volunteer, and working as a U.S. State Department-sponsored English Language Fellow. She trained teachers in India and Liberia, empowered women entrepreneurs in Tanzania, and shared innovative teach­ing methods globally. These experiences are shared in her memoir.

Her contributions earned regional and national recognition, including the City of Wichita’s proclamation of August 15, 2000, as “Lakshmi Kambampati Day” and ING Ltd.’s “Unsung Hero” award for her creative teaching approaches. She has presented at national and inter­national conferences on education and pedagogy, bridging cultures through knowledge exchange.

The 232-page book is now available in paperback ($25) and ebook ($9) wherever books are sold.

Meadowlark Press, established in Emporia in 2014, publishes novels, memoirs, poetry and children’s books with a focus on Midwestern settings and authors. Meadowlark Press also awards the annual Birdy Prize to the best full-length collection of poetry nationwide.

Full-page detail on the Meadowlark website: https://www.meadowlarkbookstore.com/s/stories/uncharted-paths-a-memoir-of-teaching-and-learning

For bulk orders or more information, visit meadowlarkbookstore.com or email info@meadowlark-books.com.

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