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Leadership & Inspiration for Trailblazers (LIFT) is a women's networking group that focuses on the core values of Empowerment, Education, Connection, Inspiration, and Inclusion of our WNY community. We welcome you to engage with this group to find self discovery and contribution to your professional journey. The mission is to support professional women so they can succeed. All members welcome.
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LIFT Book Club: Each session is limited to 4-12 seats

Join us for more than just a book club—this is a space where women lift each other up, share stories that spark courage, and build meaningful connections within our Chamber community. Together, we’ll explore ideas that challenge and inspire, creating an intimate experience that celebrates growth and empowerment.

Book Choice:
"Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke
FICTION
Participants would be required to borrow or purchase their own Book or eBook from any notable retailer.
Most sessions are VIRTUAL on Wednesdays. The link will be emailed prior to session start.
The final session on Wednesday, October 14th, will be in-person at the Amherst Chamber of Commerce at 12pm for ALL sessions to review and conclude the readings. Lunch will be served.

7pm Session Facilitator: Pam Straitiff

• Time: 7-7:45pm
• Date: Bi Weekly Virtual Wednesdays
  • 8/19/2026
  • 9/2/2026
  • 9/16/2026
  • 9/30/2026
  •  10/14/2026 
    • End Lunch Joint Session: In person at Amherst Chamber on Wednesday at 12:00pm on 10/14/2026

Yesteryear: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

by Caro Claire Burke (Author)  Format: Hardcover

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars   (64,900)

4.0 on Goodreads

474,410 ratings

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (SO FAR) • A traditional American woman, a “tradwife” influencer, suddenly awakens in the brutal reality of 1855—where she must unravel whether this living nightmare is an elaborate hoax, a twisted reality show, or something far more sinister in this sensational debut novel.

"A bold and biting satire, Yesteryear…will have you cackling and gasping right to the final page."
—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid series

My name was Natalie Heller Mills, and I was perfect at being alive.

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle. Her charming farmhouse is rustic, her husband a handsome cowboy, her six children each more delightful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers behind the scenes, her kitchen hiding industrial-grade fridges and ovens, her husband the heir to a political dynasty? What Natalie’s followers—all 8 million of them—don’t know won’t hurt them. And The Angry Women? The privileged, Ivy League, coastal elite haters who call her an antifeminist iconoclast? They’re sick with jealousy. Because Natalie isn’t simply living the good life, she’s living the ideal—and just so happens to be building an empire from it.

Until one morning she wakes up in a life that isn’t hers. Her home, her husband, her children—they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Her kitchen is warmed by a sputtering fire rather than electricity, her children are dirty and strange, and her soft-handed husband is suddenly a competent farmer. Just yesterday Natalie was curating photos of homemade jam for her Instagram, and now she’s expected to haul firewood and handwash clothes until her fingers bleed. Has she become the unwitting star of a ruthless reality show? Could it really be time travel? Is she being tested by God? By Satan? When Natalie suffers a brutal injury in the woods, she realizes two things: This is not her beautiful life, and she must escape by any means possible.

A gripping, electrifying novel that is as darkly funny as it is frightening, Yesteryear is a gimlet-eyed look at tradition, fame, faith, and the grand performance of womanhood.