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• Hardcover, signed by the editor, 260 pages, published May 26, 2026.

THE STORY OF the late Gee Gee Rosell seems almost too-Hollywood to be true. How a woman who chose to spend more than half a century on a wind-swept, storm-battered island thirty miles at sea could make such a difference is, nonetheless, very true. It’s all in The Gee Gee Book, a biography written by three dozen authors, edited by Ray McAllister and published by Beach Glass Books. A portion of all book sales will be donated to a scholarship fund set up in Rosell’s name for island students. SHE WAS BORN MARJEAN. But when her sister had trouble pronouncing it, her name became Gee Gee. And her life was on. While her siblings acquiesced to parents, Gee Gee would go toe-to-toe with her Marine father. She was kicked out of kindergarten the first day—“not ready,” the teacher said of the pupil who preferred talking. Whether stubborn, strong-willed or merely focused, Gee Gee wanted things her way. She wanted to make a difference. She graduated with a forestry degree and headed for the National Park Service on Hatteras Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. A decade later, in 1984, she opened a bookstore there, in an 1860s kitchen house built from shipwreck timbers that she would repair. It became a treasure of an indie bookstore, renowned locally, regionally, nationally. ANYONE WALKING INTO Gee Gee Rosell’s Buxton Village Books would find not only the perfect book or gift—but a friend. She cherished not only education, literature, the arts, and the natural world, but people and their dreams. She supported reading programs, local authors, business people, the island’s history and environment, endangered animals, and those suffering from alcoholism, breast cancer, or other challenges. With kindness. Without fanfare. WHEN SHE DIED suddenly in early 2026, thousands mourned. But they did not forget. Inside this book are more than three dozen inspiring stories from those who knew her best, fifty other memories, more than one hundred photos. Odds are you’ve never met anyone like Gee Gee before. Now you can.