It’s easier not to try anymore…Ten years after leaving his small Minnesota hometown in his rearview mirror for what Nolan Grainger was sure would be the last time, life has decided to throw the talented musician a curveball and send him back to the town he lived in but was never really home.At twenty-eight, Nolan has traveled the world as a successful concert violinist with some of the best symphonies in the country. But success breeds envy, and when Nolan’s benefactor and lover decides Nolan has flown high enough, he cruelly clips Nolan’s wings. The betrayal and ensuing scandal leaves the violinist’s career in shambles and with barely enough money to start fresh somewhere beyond his vindictive ex’s powerful reach. But just as he’s ready to get his life back on track, Nolan gets the call he’s been dreading.After a stroke leaves his father a partial invalid, duty-bound Nolan returns to Pelican Bay and a life he’s spent years trying to forget. When he’s forced to use the last of his own money to keep from losing the family home, desperation has him turning to the one man he’d hoped never to see again…Even if I could speak, there wouldn’t be anyone there to listen…Pelican Bay’s golden boy, Dallas Kent, had the quintessential perfect life. Smart, gorgeous, and popular, the baseball phenom was well on his way to a life filled with fame and fortune. But more importantly, he had a one-way ticket out of Pelican Bay and far away from the family who used love as currency and whose high expectations were the law of the land. But a stormy night, sharp highway curve and one bad decision changed everything, leaving Dallas with nothing.Because the accident that took his parents, his future and his crown as the boy who could do no wrong, also stole his voice.Despised for the horrific wreck that ended the lives of two of Pelican Bay’s most respected residents, Dallas has retreated to a secluded stretch of land where he’s found refuge in a menagerie of unwanted animals that don’t care that he once had the world at his feet or that he’ll never speak again.But when the quiet, bookish boy he wasn’t allowed to notice in school suddenly reappears ten years later at Dallas’s wildlife rehab center in desperate need of a job, Dallas is thrust back into a world he’s worked hard to escape.Dallas’s silence was supposed to send Nolan scurrying, but what if Nolan ends up being the one person who finally hears him?Will two men who’ve been fleeing from the past finally come home to Pelican Bay for good or will the silence drive them apart forever?

    Rowling. Being challenged in life is inevitable, but being defeated is optional... Henry Fraser was 17 years old when a tragic accident severed his spinal cord. Paralysed from the shoulders down, he has conquered unimaginable difficulty to embrace life and a new way of living. Through challenging adversity, he has found the opportunity to grow and inspire others. This book combines his wisdom and insight into finding the gifts in life's challenges, and will resonate with anyone facing an obstacle, no matter how big or small. It includes Henry's thoughts on how to look at the right things and avoid the wrong, finding progress in whatever you do, and acknowledging and accepting the darkness when it comes. Right at the heart of Henry's inspiring philosophy is his belief that every day is a good day.

    And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

    Provocatively heart-breaking, audaciously irreverent and romantically fulfilling, The Hard Truth About Sunshine exposes just how very thin the line is between a full life and an empty existence. An angry, bitter amputee. An optimist losing her eyesight. A dying kid. A suicidal thief. Four people with nothing in common but their destination. Despite having narrowly escaped death’s clutches, Christopher Barlow is grateful for nothing. His capacity to love has been crushed. He hates everyone and everything, completely unable to see past the gray stain of misery that coats his perception of the world. It’s only after he involuntarily joins a band of depressed misfits who are struggling to overcome their own problems, does Christopher start to re-evaluate his lot in life. What could they possibly learn from one another? How could they possibly help each other to heal? And the question that Christopher asks himself over and over again… can he learn to love again? He’s about to find out as he embarks upon a cross country trip with a beautiful woman who is going blind, a boy with terminal cancer, and an abuse victim who can’t decide whether she wants to live or die. They will encounter adventure, thrills, loss and love. And within their travels they will learn the greatest lesson of all. The hard truth about sunshine… Warning: This book deals with some tough issues including suicide and sexual abuse.

    Hashtags and flights and late-night text sessions lead to a connection neither has experienced, or expected. Beyond the shiny veneer of social media, further than the shallow depths of a good selfie, down to the real, for real stuff that relationships are made of… can Nick and Noah actually reach their prematurely awarded goal?

    As a result, his body hasn't grown bigger and stronger as he's gotten older--it's gotten smaller and weaker instead. This hasn't stopped him from doing the things he enjoys (like eating pizza and playing sports and video games) with the people he loves, but it does mean that he routinely relies on his friends and family for help with everything from brushing his teeth to rolling over in bed.

    It saves lives, manipulates lives, and prioritizes some lives over others. It provides comfort, makes profits, justifies violence, and promises resolution to body-mind loss. Clare grapples with this knot of contradictions, maintaining that neither an anti-cure politics nor a pro-cure worldview can account for the messy, complex relationships we have with our body-minds.The stories he tells range widely, stretching from disability stereotypes to weight loss surgery, gender transition to skin lightening creams. At each turn, Clare weaves race, disability, sexuality, class, and gender together, insisting on the nonnegotiable value of body-mind difference. Into this mix, he adds environmental politics, thinking about ecosystem loss and restoration as a way of delving more deeply into cure.Ultimately Brilliant Imperfection reveals cure to be an ideology grounded in the twin notions of normal and natural, slippery and powerful, necessary and damaging all at the same time.

    You know that you’re meant to be together. Then you learn what that person needs and you do it for them. I can’t imagine anything else quite so fulfilling.Chester has always wanted to become a service dog. When he fails his certification test, though, it seems like that dream might never come true—until a family adopts him to be a companion for their ten-year-old son, Gus, who has autism. But Gus acts so differently than anyone Chester has ever met. He never wants to pet Chester, and sometimes he doesn’t even want him in the room. Chester’s not sure how to help Gus since this isn’t exactly the job he trained for—but he’s determined to figure it out and show he’s the right dog for the job. Because after all, Gus is now his person.

    He has his clean room, his carefully organized bird books and art supplies, his favorite foods, and comfortable routines.But life has been unraveling since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan. And when Dad gets sent across country for medical treatment, Charlie must reluctantly travel to meet him. With his boy-crazy sister, unruly twin brothers, and a mysterious new family friend at the wheel, the journey looks anything but smooth.So Charlie decides to try and spot all the birds that he and his dad had been hoping to see together in the wild. If he can complete the Someday Birds list for Dad, then maybe, just maybe, things will turn out okay...Equal parts madcap road trip, coming-of-age story for an unusual boy, and portrait of a family overcoming a crisis.

    Learn to Fly. Sixteen-year-old Amel arrived at Dragon School just like everyone else – with a dream to ride dragons and join the Dominion Dragon Riders. But Amel has a crippled leg and Dragon School training is grueling. Before she can even become an initiate, she must complete her First Flight on a dragon. Can Amel survive First Flight and become a Dragon School initiate or will her dreams dash on the rocks below?

    Christian learns, loves and leads us into the new generation of Protectors. He does it the only way he knows, Badass. This is a continuation of the MC and Princes of Prophecy Series: Contemplating ending the constant barrage of death and destruction he's seen his whole life brings Christian closer to his family. With Dakota's help, Christian learns and uses his ancestors to control and manage his visions and abilities. Gaining peace for the first time in his life still leaves him lonely. With all he's been gifted, the ability to be touched is not among them. Dean thought using her ability to help the police find a killer was a good thing, until she realized she was now the hunted. Losing her parents, in an explosion meant for her, she finds her way to the Princes and a man that not only protects and understands her but can hold her too. Christian has his work cut out for him. Showing Dean, the Princes and the MC what all in means isn't easy when it's wrapped around 'freaky kid' abilities. This is the story of Christian and Dean.

    Already a For Sale sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their little family, adding an unwelcome stepfather and pesky six-year-old twin stepsisters. To add insult to injury, what is Macy s final sixth grade assignment? A genealogy project. Well, she'll put it off―just like those wedding centerpieces she's supposed to be making. Just when Macy's mother ought to be sympathetic, she sends her next door to help eighty-six-year-old Iris Gillan, who is also getting ready to move―in her case, into an assisted living facility. Iris can't move a single box on her own and, worse, she doesn't know sign language. How is Macy supposed to understand her? But Iris has stories to tell, and she isn't going to let Macy's deafness stop her. Soon, through notes and books and cookies, a friendship grows. And this friendship, odd and unexpected, may be just what Macy needs to face the changes in her life. Shari Green, author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles, writes free verse with the lightest touch, spinning Macy out of her old story and into a new one full of warmth and promise for the future.

    Haunted by the voices of those committed to the notorious Virginia State Colony, epicenter of the American eugenics movement in the first half of the twentieth century, this evocative debut marks the emergence of a poet of exceptional poise and compassion, who grew up in the shadow of the Colony itself.

    She's finally earned a place as a forward on her soccer team. Her best friends make everything fun. And she really likes Tate, and she's pretty sure he likes her back. After one last appointment with her scoliosis doctor, this will be her best year yet.Then the doctor delivers some terrible news: The sideways curve in Rachel's spine has gotten worse, and she needs to wear a back brace twenty-three hours a day. The brace wraps her in hard plastic from shoulder blades to hips. It changes how her clothes fit, how she kicks a ball, and how everyone sees her -- even her friends and Tate. But as Rachel confronts all the challenges the brace presents, the biggest change of all may lie in how she sees herself.

    He was deaf, mute, autistic, and probably dyslexic. He didn't walk until he was four; he would never learn to speak, write, read, or use sign language.Yet, today Castle's artwork hangs in major museums throughout the world. The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened "James Castle: A Retrospective" in 2008. The 2013 Venice Biennale included eleven works by Castle in the feature exhibition "The Encyclopedic Palace." And his reputation continues to grow.Caldecott Medal winner Allen Say, author of the acclaimed memoir Drawing from Memory, takes readers through an imagined look at Castle's childhood, allows them to experience his emergence as an artist despite the overwhelming difficulties he faced, and ultimately reveals the triumphs that he would go on to achieve.

    You cleverly disguised yourself as some form of pain or suffering as I grew into a young woman. We were unwavering companions … until I severed our ties.I traded homelessness on the streets of New Orleans for a luxurious bed covered by the finest linens. I traded dumpster diving for dinner in the finest restaurants. I traded myself to a stranger—Bastien Pascal.I have a good life within my platonic and mutually beneficial companionship with Bash.He’s my friend. My mentor. My roommate.Until everything changes.I’m not supposed to get goosebumps when his hand brushes my skin.I’m not supposed to be eager for his soothing touch following one of my nightmares.I’m not supposed to think about what might happen if I reached out to him in the darkness.Falling in love with him? Preposterous . . . unavoidable. Agony, why are you back with a vengeance to rob me of this life I’ve come to love so dearly?I’m finally happy. Don’t ruin this for me.Always yours,RoseIn this epic love story, Dear Agony forges a connection between an unlikely pair—a beautiful rose entwined in barbed wire and a shipwreck sinking into the darkest depths of the ocean. This agonizing romantic novel poses some gut-wrenching questions: What does a woman do when the man she loves is planning his own demise? And how far will she go to give him something to live for?

    That's until he hears about the science fair, which goes really well for Lester! This is it. The moment where I find out for 100 percent sure that I won.But then things go a bit sideways, and Lester has to find his way back. A touching peek into the life of a sensitive autism-spectrum boy facing the everydayness of elementary school, Superstar testifies that what you can do isn’t nearly as important as who you are.

    In short, powerful chapters, Higashida explores school memories, family relationships, the exhilaration of travel, and the difficulties of speech. He also allows readers to experience profound moments we take for granted, like the thought-steps necessary for him to register that it's raining outside. Acutely aware of how strange his behavior can appear to others, he aims throughout to foster a better understanding of autism and to encourage society to see people with disabilities as people, not as problems.With an introduction by bestselling novelist David Mitchell, Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 also includes a dreamlike short story Higashida wrote especially for this edition. Both moving and of practical use, this book opens a window into the mind of an inspiring young man who meets every challenge with tenacity and good humor. However often he falls down, he always gets back up.

    Marine Corp Sgt. Orion MacKinnon loses both his legs in the bloody sands of Afghanistan, he forsakes his soul along with them. After retiring to a remote location in the snowy mountains of Alaska with his Special Forces canine companion—a German Shepherd named Zeus—he becomes a recluse and vows never to wear the prosthetic legs he keeps buried out of sight… until a lone hiker becomes trapped beneath an avalanche on his mountain. The woman Orion calls Hope can’t recall a shred of her former life. As he tends to her wounds she slowly begins to unravel the tight seclusion he has wrapped around himself. She can’t remember her past. He only wants to forget his. However, the two have more in common with the forces that brought them together than they realize, including the sinister presence that will threaten their very lives. When their pasts collide, will they survive the future?

    What about on a scale of spicy to citrus? Is it more like a lava lamp or a mosaic? Pain, though a universal element of human experience, is dimly understood and sometimes barely managed. Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, and Other Essays from a Nervous System is a collection of literary and experimental essays about living with chronic pain. Sonya Huber moves away from a linear narrative to step through the doorway into pain itself, into that strange, unbounded reality. Although the essays are personal in nature, this collection is not a record of the author’s specific condition but an exploration that transcends pain’s airless and constraining world and focuses on its edges from wild and widely ranging angles. Huber addresses the nature and experience of invisible disability, including the challenges of gender bias in our health care system, the search for effective treatment options, and the difficulty of articulating chronic pain. She makes pain a lens of inquiry and lyricism, finds its humor and complexity, describes its irascible character, and explores its temperature, taste, and even its beauty.

    Together, the three pals have a delightful playdate.

    When she and her mother move yet again, she tries to hide her TS. But it isn't long before the kids at her new school realize she's different. Only Calli's neighbor, who is also the popular student body president, sees her as she truly is—an interesting person and a good friend. But is he brave enough to take their friendship public? As Calli navigates school, she must also face her mother's new relationship and the fact that she might be moving, again, just as she starts to make friends and finally accept her differences.

    But her skill at negotiating with alien species is about to be put to the ultimate test.The Anmerilli, a notoriously reticent and xenophobic people, have invented a powerful weapon that will irrevocably change the face of space combat. Now the Starsystems Alliance has called in Xandri and the crew of the Carpathia to mediate. The Alliance won't risk the weapon falling into enemy hands, and if Xandri can't bring the Anmerilli into the fold, the consequences will be dire.Amidst sabotage, assassination attempts, and rampant cronyism, Xandri struggles to convince the doubtful and ornery Anmerilli. Worse, she's beginning to suspect that not everyone on her side is really working to make the alliance a success. As tensions rise and tempers threaten to boil over, Xandri must focus all her energy into understanding the one species that has always been beyond her: her own.

    After being abandoned by her father and raised in a foster home, she has made the Marine Corps her life. As a helicopter pilot she has excelled under the demands of her career. Always a fierce competitor, she now faces her toughest challenge...living with a disability that threatens her career and dealing with survivor’s guilt that threatens her emotional stability. Lieutenant Commander Kristine Matthews is a highly skilled, combat experienced Navy Surgeon well accustomed to handling the worst destruction war can do to a person. One fateful afternoon their paths cross and their lives change forever. In a world where independence and strength are as valued as teamwork, and these two women struggle through rehabilitation, will they heal enough to live again and find happiness? Or will their shared experience destroy them?

    “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1, MEV What happens when things don’t go as planned? What happens when the storm you face is completely out of your control? The Buchanans’ precious son Christian was born with a medical condition that is so incredibly unique, it’s one of only fifty known cases in the world. This story has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands. In Through the Eyes of Hope Lacey Buchanan tells this compelling story of trusting God in the face of adversity. You will be moved and inspired to hold on to God’s promises when things go wrong and find joy in midst of any storm.

    So when Zara has to go to school, WHOOSH, Moose escapes and rushes to her side.Hello, Moose!Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed at school and Moose has to go back home.Goodbye, Moose.But Moose can't be held back for long. Through a series of escalating escapes, this loyal dog always finds her way back to Zara, and with a little bit of training and one great idea, the two friends find a way to be together all day long.

    Puar brings her pathbreaking work on the liberal state, sexuality, and biopolitics to bear on our understanding of disability. Drawing on a stunning array of theoretical and methodological frameworks, Puar uses the concept of “debility”—bodily injury and social exclusion brought on by economic and political factors—to disrupt the category of disability. She shows how debility, disability, and capacity together constitute an assemblage that states use to control populations. Puar's analysis culminates in an interrogation of Israel's policies toward Palestine, in which she outlines how Israel brings Palestinians into biopolitical being by designating them available for injury. Supplementing its right to kill with what Puar calls the right to maim, the Israeli state relies on liberal frameworks of disability to obscure and enable the mass debilitation of Palestinian bodies. Tracing disability's interaction with debility and capacity, Puar offers a brilliant rethinking of Foucauldian biopolitics while showing how disability functions at the intersection of imperialism and racialized capital.

    After pushing her friends away, Sam has receded into a fog of depression until she meets Eliot, a carefree, impulsive loner, who is unable to feel any pain at all. At first, Sam is jealous. She would give anything to not feel the pain she’s felt for the past year. But the more she learns about Eliot’s medical condition, the more she notices his self-destructive tendencies.In fact, Eliot doesn’t seem to care about anything—except Sam. And as they grow closer, they begin to confront Sam’s painful memories of the accident, memories that hold a startling truth about what really happened that day.

    He spoke English – and Chicken. But the day he told his pet chicken Frightful that his body was trying to kill him, Andrew’s family and an entire medical community were launched into a decade-long quest for answers. This honest memoir of fierce and faithful parenting takes readers on a heartfelt journey through chronic illness and Asperger’s syndrome to discover the healing bond between a boy and his chicken. Navigating the complex landscape of modern medicine and genetics, through a rare diagnosis of Trisomy 8 Mosaicism and an experimental bone marrow transplant, readers venture to places where chickens talk, superheroes come alive, and a boy on the brink of death finds the courage to survive.

    The work here represents the lives, politics, and artistic expressions of Black, Brown, Latinx, Indigenous, Mixed-Race, and other racialized and people of color from many autistic communities, often speaking out sharply on issues of marginality, intersectionality, and liberation.

    The heartbreaking story of this mysterious sonata—Schubert’s last, and his most elusive and haunting—is the soundtrack of Andrea's story.Sonata is a breathtaking exploration of a “Janus-head miracle”—Andrea's extraordinary talent and even more extraordinary illness. With no cure for her R.A. possible, Andrea must learn to live with this disease while not letting it define her, even though it leaves its mark on everything around her—family, relationships, even the clothes she wears. And in this riveting account, she never loses her wit, humor, or the raw artistry of a true performer.As the goshawk becomes a source of both devotion and frustration for Helen Macdonald in H is for Hawk, so the piano comes to represent both struggle and salvation for Andrea in her extraordinary debut.

    For too long, argues Jay Timothy Dolmage, disability has been constructed as the antithesis of higher education, often positioned as a distraction, a drain, a problem to be solved. The ethic of higher education encourages students and teachers alike to accentuate ability, valorize perfection, and stigmatize anything that hints at intellectual, mental, or physical weakness, even as we gesture toward the value of diversity and innovation. Examining everything from campus accommodation processes, to architecture, to popular films about college life, Dolmage argues that disability is central to higher education, and that building more inclusive schools allows better education for all.

     Champions of the Dragon is now a USA Today Bestseller &  2017 Readers' Favorite Bronze Medal Winner in the Fiction - Fantasy - General genre! Murland Kadabra has always dreamed of becoming a great wizard. However, at age 19, the young apprentice has yet to successfully cast a single spell. He has been reduced to grounds keeper of Abra Tower, and has become the laughing stock of the wizarding school. But when the Most High Wizard Kazimir chooses him to be one of the five Champions of the Dragon, Murland’s life changes forever.He soon finds himself traveling through the wilds with four unlikely companions, including an alcoholic knight, a gay elf prince, a dwarf with humanism, and an obese ogre. Prophecy dictates that these champions must march west to the shadowy peak of Bad Mountain, where they are destined to do battle with the dreaded dragon of legend, Drak’Noir.But what few people know, is that the prophecy is not altogether true. For it is not five champions who Kazimir chooses, but five fools. They are not meant to defeat the dragon, but to feed her. To change their fate, the Champions of the Dragon must not only overcome their enemies, but also themselves. Epic Fallacy is a satirical high-adventure romp through the Fantasy genre in the tradition of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Included in this bundle are books 1-3: Champions of the Dragon, Beyond the Wide Wall, and The Legend of Drak’Noir. This collection is 899 pages and 380,000 words.

    She travels the U.S. as a photographer for Rider magazine. A self-proclaimed nomad, Val has little inclination to settle down. But something keeps calling her back to a little tourist trap called Cool Springs in rural West Virginia. The sign at the quirky little store boasts, “Good food, groceries, ice cream, hardware, feed store, taxidermy, gifts, and gas.” Cool Springs is owned by Laurel Stemple and her grandmother Ree. Laurel is charged with the daily operations of the catch-all little store/diner and the care of her octogenarian grandmother. A frequent visitor, Val has become like family at Cool Springs. Interesting characters like Mule, aptly nicknamed for his braying laughter and Wunder, whose child-like questions keep everyone in stitches, create a unique tapestry of community in the little store. Over the years, Val and Laurel have gradually fallen in love without acknowledging it. Personal secrets and scars have left the pair unable to move toward a relationship. While covering an annual Memorial Day Ride to the Wall, a near tragic accident forces Val and Laurel to confront their feelings and fears.

    Lisa B. Nelson, Director of Medical Education at Kripalu~~~Lisa Jakub has always been a little weird.Sensitive. Emotional. Introverted.What else would you expect from a former child actor turned writer?But the issue wasn’t just an artistic temperament; Lisa was constantly trying to hide her debilitating anxiety and depression. She assumed that retiring from her eighteen-year acting career and leaving Hollywood was going to be the cure for all of her issues. Guess how that worked out? Lisa was still having three panic attacks a day and found it hard to leave her house. But when anxiety-induced vomiting claimed the life of her iPod—she knew it was time to get help. It was time to talk about the things that are hard to talk about. She started to embrace her weird. In searching for a deeper understanding of mental wellness, Lisa explored her own history and reached out to others to learn how anxiety and depression impacted their lives. She interviewed Veterans with PTSD and ten-year-olds with sensory integration issues, people with eating disorders and cutting habits, those whose lives were saved by medication and those who found yoga to be the answer. She went to Colorado to learn about the effects of cannabis on anxiety, and attended a meditation retreat in North Carolina to sit quietly for hours and hours and hours in “noble silence.” Without a phone.Not Just Me is a hopeful, entertaining, enlightening look at the root causes of anxiety, the latest research on mood disorders, and ideas for how we can all live authentically with more peace, power, and purpose. Part memoir, part journalistic exploration—this book reminds all of us that we are not alone.

    Ostracized by her family, Bellamy expects to spend her adult life alone, illustrating children's books in the solace of her Rittenhouse Square apartment with her service dog Otis. But a spilled cup of coffee, and a chance meeting with local radio host Sofia Reyes turns every expectation Bellamy had for her life upside down, as she finds herself thrust into a whirlwind romance she never believed possible.

    Tortured by the ghost of a fallen Marine, he is faced with the truth, it may be too late for the ones he loves. Hell is cold, and Death stands at the end of his road, the Korean Road.

    Being a seventeen-year-old kid in high school with blue hair, piercings, a mostly all black wardrobe, and an obsession with zombies and video games, he doesn’t exactly blend in. But he never wanted to. His two dads raised him to always stay true to himself.Bastian Hunter prefers structure and predictability. Suffering from a rare disease, every day is a challenge for him, and he prepares for the future by excelling academically and denying who he really is. Everything changes when he meets Noah, the unpredictable variable in the equation he’s built his life around, and feelings he's hid for so long begin to surface.Being gay in high school isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies, and Noah has definitely faced his fair share of bullies. Moving to Port Haven, Oregon opens up new possibilities for him, and he starts falling for the quiet, brown-eyed boy from his English class. Too bad the attraction is one-sided… or is it?

    The blind date he’s hustled into for the Lost and Found Christmas Eve party ends up exceeding his expectations, though. Cassandra Jones is lush and lovely and more than any man could hope for. She seems totally unconcerned with his arm prosthetic and scars. Is it possible to fall in love within a night? Plus-sized graphic designer Cass is stunned when she realizes Roger really means the words he says. She’s never been on the receiving end of such devoted attention, and it makes her realize how barren her life has been for so long. Roger destroys all of the natural defenses around her heart with his love… and his mistletoe mischief! Plus, as a special treat, never before seen short-stories with some old favorites! See what happens to Gabe and Zeke and their families over Christmas!

    Life has lost its joy and we want to give up. Then there is a light—a light from someone unexpected. A story so inspiring, we begin to wake up and dream again. Before the birth Grace Anna, Angela experienced heartbreaking loss that left her seeking God’s guidance and healing to make it through each day. After Grace Anna’s birth, Angela went from being a science teacher to an advocate for her daughter. The Rodgers have gone through incredible highs and heartbreaking lows. But through it all, God has been their refuge and has blessed them with amazing, joyful lives. Grace Anna will inspire you to:Be the best you can be no matter your circumstances.Make the choice to live, not just exist.Be bold, be brave, and step out courageously.Seek joy where there appears to be only darkness.Experience simple, pure hope in a world that seems overwhelming. Grace Anna’s inspirational journey has touched millions across the world and is proof that life is what you make it. Open your heart to God’s love and be uplifted through the courage, strength, and resilience of one of God’s tiniest warriors.

    Remi Yergeau defines neurodivergence as an identity—neuroqueerness—rather than an impairment. Using a queer theory framework, Yergeau notes the stereotypes that deny autistic people their humanity and the chance to define themselves while also challenging cognitive studies scholarship and its reification of the neurological passivity of autistics. They also critique early intensive behavioral interventions—which have much in common with gay conversion therapy—and questions the ableist privileging of intentionality and diplomacy in rhetorical traditions. Using storying as their method, they present an alternative view of autistic rhetoricity by foregrounding the cunning rhetorical abilities of autistics and by framing autism as a narrative condition wherein autistics are the best-equipped people to define their experience. Contending that autism represents a queer way of being that simultaneously embraces and rejects the rhetorical, Yergeau shows how autistic people queer the lines of rhetoric, humanity, and agency. In so doing, they demonstrate how an autistic rhetoric requires the reconceptualization of rhetoric’s very essence.

    In this first book release from the Autism Women's Network, the autistic contributors write with honesty and generosity about the emotional needs, sensitivity, and vibrancy of autistic girls.

    Today, though, is a good-surprise day. Bat’s mom, a veterinarian, has brought home a baby skunk, which she needs to take care of until she can hand him over to a wild-animal shelter.But the minute Bat meets the kit, he knows they belong together. And he’s got one month to show his mom that a baby skunk might just make a pretty terrific pet.

    BLINDSIDEDSoCal natives, Nate and Cody have been friends since childhood. Both knew they were different—and the same. At seventeen, a stolen weekend in the Florida Keys drove their connection deeper and hotter than either could imagine. They were meant to be together. Then, for reasons only Nate knows, suddenly they weren’t.They’re still friends. Best friends. But they’ve moved on and found other partners. The yearning remains, however, despite the long-ago secret that drove them apart, and when tragedy strikes, both men find themselves in the dark. They must grope their way back to who and what they are...which they will find in each other’s arms. Sometimes, losing one’s sight can open one’s eyes—and heart.

     Anna Flint won’t shake your hand. She collects tin cans. She cleans her cubicle at work with Lysol several times a day. But Anna doesn’t care that they call her crazy. She’s absolutely satisfied with her life of perfect organization, cleanliness, and most of all, solitude. Matt Harper likes Anna Flint. He likes that she’s the smartest person he knows and he likes her big blue eyes. He doesn’t even mind her can collection. In fact, he pretty much likes everything about Anna. As his body and his world are falling apart, she still manages to make him happy. Matt is the only person Anna has ever wanted to be close to. But how can she go on a date with him if the thought of dinner at a restaurant fills her with terror? How can she ever kiss the man she loves if she can't even touch him? Maybe it’s time to stop being Crazy Anna. If only she could.

    Volume 2 of The Dominant Doctor series, containing books 3 and 4, Boy meets Love and The Doctor will see you NOW

    In Hunter’s case, that’s his partner Ethan and their five-year-old daughter Amy. How will they react to, and deal with, Hunter’s changing behavior, his memory lapses, and the consequences for their everyday lives?Disease is a story of Alzheimer’s, seen through the eyes of one affected family.

    With three "fur babies" already at home, Joal wasn't looking to adopt another dog. But there was something special about Sadie, a shepherd mix who had been shot in the head and in the back and left for dead in the hills of Kentucky after giving birth. One gaze into those sorrowful eyes and Joal vowed to do everything possible to get the pitiful creature walking again. The first three vets offered little hope for Sadie and two even recommended euthanasia. But with patience, hope, and plenty of love, Joal noticed a change in her canine companion. And somewhere along the difficult journey, she discovered that sweet Sadie had transformed her life in ways she never could have imagined. Now, media darlings Joal and Sadie are spreading their message of compassion, acceptance, and kindness around the world. Joyous and inspiring, Saving Sadie is a triumphant story about the power of unconditional love and second chances--for humans and animals alike.

    She had cerebral palsy and was so weak she couldn t lift her head. Meadow had always felt a call to adopt, but was this what God meant? Part family drama, part travel adventure, and part spiritual memoir, Redeeming Ruth is a heartwarming, against-all-odds story about the most unlikely pairing of a small-town New England family and their adventure in adopting Ruth, an abandoned baby from Uganda. Much more than an adoption story, this book explores what happens when we sacrificially reach out and share God's love with others.Ruth's story will inspire families considering adoption, people raising or teaching children with special needs, caregivers, and those grieving the loss of a loved one, ministering to people with disabilities, or striving to serve God despite their own wounded hearts and broken dreams.Features: Includes a Reader's Guide at the end of the book for each chapter for group discussion or personal reflection. An eight-page insert with personal photos. All personal proceeds from this book benefit orphans and people with disabilities in Uganda.

    But he’s also a burn survivor with scars on half his face, and all indications are that he’s just too different to ever find real Hollywood success. Now he’s up for an amazing new role that could change everything. Problem is, he and his best friend Russel Middlebrook have to drive all the way across the country in order to get to the audition on time. It’s hard to say which is worse: the fact that so many things go wrong, or that Russel, an aspiring screenwriter, keeps comparing their experiences to some kind of road trip movie. There’s also the fact that Otto and Russel were once boyfriends, and Otto is starting to realize that he still might have romantic feelings for his best friend. Just how far will Otto go to get the role, and maybe the guy, of his dreams? Author Brent Hartinger first introduced the character of Otto Digmore in 2005, in his Lambda Award-winning books about Russel Middlebrook. Back then, Otto was something pretty unusual for YA literature: a disabled gay character. Now, more than a decade later, Otto is grown up and finally stepping into the spotlight on his own. The Otto Digmore Difference, the first book in a new stand-alone series featuring Otto, is about much more than the challenges of being “different.” It’s also about the unexpected nature of all of life’s journeys, and the heavy price that must be paid for Hollywood fame. But more than anything, it’s a different kind of love story, about the frustrating and fantastic power of the love between two friends. Praise for Brent Hartinger: “Hits the narrative sweet spot." — NPR's All Things Considered "Downright refreshing." — USA Today "Touching and realistic...hilarious." — Kirkus Reviews

    It hasn’t always been a perfect living situation, but it’s worked — Catherine has helped Olivier through the ups and downs of living with a mental illness, and Olivier has cared for his aging mother as her mobility becomes limited, and Olivier’s brothers Clem and Nic have provided support to both as well. But then Olivier experiences a health crisis at the exact same time that his mother starts slipping into dementia.The Martini family’s lifelong struggle with mental illness is suddenly complicated immeasurably as they begin to navigate the convoluted world of assisted living and long-term care. With anger, dry humour, and hope, The Unravelling tells the story of one family’s journey with mental illness, dementia, and caregiving, through a poignant graphic narrative from Olivier accompanied by text from his brother, award-winning playwright and novelist Clem Martini.

    In a wheelchair and feeling worthless, Luke has no idea what to do, even as his twin brother Matt is determined to lift him up and help him heal. Rory McConnell is a local prodigy, a real estate lawyer with a plan to buy up land before his bitter rival can collect it. When the Blanchard ranch goes into the red, he offers to buy out the debt. Luke backs his brother instead, but he doesn’t believe for a minute that Rory is a bad guy. No one that sexy and fun can be, right?As Luke claws his way out of depression with a crazy idea to run a therapy ranch, he and Rory start to explore the need growing between them. Will Rory’s need for revenge against a man who damaged him forever come between them, or will it be the force which brings these two wounded men together for good?Pre-order Date: 25th April 2017Available exclusively to Pride Publishing: 9th May 2017General Release Date: 6th June 2017

    But what happens when the apples fall somewhere else—sometimes a couple of orchards away, sometimes on the other side of the world?In this young adult edition, Andrew Solomon profiles how families accommodate children who have a variety of differences: families of people who are deaf, who are dwarfs, who have Down syndrome, who have autism, who have schizophrenia, who have multiple severe disabilities, who are prodigies, who commit crimes, and more.Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original and compassionate thinker, Far From the Tree explores how people who love each other must struggle to accept each other—a theme in every family’s life. The New York Times calls the adult edition a “wise and beautiful” volume, that “will shake up your preconceptions and leave you in a better place.”

    In this chilling short story, you will be given a glimpse into the inner workings of an Agoraphobic’s mind as Kade goes through the process of trying to face his irrational and paralyzing fears.Experience firsthand what goes on in an Agoraphobic's mind and begin to understand the silent disorder that millions of people across the world struggle with.Author Note: When I wrote this, I had planned to make it free to all. Sadly, I wasn't able to offer it as planned on Amazon due to their own policy. It is, however, available on the Barnes & Noble website for free. You can download the Nook there now.

    That's because he has cystic fibrosis, a diagnosis meaning lungs that fill with mucus and a shortened lifespan. Caleb tries not to let his disorder define him, but it can be hard with an overprotective, prying mom and a big brother who is perfect in every way. Then Caleb meets Kit-a vibrant, independent, and free girl who lives in a house in the woods-and his world changes instantly. Kit reads Caleb's palm and tells him they are destined to become friends. She calls birds down from the sky, turns every day into an adventure, and never sees him as his disorder. Her magic is contagious, making Caleb question the rules and order in his life. But being Kit's friend means embracing deception and, more and more, danger. Soon Caleb will have to decide if his friendship with Kit is really what's best for him-or Kit.

    The neurosurgeon leans down and breaks the news: You won’t regain any function in your body and you will never walk again. My medical insurance sends me home, discontinues my care, and tells me to “adapt to my new life.”Little Big Steps is the story of the pivotal moments, interactions, and breakthroughs following the injury that turned my life upside down. Each chapter explores the experiences, challenges, and discoveries that have inspired me to work towards those accomplishments I was told were impossible. There are moments of immense frustration and grief, and moments of surreal hilariousness and unparalleled joy as I remain on the path to get back on my feet. The story culminates with proof that motivation, determination, and unwavering commitment can lead to incredible achievements.

    He still has his husband, but William has forgotten who he is. He still has his daughter, but the roles have switched, and she is now the one taking care of them.There is only one thing Charlie wants, and that is to spend the rest of his days with William by his side. But William is living in a nursing home, and Charlie is living…somewhere. Ann says she will fix it; she’ll make sure they’ll get to live together again. Charlie hopes she will before William either escapes or figures out Charlie has left him in someone else’s care.(Part of Never Too Late - a collection of nine stories featuring LGBTQIA characters over the age of fifty)

    Nari’s dad may be in a wheelchair, but that’s never stopped them from having wonderful times together.

    Their essays have covered everything from famous civil rights and criminal cases in the media to sexuality and relationships, life skills, coping mechanisms, and personal introspection. In The ABCs of Autism Acceptance, Sparrow takes us through a guided tour of the topics most central to changing the way that autism is perceived, to remove systemic barriers to access that have traditionally been barriers to Autistic participation in some sectors of society. They also take us through the basics of Autistic culture, discussing many of its major features and recent developments with a sense of history and making the current state of the conversation around this form of neurodivergence clear to those who are new to it, whether they are Autistic themselves or a friend/family member looking for resources to help themselves support the Autistic people in their lives more fully. While it is impossible to capture the full scope and diversity of Autistic communities—and there are many of them out there—this book does serve as an important conversation starter, a primer, and a humble guide to the world. In these 26 short essays, you will find most of the topics most often blogged about by Actually Autistic authors, including footnotes, resources, and references to other writers whose works continue the conversations that start here.

    This shift in understanding demands a different approach to information provision; one that is tailored specifically to those with hEDS and HSD, and which provides a clear, concise and balanced overview - a book that allows you to ‘see the woods from the trees!' Whether you are newly diagnosed, or a patient or healthcare professional this ground breaking book, reviewed by leading experts and reflecting the most up to date knowledge from the EDS International Classification 2017, brings together all the information you most want to know about the newly classified 'hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome' and 'hypermobility spectrum disorder.' The author has not only managed to compile clear and concise answers to frequently asked questions, such as ‘How do these conditions overlap?’ and ‘Why are people affected so differently?’, she has provided detailed descriptions of symptoms and associated co-morbidities, and has provided comprehensive, accessible, evidence-based information relating to diagnosis and management. Exercise, physiotherapy, surgery and the psychological effects of the disorder are discussed, as well as what to expect during clinical assessment, and much, much more. From postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome to mast cell activation syndrome, and from clinical assessment to self-management - if you ever wished that you could find all of the information you need, together, in one place... Look no further!

    This memoir, vividly internal, powerfully lyric, and brilliantly impressionistic, is his story.   For the first four years of his life, Prahlad didn’t speak. But his silence didn’t stop him from communicating—or communing—with the strange, numinous world he found around him. Ordinary household objects came to life; the spirits of long-dead slave children were his best friends. In his magical interior world, sensory experiences blurred, time disappeared, and memory was fluid. Ever so slowly, he emerged, learning to talk and evolving into an artist and educator. His journey takes readers across the United States during one of its most turbulent moments, and Prahlad experiences it all, from the heights of the Civil Rights Movement to West Coast hippie enclaves to a college town that continues to struggle with racism and its border state legacy.   Rooted in black folklore and cultural ambience, and offering new perspectives on autism and more, The Secret Life of a Black Aspie will inspire and delight readers and deepen our understanding of the marginal spaces of human existence.

    Commonly understood in terms of curb cuts, automatic doors, Braille signs, and flexible kitchens, Universal Design purported to create a built environment for everyone, not only the average citizen. But who counts as “everyone,” Aimi Hamraie asks, and how can designers know? Blending technoscience studies and design history with critical disability, race, and feminist theories, Building Access interrogates the historical, cultural, and theoretical contexts for these questions, offering a groundbreaking critical history of Universal Design. Hamraie reveals that the twentieth-century shift from “design for the average” to “design for all” took place through liberal political, economic, and scientific structures concerned with defining the disabled user and designing in its name. Tracing the co-evolution of accessible design for disabled veterans, a radical disability maker movement, disability rights law, and strategies for diversifying the architecture profession, Hamraie shows that Universal Design was not just an approach to creating new products or spaces, but also a sustained, understated activist movement challenging dominant understandings of disability in architecture, medicine, and society.Illustrated with a wealth of rare archival materials, Building Access brings together scientific, social, and political histories in what is not only the pioneering critical account of Universal Design but also a deep engagement with the politics of knowing, making, and belonging in twentieth-century United States.

    His friends and family can find it difficult to handle the unpredictability. Can they come to see that having him in their lives is absolutely worth it?

    The author quickly learns that life is best lived by expecting the unplanned when she makes the decision to become a parent in her late forties. As her unconventional family moves along in this life, she and her husband are less aware they are raising an atypical child or an adopted child. They are raising their child, and their family struggles with the same universal themes that any family goes through.Parents who have children with Down syndrome and other disabilities represent fifteen percent of all children between the ages of three to seventeen.Wagner-Peck provides an access point to start the debate about adopting a child with special needs along with her decision to homeschool.One of only a few books in the marketplace specifically addressing adopting from the foster care system.Kari Wagner-Peck, MSW, is a writer, blogger, and a freelance development consultant while she homeschools her son. She also has experience in arts management including development, event planning, and public speaking. Her writing has been featured in the Huffington Post, the New York Times’ "Motherlode" blog, the Sydney Morning Herald, Yahoo Parenting, Parents Magazine’s, and Empowering Parents. Kari Wagner-Peck currently resides in Portland, Maine.

    The only thing that’s missing is that special someone to come home to at night. That is until he literally bumps into Ares, a man who sparks his interest, but he rushes off before Kohan can talk to him. When he sees the stranger again, Kohan is determined that he's not going to let him escape this time.What Kohan doesn’t know is he's falling for a guy that has been through more than he could ever imagine, and when Ares’ dark past catches up with him, there might be a chance that neither man will walk away unhurt.We all dream of finding that one true love, the person who completes you, and when you find them you should hold on tight to them. But what happens when that dream turns into a nightmare, one that you can’t escape from? Ares is running from a past that almost cost him his life, a past that changed everything.When he meets Kohan he’s scared of letting someone in, scared that history will repeat itself, but finally he sees that not everyone is out to hurt him. He sees that maybe someone could love him without causing pain.But when the thing Ares is hiding from appears again, it takes him right back into that dangerous past and he doesn’t know if he will survive it this time.My name is Ares, and the man I married is the person who will probably kill me.I want to leave.I want to escape.I don’t want to die.My name is Ares and I want Someone To Hear Me.Please Note this book contains scenes of domestic abuse that some people may find uncomfortable

    ‘Strange men have had their hands on me for days,’ Kelly Davio observes during a plasma treatment. Her skillful portrait of myasthenia gravis does not exist in a vacuum. It’s Just Nerves is in keen dialogue with the world around us—critiquing modern health care, pub seating etiquette, alarming election outcomes, smarmy meditation culture, and caricatures of illness in ads and on screen.

    Dean's alive, Sam's alive, they're going to get Cas from wherever he got zapped to, and everything's finally gonna be all right. Dean's on top of the world.A little voice in the back of his head is whispering "It's never that easy," but Dean ignores it.Words: 352388 complete

    Raised in an abusive household has left her with many scars, both physical and mental and the only thing that brought her peace, was knowing that the time was coming when she would be able to finally escape from the horrors that hid behind closed doors. She never could have imagined that her escape would come at the hands of a sorcerer who saved her from a certain death, or that she would have to give up her best friend and first love. When the sorcerer whisks her away to another world, she is shocked to discover that not only is magic real, but she was prophesized long before to be the one who could end the darkness that was being spread by a sorcerer bent on ruling all the worlds. She transforms form a victim into a warrior, and dives headlong into a war that had been raging years before she arrived. Now, ten years after disappearing from Seattle, she returns on the heels of her enemy, only to run into the boy who had lived next door to her throughout her entire childhood, only he isn’t a boy anymore. As he joins her in the fight to save both their worlds, Anastasia has to decide whether she believes giving in to her love for Dakota would be an unaffordable distraction, or her greatest strength.

    Packed with fierce poetry, essays, photos and links to accessible online videos and audio recordings, it showcases a diversity of opinions and survival strategies for an ableist world. With contributions that span Vispo to Surrealism, and range from hard-hitting political commentary to intimate lyrical pieces, these poets refuse to perform or inspire according to tired old narratives.“This is a collection which redefines what poetry is. This is a collection which is nearly as varied as the diversity of impairment and disability and D/deaf experiences in Britain today. This is a collection which I will read and re-read until I have absorbed the richness and colour and anger and misery and humour and power of it.”– Tom Shakespeare, author, Disability Rights and Wrongs“The face of next-generation disability poetics announces itself with a roar – razor-fine lyric, body knowledge, crip humour and revolutionary grief are all on display, along with something more: the joy of the discovered self. The poems here are gorgeous and important.” – Sheila Black, co-editor, Beauty is a Verb“Stairs and Whispers is an incredible addition to crip literature that I’m excited to add to my shelf! The poems and essays featured here are at once devastating, enraging, and uproarious for me as a queer neurodivergent writer of colour.” – Lydia X. Z. Brown, activist, writer and speaker“Watching the new surge of Deaf poets take on the world of BSL, film and creative captioning feels very important … to reclaim the right to be a poet and to use both signed and written word to demonstrate the diversity and richness of the Deaf community … commenting on being Deaf, politics of identity and a celebration of who we are." – Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director, Graeae Theatre About the Editors:Alland’s collections include Blissful Times (BookThug, 2007) and Naturally Speaking (espresso, 2012). Barokka's works include Indigenous Species (Tilted Axis, 2016) and Rope (Nine Arches, 2017). Sluman has two books with Nine Arches: Absence has a weight of its own (2012) and The Terrible (2015).

    He’ll never be able to work in his field again, his education is all but useless, and his surgeons are pessimistic about whether he’ll ever walk again. He needs someone in his corner, but most lawyers take one look at his tattoo-covered foster father and turn their backs. It’s just Sean’s luck that the one attorney willing to give him a chance is also the hottest guy he’s ever seen.As a trial lawyer, Nate Delany has a lot to prove—to his father, the world, and himself. Sean intrigues Nate, and he struggles to reconcile the gifted tattoo artist he can’t stop fantasizing about with the quiet, brilliant engineer. His investigation reveals facts left out of the accident report—including an illicit affair, greedy coworkers, and a vicious corporation that will do anything to protect its bottom line. When Sean’s life is threatened, winning Sean’s case, and his heart, becomes a lot more dangerous.

    As Ben plays the role of picture-perfect husband and father of two, he relishes the hidden moments of a secret relationship where he can finally embrace who he is. Soon, the increasing weight of a double life demands to be acknowledged, whether Ben is ready to address it or not. Underneath the Whiskey is the poignant and wrenchingly honest story of a closeted gay man struggling to keep his family and business afloat amidst an affair and alcohol addiction.

    Benny likes trains and cupcakes without sprinkles, but he can also be fussy sometimes. The narrator doesn't mind, however, because "true friends accept each other just the way they are." A gentle story encouraging children to appreciate and accept our differences.

    Guests are coming over for dinner and their Mamma has already cooked a lot. Next, she is cooking Gulab Jamuns, but Idu and Adu don’t know what Gulab Jamuns are. Before long, they discover just how good these wonderful golden, sugary syrup-soaked balls are and how quickly they melt in their mouths. But Mamma has only made 10 Gulab Jamuns. Will they last until their guests come?The book features a much loved indian/south-asian sweet. It not only provides the opportunity for south asian descent kids to relate to the book but also kids of all backgrounds to learn about a new culture. The book also includes some basic lessons in counting with some simple addition and subtraction exercises. It models positive parenting through its fun story-line and highlights sibling love and dynamics. Also included is a recipe to make those delicious Gulab Jamuns yourself.Why read diverse37% of children in the U.S identify themselves as multicultural but only 10% of the books that we read have characters that look like them. Only 2-3% of the characters are from Asia/Pacific. Children are constantly looking at the world around them, finding similarities and differences. Books function not just as mirrors for kids to see their likeness in the characters but also as windows where children can learn more about their friends and neighbors. This book is my humble attempt to bridge the diversity gap in a fun and relatable way for all kids.

    - A killer with a deadly message plagued by a burden of guilt. - A priestess divinely empowered to absorb others' pain. - A soldier fighting for courage in the face of fear. - A broken warrior-priest on a mission of vengeance. - A thief desperate to escape the burden of his memories. Betrayed by mind or body, these people struggle to survive in a grim world that takes no pity on the weak. Yet they will discover that they are simply different, not damaged.

     It doesn’t matter that I’m just a dumb schmuck from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and Jessie’s the most beautiful girl I ever met. It doesn’t matter that her father would rather rearrange my face than let his only daughter end up with the son of a local mobster. But it does matter when he starts threatening Jessie about what he’ll do if he sees us together again. So I gotta wait. Then I get hurt. I can’t let her see me after. Not like this. Not when I can’t even stand up to look her in the eyes. So I wait again. Hoping I get better, knowing if I don’t, it could be the end for us before we even get started.

    1 in 10 Americans are living with a rare genetic condition. The conditions that rule the lives of these families are often overlooked by society, but for millions of people it is a matter of foremost priority. This book sheds an important and compassionate light on these existences.Life often presents challenges that seem insurmountable. Children are not exempt from this, but often through their innocence and will we can find inspiration and hope. An Ordinary Day displays unforgettable photographs set against intimate conversations, documenting the lives of 27 children living with rare genetic conditions.Readers will fall in love with these children, share in their struggles and victories, and celebrate the life-affirming spirit captured in every image. The book invites us to connect with kids like Ethan, a nonverbal 7-year-old who learns to sign to communicate his needs, 5-year-old Madison who has taken her first steps after years of crawling, and Jonathan, a 9-year-old boy who finally learns to eat with a spoon after many failed trials. Tasks often taken for granted, are profound triumphs for children afflicted with rare genetic conditions.The every day moments captured in An Ordinary Day inspire awareness and empathy, while highlighting the commonalities between families with rare genetic conditions, and more deeply between us all. Poignant and revelatory, An Ordinary Day illuminates what it means to be a family.

    amid the prevalence of targeted mass incarceration. Focusing uniquely on the pathologization of female students of color, whose voices are frequently engulfed by labels of deviance and disability, a distinct and underrepresented experience of the school-to-prison pipeline is detailed through original qualitative methods rooted in authentic narratives. The book's DisCrit framework, grounded in interdisciplinary research, draws on scholarship from critical race theory, disability studies, education, women's and girl's studies, legal studies, and more.

    He fosters Jeremy, a special needs boy with no arms, and teaches him to play the drums so Jeremy can realize his potential to do anything he wants. Though it takes time, Thomas’s closeted boyfriend Randy steps out of the shadows to be part of what Thomas is working to build. With the advent of marriage equality, it’s a different world in the Deep South—one where the three of them have the chance to be a family.Yet no one said it would be easy, and they soon learn the foster care system is far from perfect.Just as Jeremy begins to settle in and thrive, his biological father reappears, demanding custody. Thomas and Randy know the man is unfit to care for Jeremy, but the law says otherwise. It seems they’re the only ones looking out for Jeremy’s best interests, and they face an uphill battle if they want to keep their new family together.

    The book explores key introductory topics including:the diversity of the disability experience;disability rights and advocacy;ways in which disabled people have been treated throughout history and in different parts of the world;the daily realities of living with an impairment or illness;health, education, employment and other services that exist to support and include disabled people;ethical issues at the beginning and end of life.Disability: The Basics aims to provide readers with an understanding of the lived experiences of disabled people and highlight the continuing gaps and barriers in social responses to the challenge of disability. This book is suitable for lay people, students of disability studies as well as students taking a disability module as part of a wider course within social work, health care, sociology, nursing, policy and media studies.

    He wouldn’t even be his own.“Primarily non-verbal,” his file says, “anxiety and communication difficulty, nevertheless considerably bright.”The world’s too loud for Mouse, all his dials are set to eleven, and just talking—let alone making friends—presents a very real challenge. But for reasons he can’t imagine, a purple-haired punk named Bliss has Decided They’re Friends, and things—for once—are looking up.Then, he meets a ghost and learns some magic, while an ancient cabal of alchemists and sorcerers alternately try to kidnap and enlist him—Because, you see, he’s their last hope for saving the world, and the proverbial clock is ticking.Mouse wouldn’t be your first choice to stop the apocalypse. But then, sometimes life makes these choices for you.

    Forced to leave their home, Ash and Pinar, elder leaders of the Resistance, have made a new, quieter life in the forest. But nothing lasts forever.These best friends answer the calls of the past – and the future – to rejoin their community and face their oppressors head on. As a movement, they organise for dignity and self-determination. Together, they fight to survive. - - - Written by a trans woman and (former) sex worker, this speculative fiction novel puts transgender, sex work and femininity at the centre. In this sensitive exploration of exclusion, Otter Lieffe calls us to renew our struggles against oppression and to proudly reclaim the margins that so many of us call home.

     Elora has never thought of Logan’s physical disability as a problem. She’s been nothing but supportive and has always tried to reassure him that she loves him just the way he is. So, when his attitude toward her begins to change, she can't help but rethink her role in his life. After getting a job as a nurse at a local hospital, she meets a handsome doctor, who seems very fond of her. When Logan’s interpretation of her coworker’s affections is opposite of hers, a rift is formed between them, and their strong connection begins to crumble. Logan, who is beginning his career as a Physical Therapist, struggles with his insecurities, and a panic sets in when he realizes another man could easily lure away the love of his life. As self-doubt replaces reason, he tries everything he can think of in his attempt to hold onto her, but will it be enough? Add in several other obstacles, and you have a recipe for the perfect storm. Can their love survive this ultimate test? Can Logan get past his fears enough to let her love him? Will Elora be able to overlook his seemingly unjustified jealousy, or will love really walk away for good?

    They watch as a shadowy figure slinks through their street, dashes around a house, and disappears.The next morning, they learn that the Hoffman family has been murdered.In their efforts to find out what happened, Chloe and Spencer discover that no one else can see or hear the malevolent being they glimpsed. Only a shared medical condition enables them to sense its presence. Their illness provides a measure of protection from the creature, but not for long. It becomes aware of them and begins taunting them in a series of disturbing events. Now they must determine its weakness … and stop it before it goes after its next victims.

    Colleagues carelessly call each other “schizo” and “bipolar.” Another colleague is fired—easy enough to do these days, when most college teachers no longer have tenure—for “instability.” In these ways and many more, psychiatrically disabled people working in higher education are reminded every day that their privilege, their very livelihoods, can be stripped away by the groundless suspicions of others. Their lives can be, in an instant, interrupted.The essays in this book cover topics such as disclosure of disabilities, accommodations and accessibility, how to be a good abled friend to a disabled person, the trigger warnings debate, and more. Written for a popular audience, for those with disabilities and for those who want to learn more about living a disabled life, Life of the Mind Interrupted aims to make higher education, and the rest of our society, more humane.Katie Rose Guest Pryal is one of the foremost writers of disability and higher education we have today. —Catherine J. Prendergast, Ph.D., Professor of Disability Studies

    

    Worry, fear, longing, impatience. One word can mean so many things, be it the medical term for a mental health condition or a colloquialism for various forms of stress. Anxiety has affected all of us in one way or another; that's why we chose it as the theme for our first book, which you now have an opportunity to buy and bring to life. On Anxiety is a collection of short fiction, essays, poetry and art around anxiety in all its various guises, featuring over twenty artists exploring them.Featuring work from the following writers and artists:Shanicka AndersonErin AnikerGrace AuKa BradleySiobhan BrittonLori EnglandDeborah FrempongNicole FroioClaire Gamblep.e. garciaEli GoldstoneSarvat HasinAmberin HuqDr. Rachel KowertSophie MackintoshNarayani MenonCornelia PriorAlice SlaterMarianne TatepoSharlene TeoHarriet ThompsonRosemary WaughEley WilliamsHannah Williams

    I was beautiful and smart and a bit crazy with some anger issues which he overlooked because to him, I was normal.We were never supposed to be more, but you can't fight that pull when the stars align.We are fire and water.Stars and the moon.Phoenix and Luna.This is the story of how a man who loves everything showed a girl how to love herself.

    All the bees are disappearing. A giant sinkhole cracks open beneath Rosie’s school bus, and mysterious voices rise up from the depths. A tornado blasts the house of Frank, Rosie’s sinister next-door neighbor, threatening Rosie’s family. And Rosie’s sister, Raven, has gone missing. Should Rosie lead a mission into Bug World to rescue Raven?Or stay home and save her family?” Eco fantasy adventure.

    We never leave anyone behind." West is alone. Drifting. Battling his demons every night when the fallen haunt his dreams.When a ghost from his past comes calling, he can't answer, and the pain threatens to tear him apart.His Krav Maga studio is in trouble, and his only reprieve from the darkness? His online gaming sessions.Cam was an explosives expert in Afghanistan until one wrong move left her scarred for life.Now she hides behind her keyboard—and her cane—until the guy she's been flirting with online convinces her to give him a chance in the real world.Timing is everything, and caught between looming threats and the first stirrings of love, Cam bolts so she doesn't have to admit she's broken.Can West convince her that broken is beautiful?Breaking His Code is the start of the best-selling Away From Keyboard military romance series.Each book is a complete standalone featuring found family, beautifully broken men and women, and emotions so real, you'll be reaching for the tissues.

    The trauma experienced at the hands of the guards left a dark spot on his soul. The one constant in his life since relocating to Chicago has been his lover—now husband—Esmail, whose steadfast love and support has soothed his wounded heart.​But this Shab-e Yalda, Amir wants to be the one giving his husband something special, because even after the darkest nights, the sun will rise again.

    Mocked and scorned by his contemporaries, Lay was unflinching in his opposition to slavery, often performing colorful guerrilla theater to shame slave masters, insisting that human bondage violated the fundamental principles of Christianity. He drew on his ideals to create a revolutionary way of life, one that embodied the proclamation "no justice, no peace."Lay was born in 1682 in Essex, England. His philosophies, employments, and places of residence--spanning England, Barbados, Philadelphia, and the open seas--were markedly diverse over the course of his life. He worked as a shepherd, glove maker, sailor, and bookseller. His worldview was an astonishing combination of Quakerism, vegetarianism, animal rights, opposition to the death penalty, and abolitionism.While in Abington, Philadelphia, Lay lived in a cave-like dwelling surrounded by a library of two hundred books, and it was in this unconventional abode where he penned a fiery and controversial book against bondage, which Benjamin Franklin published in 1738. Always in motion and ever confrontational, Lay maintained throughout his life a steadfast opposition to slavery and a fierce determination to make his fellow Quakers denounce it, which they finally began to do toward the end of his life.With passion and historical rigor, Rediker situates Lay as a man who fervently embodied the ideals of democracy and equality as he practiced a unique concoction of radicalism nearly three hundred years ago. Rediker resurrects this forceful and prescient visionary, who speaks to us across the ages and whose innovative approach to activism is a gift, transforming how we consider the past and how we might imagine the future.

    Calls to punish people living with HIV--mostly stigmatized minorities--began before doctors had even settled on a name for the disease. Punishing Disease looks at how HIV was transformed from sickness to badness under the criminal law and investigates the consequences of inflicting penalties on people living with disease. Now that the door to criminalizing sickness is open, what other ailments will follow? With moves in state legislatures to extend HIV-specific criminal laws to include diseases such as hepatitis and meningitis, the question is more than academic.

    They were on street corners down South singing the Blues, spray-painting on New York subways, and bringing sign language to the big screen. Today, young Black disabled artists are finding their own way to the stage and studio. As a Black disabled youth in the 1970s and 1980s, I wished that there was a book like the one you are holding now. No more wishing—the book is here!

    

    She’s in the middle of her parent’s impending divorce. She’s in the middle of her rebellious older sister and her lazy younger sister. She’s in the middle of her class, ranked at exactly 143 out of 286. Even her name (first and last!) places her right in the middle of the alphabet. And after a morning where her parents forget to drive her to school, and the field trip she was supposed to be on leaves without her, Molly decides it’s time to figure out how she can finally be in the spotlight—and stop being invisible.But her new, outlandish ways put her in a different middle altogether. She now finds herself in the middle of her new, popular group of friends, who think the New Molly is amazing and bold, while her old BFF, Kellan thinks the New Molly is mean and aloof and headed for trouble. What’s worse, Kellan doesn’t hide his feelings. Faced with a probable future in a wheelchair, Kellan doesn’t understand why Molly would risk getting in trouble just to be popular. So when Molly has to choose between going to the year’s biggest party with her new pals, or participating in the Muscular Dystrophy Walk with Kellan, she’s stuck in the middle once again. Can Molly reconcile the Old Molly with New Molly—and figure out the best way to make her mark?

    His support system is longtime girlfriend Jordan Jonas, who's sweet, sarcastic, and entirely virtual. They've been talking for years but still have never met in person. Because Jordan, it turns out, was still waiting for the right time to tell him that she's Deaf. The revelation brings them closer together, and Zack throws himself into learning sign language and trying to navigate their way through their different cultures. But with the stress of a tumultuous relationship, a new language, a sick mother, and his uncertain future, there's going to be a breaking point...and it might be out there in the Tennessee wild. From the author of critically-acclaimed books like TEETH, BREAK, and A HISTORY OF GLITTER AND BLOOD comes a story about what happens when love takes you off the beaten track...way, way off.

    Future parts (2-6) will be released monthly to Patreon subscribers. Collected six-part arc releases October 31st, 2017!* * *ACT 1, IN WHICH: A cute punk-rock vampire and a disabled firefighter-turned-mall-cop with a dark past join forces to battle the forces of evil.Jude used to leap out of helicopters to rescue/protect people from terrifying infernos. Now, by day, he protects the local mall from rowdy teenagers who ride their skateboards inside. By night, he protects the the parking lot, and the rest of Portland, from undead, bloodsucking creatures of the darkness. Or would if he could find them.But he’s just about ready to give it up (living with PTSD and pain from the traumatic event that cost him a leg, a friend, and a lot more is hard enough), when something crashes into his life. And his window.It’s one of these creatures of the darkness – and he’s a lot less scary than expected. More cuddly, with dark fuzzy wings, and neon-bright hair.His name is Pixie, and he refuses to bite anyone. Assault/murder/draining fluids isn’t punk, even if being a vampire really kind of is. He’s very hungry by now, and the much bigger, meaner, deadlier vamps kick him around on the nightly. Jude would love to find and fight some actual undead bullies. And Pixie could use some help staying… ‘alive.’ Time to make a deal.Together they fight crime. And maybe even heal.Of course, life still sucks when you’re a vampire who refuses to suck blood. Fortunately, there’s a really interesting new barbecue restaurant in the mall, with an intriguing new recipe. (We hear that the secret ingredient is… love. No, really.)

    As her ex-husband and two daughters rally around her, they’re fighting their own demons – Glenn, in a new relationship, is afraid of shifting the comfortable companionship that he and Allison have built since their divorce fifteen years back. Melanie, whose sad past haunts her, is an adult realizing that adult life is not all it’s cracked up to be, and Hailey, a junior in high school, is debating how she can go off to college knowing that even though she desperately wants to spread her wings and fly, her mother may be too ill for her to go. Just when they all think they’ve made peace with their lives, they must readjust to a “new” normal – or risk losing everything they’ve struggled to hold onto.

    But she has reckoned without floppy-eared, tail-wagging Mouse, who comes nosing to her window. Followed shortly by his owner, Alice. As Beth’s year of solitude rolls out, Alice gently steals her way first into Beth’s house and later into her heart. And by the time New Year’s Eve comes round again – who knows?A tender and delicate love story in verse, The Space Between is a tale of how warmth, support and friendship can overcome mental anguish.

    Beginning with Disability is the first introductory primer for disaibility studies aimed at first year students in two- and four-year colleges. This volume of essays across disciplines--including education, sociology, communications, psychology, social sciences, and humanities--features accessible, readable, and relatively short chapters that do not require specialized knowledge.Lennard Davis, along with a team of consulting editors, has compiled a number of blogs, vlogs, and other videos to make the materials more relatable and vivid to students. Subject to Debate boxes spotlight short pro and con pieces on controversial subjects that can be debated in class or act as prompts for assignments.