By seventeen, Jennifer leaves home and supports herself through her senior year of high school, graduating on-time with her class. But she has much more to prove. Determined, Jennifer kisses Colorado goodbye and sets off on a one-way trip to New York City.In the city, Jennifer hits the ground hustling, securing a job selling beepers on the street and singing for strangers every chance she gets. Not long after, she is discovered by a music producer on the A-train, records a demo, and signs her first record deal. However, Jennifer's budding career is interrupted by an unplanned pregnancy, destroying her odds in a male-dominated and cutthroat music industry. Unyielding, Jennifer persists for several years before landing a chance audition with platinum-selling producers, Full Force, who sign her.In the blink of an eye, Jennifer skyrockets from starving artist to New York City's best kept secret, songwriting for superstars and all but sealing her fate as a future household name. However, just as she is on the brink of fame to go with the small fortune she earns from publishing deals, an unexpected turn of events sets her on the rockiest road to dreams come true.Growing Up Between Stops on the A-train is the inspirational true story about how one woman discovered the secret to success and life happiness, the hard way.GUBSOTAT will be published in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and audio formats on November 7, 2019. Follow Jennifer Y. Johnson-Garcia on Facebook or @jyjohnsongarcia and @GUBSOTAT on Instagram to become an advanced reader or get a copy of the book sooner!

    She hadn’t been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she’d never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn’t believe in hospitals.As she grew older, her father became more radical and her brother more violent. At sixteen, Tara knew she had to leave home. In doing so she discovered both the transformative power of education, and the price she had to pay for it. Where the Crawdads Sing: For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens.

    But since his partner the Reverend David Coles died in December, much about death has taken Coles by surprise. David's death at the age of 42 was unexpected - he never recovered from an operation for internal bleeding.Now the man that so often assists others to examine life's moral questions has found himself in the need of help. He is looking to others for guidance to steer him through grief. The flock is leading the shepherd. Much about grief has surprised Coles: the volume of 'sadmin' you have to do when someone dies, how much harder it is travelling for work alone, the pain of typing a text message to one's partner, then realising you are alone.The Reverend Richard Coles' account of life after grief will resonate with the many thousands of his followers and listeners.

    With insight and wit, it lays bare her journey to reclaiming her creativity and power, inviting readers to reflect on theirs.Advocating for ‘misfits’ everywhere, this timely, necessary book is a rousing and bold case against fitting in.

    With insight and wit, it lays bare her journey to reclaiming her creativity and power, inviting readers to reflect on theirs.Advocating for ‘misfits’ everywhere, this timely, necessary book is a rousing and bold case against fitting in.

    After the untimely death of his mother, five-year old Seamas and his ten (TEN!) siblings were left to the care of their loving but understandably beleaguered father. In this thoroughly delightful memoir, we follow Seamas and the rest of his rowdy clan as they learn to cook, clean, do the laundry, and struggle (often hilariously) to keep the household running smoothly and turn into adults in the absence of the woman who had held them together. Along the way, we see Seamas through various adventures: There's the time the family's windows were blown out by an IRA bomb; the time a priest blessed their thirteen-seater caravan before they took off for a holiday on which they narrowly escaped death; the time Seamas worked as a guide in a leprechaun museum during the recession; and of course, the time he inadvertently found himself on ketamine while serving drinks to the President of Ireland. Through it all, the lovable, ginger-haired Seamas regales us with his combination of wit, absurdity, and tenderness, creating a charming and unforgettable portrait of an oddly gigantic family's search for some semblance of normalcy.

    . .' Alison Hammond loves to laugh. And the nation laughs with her. Her sunny personality and zest for life have brought joy to millions and made her one of the UK's best-loved television presenters. Known for her hilarious and unforgettable interviews with Hollywood A-listers, Alison is also responsible for countless classic moments of broadcasting gold - from getting stuck on a caravan door to delivering Christmas cash dressed as an elf. But who is Alison Hammond really, and how did she become the personality we know and love? Shaped by the influence of her incredible mum, Alison went from small roles on television shows as a youngster to that life-changing appearance on Big Brother, before landing her dream job on This Morning. And through it all, she found the joy in every day, the positives in any situation. You've Got to Laugh gives a never-before-seen insight into Alison's life: her loves, her losses - with a side order of gossip. As well as being a hugely entertaining and uplifting read, Alison's story will inspire you to grab life with both hands and make the most of every single moment. 'Interviewer extraordinaire, reigning queen of the huns, and an out-and-out national treasure' Bustle

    I order another bourbon, neat. This is the drink that will flip the switch. I don’t even know how I got here, to this place, to this point. Something is happening to me lately. I’m drinking too much. My sheets are soaking wet when I wake up from nightmares of decaying corpses. I order another drink and swig it, trying to forget about the latest case I can’t shake.Crime-solving for me is more complex than the challenge of the hunt, or the process of piecing together a scientific puzzle. The thought of good people suffering drives me, for better or worse, to the point of obsession.People always ask how I am able to detach from the horrors of my work. Part of it is an innate capacity to compartmentalize; the rest is experience and exposure, and I’ve had plenty of both. But I had always taken pride in the fact that I can keep my feelings locked up to get the job done. It’s only been recently that it feels like all that suppressed darkness is beginning to seep out.When I look back at my long career, there is a lot I am proud of. I have caught some of the most notorious killers of the twenty-first century and brought justice and closure for their victims and families. I want to tell you about a lifetime solving these cold cases, from Laci Peterson to Jaycee Dugard to the Pittsburg homicides to, yes, my twenty-year-long hunt for the Golden State Killer.But a deeper question eats at me as I ask myself, at what cost? I have sacrificed relationships, joy—even fatherhood—because the pursuit of evil always came first. Did I make the right choice? It’s something I grapple with every day. Yet as I stand in the spot where a young girl took her last breath, as I look into the eyes of her family, I know that, for me, there has never been a choice. “I don’t know if I can solve your case,” I whisper. “But I promise I will do my best.”It is a promise I know I can keep.“Paul Holes takes you on a fascinating and sometimes disturbing journey inside the mind of someone who hunts monsters for a living—and in order to live. And his insights on Michelle McNamara—whose loss I still feel every day—are incredible.”—Patton Oswalt"Paul Holes is a natural criminal profiler with a talent for describing how the process works. In his book, Unmasked, he marches the reader into the real world of criminal behavior and blends his forensic expertise with his unfiltered personal life experiences as he tackles both cold cases and modern crimes. This is a book you will not be able to put down.”—Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, author of A Killer by Design and co-author of Sexual Homicide

    It has already been anointed a Proustian masterpiece and is the rare work of dazzling literary originality that is intensely, irresistibly readable. Unafraid of the big issues—death, love, art, fear—and yet committed to the intimate details of life as it is lived, My Struggle is an essential work of contemporary literature.

    They were happy times, but money was tight. Paddy slept on a mattress he dragged in from the street, and at 17 he struggled severely with the stress of juggling a college course and two jobs to support his beloved mum.But while cash may have been short, grit and wit were in over-supply, and this is the improbable true story of the lad who went from kipping in abandoned cars in Bolton to racing supercars on Top Gear, via laying concrete floors in prisons, a lively career in a leisure centre, a showbiz intervention by school pal Peter Kay and eye-popping adventures in the world of teledom.There has been mischief and misadventure, joy and sorry, huge success and unexpected challenges. It's a lifey well lived, and an unforgettable personal memoir written from the heart.

    Someone is trying to kill her.Leslie and her little brother must confront the stark reality of living with their mother’s raging psychosis. When her mother demands the impossible, Leslie attempts to control the chaos. Her obedience results in terrifying consequences, and her rebellion angers her mother, who writes rambling manifestos and forces her children to live on the run to evade the Russian spies she believes are after them. Her mother’s ultimate goal is to protect her children from capture even if it means she must kill them herself.Eventually, the police remove Leslie and her brother from their mother’s custody. Freedom from violence and neglect offers the young girl a glimmer of hope, but alienating, oppressive foster homes cause her to plummet into despair. All seems lost . . . until a teacher intervenes and risks everything to bring Leslie to safety and show her the redemptive power of trust and patience, proving unconditional love is possible even without the bond of blood.When I Was Her Daughter is a raw, honest account of one girl’s journey through madness, loss, and a broken child welfare system, where only the lucky and most resilient survive.

    He is 27 days old. Six years later as "Patient #3394," he is committed to Belchertown State School, where he is labeled a "moron" with an I.Q. of 41. Like hundreds of other institutions across the country, Belchertown is a de-humanizing environment of barred windows, locked doors, and brutal regimentation."I never want us to return to those days," Donald says. You'll Like It Here is packed with gritty, realistic detail, some of it darkly hilarious. Belchertown State School is the evil institution incarnate, itself a character, a brooding presence over the whole story. It is Donald's triumph that he is able to survive Belchertown. A powerful, poignant account. -Dave Kassel, Director of Communications of COFAR, advocates for the developmentally disabled

    She hadn't been registered for a birth certificate. She had no school records because she'd never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn't believe in hospitals. The Education of an Idealist: The Education of an Idealist combines powerful storytelling, vividly drawn characters and deep political insight. It traces Power's journey from childhood growing up in a pub in Ireland to war correspondent to presidential Cabinet official. In 2005, her critiques of US foreign policy caught the eye of newly elected Senator Barack Obama, who invited her to work with him on Capitol Hill and then on his presidential campaign.

    Michael can't read or write, but has published a book which he wrote with the help of a speech-to-text app on his i-Pad. The book details Michael's trials and tribulations growing up with autism and an intellectual disability.

    Her future seemed certain, until the frightening diagnosis of epilepsy threatened to destroy both her career path and her health. Living in constant fear that her seizures would intensify and prevent her from practicing medicine, Kristin kept her condition a closely guarded secret, leading a tenuous double life as patient and practitioner.A memoir of discovery, acceptance, and hope, The Sacred Disease chronicles Kristin’s tenacious fight for a seizure-free life. Remarkably, although Kristin's knowledge and expertise continue to develop as a pediatrician and mother, her experiences as a vulnerable patient provide the most valuable lessons of all.

    He is one of millions of refugees who leave their homes that year.Matthieu Aikins, a journalist living in Kabul, decides to follow his friend. In order to do so, he must leave his own passport and identity behind to go underground on the refugee trail with Omar. Their odyssey across land and sea from Afghanistan to Europe brings them face to face with the people at heart of the migration crisis: smugglers, cops, activists, and the men, women and children fleeing war in search of a better life. As setbacks and dangers mount for the two friends, Matthieu is also drawn into the escape plans of Omar's entire family, including Maryam, the matriarch who has fought ferociously for her children's survival.Harrowing yet hopeful, this exceptional work brings into sharp focus one of the most contentious issues of our times. The Naked Don't Fear the Water is a tale of love and friendship across borders, and an inquiry into our shared journey in a divided world.

    But she looked on the bright side, too, believing that as long as she cared enough, she could keep her loved ones safe. Then, in the dark of one quiet, pre-dawn morning, she woke abruptly to a terrible sound—and found her teenage son unconscious on the floor. In the aftermath of a crisis that darkened her signature sunny spirit, she wondered: If this happened, what else could happen? And how do any of us keep going when we can’t know for sure what’s coming next? Leave it to the writer whose critically acclaimed debut had us “laughing and crying on the same page” (NPR) to illuminate what it means to move through life with a soul made of equal parts anxiety and optimism (and while she’s at it, to ponder the mysteries of backyard turtles and the challenges of spatchcocking a turkey). Hailed by The Washington Post as “Nora Ephron, Erma Bombeck, Jean Kerr, and Laurie Colwin all rolled into one,” Philpott returns in her distinctive voice to explore our protective instincts, the ways we continue to grow up long after we’re grown, and the limits—both tragic and hilarious—of the human body and mind.

    Jones learned early on to factor “pain calculations” into every plan, every situation. Born with a rare congenital condition called sacral agenesis which affects both her stature and gait, her pain is physical. But there is also the pain of being judged and pitied for her appearance, of being dismissed as “less than.” The way she has been seen—or not seen—has informed her lens on the world her entire life. She resisted this reality by excelling academically and retreating to “the neutral room in her mind” until it passed. But after unexpectedly becoming a mother (in violation of unspoken social taboos about the disabled body), something in her shifts, and Jones sets off on a journey across the globe, reclaiming the spaces she’d been denied, and denied herself. From the bars and domestic spaces of her life in Brooklyn to sculpture gardens in Rome; from film festivals in Utah to a Beyoncé concert in Milan; from a tennis tournament in California to the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh, Jones weaves memory, observation, experience, and aesthetic philosophy to probe the myths underlying our standards of beauty and desirability, and interrogates her own complicity in upholding those myths. With its emotional depth, its prodigious, spiky intelligence, its passion and humor, Easy Beauty is the rare memoir that has the power to make you see the world, and your place in it, with new eyes.

    Front man in an almost famous band. Judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown. How did all that happen?By accident mostly. But I always say we make our own luck. What if an art teacher hadn't given me a lump of clay? What if the band had been really successful? What if I hadn't taken a photograph of a bowl to the buyer at Heals in London? What if she'd hated it? Or hadn't seen it... What if I hadn't agreed to dress up as Adele to make a crazy YouTube video? Every chapter of my book is based around an object (usually a pot) that's been significant in my life. It's just at trigger to let me go off in a lot of different directions and tell a few stories. A lot of stories. Dyslexia. The art teacher who changed my life. My Mother. My Father. A life-changing job interview with a man who lay under his car throughout. That video.Sifting through half-forgotten memories, trying to pick out the golden nuggets from the stuff that is definitely dross has been a curious, and at times hilarious, sometimes sad, but definitely enlightening process. So here it is - my pottery life with some very loud music and some pretty good dancing. And a lot of throwing, fettling and firing. Oh ...and a good dose of anxiety.

    There she finds a peace she’s never thought possible.When Shelly eventually meets the man she will marry, she thinks her life will finally be everything she’s ever dreamed of, but the lingering wounds of her past—and new, devastating medical complications—shake her faith. After all she’s endured, can she rise from the ashes and trust God once more?

    . . is the story of an ordinary soldier, but an extraordinary man. I commend this book most warmly.'Richard Dannatt, General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL, Chief of the General Staff 2006-9'The amazing account of a young man, Neville 'Timber' Wood, who, despite fighting in many of the major engagements of the Second World War, including Dunkirk, El Alamein and D-Day, survived to become a much-loved husband and father . . . brilliantly written . . . I highly recommend it'Eleanor TomlinsonThe son of a Hull butcher, Neville 'Timber' Wood volunteered in 1939, at the age of eighteen, to join the British Army's Tyne-Tees 50th Northumbrian Division. Timber was in many ways an entirely unremarkable soldier - he won no medals for gallantry, though he exhibited conspicuous bravery day after day, for years, and he rose no higher through the ranks than Lance Corporal. Nonetheless, he had an extraordinary war. As a driver for the Royal Army Service Corps, Timber's job was to get ammunition and high explosives to the front line. It was a job with a high casualty rate, sometimes higher than front-line troops.The 50th Division was the principal fighting division of the British Army in the Second World War. Four men of the 50th were awarded Victoria Crosses, more than any other division. It was last off the beach at Dunkirk and the first back on it on D-Day; the division was at the heart of El Alamein and the major actions which followed; it took part in the invasion of Sicily and fought all the way from Normandy to Germany, where Timber saw first-hand the horrors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.Timber's story is pretty much the British war experience from the point of view of an ordinary soldier. He was even captured, saw Rommel and escaped. This book, written by his son Mike, is based on Neville's extensive wartime diaries and original documents he retained from the war as well as on long conversations between the two of them when Mike transcribed the diaries as a gift for his father in 2006. Timber died in 2015., ,

    What happens when you realise adult life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?When you’ve grown up thinking your twenties are all about working hard, playing hard and definitely trying to not get pregnant, life comes at you fast when you go from hump to bump…Comedian, mum and vlogger, Sophie McCartney, shares her journey through the hurty-thirties – when you thought you’d have a high-flying career, three holidays a year and a designer handbag, but have ended up with two kids, a deep fear of what lies at the bottom of the ball-pit in soft play, and a post-breastfeeding gap in your cleavage the size of a Christmas ham.With laugh out loud humour and honesty, Sophie shows how whether you’ve had a day full of whining or a night full of wine, there’s joy to be had in the perfectly imperfect lives we lead.

    It is the story of the quest for self-knowing and ultimate knowledge of the self, presented in a candid and often humorous way. It has been called a western "Autobiography of a Yogi."

    

    Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.From there, Molly ventured into the wider world of New York and Los Angeles show business, where she created her own opportunities and developed her daring and empathetic comedy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories involving everyone from Whitney Houston to Adam Sandler to Monica Lewinsky, many told for the first time here, Hello, Molly! spans Molly's time on Saturday Night Live--where she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cheri Oteri, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon, among many others. At the same time, it explores with humor and candor her struggle to come to terms with the legacy of her father, a man who both fostered her gifts and drive and was left with the impossible task of raising his kids alone after the loss of her mother.Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, Hello, Molly!, written with Sean Wilsey, sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers.

    A Year in Tōkyō follows the thirteen magical months I spent in the city of ginkgo leaves. From becoming a travel writer and English teacher to navigating cultural nuances, financial adversity and the abomination known as peanut cream, this book is a candid exploration of what it was really like to live and work in the world’s greatest megacity.

    

    

    

    in 1957, is a popular radio commentator, essayist, and short story writer. He is the partner of the painter Hugh Hamrick. Sedaris held many part-time and odd jobs before he moved to New York and got a job reading excerpts from his diaries on National Public Radio in 1991. In 1994, Little, Brown published Barrel Fever, a collection of his works. He has since published such other works as Naked and Holidays on Ice. Sedaris has also written a play with his sister, Amy, called Little Frieda Mysteries. It was produced in 1997 in New York.

    She’d lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. Several months after Jerry’s death, she decided to make one small change in her life—she shut down his landline, which crashed her internet. She ended up in Verizon hell. She channeled her grief the best way she knew: by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate. Recently widowed himself, he reminded her that they had shared a few dates fifty-four years before, set up by Nora. Delia did not remember him, but after several weeks of exchanging emails and sixties folk songs, he flew east to see her. They were crazy, utterly, in love. But this was not a rom-com: four months later she was diagnosed with AML, a fierce leukemia. In Left on Tenth, Delia Ephron enchants as she seesaws us between tears and laughter, navigating the suicidal lows of enduring cutting-edge treatment and the giddy highs of a second chance at love. With Peter and her close girlfriends by her side, with startling clarity, warmth, and honesty about facing death, Ephron invites us to join her team of warriors and become believers ourselves.

    Once known as the Blond Bomber, Draper's readers now consider him the Pied Piper of bodybuilding.

    Matthew Hayden warned him not do it. But the cameras were set up. What was he going to do - say no?How about when Australia A nearly upset Australia in the 1995 World Series Cup and the players were rebelling against officials? Adam was working as a driver for an escort agency in Melbourne.Or Australia v India in 2001? That was when Adam was stuck in a hotel with AC/DC. For all the significant moments in Adam's life, cricket was in the background - or foreground. And you don't need to be a fan of cricket to be able to relate, because we all remember where we were when something important happened, whether that's a cricket test, an album release or a TV show ending. Twelve Summers is hilarious, moving and thought provoking. Even if you aren't a fan of cricket, you'll find a lot to love in this book.

    CJ Hauser uses her now-beloved title essay as an anchor around which to explore, through excavation of both her own personal and larger familial hope chest of 'love stories, ' the narratives of romantic love we are taught and which we tell ourselves, and the need to often rewrite those narratives to find an accurate version of ourselves in them. Covering ground ranging from her and her relatives' own romantic pasts to the much wider natural, supernatural, and cultural worlds, CJ relates the family legacies and lessons she imbibed in her youth, and the relationships formed in echo of those lessons, which helped to shape her early understanding of love and life.Emerging from the rigorous honesty and radical empathy of these twenty pieces, CJ relinquishes the idea of a single, permanent love story--in favor of the metaphor of a happy haunted house as a space that contains many stories, many pasts, and multiple histories. These are hopeful pieces, which address the pain and complication of living in the present while being informed by things that have happened in one's past, and the kind of energy and spirit necessary to attempt love, again and again.

    For her, this is not just a riding lesson, but a last-ditch attempt to pull herself back from the brink even though riding is a relic from the past she walked away from. She hasn’t been on or near a horse in over thirty years.        Although Maum does know what depression looks like, she finds herself refusing to admit, at this point in her life, that it could look like her: a woman with a privileged past, a mortgage, a husband, a healthy child, and a published novel. That she feels sadness is undeniable, but she feels no right to claim it. And when both therapy and medication fail, Courtney returns to her childhood passion of horseback riding as a way to recover the joy and fearlessness she once had access to as a young girl. As she finds her way, once again, through the world of contemporary horseback riding—Courtney becomes reacquainted with herself not only as a rider but as a mother, wife,  daughter,  writer, and woman. Alternating timelines and braided with historical portraits of women and horses alongside history’s attempts to tame both parties, The Year of the Horses is an inspiring love letter to the power of animals—and humans—to heal the mind and the heart.

    

    In this intimate book, Tyler Perry writes of how his faith has sustained him in hard times, centered him in good times, and enriched his life. Beginning with his earliest memories of growing up a shy boy in New Orleans, Perry recalls the moments of grace and beauty in a childhood marked by brutality, deprivation, and fear. With tenderness he sketches portraits of the people who sustained him and taught him indelible lessons about integrity, trust in God, and the power of forgiveness: his aunt Mae, who cared for her grandfather, who was born a slave, and sewed quilts that told a story of generations; Mr. Butler, a blind man of remarkable dignity and elegance, who sold penny candies on a street corner; and his beloved mother, Maxine, who endured abuse, financial hardship, and the daily injustices of growing up in the Jim Crow South yet whose fierce love for her son burned bright and never dimmed. Perry writes of how he nurtured his dreams and discovered solace in nature, and of his resolute determination to reach ever higher. Perry vividly and movingly describes his growing awareness of God’s presence in his life, how he learned to tune in to His voice, to persevere through hard times, and to choose faith over fear. Here he is: the devoted son, the loving father, the steadfast friend, the naturalist, the philanthropist, the creative spirit—a man whose life lessons and insights into scripture are a gift offered with generosity, humility, and love.

    Those featured in the story include Ritchie Blackmore, Randy Rhoads, Gary Moore, Tony Iommi, Ronnie Dio, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Bon Scott, John Bonham, George Harrison, Jon Lord, and the notorious Don Arden, among many others. Reading through every chapter, with the hundreds of corresponding photographs, is like accompanying Bob on his journey. This book is the culmination of decades of an extraordinary life spent in music and Bob Daisley recalls it all with candour and a quirky wit that is as unique as the man himself... The title says it all.

    Growing up, that meant throwing herself into competitive figure skating with an all-consuming passion that led her to nationals. But when her skating career suddenly fell apart, that meant diving into self-destruction with the intensity she once saved for the ice.For the next nine years, Keri ricocheted from one dark place to the next: living on the streets, selling drugs and sex, and shooting up between classes all while trying to hold herself together enough to finish her degree at Cornell. Then, on a cold day during her senior year, the police caught her walking down the street with a Tupperware full of heroin.Her arrest made the front page of the local news and landed her behind bars for nearly two years. There, in the Twilight Zone of New York’s jails and prisons, Keri grappled with the wreckage of her missteps and mistakes as she sobered up and searched for a better path. Along the way, she met women from all walks of life—who were all struggling through the same upside-down world of corrections. As the days ticked by, Keri came to understand how broken the justice system is and who that brokenness hurts the most.After she walked out of her cell for the last time, Keri became a reporter dedicated to exposing our flawed prisons as only an insider could. Written with searing intensity, unflinching honesty, and shocks of humor, Corrections in Ink uncovers that dark, brutal system that affects us all. Not just a story about getting out and getting off drugs, this galvanizing memoir is about the power of second chances; about who our society throws away and who we allow to reach for redemption—and how they reach for it.

    Now, Kate shares her inspiring story in this powerful memoir about motherhood and unconditional love When Kate Swenson's son Cooper was diagnosed with severe, nonverbal autism, her world stopped. She had always dreamed of having the perfect family life. She hadn't signed up for life as a mother raising a child with a disability.At first, Kate experienced the grief of broken dreams. Then she felt the frustration and exhaustion of having to fight for your child in a world that is stacked against them. But through hard work, resilience and personal growth, she would come to learn that Cooper wasn't the one who needed to change. She was. And it was this transformation that led Kate to acceptance--and ultimately joy. In Forever Boy, Kate shares her inspiring journey with honesty and compassion, offering solace and hope to others on this path and illuminating the strength and perseverance of mothers.

    selected tweets from a month of delightfully hilarious SSRI-induced mania!

    Ted was simply Ted, and erratic behavior, surprise visits, and chilling events while she was riding horses or helping her dad at his sawmill were dismissed because he was "just the odd hermit." He was, in fact, the Unabomber, for seventeen years mailing explosives to strangers, the longest-running domestic terrorist in American history.As an adult with this knowledge, the innocence of her youth robbed, Gehring needed to reconcile her lived experience with the evil that hid in plain sight. In this book, through years of research probing Ted's personal history, his writings, his secret coded crime journals, her own correspondence with him in his Supermax prison cell, plus interviews with others close to Kaczynski, Gehring unearths the complexity, mystery, and tragedy of her childhood and the hermit on the hill. And she discovers a shocking revelation--she and her family were in Kaczynski's crosshairs.A work of intricately braided research, journalism, and personal memories, this book is a chilling response to the question: Do you really know your neighbor?

    

    

    It is a first-hand account of life during the last days of Strategic Air Command, the early days of Air Combat Command and the ensuing military drawdown of the 1990s. From peacetime training exercises across the globe to combat operations in Desert Storm, Jim Clonts takes the reader inside the cockpit where life and death are seconds apart. Often comical, sometimes heart-pounding, other times tragic, WHEN PENGUINS FLEW AND WATER BURNED takes you into the world of military aviation, a crucible where warriors learn the true nature of character, conscience and mortality.

    Boy falls in love with girl. And, on one fateful December day, girl stands up boy and then bakes him a batch of apology cookies. The rest is history.Building Tiff’s Treats has been a love story unlike any other for these husband-and-wife entrepreneurs who began a two-person operation from their college apartment and grew it into a business that employs thousands and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Their highly anticipated debut book, It’s Not Just Cookies: Stories & Recipes From The Tiff’s Treats Kitchen, invites readers to experience just how Tiffany standing Leon up on a date led to the pair creating an on-demand, baked-to-order, WARM cookie delivery brand--the first of its kind.What started as a simple apology with a warm batch of chocolate chip cookies ultimately became a way of connecting people through warm moments. "We’ve realized that we get a front-row seat to human nature at its best, with cookies as the conduit," Tiffany and Leon say. "And we’re excited to share some of these stories."They’re also excited to share RECIPES!For the first time ever, It’s Not Just Cookies is releasing fan-favorite cookie recipes, complete with full-page, full-color photos, so readers can bake Tiff’s Treats at home!In the book, you’ll also read about the:Highs and lows of 20 years of entrepreneurship--while being married to your business partnerGuiding principles Tiffany and Leon have used to overcome adversityLessons they’ve learned along the way--mostly the hard wayInspiration that will help you find your own sweet success.Early on, Tiff’s Treats co-founders Tiffany and Leon Chen remember being asked the critical question: "What are you going to do, bake cookies for the rest of your life?"Yes, the answer is absolutely "yes." And so much more.So, grab a cookie or three, follow Tiffany and Leon’s amazing journey, and create some warm moments of your own!

    Starting with a covert one-man band in a high school health class that had the entire room laughing, Cwiz always kept Jeremy on his toes. Through near-death experiences, Bible study pranks, a kidnapping, hijinx across Europe and Asia, crashing the OJ trial, game show dating to falling in love and finally growing up, Cwiz and Jeremy came of age together in surprising and hilarious ways. Now Jeremy has collected all of their unbelievable stories into one book that ultimately charts Cwiz’s journey from class clown to respected and well-loved community member. His Name is Cwiz is the remarkable story of a lifelong friendship with a remarkable man — part jester, part sage — and the valuable life lessons learned along the way.

    Dr. June B. French and her friends take you on a journey where they find themselves in the most unlikely scenarios, filled with surprising characters and twists no human could have foreseen. It all begins in a shelter, wherein they are faced with an impossible, heart-wrenching dilemma. From there, many more adventures are mapped out as you follow June into the land of dogs, cats, horses, alpacas, camels, horses, and even birds of all feathers (the scariest June has ever faced). You will also follow the journeys of June's beloved veterinary comrades, who detail their unexpected situations. These stories include a junkyard horse, a nudist colony, a bear and even a few mountain oysters. And you will also soon meet the furry friend that inspired this whole collection: the cat who ate aliens. These events are the unscripted trials of animal loving professionals in their everyday careers, with the greater mission to aid shelter medicine as well as finding the humor in the crazy situations they find themselves in. We do hope that you enjoy our stories!

    Javi, an eleven-year-old shih tzu, teaches us about the importance of friendship and the challenges of change. His diary captures the ups and downs of being a dog with a dream. The story, also shared by his baby sister, Binah, draws a relatable picture of special friends living in the suburbs, and the joys, sorrows, and strengths that unite them. Both dogs and humans are seen through a variety of lenses, but only one dog can bring everything into focus.What Readers are Saying"So charming. Although this story has an adult theme, I can still imagine someday reading it to my grandchildren." Bret Witter, co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Dewey "Tracy Stopler brings us the highs, the lows, the smells, the accidents, the love, and the losses, the entire silent opera of a dog's inner life." Ellis Weiner, author of How to Raise a Jewish Dog "Tracy Stopler has written a compassionate, entertaining, and thought-provoking novel that pulled at my heartstrings. The genre for this novel is animal fiction, with a touch of fantasy, and a dash of philosophy. This is an adult book that kids can borrow, and if your dog wants to listen, that's even better. This reminds me of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, where we hear the dog's point of view. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking novel that made me both laugh and cry. I'm hoping for a sequel." Linda Zagon, Linda's Book Obsessions Review What Characters in the Story are Saying "While I was discovering my true self, my best self, my dream transformed into reality. We may be different breeds, but through God's eyes we are all equal. I know this because He told me so." Javi, 11-year-old Shih Tzu"FIVE STARS for my brother Javi's incredible memoir. Javi is a role model for the dog community, reminding us all how we're here to help each other. Javi's not only my brother; he's also my superhero." Binah, 3-year-old Havanese"My best friend, Binah, discovers her brother Javi's diary. It's filled with educational and inspirational messages. Thank you, Javi." Daisy, 2-year-old Havachon"Javi's memoir captures both the human's and dog's heart from the day he is born to the day he is reborn. Although I would have liked to read more about me, it leaves me hopeful for a sequel." Chloe, 1-year-old Tibetan Terrier"Socks off to Javi and Binah for this artful tale that answers so many life questions except who's Tracy Stopler and why is her name on the cover of this book?"Cooper, 2-year-old Cockapoo"Javi is a special soul. You will laugh and cry as you discover your own strengths to overcome life's most challenging circumstances. This story will inspire you to rescue a dog or two." Dr. Noah, Veterinarian"Javi weaves a hypnotic, fairy tale that's strong enough to transform darkness into light." Tali"There are no words in any language to describe the love between a dog and his human. If only humans knew with certainty that their beloved best friends remain with them always in some way, in some form, for their existence here on Earth. I believe that now." Javier A Message from the AuthorThis is my love story to Javi and Binah. If you love animals, especially dogs, you'll understand. "In all great fairy tales there's always a plotline where some dog goes beyond his perceived limitations. You don't have to be a superhero in order for your dreams to come true. You just need the courage to break free from your comfort zone. It's the only road to happily ever after."

    

    

    I can’t wait to set the record straight and finally give people a peek behind the green screen.” And set the record straight he does. Playing with Myself is a first-hand account of the journey that led Randy Rainbow from his childhood as the over-imaginative, often misunderstood little boy who carried a purse in the second grade to his first job on Broadway as the host at Hooters and on to the creation of his trademark comedy character. In chapters titled “Pajama Bottoms” (a look back at the days when he wore pajama bottoms on his head to pretend he was Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz), “Yes, It’s My Real Name, Shut Up!” (no explanation necessary...) and “Pink Glasses” (a rose-colored homage to his favorite accessory), Playing with Myself is a memoir that answers the question “Can an introverted musical theatre nerd with a MacBook and a dream save the world, one show tune at a time?”

       This is a must-read for every wannabe-traveller grounded by lockdown and for every parent who has dreaded travelling with a baby. Kate’s intrepid spirit is infectious, and her family’s adventures make you belly-laugh and bring a lump to your throat. Shape of A Boy captures the essence of being a parent in the thick of it and learning on the hoof.

    Weaving the history of the Chechnya conflict and the heritage of his own family into the visceral narrative, Dr. Baiev tells a tale that is shocking, heroic, and impossible to forget.

    Part travelogue, part biography, part memoir, One for the Memory Banks captures the give and take of competition and conjures these memories and relationships in technicolor. Through vignettes, Luke Reese carries readers on a sweeping journey across the UK and Ireland, introducing them to a motley crew of people who share a passion, and reminding them what makes golf so great.

    From Nordkapp (the northernmost point of mainland Europe) to the German border with Denmark (3000 km south) carrying everything she needed on her back.Initially accompanied by a fellow trail runner, Sophie finds herself thrown into a solo adventure running through some of the most rugged scenery Europe has to offer.Heading out to Norway, bears are top of Sophie’s worries. However, she is soon to find that these big grizzly creatures would be the least of her concerns. In the first month alone having to battle extreme fatigue, dehydration, relentless bog, hunger and eventually illness, the odds are quickly stacked against her. However, not willing to give in Sophie pushes on, often against the advice she has received from people back home. In doing so she finds herself on a journey of self-discovery which creates memories that will last a lifetime.Humorously, we travel along with Sophie, seeing the whole of Scandinavia as we go. The people she meets on the way, the scenery, the food (though often less than gourmet) and everything else that completes this inspiring and ultimately heart-warming story.This is a book which shows that ordinary people can do incredible things. Sophie begins this journey with very little running experience, a disillusionment with sprint kayaking (a sport she had been competing in since a young age) and a thirst to prove herself. Let Sophie’s journey take you out of your comfort zone and show you that there is always more out there if you just have the courage to go and get it.

    He was now Robert Baldasare, money launderer and president of an international trade finance company. Deployed to Panama, Mazur worked, traveled, partied, and washed millions with Central America’s criminal elite. Partnered with a young superstar DEA task force agent, Mazur slipped effortlessly into Colombia’s notorious Cali drug cartel. But as his underworld reputation skyrocketed, the operation started going dangerously off the rails.On US soil, drug money en route to Mazur was seized. He started to notice an unsettling shift in the cartel’s inner circle. Contacts were being assassinated, and Mazur was being tailed. His identity had been compromised. Refusing to acknowledge the threats ahead, Mazur was obsessed with seeing the mission through to its treacherous end: expose the Cali cartel, find out who betrayed him, and escape with his life.

    You don't know what kind of wife you're going to be until years into your marriage. And you don't know what kind of widow you're going to be until you leave the death bed of your spouse and begin a different life.Rebecca and Hal had a normal marriage. Four kids, a house, jobs that paid the bills. They also had resentment that sometimes teetered on hatred, years of no sex, a handful of affairs, and long-simmering anger.Then one night, Hal felt knots in his stomach. Several doctor appointments later, he discovered he had stage four pancreatic cancer, and four months later, he was dead. He was 44.All of This chronicles the months before Hal's death--and Rebecca's rebirth after he was gone. With incredible honesty, Rebecca reflects on how her husband's illness finally gave her the space to make peace with his humanity and her own: to love and to loathe him; to celebrate and criticize him, and finally, to forgive him and herself for escaping a marriage they no longer wanted.Compelling and brilliantly nuanced, All of This is one woman's story of what it means to be a mother, a widow, and a sexual being, finding freedom on the other side of a relationship that nearly broke her.

    A competitive swimmer, she turned to perfectionism and self-control to create a sense of safety, only to develop an eating disorder and constantly second-guess her instincts. When she enters graduate school in St. Louis, she is determined to put the baggage of her childhood behind her. With no prior experience, she joins Arch Rival, one of the top-ranked roller derby leagues in the world. Gabe instantly falls in love with the sport's roughness, intensity, and open embrace of people who are literally and figuratively scarred. She soon finds community and a sense of belonging, reveling in the tattoos, glitter, and campiness.But when Gabe suffers a catastrophic injury, she can no longer ignore the parallels between the physicality of roller derby and the unresolved trauma of her upbringing. Rendered inactive, forced to be still, Gabe realizes she needs to heal her emotional wounds as much as her physical ones; she must confront her fear and self-diminishment in order to feel truly alive.Told with unflinching honesty and a giant dose of wonder, Brace for Impact is a tender, inspiring memoir about the everyday heroism of pursuing a life less ordinary, and the deeply human need to be at peace with who you are.

    But she bravely turned her back on the glittering lights of Hollywood for a bigger dream—to be himself in a world that tried its best to erase him from his own story. From his turbulent childhood to the dizzying heights of Hollywood, and the fall from grace to his rebirth, Jake Zyrus delves into it all and inspires with his story of becoming.

    A terminal diagnosis would teach them the true meaning of love. Gabi Coatsworth never meant to fall for the handsome American. And after walking away because he was married, the British single mother thought she'd go forever without seeing him again. But her move to Chicago five years later for a career opportunity led to their reunion, a rekindled romance, and a wedding. Forging a thirty-year life together through ups and downs, Gabi finally gave up when her husband's alcoholism became more than she could bear. But not long after, he received a devastating medical diagnosis. Knowing she would regret it if she stayed away, she returned home to care for him. And unexpectedly learned it's never too late for a second chance…This relatable story will resonate with readers who long to know that love can endure despite the many obstacles life puts in its way. Part romance, part medical memoir, all heart, it’s for everyone who needs to know that they can make it through life’s hardships and find happiness again.

    Divided into three sections: "The Kids", "The Adults" and "Back to the Land".

    Later, after the tragic accident that killed her niece and sister-in-law, Valerie moved in to help raise Beau and Hunter while then-Senator Biden commuted to Washington, DC.But beyond their deep sibling relationship, Valerie has been in lockstep with her brother throughout both of their political careers. She has run almost all of her brother’s political campaigns—starting from his run for high school class president. From speechwriting to debate preparation, Valerie has played an integral role in shaping her brother’s message and strategy.Growing Up Biden details Valerie’s decades-long professional career in politics, and her fundamental presence in her brother's life as a close confidante. This memoir, full of candor and warmth, brings readers into the Biden home, watching as the siblings were raised to live with deep empathy, to work hard, and to help wherever they can.

    In this book, Pascual does not disappoint. I have always been awestruck by his singular voice. His essays are at once epic and personal, discursive and lyrical. There is a certain joy to his writings, even when he writes about the saddest things. I think it is the joy of surrendering to a fantastic writer’s words, letting them take you places, and finding yourself understanding the world and its humans a little bit more.

    This Is Then, That Was Now is another hefty, 288-page, 11 x 8.5 art-book and memoir with hundreds of drawings and comics that picks up where the first book left off, going deeper and more candidly into the lifetime of experiences of a Seattle artist and teacher.

    

    A long road trip, he believes, could be the answer. But the boy has other ideas as the two of them navigate the past and contemplate the future during a summer journey through the American West. The trip uncovers long-held secrets—both Martin's and his son's—and becomes an exploration of whether the deep emotions that brought them together in the first place are more important than what could tear them apart. Things Behind the Sun is an inspired coming-of-age story about the powerful, complicated, yet enduring bond between fathers and sons.REVIEWS:"Beautifully and patiently rendered, Things Behind the Sun is a meditative and empathic exploration of fate, family, and finding one's way. David W. Berner has created a vast emotional landscape as vibrant and expansive as its Pacific Northwest backdrop." —Claire Lombardo, author of the New York Times bestselling novel, The Most Fun We Ever Had“Things Behind the Sun is full of pathos and wisdom. Deep friendships and the complexity of family are the binding glues that hold this exquisitely told story together.” —Shawn Shiflett, author of Hey, Liberal!“Powerful…emotionally charged…an intricately connected, lyrical and moving story.” —Veryan Williams-Wynn, author of The Spirit Trap"A captivating exploration of identity. Things Behind the Sun reveals there is no chasm of secrets large enough that a summer road trip can't bridge." —Michelle Burwell, Windy City Reviews“Things Behind the Sun is a wonderfully realized story of love, devotion, and coming to terms with one's heritage and life commitments.” —Floyd Sullivan, author of Called Out: A Novel of 1908

    Her infectious energy, tasteful authenticity, and smart, steadfast support of authors started in childhood, a precedent set by the profound effect books and libraries had on her own family.But after losing her closest friend on 9/11 and later becoming utterly stressed out and overwhelmed by motherhood, Zibby was forgetting what made her her. She turned to books and writing for help.Just when things seemed particularly bleak, Zibby unexpectedly fell in love with a tennis pro turned movie producer who showed her the path to happiness: away from type A perfectionism and toward “letting things unfold organically.” What “unfolded” was a meaningful career, a great love, and finally, her voice, now heard by millions of listeners.An honest and moving story about relationships, love, food issues, the writing life, and finding one’s true calling, Bookends will inspire and uplift.

    But upward mobility required crafting the perfect resilience narrative, proving that she was an "overcomer," made stronger by all that she had endured.The truth was far murkier. Emi's mom was a charming hoarder who had her put on antipsychotics, but believed in her daughter's brilliance--unlike the Minnesotan foster family who banned her "pornographic" art history flash cards (of Michelangelo's David). Emi's other parent's departure from her life was tied up in a gender transition that few in the mid-2000s understood. Her own past was filled with facts that she needed to hide: mental health struggles, Adderall addiction, and the unbecoming desperation of a teenager fending for herself. The obstacles Emi claimed she had transcended still defined her life; even though she would go on to graduate from Harvard and become a software engineer at Google, she found that success didn't necessarily mean safety.Told with an incisive storyteller's eye, this searing memoir exposes the cost of trading a troubled past for the promise of a bright future. Having experienced the American Dream firsthand, Emi speaks truth to the high cost of upward mobility, the hypocrisy of elite spaces, and the harsh standards set by societal ideals of grit and resilience. Candid and often harrowing, with a ribbon of dark humor, Acceptance is an electrifying read that challenges our ideas of what it means to overcome--and find contentment on your own terms.

    A WEBTOON x 88rising memoir series that spotlights the experiences of Asian women in entertainment and how we can help #StopAsianHate together.

    The true love story! New York Times says"… a spicy, funny memoir!" “This book is more then an eyewitness account. FOR THE LOVE OF PRAGUE is a great love story!

    For decades, her son Brian has kept her at a self-protective distance, but when her health begins to fail, he knows it’s time to assume responsibility for her care. Even so, he’s not prepared for what awaits him, as her refusal to accept her own fragility leads to a series of epic outbursts and altercations that are sometimes frightening, sometimes wildly comic, and sometimes both. Clear-eyed, loving, and brimming with dark humor, Tasha is an exploration of what sons learn from their mothers, a stark look at the impossible task of caring for an elderly parent in a country whose unofficial motto is “you’re on your own,” and a meditation on the treacherous business at the heart of every family—the business of trying to honor ourselves without forsaking our parents, and our parents without forsaking ourselves. Above all, Tasha is a vivid and surprising portrait of an unforgettable woman.

    

    . . running with spirit down the middle of the road . . . a knuckle bump from her coach still fresh in her mind. Heart and soul - Come Back Strong has the heart of a bittersweet love story and the soul of an athlete's triumph. While reading this true story of a woman's unexpected journey, be prepared to smile, laugh, tear up, and cheer. First a 64 year old woman is flattened by bad news and endures a hard year - her husband’s lung cancer. Then one year later she's up again unexpectedly transformed, ninety pounds thinner and an athlete. Different than other books about life-changing events, Come Back Strong, a Widow’s Song invites the reader to follow a positive path - exercise, nutrition, friendship, challenge, and the power of endorphins. “Walking will clear your mind and lift your spirit,” she told me. The story starts and ends in Presidents Park on an extremely hot Fourth of July morning. A “newly young” and strong woman is running in her community’s annual 5K. While running, she thinks about the terminal cancer journey she made with her husband, the events of a comeback journey, and changes in her life - facing hard, deserving happiness, losing “coupleness”, and having a coach for the first time in her life. “Ironic. Of all times in my life.” The heartfelt part of the book is the love story of a couple's final days together. Not sad or happy but positively happy and positively sad, a determined couple spend their days working hard to be happy in spite of the massive cancer in his chest. From the first "it doesn't look good" from the family doctor to the final days in palliative care, the couple lived with what the author calls a special sass (spirit, attitude, stubbornness, and strength). “We’ll fight it. Fight it hard!” Then he was gone. The author had left her own health go during the stress and dread of his sickness. She found herself sad-eyed, "fat", and unhealthy. A grief counselor challenged her to find the mind-body connection and use movement to quiet her mind, change her body, and pop her spirit. The clumsy non-athlete would meet an understanding but tough trainer and build an unlikely bond with the young man she laughingly names “Sheriff”. Slowly he teaches her what she needs to know and coaches her to compete as an athlete. With a touch of her special sass they work together to physically change her body and return her to happiness again. “If you embarrass me I’m out of here.” Written for those painfully aware of loss but appealing to all who like a warm story about an unlikely friendship, Come Back Strong, a Widow's Song is thoughtful, warm, and powerful. “Good to see up. Been down way too long."

    But when she becomes a mother for the first time, she finds herself re-examining her relationship with both the natural world and herself, as well as the way the world views women who aren't afraid to take risks.A Line Above the Sky melds memoir and nature writing to ask why humans are drawn to danger, and how we can find freedom in pushing our limits. It is a visceral love letter to losing oneself in physicality, whether climbing a mountain or bringing a child into the world, and an unforgettable celebration of womanhood in all its forms.

    

    With illustrations by Anna Walker.Let me tell you a story…When Chloe Hooper’s partner is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive illness, she has to find a way to tell their two young sons.By instinct, she turns to the bookshelf. Can the news be broken as a bedtime tale? Is there a perfect book to prepare children for loss? Hooper embarks on a quest to find what practical lessons children’s literature—with its innocent orphans and evil adults, magic, monsters and anthropomorphic animals—can teach about grief and resilience in real life.As she discovers, ‘the right words are an incantation, a spell of hope for the future.’ From the Brothers Grimm to Frances Hodgson Burnett and Tolkien and Dahl—all of whom suffered childhood bereavements—she follows the breadcrumbs of the world’s favourite authors, searching for the deep wisdom in their books and lives.Both memoir and manual, Bedtime Story is stunningly illustrated by the New York Times award-winning Anna Walker. In an age of worldwide uncertainty, here is a profound and moving exploration of the dark and light of storytelling.

    

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    Athletic. Feared. Fetishised. Policed. Politicised. It’s limiting. It’s tiring. And it’s not true.  In this important and inspiring book, Obioma Ugoala tells his own story as he examines the problems with how race, sex and masculinity are portrayed and experienced by Black men – and how to change that. ‘Whipsmart and refreshingly vulnerable. In this book, Obioma Ugoala brilliantly exposes the systems and the individuals that have long perpetuated dangerous and irresponsible ideals around Blackness and masculinity.’ Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie“A blisteringly honest take on contemporary Britishness that manages to be both nuanced and shocking. Highly recommended.” Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)"A valiant venture of a book that is somehow both tender memoir and unflinching excavation of the sociological blights that affect both self and society. Looking outward, inwards and forward, it lucidly explores complicated truths. Hopeful and honest, uncomfortable and encouraging, it is a book this country needs." Bolu Babalola, author of Love in Colour“An urgent, personal, compassionate book that never backs away from the difficulty of what we are facing but provides a forgiving mirror and a useable map so we can truly reflect & navigate. Obioma Ugoala’s treatise should be a set text for a world in crisis.” Deborah Frances White'In his enquiring memoir, he astutely explores where the expectations of his race and masculinity meet, unpicking and challenging his past experiences of prejudice. His personal stories are told in the context of the wider culture, and the book is a compassionate rallying cry to be more conscious.'  Evening Standard ‘Why can’t I be seen for who I am? What is the problem with my normal penis?’  Obioma Ugoala is an actor, activist, singer, writer, Arsenal supporter and rugby player. A brother, son and loyal friend whose passions and influences range from Mozart to Mariah Carey, from The Karate Kid to Sidney Poitier. He is also a man of mixed Nigerian and Irish heritage and throughout his life, whether in the classroom, the changing room, the rehearsal room or the bedroom, he has had to contend with people failing to address their own prejudices about what they conceive a Black man to be. In this ground-breaking and revealing account, Ugoala confronts these prejudices head on, challenging notions of race, sex and masculinity that have over centuries become embedded in British society, poisoning the public discourse and blighting people’s lives – including, on occasion, his own. With unflinching honesty, Ugoala talks about his own experiences and challenges us all to face our personal failings, while offering a vision of a more positive future if we dare to do better.

    

    She asks, “Where was the America that took me in? That protected me? How can I get these kids to that America?”For readers of Malala, Paul Tough, and Bryan Stevenson, Learning America is the moving and insight-packed story of how Luma Mufleh grew a soccer team into a nationally acclaimed network of schools—by homing in laserlike on what traumatized students need in order to learn. Fugees accepts only those most in need: students recruit other students, and all share a background of war, poverty, and trauma. No student passes a grade without earning it; the failure of any student is the responsibility of all. Most foundational, everyone takes art and music and everyone plays soccer, areas where students make the leaps that can and must happen—as this gifted refugee activist convinces—even for America’s most left-behind.

    

    

    

    

    However, his journey to that moment could never be captured in a fleeting moment.From his childhood working on a farm, to his developing into a gifted athlete and artist to his joining the Army, Rush has dedicated his life to serving others. During his twenty-four-year military career, his reputation as an award-winning cook eventually led him to the Pentagon. His presence in the building when the plane struck on 9/11/2001 led to his suffering from PTSD, and he has become an outspoken advocate for the military and especially for wounded warriors.Every step of the way, Chef Rush has overcome tremendous obstacles, including battling stereotypes and racism. And in this memoir, he shares not only his wounds and what he experienced along the road to recovery but also the optimism, hope, and hard-earned wisdom that have encouraged countless others.

    

    At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents.In this moving and engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him.A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions.Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle’s primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience.Deaf Utopia is intimate, suspenseful, hilarious, eye-opening, and smart—both a memoir and a celebration of what makes Deaf culture unique and beautiful.

    How to be a Myanmar person—a baker, swimmer, writer and woman—on your own terms rather than those of the colonizer? You’ve Changed traces the journey of a woman who spent her young adulthood in the US and UK before returning to her hometown of Yangon, where she still lives.In these irreverent yet vulnerable essays Pyae takes on romantic relationships whose futures are determined by different passports, switching accents in American taxis, the patriarchal Myanmar concept of hpone which governs how laundry is done, swimming as refuge from mental illness, pleasure and shame around eating rice, and baking in a kitchen far from white America’s imagination.Throughout, she wrestles with the question of who she is—a Myanmar woman in the West, a Western-educated person in Yangon, a writer who refuses to be labeled a “race writer.” With intimate and funny prose, Pyae shows how the truth of identity may be found not in stability, but in its gloriously unsettled nature.

    Tumors, injuries, ruptured vascular malformations--there is almost no such thing as a non-urgent brain surgery when it comes to kids. For a pediatric neurosurgeon working in the medical minefield of the brain--in which a single millimeter in every direction governs something that makes us essentially human--every day presents the challenge, and the opportunity, to give a new lease on life to a child for whom nothing is yet fully determined and all possibilities still exist.In All That Moves Us, Dr. Jay Wellons pulls back the curtain to reveal the profoundly moving triumphs, haunting complications, and harrowing close calls that characterize the life of a pediatric neurosurgeon, bringing the high-stakes drama of the operating room to life with astonishing candor and honest compassion. Reflecting on lessons learned over twenty-five years and thousands of operations completed on some of the most vulnerable and precious among us, Wellons recounts in gripping detail the moments that have shaped him as a doctor, as a parent, and as the only hope for countless patients whose young lives are in his hands.Wellons shares scenes of his early days as the son of a military pilot, the years of grueling surgical training, and true stories of what it's like to treat the brave children he meets on the threshold between life and death. From the little boy who arrived at the hospital near death from a gunshot wound to the head, to the eight-year-old whose shredded nerves were repaired using suture as fine as human hair, to the brave mother-to-be undergoing fetal spinal cord surgery, All That Moves Us is an unforgettable portrait of the countless human dramas that take place in a busy modern children's hospital--and a meditation on the marvel of life as seen from under the white-hot lights of the operating room.

    A dragonslayer named Dirk, created by the writer at age 14. Dirk fought a dragon and got the girl…In eight pages. Now, the writer wants Dirk’s story life to reflect a real life, and he’s found the means of making that happen. Dirk gets another chance to live his life. A complete life full of hope and dread, joy and pain. He must battle his emotions as he processes experiences that he had never lived. Will he become strong enough to defeat the dragon and win the heart of the girl?Can he find the courage to stand against abuse and torment?You must read this mixing of fact and fiction because of the engrossing struggle of the characters!Buy it now!

    Stefanie Green has been forging new paths in the field of medical assistance in dying since 2016. In her landmark memoir, Dr. Green reveals the reasons a patient might seek an assisted death, how the process works, what the event itself can look like, the reactions of those involved, and what it feels like to oversee proceedings and administer medications that hasten death. She describes the extraordinary people she meets and the unusual circumstances she encounters as she navigates the intricacy, intensity, and utter humanity of these powerful interactions. Deeply authentic and powerfully emotional, This Is Assisted Dying contextualizes the myriad personal, professional, and practical issues surrounding assisted dying by bringing readers into the room with Dr. Green, sharing the voices of her patients, her colleagues, and her own narrative. As our population confronts issues of wellness, integrity, agency and community, and how to live a connected, meaningful life, this progressive and compassionate book by a physician at the forefront of medically assisted dying offers comfort and potential relief. This Is Assisted Dying will change the way people think about their choices at the end of life, and show that assisted dying is less about death than about how we wish to live.

    Thrust into the dark years of Nazi Germany's hatred and brutality of Jews, Oskar writes of his family's struggle to survive the Holocaust of World War II (1933-1945). Character rich, emotionally gripping, and historically relevant, Oskar tells the chilling and poignant details of those years. During this time, as Oskar moves from boyhood to manhood, he never loses hope and faith not only in himself, but in the unlikely people who would make the ultimate difference in this "life or death" time of his life!

    Illustrated with Photos - on December 6, 1969, milions of Americans were watching Freddie Steinmark play in one of the most hair raising hard fought games in the history of collegiate football...

    

    Spurred by the intensity and seriousness of her new relationship, she soon realizes that her outbursts of anxiety and rage match her hormonal cycle. Compelled to understand the truth of what's happening to her every month, Chloe documents attitudes toward menstruation among her peers and family, reads Reddit threads about PMS, goes on antidepressants, goes off antidepressants, goes on antidepressants again, attends a conference called Break the Cycle, and learns about premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMDD, which helps her name what she’s been going through. For Chloe, healing isn’t just about finding the right diagnosis or a single cure. It means reflecting on other underlying patterns in her life: her feelings about her queer identity and writing persona in the context of a heterosexual relationship; how her parents’ divorce contributed to her issues with trust; and what it means to be a stepmother. The Red Zone is a funny, intimate, and revelatory memoir for anyone grappling with controversial medical diagnoses and labels of all kinds. It’s about coming to terms with the fact that, along with proper treatment, self-acceptance, self-compassion, and transcending shame are the ultimate keys to relief. It’s also about love: how challenging it can be, how it reveals your weaknesses and wounds, and how, if you allow it, it will push you to grow and change.