Best of
True-Story

2021

The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz


Ellie Midwood - 2021
    Freedom.”Millions of people walked through Auschwitz’s gates, but she was the first woman who escaped. This powerful novel tells the inspiring true story of Mala Zimetbaum, whose heroism will never be forgotten, and whose fate altered the course of history…Nobody leaves Auschwitz alive.Mala, inmate 19880, understood that the moment she stepped off the cattle train into the depths of hell. As an interpreter for the SS, she uses her position to save as many lives as she can, smuggling scraps of bread to those desperate with hunger.Edward, inmate 531, is a camp veteran and a political prisoner. Though he looks like everyone else, with a shaved head and striped uniform, he’s a fighter in the underground Resistance. And he has an escape plan.They are locked up for no other sin than simply existing. But when they meet, the dark shadow of Auschwitz is lit by a glimmer of hope. Edward makes Mala believe in the impossible. That despite being surrounded by electric wire, machine guns topping endless watchtowers and searchlights roaming the ground, they will leave this death camp.A promise is made––they will escape together or they will die together. What follows is one of the greatest love stories in history…Based on a true story, The Girl Who Escaped Auschwitz shows that, in darkness, love can be your light…

A Life Lost: The shocking true story


Cathy Glass - 2021
    Aggressive, confrontational, and often running away, Jackson’s mother puts him into foster care.He remains volatile. Cathy, his carer, encourages Jackson to talk about what has happened but he won’t engage. His actions continue to test and worry everyone. Adrian, Cathy’s son, fears for her safety.Then in a dramatic turn of events, the true reason for Jackson’s behavior comes to light, and it’s far darker than Cathy could ever have imagined…

An Innocent Baby: Why would anyone abandon little Darcy-May?


Cathy Glass - 2021
    Even more worrying, she will be brought to Cathy with a police escort as it’s vital her extended family don’t know where she is.Abandoned at birth, Cathy and her family quickly bond with little Darcy-May although they have to accept she will eventually leave them to be adopted. But fostering is rarely straight forward, and when Haylea asks to see her baby a different story begins to emerge. It’s so alarming that even Cathy, a highly experienced foster carer, struggles.

The School: The ups and downs of one year in the classroom


Brendan James Murray - 2021
    One school. One year.Brendan James Murray has been a high school teacher for more than ten years. In that time he has seen hundreds of kids move through the same hallways and classrooms - boisterous, angry, shy, big-hearted, awkward - all of them on the journey to adulthood.In The School, he paints an astonishingly vivid portrait of a single school year, perfectly capturing the highs and lows of being a teenager, as well as the fire, passion and occasional heartbreak of being their teacher. Hilarious, heartfelt and true, it is a timeless story of a teacher and his classes, a must-read for any parent, and a tribute to the art of teaching.ck

Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew


Micah Wilder - 2021
    Yet when he finally came to know the God of the Bible, Micah had no choice but to surrender himself—no matter the consequences. For a passionate young Mormon who had grown up in the Church, finding authentic faith meant giving up all he knew: his community, his ambitions, and his place in the world. Yet as Micah struggled to reconcile the teachings of his Church with the truths revealed in the Bible, he awakened to his need for God’s grace. This led him to be summoned to the door of the mission president, terrified but confident in the testimony he knew could cost him everything.Passport to Heaven is a gripping account of Micah’s surprising journey from living as a devoted member of a religion based on human works to embracing the divine mercy and freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ.

The Man in the Arena: From Fighting ISIS to Fighting for My Freedom


Eddie Gallagher - 2021
    His incarceration was the culmination of a year-long whisper campaign started by a group of disgruntled members of his SEAL platoon after a successful deployment fighting ISIS in Mosul, Iraq. At the end of that deployment, Chief Gallagher was named the #1 chief at SEAL Team 7, put in for a Silver Star for valor on the battlefield, and listed for promotion to Senior Chief. The junior members whom Chief Gallagher had called out for cowardice and ineptitude in combat decided they couldn't let any of those things stand, and escalated minor complaints into false accusations of stabbing a captured ISIS fighter and shooting noncombatants that gained international attention. Despite a corrupt investigation and a deceitful prosecutor who would be removed from the case for spying on defense attorneys, Chief Gallagher was found innocent on all major charges, and freed from prison. But only after his family was put through hell, and President Trump intervened to allow Chief Gallagher a fair trial in a military justice system designed to break and persecute our country's warfighters. While heavily covered in the media, the full story of how a war hero was railroaded and nearly sent to prison for life for crimes he didn't commit has never been told. Chief Gallagher did not testify at his trial, and has spoken in little detail about how this travesty came about. Until now. A shocking, raw, tell-all expose that pulls no punches, and identifies each and every bad actor in this surreal story.

Prisoner


Ross Greenwood - 2021
    It’s a dangerous place, fuelled by testosterone-driven violence, but he’s done the job for a long time. He understands the unwritten rules, and he has the prisoners’ respect.When a relative is sent to the jail, Dalton is transferred to the female side of the prison. His next shift is so easy, he can’t believe that the officers over there get paid the same wages. He sleeps well for the first time in years.But when he is assigned to the young offenders’ wing, dealing with female prisoners no longer seems so simple. As every day passes, and he gets to know the women better, he is slowly drawn in to new temptations, new traps and a new nightmare. One which could destroy everything.

Twice a Daughter, A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging


Julie Ryan McGue - 2021
    She is also a twin. Because their adoption was closed, she and her sister lack both a health history and their adoption papers―which becomes an issue for Julie when, at forty-eight years old, she finds herself facing several serious health issues.To launch the probe into her closed adoption, Julie first needs the support of her sister. The twins talk things over, and make a pact: Julie will approach their adoptive parents for the adoption paperwork and investigate search options, and the sisters will split the costs involved in locating their birth relatives. But their adoptive parents aren't happy that their daughters want to locate their birth parents―and that is only the first of many obstacles Julie will come up against as she digs into her background.Julie's search for her birth relatives spans years and involves a search agency, a PI, a confidential intermediary, a judge, an adoption agency, a social worker, and a genealogist. By journey's end, what began as a simple desire for a family medical history has evolved into a complicated quest―one that unearths secrets, lies, and family members that are literally right next door.

The Part That Burns


Jeannine Ouellette - 2021
    There is no other way.” In her fiercely beautiful memoir, Ouellette recollects fragments of her life and arranges them elliptically in order to see each piece as torn and whole, as something more than itself. Caught between the dramatic landscapes of Lake Superior and Casper Mountain, between her stepfather’s groping and her mother’s erratic behavior, Ouellette lives for the day she can become a mother herself, and create her own sheltering family. What she does not know is how the visceral reality of birth and motherhood will pull her back into the body she long ago abandoned, revealing new layers of pain and desire, and forcing her to choose between her idealistic vision of perfect marriage and motherhood and the birthright of her own flesh, unruly and alive. This is a story about the tenacity of family roots, the formidable undertow of trauma, and the rebellious and persistent yearning of human beings for love from each other.A textured remembrance of a traumatic childhood that also offers affecting moments of beauty. ~Kirkus (starred review) I love this book and am grateful it is in the world. ~Dorothy Allison, New York Times bestselling author of Bastard Out of Carolina and CavedwellerSimply beautiful. Precisely imagined, poetically structured, compelling, and vivid. ~Joyce Carol OatesJeannine Ouellette’s memoir glows with incandescent storytelling centered around memories, motherhood, and resilience. The Part That Burns proves that life isn’t lived in a linear way. Girlhood and womanhood can exist simultaneously, our former selves meeting our present selves. Ouellette’s writing is ablaze with a burnished beauty.” ~Michele Filgate, editor of What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About Vital, full of energy and wisdom, Jeannine Ouellette's memoir crackles with excitement. From the shores of Lake Superior to the mountains of Wyoming to the banks of the Mississippi River, this is a story of American migration—not just of families but of spirits. I loved the brave little girl at the heart of this story, so will you." ~Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder and The Butterfly GirlWith a poet's voice and an uncanny knack for mining memory, Ouellette's memoir-in-fragments evokes pain and beauty in equal measure. Ouellette understands the elliptical nature of memory, the way years and experience can transform our understanding of the things we did as children and the things that were done to us. She loops back and forth in time to the same seminal experiences, adding layers of depth and understanding, and in so doing shows us how her wild determination to overcome the trauma of her childhood results in a life lived on her own terms. Full of love, loss, and hard-won redemption, The Part That Burns is a fiercely beautiful memoir. ~Alison McGhee, New York Times bestselling author of The Opposite of Fate and Someday. A writer with an extraordinary gift for prose that's complex, imagistic, and startling. ~Richard McCann, author of Mother of SorrowsAt turns tender and devastating, these essays are finely carved vignettes that, laid together, form a powerful portrait of one woman's path from hard girlhood to motherhood, the grace and mettle it takes not only to survive but to flourish. ~Melissa Febos, author of Abandon Me and Girlhood Powerful and urgent, this is truly a book for our time: It teases beauty out of ugliness; it shows the courage of everyday survival; it creates wholeness out of fragments. With her gorgeous and precise prose, Ouellette shows that when faced with abuse we can do more than merely endure – we can fight back, we can flourish, we can thrive. ~Sue William Silverman, author of How to Survive Death and Other InconveniencesIn The Part that Burns, Jeannine Ouellette has gifted an entrancing and courageous story to those who have ever felt forced to silence memories of childhood sexual abuse. She is a child, searching wild, unending landscapes for doorways to other dimensions of understanding and safety. She is a young wife, then a young mother, hypnotically looping back again and again to make sense of the memories that won’t let her go. Like lacy tumbleweeds finally uprooted and taking to air, this too is a story of flight. Her flight on black-as-space country roads; her flight to reach a faraway mother figure who once said she cared; and the flight of her deepest-down words, finally taking to air for those who must hear them. This is a story about giving voice to all the pieces of one’s life, rendered with devastating beauty, heart, and artistry. ~ Diane Zinna, author of The All-Night Sun

No Longer Strangers: Finding Belonging in a World of Alienation


Gregory Coles - 2021
    Growing up, there was my mutated national identity to deal with--my not-quite-American, not-quite-Indonesian soul, restless in both countries. Later, when I came out as a celibate gay Christian, I found I didn't fit into the church as easily as I used to. I've often wondered what it means to belong to others even when I can't manage to blend in with them. The way Jesus tells it, if we give up on belonging in order to follow him, we'll find ourselves belonging anyway. We might not belong the way other people do, with normal homes and normal families and normal ways of fitting in. But we'll belong in a way that's a hundred times better. We'll be fully in place because we know we are out of place. We'll belong like aliens. Maybe you're caught in the same tension as me, wanting to fit somewhere even as you're permanently out of place. Maybe you feel like an alien. If so, let's be aliens together.

MeatEater's Campfire Stories: Close Calls


Steve RinellaAndy Bergin - 2021
    Whether set in urban forests or atop remote Alaskan peaks, the tales in 'MEATEATER'S CAMPFIRE STORIES: CLOSE CALLS' are rich with lessons on how to stay safe in nature, delivered in a conversational tone that conjures the feeling of sitting around a campfire sharing adventure stories with friends.'MEATEATER'S CAMPFIRE STORIES: CLOSE CALLS features tales from MeatEater crew members Steve Rinella, Janis Putelis, Brody Henderson, Garret Smith, Seth Morris, Maggie Smith, and Edbo Genet with additional stories by Andy Bergin, Buck Bowden, Chad Converse, Jerry Dunlop, Greg Fonts, Jake Grzyb, Sam Lawry, Greg Litzinger, Joe and Joey Norwicki, Alex Reynaud, Thad Robison, Bobbie Scopa and Avery Shawler. ❃ Author Bio:Steven Rinella is an outdoorsman, writer, wild foods enthusiast, and television and podcast personality who is a passionate advocate for conservation and protection of public lands. The host of the television show and podcast 'MeatEater', his most recent book is the 'New York Times' best-seller 'The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival'. His writing has appeared in many publications, including 'Outside' 'Field & Stream', and 'The New Yorker'. Rinella lives in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife and their three kids.©2021 Penguin Random House Audio (P)2021 Penguin Random House Audio

No. 204 is Going Home: A True Story of Love, Survival, and Motherhood


Marie Lindstrom - 2021
    She’d never hear him again if she didn’t survive the tragedy…Marie Lindstrom was ready to take on the world. After months of research poured into planning a birthday trip to remember, the mother of two beamed with happiness as they touched down in Thailand. And she was positive they were bound for a trek full of lasting memories… until the tsunami wave hit.Terrified by the prospect of losing all she held dear, Marie struggled to keep her head above water after being swept underground and enshrouded in darkness. But even after the catastrophe passed and she embraced what remained, the guilt accompanying her survival proved staggering.Would the soul-wrenching pain tear her apart or be miraculously transformative?No. 204 is Going Home is a heart-shaking memoir about the unbreakable strength of motherhood. If you like honest depictions of disaster, raw emotional transformations, and moving accounts of healing, then you’ll love Marie Lindstrom’s sail through calamity.Buy No. 204 is Going Home to stare into the maw of real-life terror today!

Limitless: The Power of Hope and Resilience to Overcome Circumstance


Mallory Weggemann - 2021
    Less than two years later, Mallory had broken eight world records, and by the 2012 Paralympic Games, she held fifteen world records and thirty-four American records. Two years after that, a devastating fall severely damaged her left arm. But despite all of the hardships that Mallory faced, she was sure about one thing: she refused to give up.After two reconstructive surgeries and extended rehab, she won two gold medals and a silver medal at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. And even better, she found confidence, independence, and persevering love. She even walked down the aisle on her wedding day against all odds.Mallory's extraordinary resilience and uncompromising commitment to excellence are rooted in her resolve, her faith, and her sheer grit. In Limitless, Mallory shares the lessons she learned by pushing past every obstacle and expectation that stood in her way, teaching you how to: redefine your limitsremember that healing is not chronologicalbe willing to faillean on your communityembrace your comebackwrite your own endingMallory's story reminds us that we can handle whatever challenges, labels, or difficulties we face in life, and we can do it on our own terms. Because when we refuse to accept every boundary that hems us in--physical, emotional, or societal--we become limitless.

Victim F: From Crime Victims to Suspects to Survivors


Denise Huskins - 2021
    Armed men bound and drugged them, then abducted Denise. Warned not to call the police or Denise would be killed. Aaron agonized about what to do. Finally he put his trust in law enforcement and dialed 911. But instead of searching for Denise, the police accused Aaron of her murder. His story, they told him, was just unbelievable. When Denise was released alive, the police turned their fire on her, dubbing her the "real-life 'Gone Girl'" who had faked her own kidnapping.In Victim F, Aaron and Denise recount the horrific ordeal that almost cost them everything. Like too many victims of sexual violence, they were dismissed, disbelieved, and dragged through the mud. With no one to rely on except each other, they took on the victim blaming, harassment, misogyny, and abuse of power running rife in the criminal justice system. Their story is, in the end, a love story, but one that sheds necessary light on sexual assault and the abuse by law enforcement that all too frequently compounds crime victims' suffering.

Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters


Jason Brown - 2021
    He was the highest-paid center in the game. He lived in luxury. Millions of people saw and admired him every week. Then in 2012, Jason heard a call from God that changed everything.Leaving behind an incredibly successful football career that paid millions, Jason turned toward a life he knew nothing about: farming. It was only the beginning of his journey. Through third-party mismanagement and a run of bad luck, Jason lost most of the money he'd saved from his NFL days--the same money he'd planned to use to start his new career and donate fresh produce to hungry kids. Only a miracle could save Jason's new dream.And that's exactly what happened.Centered is an inspiring riches-to-rags-to-true-riches story of one man willing to risk it all for the sake of his family. For the sake of loving others. For the sake of seeking God's dreams first--and reminding each of us to do the same.

A Cook’s Book


Nigel Slater - 2021
    . .. . . from the first jam tart Nigel made with his mum standing on a chair trying to reach the Aga, through to what he is cooking now. He writes about how his cooking has changed from discovering the trick to whipping cream perfectly, to the best way to roast a chicken. He gives the tales behind the recipes and recalls the first time he ate a baguette in Paris and his first slice of buttercream-topped chocolate cake.These are the favourite recipes Nigel Slater cooks at home every day; the heart and soul of his cooking. Chapters include: the solace of soup, everyday dinners, a feast of green and a slice of tart. Then there are, of course, the ultimate puddings and cakes with sections on the silence of cheesecake and biscuits, friands and the brownie. This is Nigel Slater at his finest.

When God Says "No": Facing Disappointment and Denial without Losing Heart, Losing Hope, or Losing Your Head


Elizabeth Laing Thompson - 2021
    When God Says, “No” will help you to discover hope when life feels hopeless, good in what feels bad, and new dreams when old ones have died. This book is a fantastic reminder of Who is in charge—Who He is and how He works. How He loves us and why He limits us. The better we know Him, the more we understand that He says “No” to a few things, so He might say “Yes” to many more.

From Staircase to Stage: The Story of Raekwon and the Wu-Tang Clan


Raekwon - 2021
    There are rappers who everyone loves and there are rappers who every rapper loves, and Corey Woods, a.k.a. Raekwon the Chef, is one of the few who is both. His versatile flow, natural storytelling, and evocative imagery have inspired legions of fans and a new generation of rappers. Raekwon is one of the founding members of Wu-Tang Clan, and his voice and cadence are synonymous with the sound that has made the group iconic since 1991. Now, for the first time, Raekwon tells his whole story, from struggling through poverty in order to make ends meet to turning a hobby into a legacy. The Wu-Tang tale is dense, complex, and full of drama, and here nothing is off-limits: the group’s origins, secrets behind songs like “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck,” and what it took to be one of the first hip-hop groups to go from the underground to the mainstream. Raekwon also delves deep into the making of his meticulous solo albums—particularly the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx—and talks about how spirituality and fatherhood continue to inspire his unstoppable creative process. A celebration of perseverance and the power of music, From Staircase to Stage is a master storyteller’s lifelong journey to stay true to himself and his roots.

Angels in the ER Volume 2


Robert D. Lesslie - 2021
    Lesslie, have you really seen angels in the ER?” It’s in the darkest places that God’s light shines the brightest. In this follow-up to the hugely popular Angels in the ER, Dr. Robert D. Lesslie shares more of his life-changing emergency room encounters with nurses, doctors, patients, friends, and strangers who served as God’s hands in the direst of circumstances. You’ll be deeply moved by these tales of both triumph and tragedy from the ER frontline, as well as by the profound faith that has sustained Dr. Lesslie for more than 30 years on the job. As you read this collection of fast-paced real-life encounters, you’ll witness what life’s greatest hardships reveal about God’s greatest wonders.Angels in the ER Volume 2 will leave you awed and amazed by the fortitude of the human spirit, and most of all, by God’s divine handiwork in the lives of the people He loves.

Flesh & Blood: Reflections on Infertility, Family, and Creating a Bountiful Life: A Memoir


N. West Moss - 2021
    Complete with family stories over cocktails and a praying mantis named Claude.“I drive and say to myself, if I am dying, if this is how I die, then this is how I die.” When N. West Moss finds herself bleeding uncontrollably in the middle of a writing class, she manages to drive herself to the nearest hospital. Doctors are baffled, but eventually a diagnosis—uterine hemangioma—is rendered and a hysterectomy is scheduled. In prose both lyrical and unsparing, Moss takes us along through illness, relapse, and recovery. And as her thoughts turn to her previous struggles with infertility, she reflects on kin and kinship and on what it means to leave a legacy.Moss’s wise, droll voice and limitless curiosity lift this narrative beyond any narrow focus. Among her interests: yellow fever, good cocktails, the history of New Orleans, and, always, the natural world, including the praying mantis in her sunroom whom she names Claude. And we learn about the inspiring women in Moss’s family—her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother—as she sorts out her feelings that this line will end with her. But Moss discovers that there are ways besides having children to make a mark, and that grief is not a stopping place but a companion that travels along with us through everything, even happiness.A remarkably honest memoir about heartache and healing, Flesh & Blood opens up a conversation with the millions of women who live with infertility and loss.

Re-educated How I changed my job, my home, my husband and my hair


Lucy Kellaway - 2021
    Though I've not been re-invented, what has happened is just as radical and a lot more interesting: I am being re-educated.'Lucy Kellaway had a comfortable life. For years she had the same prestigious job, the same husband, and the same home. To the casual observer, she was both happy and successful. But one day, Lucy began to realise that the life she had built for herself no longer suited her. Was it too late to start again?The answer was no - so she proceeded to tear down both marriage and career, and went back to school. Retraining as a teacher, Lucy discovers there is a world of new possibilities awaiting her - and learns that you can teach an old dog new tricks (providing they are willing to un-learn a few old ones along the way).A witty and moving story of one woman's pursuit of a new life, Re-educated is a celebration of education's power to transform our lives at any age, and an essential companion for anyone facing the joy - and pain - of starting again.

Death Served Cold


Sourabh Mukherjee - 2021
    A teenager poisons her family for the love of her tutor. A woman driven by greed ruthlessly bludgeons eight members of her family.A beautician gangs up with her lover to rob a house, killing innocent women from three generations of a family. A practising lawyer strangles her lawyer husband with the cord of a mobile charger. A friendly and jovial teacher commits at least six murders over fourteen years in a sleepy town down south.DEATH SERVED COLD is a painstakingly researched collection of true, blood-curdling accounts of gruesome murders committed by India’s most dangerous women over the last three decades.These stories explore the dark recesses of the female psyche and challenge popular stereotypes by revealing shocking excesses of sadism and aggression rarely associated with women.

Scrapped: Justice and a Teen Informant


Lisa Peebles - 2021
    They held the stench of a cover-up. She recruited an investigative reporter to help unearth the truth and exonerate Gary Thibodeau, the man convicted in the 1994 kidnapping and murder of 18-year-old Heidi Allen.Scrapped: Justice and a Teen Informant exposes the underbelly of a system built more for finality than justice. It's the true story of Peebles' pursuit of new evidence against three new suspects and her discovery that Heidi had lived a double life: convenience store cashier and undercover informant. The sheriff's office hid the truth after her death as the real killers roamed free. Peebles became a de facto prosecutor to prove their guilt and Gary's innocence. As Heidi's family stood by the sheriff, her remains were likely secreted right under their noses - probably inside a scrapped van and shipped to a car shredder in Canada.

Above and Beyond: Secrets of a Private Flight Attendant


Saskia Swann - 2021
    After a chance meeting, she landed a job as cabin crew - but this time on a private jet.Suddenly, she found herself transported into the glittering world of oligarchs and billionaires where the hostesses wear Prada, seven-course meals are served on fine china, the bodyguards carry guns, and the mile-high shenanigans not only take place in luxury cabins, but in the cockpit itself.Saskia soon realised that the job wasn’t quite what it seemed though: her billionaire boss expected far more from his hostesses than just cocktails and nibbles…In this gripping exposé, Saskia Swann pulls back the first-class curtain on the lifestyles of the mega-rich and famous.Saskia Swann worked for six years for one of the world's leading airlines before becoming a corporate flight attendant on private jets. She lives outside London.Nicola Stow has been a journalist for more than 20 years working for leading newspapers and magazines. She is also the co-author of Cabin Fever: The Sizzling Secrets of a Virgin Air Hostess by Mandy Smith.

Rescued for a Reason: An Unbelievable True Story of Kidnapping, Theft, and the Power to Overcome


Larry Van Oosten - 2021
    

Hindu Refugee Camp, Lahore


Sachin Garg - 2021
    But for people like Havaldaar Ghulam Ali Limb-Fitter, it's an event stretched on for years and years.The year is 1958. The only thing Ghulam Ali wants is to come back to his motherland, his hometown of Lucknow, where his beloved Zahira and his life, wait for him. Instead, he finds himself in a Hindu Refugee Camp in Lahore, injured, starving, where everyone believes he is a jasoos.Ghulam has tried everything in his power to come back to India. But having served in Pakistani Army against his will, India would not accept him. Trapped across the border with no hope in sight, he begins writing letters to ministers, bureaucrats, journalists, whoever he can. And also, to the love of his life, Zahira Raza, who is his only motivation to continue living.Zahira Raza had always dreamt of dancing to her heart’s content. But her desire is obstructed by something, to which only Ghulam Ali holds the key. As she waits for him, living with her Naani and her sister, she battles with the challenges of being a working Muslim woman in the Lucknow of the 1950s.Written as an exchange of letters, 'Hindu Refugee Camp, Lahore' is the true story of Havaldaar Ghulam Ali Limb-Fitter, as relevant today as it was when it happened.

Buryat Pass. Chivruay Pass Incident. Dyatlov Pass. The Theories of Death of Tourists


Miles M.J. Allen - 2021
    Each part tells the story of a group of tourists who mysteriously die during the hike. Some things seem inexplicable, creepy, perhaps partly unreal. Are these stories related? Are there really inexplicable mysticism in them? Based of each of them, conclusions were drawn and theories of unsolved events were written.

Penguin Bloom


Chris Kunz - 2021
    But you can't. And that's what happened to us.Penguin Bloom tells the true story of Sam Bloom, a young mother whose world is turned upside down after a near-fatal accident leaves her unable to walk. Sam's husband, her three young boys and her mother are struggling to adjust to their new situation when an unlikely ally enters their world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin. The bird's arrival is a welcome distraction for the Bloom family, eventually making a profound difference in the family's life.

Survivor: An Abortion Survivor's Surprising Story of Choosing Forgiveness and Finding Redemption


Claire Culwell - 2021
    Claire's birth mother, Tonya, confessed that when she was pregnant with Claire, she'd gone to a clinic for an abortion. Yet, after the abortion, the pregnancy continued to progress. What Tonya's doctor had overlooked was that she'd been pregnant with twins. The abortion that terminated the life of Claire's twin had miraculously spared Claire.Claire embraced the unique circumstances, soon sharing her story with the world and urging her listeners to understand how abortion takes the life of a child. When Claire faced her own unplanned pregnancy as a single woman, she embraced the added opportunity to step into the shoes of those she advocates for. Her heart grew bigger on the issue of life, which increased her extension of empathy and grace to women in pregnancy crisis. At the same time, she began to challenge churches to truly value not just the unborn but also the women who face unexpected pregnancy.

My Love Is a Beast: Confessions


Alexander Cheves - 2021
    He tells intimate stories of what he sees as the sacred grace of pleasure as he embraces his life as a sex writer, worker, and activist.In stories richly lyrical, boldly erotic, and fearlessly honest, Cheves takes readers on a tour through Savannah, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. Along the way, he explores the darker corners of Queer culture and his own life, highlighting experiences most will have never considered.His rise to national popularity among LGBTQ+ writers gets balanced by his own struggles with and recovery from substance use--and his public embrace of kink and fetish as a belief system, way of life, and identity. In the end, Cheves writes with complete, even shocking, transparency and authenticity in the service of shattering sexual shame. Graphic and at times controversial, this book is sure to become a watershed moment among erotic memoirs.

Shockingly True Uber Stories


W. Sage - 2021
    

Killer Looks: The Forgotten History of Plastic Surgery in Prisons


Zara Stone - 2021
    From the 1920s up to the mid-1990s, half a million prison inmates across America, Canada, and the U.K willingly went under the knife, their tab picked up by the government. In the beginning, this was a haphazard affair -- applied inconsistently and unfairly to inmates, but entering the 1960s, a movement to scientifically quantify the long-term effect of such programs took hold. And, strange as it may sound, the criminologists were right: recidivism rates plummeted. In 1967, a three-year cosmetic surgery program set on Rikers Island saw recidivism rates drop 36% for surgically altered offenders. The program, funded by a $240,000 grant from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, was led by Dr. Michael Lewin, who ran a similar program at Sing-Sing prison in 1953. Killer Looks draws on the intersectionality of socioeconomic success, racial bias, the prison industry complex and the fallacy of attractiveness to get to the heart of how appearance and societal approval creates self-worth, and uncovers deeper truths of beauty bias, inherited racism, effective recidivism programs, and inequality.

Always Yours, Bee


Mia Hayes - 2021
    He was hit by a truck."On a rainy November day, Mia Hayes' husband left for work on his Vespa. Normally, she would have driven him, but Mia was waiting on a phone call with an editor and didn't have time.She never saw that caring, loving version of her husband again.The fallout from his accident--Mia's guilt and her husband's PTSD, memory loss, and depression--consumed their lives over the next five years as her laid-back husband changed into an angry man with few memories of their past. Desperate to hold her fragile family together, Mia ignored her own unraveling and plunged into bipolar depression.As she searched for answers to unanswerable questions, Mia moved her family from San Francisco to Paris, France before landing in a leafy Washington, D.C. suburb where she tried to find a fresh start only to become embroiled in a scandal of her own making. Through ups and downs, mental illness and bad decisions, Mia struggled with what it means to be a good wife and mother, whether saving her marriage was worth the pain, and understanding that healing is a personal journey.Always Yours, Bee is a heartbreaking yet triumphant and brave look at a woman, a marriage, and a family falling apart and coming out stronger. Told with clarity and introspection, it captures the terror of losing the person closest to you—yourself.

Inside the Robe: A Judge's Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America


Katherine Mader - 2021
    As Anthony Bourdain invited readers to follow him behind the scenes of the restaurant business in his bestseller, Kitchen Confidential, and Caitlin Doughty’s Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was a revealing peak into the mysteries of what happens after death inside a mortuary, Inside the Robe shines a bright spotlight into the hidden folds of the judging world. Despite the old saw that judges should merely “follow the law,” Inside the Robe lays bare how following the law can produce wildly different results depending upon the background, politics, and life experiences of each judge. Even the floor of the courthouse can mean the difference between prison and freedom.Judge Katherine Mader spent decades as a judge in a criminal court, was the LAPD’s first inspector general, a prosecutor in two murder-for-hire trials, and a defense attorney who successfully argued to spare the life of the Hillside Strangler. From her perch behind the bench, Judge Mader witnesses a parade of drug addicts, gang members, mentally ill defendants, pricey private attorneys ranging from brilliant to incompetent, jaded prosecutors, and starry-eyed true believer public defenders. Never before has the judging profession been laid bare for all to see.

Ghosts In Our Backyard - The Ramsays' real-life encounters with the supernatural


Alisha 'Priti' Kirpalani - 2021
    Through their films and series they introduced India to churails that floated across the screen, ghouls that woke up from eerie graveyards, and houses that buzzed with ghosts.But few knew that behind the production drama, elaborate sets, and haunting showtunes, there was a more sinister story. For the Ramsays, the supernatural wasn't just stuck to the screens and camera - it creeped into their lives, too.Alisha Kirpalani, the granddaughter of FU Ramsay, has grown up on stories that question reality and bring a chill to the bone. In time, she, too, followed her family's footsteps and saw through the veil that separates this world and the Other.From the woman on the highway that Shyam Ramsay met to an eerie and persistent knocking that came from every house that Tanuja Ramsay lived in to Amit Ramsay's unwelcome dead visitor at Lamington House, the original home of the Ramsays, this book has the improbable, bizarre and spine-chilling all parading through its chapters.

Power Born of Dreams: My Story is Palestine


Mohammad Sabaaneh - 2021
    A bird perches on the cell window and offers a deal: “You bring the pencil, and I will bring the stories,” stories of family, of community, of Gaza, of Palestine. Mohammad Sabaaneh brings uses his striking linocut artwork to help the world see Palestinian people as human, not as superheroes or political symbols.

A Voice for the Everglades: Marjory Stoneman Douglas


Vicki Conrad - 2021
    But for years, the Everglades were threatened. They needed a voice to speak up for them. Marjory Stoneman Douglas became that voice. Her book A River of Grass helped the world see the irreplaceable beauty and value of the Everglades. Marjory's activism led to the creation of a national park and dedicated conservation efforts, and throughout her long life she inspired countless people to use their voices to make a difference.

Fire Magic


Josephine Winter - 2021
    Third in Llewellyn's essential Elements of Witchcraft series, Fire Magic makes it easy to bring this element into your practice. Explore candle and bonfire magic throughout history, how fire is used in folklore and pop culture, and fire-related activities for the Wheel of the Year. Learn about elemental correspondences, sacred herbs and woods, and how to stay safe while honoring the sacred flame. Author Josephine Winter guides you on a deep exploration of fire and how it can bring new meaning to your spells, rituals, and celebrations. Featuring guest contributors, mythical fire beasts, crystals, and more, Fire Magic inspires you to reignite your passion for magic.

Face of a Bigamist


Yve Gibney - 2021
    Rich in investigative detail, she describes how, after viewing the profile picture of a stranger on Facebook, she unearthed a trail of hidden clues to discover a chain of evidence and shocking revelations that led to the discovery of her husband's duplicitous lifestyle and bigamous marriage in Oman.She also outlines her journeys through the judicial system both through the family divorce court and eventually the criminal courts for the bigamy verdict. The courtroom dramas are a real roller-coaster ride as she reveals the cruelties and biases implicit in how unjustly and insensitively the justice system treats victims of these types of psychological and physical crimes, to the point where at times it felt like she was the perpetrator and the Bigamist the victim.While it may be true that hell has no fury like a woman scorned, Yve Gibney’s detective work and determination led to Maurice’s downfall and his disgrace and her own redemption.Don’t get mad; get even.