Love Louder: 33 Ways to Spark Inspiration and Amplify Your Life


Preston Smiles - 2016
    As a teen he joined a local gang that was first involved in petty burglary but later escalated into more dangerous crimes. One night when Preston was fifteen, he was faced with a decision to take a routine ride of mischief with the friends or stay home. Intuition told him not to go. Within an hour, everyone in that car was shot. This tragic event shook him to his core and catapulted him to finding higher purpose for himself.Love Louder presents a positive approach for getting more love and meaning out of life. With the lessons he’s learned through the years, he distills ancient wisdom and new thought teachings into thirty-three timeless tools to living your best life and asks questions such as:-What do you truly believe you deserve? Are your actions reflecting that?-What are you a slave to? Facebook? Twitter? Alcohol? Him? Her?-Do you have the need to be “right” all the time?Love Louder can help you tackle these everyday challenges and teach you how to live with more excitement, productivity, clarity, and confidence. Full of insights and powerful anecdotes, Preston’s motivational story is a heartwarming read for anyone seeking guidance on overall happiness and fulfillment in life.

Self Discovery Journal: 200 Questions to Find Who You Are and What You Want in All Areas of Life (Self Discovery Journal, Self Discovery Questions)


Gerald Confienza - 2018
    As kids, we’re in full connection with this child. We run, we play, we chase after things that we enjoy and love. We may not realize it, but we’re deeply connected to who we are and what we want. We need not label ourselves to know who we are, or question why it is we want things; our present-moment living grants us a tacit answer to these questions. I would even venture to say that this is the main reason why childhood is so blissful for all of us. As we grow older, however, we are introduced to words; and words have narrow meanings. Time and time again we’ve been labeled by our peers and parents through the use of these words. It’s no wonder we lose most of our spontaneity as we mature. We’ve been identified by words or labels for so long that we act as if we’re programmed to follow them. In short, we lose sight of who we really are and what we really want. The recent onslaughts of existential crisis people across different age groups face only serve to prove this point. This book serves as an invitation to a journey of self-discovery. My aim is that, like me, my readers will be able to: Disassociate from labels others have placed on them that are hindering their journey of self-exploration. Stop reliving negative karmic cycles and disassociate from past experiences. Learn about their personal VITALS and preferences in the human hierarchy of needs. Find who they are and what they want in every area of their lives through 200 carefully designed questions.  Finally, reconnect with themselves and strengthen their sense of self. Welcome to Self Discovery Journal.

Why Karen Carpenter Matters


Karen Tongson - 2019
    At the same time, the uplifting harmonies and sunny lyrics that propelled Karen Carpenter and her brother, Richard, to international fame belied a different sort of tragedy--the underconsumption that led to Karen's death at age thirty-two from the effects of an eating disorder.In Why Karen Carpenter Matters, Karen Tongson (whose Filipino musician parents named her after the pop icon) interweaves the story of the singer's rise to fame with her own trans-Pacific journey between the Philippines--where imitations of American pop styles flourished--and Karen Carpenter's home ground of Southern California. Tongson reveals why the Carpenters' chart-topping, seemingly whitewashed musical fantasies of "normal love" can now have profound significance for her--as well as for other people of color, LGBT+ communities, and anyone outside the mainstream culture usually associated with Karen Carpenter's legacy. This hybrid of memoir and biography excavates the destructive perfectionism at the root of the Carpenters' sound, while finding the beauty in the singer's all too brief life.

Dangerous When Wet: A Memoir of Booze, Sex, and My Mother


Jamie Brickhouse - 2015
    Bravo!" -Mary Karr, New York Times bestselling author of The Liars' Club "Whoever said you can't get sober for someone else never met my mother, Mama Jean. When I came to in a Manhattan emergency room after an overdose to the news that she was on her way from Texas, I panicked. She was the last person I wanted to see on that dark September morning, but the person I needed the most."So begins this astonishing memoir-by turns both darkly comic and deeply poignant-about this native Texan's long struggle with alcohol, his complicated relationship with Mama Jean, and his sexuality. From the age of five all Brickhouse wanted was to be at a party with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other and all Mama Jean wanted was to keep him at that age, her Jamie doll forever. A Texan Elizabeth Taylor with the split personality of Auntie Mame and Mama Rose, always camera-ready and flamboyantly outspoken, Mama Jean haunted him his whole life, no matter how far away he went or how deep in booze he swam.Brickhouse's journey takes him from Texas to a high-profile career in book publishing amid New York's glamorous drinking life to his near-fatal descent into alcoholism. After Mama Jean ushers him into rehab and he ultimately begins to dig out of the hole he'd found himself in, he almost misses his chance to prove that he loves her as much as she loves him. Bitingly funny, raw, and insightful, Dangerous When Wet is the unforgettable story of a unique relationship between a son and his mother.

Beyond the Influence: Understanding and Defeating Alcoholism


Katherine Ketcham - 2000
    It's time we started treating it like one.Science has offered undisputed proof that alcoholism is a disease rather than a weakness of character, yet millions of alcoholics continue to suffer due to inappropriate treatment.  Now the co-author of the modern classic Under the Influence has teamed up with prominent alcoholism experts to provide new answers to this national epidemic.Based on the latest scientific research, Beyond the Influence clearly explains the neurological nature of the disease and reveals why some people drink addictively and others do not.  It also spells out what needs to be done to treat alcoholism, including: Steps to take for an intervention How to find the right treatment program Which psychological approaches work best Why spirituality is essential to recovery New insights into relapse prevention What you should know about diet, exercise, and nontraditional treatments such as acupunctureProvocative and eye-opening, compelling and compassionate, Beyond the Influence is not only a message of hope for alcoholics--it is a blueprint for saving lives.BEYOND THE INFLUENCE explains that alcoholism is a disease of the body, not a weakness of character. Drawing on the latest scientific studies, the authors present new research on the central role of genetics and neurotransmitters in addiction. Continuing where the prior book left off, it also includes: Steps for diagnosis and intervention, plus ways to prevent relapsesVarious treatment models, including inpatient and out-patient programs and a review of new drug treatmentsThe most effective types of psychological counselingThe critical role of nutritionNon-traditional healing methods for recoveryThe importance of a spiritual component to recoveryThe authors also critique our nation's alcoholism policies, including education and prevention programs, efforts to curtail college bingeing and underage drinking, and the advertising and marketing strategies of the alcohol industry. -->

Read This to Get Smarter: About Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More


Blair Imani - 2021
    What's the best way to ask someone what their pronouns are? How do you talk about racism with someone who doesn't get it? What is intersectionality anyway, and why do you need to understand it? While it can seem intimidating or overwhelming to learn and talk about such issues, it's never been easier thanks to educator and historian Blair Imani, creator of the viral sensation “Smarter in Seconds” and “Learn O'Clock” series of videos.Accessible to learners of all levels—from those just getting started on the journey to those deeply entrenched in social justice—Read This to Get Smarter covers a range of issues including race, gender, class, disability, privilege, oppression, relationships, family, and beyond. This essential guide is a radical but warm and non-judgmental call-to-arms, structured in such a way that you can read it cover-to-cover or start with any topic you want to learn more about.With Blair Imani as your teacher, you'll “get smarter” in no time, and be equipped to intelligently and empathetically process, discuss, and educate others on the crucial issues we must tackle to achieve a liberated, equitable world.

1000 Best Tips for ADHD: Expert Answers and Bright Advice to Help You and Your Child


Susan Ashley - 2012
    Even getting through seemingly easy tasks can be a relentless challenge that never seems to get easier. As a child psychologist specializing in ADHD for more than twenty years, Dr. Ashley knows exactly what parents face every day. 1000 Best Tips for ADHD gives parents quick tips and easy-to-implement solutions that make even the toughest days go smoother.FIND TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS ON: Improving behavior Increasing school success Helping out at home Interacting with others And more!

Nature's Domain: Anne Lister and the Landscape of Desire


Jill Liddington - 2003
    Betrayed once again by another woman’s marriage plans, she knew her romantic youth was over. So many of her female friends had married and settled. Anne cast around forlornly for the life-companion she had so long sought. She held melancholy spirits at bay by reading new geology and new gardening books in Shibden’s well-stocked library.
 Then a chance re-acquaintance with neighbouring heiress Ann Walker changed all that. Anne Lister is best known to us as a lesbian diarist. Nature’s Domain tracks her intense courtship of Ann Walker, vividly and candidly recorded in Anne’s daily journals - and partly written in her own secret code. This influential Anne Lister book also documents how she began redesigning the Shibden landscape and playing a powerful new role in the local political tumult after the passing of the great Reform Bill. This dramatic story, hitherto unknown and never before unpublished, unfolds to New Year’s Eve 1832. It records how Anne Lister’s indomitable will enabled her to mould nature to her own powerful desires. “Nature’s Domain gives a compelling overview of a key time in Anne Lister’s remarkable life. Jill Liddington guides us knowledgeably through the diaries of 1832, offering crucial insight into Anne’s private and candour observations about love, sex, money and politics.” Laura Johansen, Cultural Destinations Manager, Halifax. Jill Liddington is co-author of One Hand Tied Behind Us (1978) which became a suffrage classic. She is author of Presenting the Past: Anne Lister of Halifax 1791-1840 (1994) and of Female Fortune: the Anne Lister diaries 1833-36 (1998). She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, and lives in Mytholmroyd near Halifax. Sally Wainwright’s BBC1 drama series, Gentleman Jack was inspired by Female Fortune and Nature’s Domain

Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture


Frank Owen - 2003
    Brazen drug use. Fantastical costumes. Celebrities. Wannabes. Gender-bending club kids. Pulse-pounding beats. Sinful orgies. Botched police raids. Depraved criminals. Murder. Welcome to the decadent nineties club scene. In 1995, journalist Frank Owen began researching a story on Special K, a designer drug that fueled the after-midnight club scene.  He went to buy and sample the drug at the internationally notorious Limelight, a crumbling church converted into a Manhattan disco, where mesmerizing music, ecstatic dancers, and uninhibited sideshows attracted long lines of hopeful onlookers.  Owen discovered a world where reckless hedonism was elevated to an art form, and where the ever-accelerating party finally spun out of control in the hands of notorious club owner Peter Gatien and his minions. In Clubland, Owen reveals how a lethal drug ring operated in a lawless, black-lit realm of fantasy, and how, when the lights came up, their excesses left countless victims in their wake.  Praised for his risk-taking and exhilarating writing style, Frank Owen has spawned a hybrid of literary nonfiction and true crime, capturing the zeitgeist of a world that emerged in the spirit of “peace, love, unity and respect,” and ended in tragedy.

$25K Options Trading Challenge: Proven techniques to grow $2,500 into $25,000 using Options Trading and Technical Analysis


Nishant Pant - 2019
    We do this by combining the leverage provided by Options trading strategies with Technical Analysis. If you are a beginning, intermediate or advanced Options Trader, this book is for you. It cuts all the fluff around investing and shows you few simple strategies, which can amplify your Stock Market returns.In this book you will learn: How to become a winner in the stock market by spotting the right trading opportunities. A simple strategy, that keeps doubling your money over and over again. How to defeat the novice Option trader's lottery ticket mentality. A strategy to overcome the premium buyer's greatest enemies, Theta and Implied Volatility How to use simple Technical Analysis techniques to spot the right entry points for your trades. Live Trade examples elaborating all the concepts in this book. The 11th annual challenge is starting soon. Come join us on https://25koptionschallenge.com/ to learn more and view our live trades.

Last Call: A Memoir


Nancy L. Carr - 2015
    I wanted to be cool. I wanted to fit in. Whatever it took.” She was attractive, popular and determined to grow up in a hurry. How would she have known that at age thirteen, during her first teenage drinking party, her life would play out in such a way that it would rule her life decisions going forward? The handsome boys and pretty girls were guzzling a certain punch, and she wanted to be like them. Tentatively, she ladled the jungle juice from the punch bowl and had her first sip of alcohol. She wanted more. It couldn’t have come at a better time. This is what she’d been searching for –relief. Instant relief. Getting drunk becomes her rite of passage as she careens through junior and senior high school caving in to peer pressure for her need to feel accepted. Through secretarial school and early jobs, her twenties are a blur. Quicker than she can take a tequila shot in a Mexican café, change her lovers weekly, and party with the dregs of society, as well as the socialites and future executives – Nancy finds a lifestyle that seems to work for her. She continues on and drinks and uses cocaine through the snows of Aspen, the desert heat of Scottsdale, the California coast and her Pennsylvania homelands, only to find herself alone and desperate in her quest for love and her own identity. Milk, she decides, has a longer shelf life than her romantic interludes. Surfer Boy, Boston Boy, Blondie Boy. Her big question becomes, who is going to marry her? As she approaches her early 30’s, she thinks getting married will fix her. “I am sitting on my couch finishing up a second bottle of Two Buck Chuck, watching Sarah Jessica Parker on “Sex and the City,” crying and wondering why I’m still single. I understand why Sarah is single. She spends too much money on shoes, and no one wants to marry a shoe whore. She had the perfect man too. She was a fool to let Aidan get away. Ever since high school the perennial question from my parents and friends was always the same, “Are you going to marry him?” It never occurred to Nancy to blame her loneliness on her beverages of choice. She’d kept her career going. She wasn’t an alcoholic. In fact, she relished hearing confessions of real alcoholics so she could assure herself that they—and not she—had a problem. Hello, Black Kettle? This is Pot calling! Terribly alone after receiving her second DUI at age 37, Nancy experiences a moment of clarity. She’s been looking for answers everywhere but the place she least wants to examine: the mirror. What glares back at her is over twenty-four years of living life in the fast lane, zooming by all the red flags. “Sitting in the jail cell I thought about hitting bottom. I could stop digging now. My life couldn’t get any worse….How could years of my free-wheeling lifestyle as a partier, mainly a social drinker, bring me to this place?” Compelled by a judge, Nancy walks into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and begins the hellacious journey of rethinking her life to finally find what she’d been searching for – her true self. Now sober for over ten years, married and with a thriving career, Nancy wants to tell other young women what she wishes someone had told her.

My One-Night Stand With Cancer: A Memoir


Tania Katan - 2005
    She survived, minus a breast. Exactly 10 years later it happened again. By age 31 Katan was a two-time breast cancer survivor with the scars to prove it and a sense of humor forged by the unthinkable. Her memoir, loaded with rage and blistering humor, tells the tale of living through two bouts with death and is woven through with stories of picking up women while bald, coping with her supportive but neurotic family, running in two 10K races, and pledging to never ever date a psychotic woman again. An unforgettable account of survival. Tania Katan’s plays have been seen at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Circle Repertory Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, Pacific Residence Theatre, A Traveling Jewish Theatre, and Theatre of NOTE.

You Can't Make Me Angry


Paul O. - 2003
    A.A. members know of Dr. Paul's wisdom through the often-quoted passage from his story in A.A.'s Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Dr. Paul continues sharing his astute insight and gentle humor with discussions of the physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual aspects of sobriety.

The Greatest Hoax on Earth: Catching Truth, While We Can


Alan C. Logan - 2020
    Abagnale's story has captured the imagination of audiences around the world as a modern-day folk hero-but the truth could not be more different from the fictitious autobiography he sold to Hollywood. Self-proclaimed as "the world's greatest con man," the true dimensions of Abagnale's hoax are revealed for the first time in this dramatic true story.A shocking new reality emerges through the voices of victims, their families, and others who have seen the truth concealed by decades of deception. Their stories are now exquisitely woven into a tapestry of hard evidence and insights from his former manager, Mark Zinder. The result is a fast-paced drama filled with heroes, villains, mystery and intrigue, answered with unquestionable facts and official records-all definitively disproving Abagnale's longstanding claims of roaming the world as a "teenage millionaire imposter" and working for the District Attorney in Baton Rouge.

In Pursuit of Joi


Olivia Renee Wallace - 2013
    She is the mother of the perfect daughter. She has her own thriving business and seems to be living the perfect life. But she has secrets... Secrets that haunt her dreams.Along comes Latoya Bradshaw. She's beautiful, successful, and edgy.She awakens feelings in Joi that have lain dormant for years. She reminds Joi of her past.Joi must decide on whether she wants to continue living the life of the woman that she has become or risk it all to become the woman that she once thought that she was meant to be.