But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Will a trip to New York City with a jet-setting friend—and all the glittering energy and eligible men the city brings—help her discover what she really needs? Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she cherishes her ability to do just as she pleases and breaks out in a rash every time she passes a stroller. But when her no-strings-attached nightlife leads to an unexpected pregnancy, her reaction may be just as unexpected.And then there’s Samantha—happily married and eager to be the perfect June Cleaveresque mother. But baby George brings only exhaustion, extra pounds, and marital strife to her once tidy life. Is having an affair with a friend’s incredibly sexy husband the answer?

    This belief makes him eligible for enjoyment of the bliss and the happiness of the Hereafter. It is not a belief that is limited to the life of this finite and ephemeral world only as compared to the everlasting Hereafter.Rather, it is a great creed that links the life of man in this world to that of the Hereafter so that his vision will not be restricted to this world alone but extends to the Hereafter.Belief in Paradise is one of the fundamentals of faith. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, was asked about faith and he answered, “Faith is to believe in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Messenger and in the Last Day; and to believe in pre-decree, its good and bad.”

    It was 1945, and Marianne Alireza, who had spent almost her entire life in California, had moved to Saudi Arabia with her new husband, Ali. Suddenly she was a member of an Arabian family, veiled and cloaked like a biblical figure, thousands of miles and two centuries from home.For twelve years Marianne Alireza lived in a harem, a female group composed of her mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and vari... Full description

    It is also a very funny account of looking after an adored yet maddening parent and a piercing portrait of the grief that followed his death.Shelley Klein grew up in the Scottish Borders, in a house designed on a modernist open-plan grid; with colourful glass panels set against a forest of trees, it was like living in a work of art.Shelley’s father, Bernat Klein, was a textile designer whose pioneering colours and textures were a major contribution to 1960s and 70s style. As a child, Shelley and her siblings adored both the house and the fashion shows that took place there, but as she grew older Shelley also began to rebel against her father’s excessive design principles.Thirty years on, Shelley moves back home to care for her father, now in his eighties: the house has not changed and neither has his uncompromising vision. As Shelley installs her pots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill, he insists she take them into her bedroom to ensure they don’t ‘spoil the line of the house’.Threaded through Shelley’s book is her father’s own story: an Orthodox Jewish childhood in Yugoslavia; his rejection of rabbinical studies to pursue a life of art; his arrival in post-war Britain and his imagining of a house filled with light and colour as interpreted by the architect Peter Womersley.A book about the search for belonging and the pain of letting go, The See-Through House is a moving memoir of one man's distinctive way of looking at the world, told with tenderness and humour and a daughter’s love.

    . . but your best friend never will.Welcome to Hubbard, where Petie Coolbaugh and Rose Bundy have been best friends since childhood. Now in their early thirties, both are grappling to come to terms with their age and station in life. As they struggle to make ends meet and provide for their children and the good-hearted but unreliable men in their lives, they take jobs cooking for a brand-new upscale restaurant, Souperior's Cafe, starting from scratch every morning to produce gallons of fresh soup from local recipes. The proprietors of the cafe, Nadine and Gordon, are fraternal twins from Los Angeles with adjustments of their own to make, but Rose’s warmth and the quality of the women’s soups quickly make them indispensable despite Petie’s abrupt manner and prickly ways.The strains of daily life are never far, however, and the past takes its toll on the women. Petie’s childhood as the daughter of the town drunk--a subject she won't talk about--keeps her at a distance from even her best friend, until an unexpected romance threatens to crack her tough exterior. And despite Rose's loving personality, the only man in her life is a loner fisherman who spends only a few months of the year in town.In this fishing village, friends are for life and love comes in the most unexpected ways. As the novel draws together lovers, husbands, employers, friends, and family, each woman finds possibilities for love and even grace that she had never imagined.

    Today, a moody, disrespectful twelve-year-old. What happened? And more important, how do you handle it? How you respond to these whirlwind changes will not only affect your child's behavior now but will determine how he or she turns out later. Julie A. Ross, executive director of Parenting Horizons, shows you exactly what's going on with your child and provides all the tools you need to correctly handle even the prickliest tween porcupine.Find out how other parents survived nightmarish tween behavior--and still raised great kidsBreak the "nagging cycle," give your kids responsibilities, and get resultsTalk about sex, drugs, and alcohol so your kid will listenDiscover the secret that will help your child to disregard peer pressure and make smart choices--for lifeThis excellent book lets parents peek into the underlying, confusing thoughts and perplexing decisions that young tweens are constantly facing.--Ralph I. L�pez, M.D., Clinical Professor or Pediatrics, Cornell University, and author of The Teen Health Book

    However, many have no clue what their kids really need.Enter author Jay Payleitner, veteran dad of five, who’s also struggled with how to build up his children’s lives. His 52 Things Kids Need from a Dad combines straightforward features with step-up-to-the-mark challenges men will appreciate:a full year’s worth of focused, doable ideas—one per week, if desireduncomplicated ways to be an example, like “kiss your wife in the kitchen”tough, frank advice, like “throw away your porn”And, refreshingly…NO exhaustive (and exhausting) lists of “things you should do”NO criticism of dads for being men and acting like menDads will feel respected and empowered, and gain confidence to initiate activities that build lifelong positives into their kids. Great gift or men’s group resource!

    After all, they make sure that their child has the things they need. They attend their child's school events. They buy their child the things they want. So why is it then that most children doubt that they are genuinely and unconditionally loved?In this best-selling book, Dr. D. Ross Campbell reveals the emotional needs of a child and provides parents with the skill and techniques that can begin to help make your child feel truly loved and accepted. You'll learn to really love your child through every situation of child rearing from physical touch to discipline and from affirmation to spiritual nurture.

    It won't tell you how to get your baby to sleep, how to deal with toddler tantrums, how to be a good parent, a cool parent or even a renegade parent. It is a book about parenting that contains absolutely no useful advice whatsoever.Instead it shares beautifully honest anecdotes and illustrations from the parenting frontline that demonstrate it is perfectly possible to love your children with the whole of your heart whilst finding them incredibly irritating at the same time.From pregnancy to starting school, Hurrah For Gin takes you through the exciting, frustrating, infuriating and wonderful whirlwind of parenthood, offering solidarity and a friendly hug after a tough day.Best served with gin.

    Parents everywhere became “whisperers” to their newborns, amazed that they could actually communicate with their baby within weeks of their child’s birth. Tracy gave parents what for some amounted to a miracle: the ability to understand their baby’s every coo and cry so that they could tell immediately if the baby was hungry, tired, in real distress, or just in need of a little TLC. Tracy also dispelled the insidious myth that parents must go sleepless for the first year of a baby’s life–because a happy baby sleeps through the night. Now you too can benefit from Tracy’s more than twenty years’ experience. In this groundbreaking book, she shares simple, accessible programs in which you will learn: • E.A.S.Y.–how to get baby to eat, play, and sleep on a schedule that will make every member of the household’s life easier and happier.• S.L.O.W.–how to interpret what your baby is trying to tell you (so you don’t try to feed him when he really wants a nap).• How to identify which type of baby yours is–Angel, Textbook, Touchy, Spirited, or Grumpy–and then learn the best way to interact with that type.• Tracy’s Three Day Magic–how to change any and all bad habits (yours and the baby’s) in just three days.At the heart of Tracy’s simple but profound message: treat the baby as you would like to be treated yourself. Reassuring, down-to-earth, and often flying in the face of conventional wisdom, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer promises parents not only a healthier, happier baby but a more relaxed and happy household as well.

    Elle Magazine called it "smart, [and] sensitive" and The St. Petersburg Times declared, "Koppelman's prose is as spare and powerful as poetry." Now in paperback, this brave, deeply relevant novel will continue to bring a compassionate and honest voice to a topic too often shrouded in shame. About the Author Amy Koppelman is a graduate of Columbia's MFA program. Her writing has appeared in The New York Observer and Lilith magazine. She lives in New York City with her husband and their two small children. A Mouthful of Air is her first novel. Praise "A Mouthful of Air is a satisfying antidote to the now-hackneyed Mothers Struggling and Juggling Babies and Hedge Funds story line. Let's hope all this mainstreaming of postpartum will help demystify the illness and de-demonize the women who suffer from it." -- The New York Observer "Lean, minutely detailed and frighteningly convincing. Koppelman skillfully builds suspense as Julie battles her demons, conjuring up an airless, oppressively stifling world." -- Publishers Weekly

    . .Sight is about X-rays, psychoanalysis, and the origins of modern surgery. It is about being a parent, and being a child. Fiercely intelligent, brilliantly written and suffused with something close to forgiveness, it is a novel about how we see others and how we imagine ourselves.

    It’s just that a little psychopath who walks through life 100% convinced that he or she is the center of the universe does not care that you have a heart, a mind, or a soul. You are simply a skin-covered robot tall enough to reach the candy on top of the fridge. And clean up the rage-vomit when you make the fatal mistake of cutting off the crust on your toddler’s toast. (Or not cutting it off—seriously, you can’t win.)Includes:The theory of toddler evolution Mealtime (AKA Hell)Your unraveling lifeAnd how not to die inside

    Now a coach driver, he is at the most crucial crossroads of his life. His wife has thrown him out. The crisis serves only to deepen his despair over another failed liaison - until he elects to steer his coach on a spectacularly reckless quest for the son he has never seen.

    Okun has been referred to as, “the voice of the Parkinson’s disease patient.” He has an international following on the National Parkinson Foundation’s Ask the Doctor web-forum. His many books and internet blog posts are brimming with up-to date and extremely practical information. He has a talent for infusing his readers with positivity and optimism. In his current book, he unmasks the important secrets applicable to every Parkinson’s disease patient. For some sufferers the secrets have translated into walking again, for others they have restored voices, and for many they have resulted in the lifting of a depression, anxiety and desperation cloud."There isn't any joking with Dr. Okun about the 10 Secrets for a Happier Life in Parkinson's disease. This book is a critical resource for Parkinson's disease patients and families from around the world who speak different languages, but suffer from very similar and often disabling symptoms." –Muhammad Ali The book addresses current Parkinson’s disease issues and also details emerging therapies (DBS, stem cells, vaccines, gene therapy, optogenetics). Okun masterfully breaks down all of the science into an easy to follow and pleasurable reading experience. Parkinson’s Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life is available in over 20 language translations, and also in an audio version. Dr. Okun has truly helped thousands of Parkinson’s disease patients and families discover the core values necessary to achieve happiness despite living with a chronic disease.