What does the reader know of the author? That the author lived to tell the tale. What does the reader know of the narrator? That the tale needed to be told."Six women, each with her own misgivings, take a university extension night class in Writing Your Memoir, looking only for a little bibliotherapy. The following semester, they meet privately at the gracious home of one of the participants. The memoir class becomes the memoir club.In coming to terms with their losses, with their own guilt-in writing to break through that stubborn, opaque barrier to the past-they forge a new present. And a new future. The teacher, the enigmatic Penny Taylor, steps in at the right moment and steps out before her students can thank her.In the beginning, grief-stricken Dr. Caryn Henley only goes to the class at the insistence of her longtime friend and colleague, Nell, a woman so loyal that behind her back people call her the St. Bernard. Rusty Meadows wants to write a memoir for her daughter she gave up at birth. Mrs. Francine Hellman wants her memoir to laud her late husband, the scientist Dr. Marcus Hellman, only to find he had a past unknown to her. The elderly, unconventional Sarah Jane Perkins writes to come to terms with the cruelties her rigid mother inflicted on her artistic, bootlegging father. And Korean born Jill McDougall comes to the memoir class to find out who she is, and why she's living in a warehouse with a man who loves ice cream. These students of the memoir achieve what they set out to do, but discover what they never expected. Along the way, the disparate women come together, reveal themselves to each other and support each other. As they render their pasts in memoirs, they forge a new present and a new future.

    Includes tales about an American wife who, homesick for rural Vermont, turns to the hippies of the Indian hills for consolation; and a painter who renders pictures of creatures he has never seen.

    Michael Miller fabric designer Sandi Henderson holds to the adage "waste not, want not" to deliver a collection of innovative sewing projects that lets you make the most of bits and pieces of your beloved fabrics.From a market skirt to a butterfly pin, from an embellished table cloth to hip hair accessories, Sewing Bits and Pieces gives you 35 sewing projects to make unique pieces that are perfect for gift-giving (or keeping for yourself)!Features gorgeous full-color photography throughoutDetailed instructions walk you through each projectSandi's popular Portabello Pixie blog is read by thousands every dayPacked with tons of fun, innovative projects, Sewing Bits and Pieces will have you creating sewing masterpieces in no time.Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

    They may also know her as a renegade single mom who palled around with Edie Sedgwick, Twiggy, and The Velvet Underground, or even as a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Betsey is also famous for her iconic pink stores (she had 65 shops across the US) and for her habit of doing cartwheels and splits down the runway at the close of her fashion shows. Throughout her decades-long career, she's taken pride in producing fun but rule-breaking clothing at an accessible price point. What they might not know is that she built an empire from scratch, and brought stretch clothing to the masses in the 80s and 90s.Betsey will take the reader behind the tutu and delve deeply into what it took to go from a white picket fence childhood in Connecticut to becoming an internationally known force in a tough, competitive business. The book will feature Betsey's candid memories of the fashion and downtown scene in the 60s and how she started her own business from the ground up after designing successfully for multiple other companies. She will discuss that business's ups and downs and reinventions (including bankruptcy), and her thoughts on body image, love, divorce, men, motherhood, and her bout with breast cancer. Betsey will be richly illustrated with many of her landmark clothes, fashion sketches, and personal photos--making the book the perfect memento and gift for every girl (of any age) for whom Betsey is, as a recent New York Times profile noted, "a role model still."

    In this how-to book accomplished bag maker, Nicole Mallalieu, reveals her high-end techniques, shortcuts, and secrets for professional design and finishes. The 10 featured projects teach a range of expert skills from adjusting the proportion of the pattern to constructing pockets, straps, flaps, and bases.. By the end of this book, you ll have a closetful of polished bags and most likely sew better than you ever imagined you could."

    Both beginners and experienced weavers will value its thriftiness and versatility.

    The only surviving member of this tragic ordeal was Ronald DeFeo Jr., who was later charged and convicted to six-life-sentences. Still, the evidence shows that Ronnie "Butch" DeFeo could not have killed all six of his family members by himself, while they lay sleeping in their beds. Thirteen months later, the Lutz family moved into the lavish Dutch Colonial home and moved out mysteriously after just 28-days with only the clothes on their backs, claiming that the house was haunted; they would never return! Then came a media frenzy and with the release of Jay Anson's runaway best selling book, "The Amityville Horror," which was later transformed into a blockbuster movie, the story became an international phenomenon. What really happened at 112 Ocean Ave. in Amityville? Mentally Ill in Amityville (MIA), is the true story of the events as they occurred, with exclusive interviews and official documents of these dramatic events. MIA is a must read for anyone who wants to know the complete story behind the most famous haunted house in the world

    Thanks to Hollywood's newfound obsession and updated, stylish designs, a whole new generation has caught on to the art of knitting. For those just starting out or veteran knitters, expert Donna Kooler's newest, Encyclopedia of Knitting, will get those needles clicking. This comprehensive guide covers all the basics, from the history of knitting, tools, and materials, to how-to instructions for 164 stitches and stitch patterns, with tons of photos and diagrams to show the way. Includes instructions for both right-handed and left-handed knitters, with narrative directions and symbols to make learning easier. Contemporary projects by today's top knitting designers are suitable for a variety of experience levels and include a man's vest, a baby's dress, and decorative pillows. If the runaway success of her two previous Encyclopedia volumes is any indication (and we certainly think so ), this one has "bestseller" written all over it.