Book picks similar to
Forty-Something Phoenix: A Travel Memoir by Marlayna Glynn


non-fiction
memoir-biography
relationships
firstreads-entries

I Love You Baby Girl: A Heartbreaking True Story of Child Abuse


Desire Night - 2013
    As you read about what Sarah went through in her childhood years, you will realize that Sarah is anything but "average". Sarah's childhood memories are riddled with such visions as a young boy tied to a chair, watching her father beat her mother, the list goes on and on from physical abuse to sexual abuse, there are no limits to how far the predators in Sarah's life will go. Experience the pain of child abuse and child sexual abuse through Sarah's eyes, watch as she demonstrates the strength to fight, cry with her as she feels defeated and wants to give up and rejoice, for in the end she was able to triumph.

The Winter Garden


Johanna Verweerd - 2001
    Her choice could open the door to answers she's long wondered about, or it could forever chill a heart too long without love.

Happens Every Day: An All Too True Story


Isabel Gillies - 2009
    Suddenly, that life was over. Her husband, Josiah, announced that he was leaving her and their two young sons.When Josiah took a teaching job at a Midwestern college, Isabel and their sons moved with him from New York City to Ohio, where Isabel taught acting, threw herself into the college community, and delighted in the less-scheduled lives of toddlers raised away from the city. But within a few months, the marriage was over. The life Isabel had made crumbled. "Happens every day," said a friend.Far from a self-pitying diatribe, Happens Every Day reads like an intimate conversation between friends. Gillies has written a dizzyingly candid, compulsively readable, ultimately redemptive story about love, marriage, family, heartbreak, and the unexpected turns of a life. On the one hand, reading this book is like watching a train wreck. On the other hand, as Gillies herself says, it is about trying to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness, and loving your life even if it has slipped away. Hers is a remarkable new voice -- instinctive, funny, and irresistible.

Desert Flower


Waris Dirie - 1998
    She traveled alone across the dangerous Somali desert to Mogadishu — the first leg of a remarkable journey that would take her to London, where she worked as a house servant; then to nearly every corner of the globe as an internationally renowned fashion model; and ultimately to New York City, where she became a human rights ambassador for the U.N. Desert Flower is her extraordinary story.

Changing Gears: A Family Odyssey to the End of the World,


Nancy Sathre-Vogel - 2013
    What followed was a family journey of epic proportions – a journey of physical challenge, emotional endurance, teamwork, perseverance, and tremendous learning opportunities. It was a discovery of self, of priorities, of accepting hardships, of appreciating blessings, and of contrasting a comfortable past life with the extreme hardship and poverty of those they met.

Forever Torn


Jason Greenfield - 2013
    Forever Torn is the true and amazing story of two brothers and three generations of one family - a family torn apart by deaths, poverty, deceit and a promise made by a small boy to his Grandfather over 80 years ago.It is the story of one man who refused to acknowledge his past and his brother who remained bound to protect the secret, despite his own pain.If you have enjoyed fictional epics such as Blood Brothers and Kane and Abel, you will love Forever Torn, which unlike the aforementioned is based on a true and tragic story.

Mastering Yourself, How To Align Your Life With Your True Calling & Reach Your Full Potential


Corey Wayne - 2018
    It will help you to discover your true purpose and calling in life. How to get any job or career you want. How you can get the upper hand in any personal or professional negotiation. The ultimate time management strategy that will help you maximize the use of your time, enable you to focus on your core competencies and reach your goals in the quickest most efficient way possible. It will teach you success and problem solving mindsets and skillsets that will enable you to overcome any obstacle, challenge or setback. The secrets to health, vitality and unlimited energy that keeps you free from common colds, flu and illnesses so you can enjoy your life with exceptional mental clarity, focus and efficiency. How the worlds banking, credit, monetary and financial system really works so you can understand how government policy will affect your business, job, investments and the economy so you can take advantage of the boom/bust cycle of the central banking system, protect your accumulated wealth and financially profit in any market conditions. Why am I qualified to help you overcome your challenges and reach your full potential? I’ve spent most of my life studying and applying the best lessons I’ve learned from self-help, philosophy, history, religion, politics, finance, business, marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership, health, exercise and studying the most successful people in history. I share what I learned after hitting the wall and failing to graduate college so I could stop sabotaging my success and employ the superior fundamental principles of the science of high achievement that enabled me to get every job and career I went after upon graduation, started a mortgage and real estate company that netted a $60,000 profit in the first month of operation, and grew it from just an idea into 7 companies grossing almost $8 million dollars per year in revenue in only six years with two business partners and 40 employees. Then I liquidated everything before the housing crash of 2007-2008 to become a full time life coach. I went from making $500,000 per year to nothing and struggled tremendously to figure out the right business model for the first 5 years. I was so determined to succeed in my new business that I even resorted to waiting tables 3 days a week for 10 months, while sleeping on my dad’s couch for several years living like a broke college student, until I figured it out and my new business took off. I have grown it into a multi-million dollar business from nothing but an idea that helps change the lives of thousands of men and women from all over the world, and every country, cultural and religious background. I’ve made millions, lost millions and made it all back again many times over by applying the best wisdom I’ve learned from the most successful people in the world, past and present. I share with you my personal journey of how I did it and continue to do it, and what I’ve learned so you can avoid the mistakes I’ve made, and get from where you are to where you want to be in the quickest way possible. There’s a reason why high achievers are able to consistently achieve their dreams over the course of their lives, despite suffering many setbacks and challenges, and my book will teach you how to do the same thing in your own life. If you apply what I teach, you’ll get even better results than you’re currently getting.

Embracing Quincy, Our Journey Together


Katie B. Marsh - 2013
    It shows you a naked glimpse into their personal lives, their travels and their mystical journey with their trisomy 18 baby Quincy.Embracing Quincy is full of stories of love, humor, psychic phenomena and mystical coincidences that will make even the most skeptical start to question their beliefs. This book will take you to far away lands as it weaves Quincy's story in and out of the Marsh's moves and travels and search for creating a sustainable farm on which to raise their family.This book non-judgmentally explores issues such as "pro life" versus "pro choice" abortion decisions, karma and reincarnation, the possibility of effecting miracles through quantum physics and the law of attraction, and the power of prayer in large numbers.Most of all, Embracing Quincy shows what a mother and father will do for the love of their unborn baby.If you liked Eat, Pray, Love and Expecting Adam, you'll love Embracing Quincy.

Honeymoon with My Brother


Franz Wisner - 2005
    Just days before they were to be married, his fiancée called off the wedding. Luckily, his large support network of family and friends wouldn't let him succumb to his misery. They decided Franz should have a wedding and a honeymoon anyway- there just wouldn't be a bride at the ceremony, and Franz' travel companion would be his brother, Kurt.During the "honeymoon," Franz reconnected with his brother and began to look at his life with newfound perspective. The brothers decided to leave their old lives behind them. They quit their jobs, sold all their possessions, and traveled around the world, visiting fifty-three countries for the next two years. In Honeymoon With My Brother, Franz recounts this remarkable journey, during which he turned his heartbreak into an opportunity to learn about himself, the world, and the brother he hardly knew.

Oh, Nurse!: One Man’s Journey Through the Nursing Life, a Personal Account of the Highs and Lows


David Daniels - 2019
    (And a male nurse, at that!)Oh, Nurse! is David Daniels’s first-hand account of his experiences as a nurse, offering personal anecdotes to peel open the curtain to unveil the secrets of the nursing life. Following Daniels over the course of his 30-year career, this book helps the reader discover the hidden truths of medical professionals, both good and not so good, and it even describes specific instances where he either succeeds or fails to help particular patients.This book will show you: The good, bad, and ugly everyday life of a nurse. The nuances of being a male in a female-dominated profession. What it takes to be successful in the medical field. Hidden truths of medical professionals from dirty secrets in the break room to losing the motivation to help patients. With its memoir structure, Oh, Nurse! brings the nursing profession to life. As David Daniels finds the strength to overcome his own hurdles, he also manages to help his patients find joy and hope in the grimmest of situations. And with this tell-all book, he aims to do the same for you.

Elephant Girl: A Human Story


Jane Devin - 2011
    Born unwanted and raised without love, the child-author invents a rich inner life to see her through years of trauma. Leaving home at 16, the teen-author struggles to find happiness and a sense of place in a world that feels confusing and unfamiliar. Then, years after stumbling into an adulthood mired in tragedy and broken dreams, the woman-author finds herself at a crossroads. The choice she ultimately makes is as stunning as it is brave.Told in unflinching and often lyrical prose, Elephant Girl goes beyond a singular life story to speak of powerful, universal truths and the ability of the human spirit to redeem itself.From the soul of a broken child and the heart of a resilient woman comes a story about turning imagination into possibility and scars into art. - Rosie O'Donnell, Talk Show Host In a culture of bootstraps and bromides, it has become unfashionable to talk about the long-term effects of child abuse and being raised without love or nurture. Unlike psychologist Harry Harlowe's infamous experiments with monkeys and maternal deprivation - where all his subjects ended up abnormal or dead from what has been termed "emotional anorexia" -abused children are supposed to be more resilient. In fact, a significant number of people insist that child abuse isn't really that big of a deal and that such children will eventually enter into adulthood with the same knowledge and tools as those who were not abused, or at least be able to gain them quickly and easily. Less acknowledged is the fact that there can be long-term and even lifelong physical, social and emotional consequences of child abuse. Oftentimes, the one affected doesn't even realize what those consequences are until well into adulthood. High anxiety, hyper-vigilance, thwarted sexuality and brain damage that went undiagnosed until the age of 46 were just some of the after-effects experienced by the author of Elephant Girl: A Human Story. The story of Precious ends with her teenage years. Jeannette Walls concludes Glass Castles as a college student. In A Child Called It, Dave Pelzer is removed from his abusive home by age 12 and eventually finds a loving foster family. In contrast, Elephant Girl: A Human Story is about what happens when there is no clear path to follow, no outside guidance and no dramatic rescue-when the only life-saving graces are imagination, self-determination and, ultimately, an undefeatable sense of hope. This is not an easy story to read. Those who enjoy reading about miracles or quick solutions will surely be disappointed. Those looking to cast blame or buoy their belief that they could have done better will find plenty of ammunition. However, those who are willing to see beyond the convenience and labels of bootstraps and bromides - who believe that human experiences are diverse and complex - will find much to relate to in this rarely told story.

Riding with the Blue Moth


Bill Hancock - 2005
    Bicycling was simply the method by which he chose to distract himself from his grief. But for Hancock, the 2,747-mile journey from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast became more than just a distraction. It became a pilgrimage, even if Hancock didn't realize it upon dipping his rear tire in the Pacific Ocean near Huntington Beach, California in the wee hours of a July morning. On his two-wheel trip, Hancock battled searing heat and humidity, curious dogs, unforgiving motorists and the occasional speed bump--usually a dead armadillo. Hancock's thoughts returned to common themes: memories of his son Will, the prospect of life without Will for him and his wife, and the blue moth of grief and depression.

Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris


Sarah Turnbull - 2003
    "This isn't like me. I'm not the sort of girl who crosses continents to meet up with a man she hardly knows. Paris hadn't even been part of my travel plan..."A delightful, fresh twist on the travel memoir, Almost French takes us on a tour that is fraught with culture clashes but rife with deadpan humor. Sarah Turnbull's stint in Paris was only supposed to last a week. Chance had brought Sarah and Frédéric together in Bucharest, and on impulse she decided to take him up on his offer to visit him in the world's most romantic city. Sacrificing Vegemite for vichyssoise, the feisty Sydney journalist does her best to fit in, although her conversation, her laugh, and even her wardrobe advertise her foreigner status. But as she navigates the highs and lows of this strange new world, from life in a bustling quatier and surviving Parisian dinner parties to covering the haute couture fashion shows and discovering the hard way the paradoxes of France today, little by little Sarah falls under its spell: maddening, mysterious, and charged with that French specialty-séduction.An entertaining tale of being a fish out of water, Almost French is an enthralling read as Sarah Turnbull leads us on a magical tour of this seductive place-and culture-that has captured her heart

The Divide: a 2700 mile search for answers


Nathan Doneen - 2014
    He had questions…he had doubts. So he began his search for answers along the Great Divide, a 2700 mile mountain bike route that traces the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico…and he set out alone. Cycling through a world of erratic weather, cramped bivy sacks, and overwhelming solitude, this long distance adventure threw Nathan from his comfort zone and into new perspectives. With both his future and past in mind, Nathan's revealing account illustrates the challenges of the route—and life—and how it's possible to find the strength and courage to overcome.

Give Me the World


Leila Hadley - 1999
    This decision sets her life on an entirely new course. After Manila, Hong Kong and Bangkok, their travels take an unexpected turn: she meets four young men sailing their boat around the world, and convinces them to let her and Kippy join them. Filled with sensual descriptions of the places she visits, lively accounts of the people and traditions, and intriguing characters, it is not only the luminous vitality of her prose that make this travelogue such a pleasure to read, but the courage of her decision to toss expectations to the wind and embrace all the adventures the world has to offer-an inspiration to the adventurer that lurks within us all.