Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives

    Torn from their homes and families, these men, women, and children were loaded into shipboard cattle stalls and abandoned in a lawless place where brutality held sway. Many did not have leprosy, and many who did were not contagious, yet all were ensnared in a shared nightmare. Here, for the first time, John Tayman reveals the complete history of the Molokai settlement and its unforgettable inhabitants. It's an epic of ruthless manhunts, thrilling escapes, bizarre medical experiments, and tragic, irreversible error. Carefully researched and masterfully told, The Colony is a searing tale of individual bravery and extraordinary survival, and stands as a testament to the power of faith, compassion, and the human spirit.

    Stephen's Day, 2010, in St. John's, Newfoundland, when the author gives birth to a baby girl named Sadie Jane who has a shock of snow-white hair. News of the child's icy locks travels across the hospital, and physicians and nurses from all wards visit the unusually beautiful newborn as she lies sleeping in her plastic bassinet. The maternity-floor janitor, however, feels something is amiss. Her eyes wide, incredulous and panicky, the janitor asks, "Is she an albino?" The idea is immediately dismissed, but after three months of medical testing, Sadie is diagnosed with albinism, a rare genetic condition where pigment fails to form in the skin, hair and eyes. She is visually impaired and faces a lifetime avoiding the sun. She will always have the otherworldly appearance that drew the awestruck hospital staff to her side.A journalist and folklore scholar accustomed to processing the world through other people's stories, Emily is drawn to understanding her child's difference by researching the cultural beliefs associated with albinism worldwide. What she finds on her journey vacillates between beauty and darkness. She discovers that Noah's birth story is believed to be the first record of a baby born with albinism, and that the Kuna people in Panama revere members of their society with albinism, seeing them as defenders of the moon in the night sky. She attends a gathering of people with albinism in St. Louis and interviews geneticists, social scientists, novelists and folklorists in Canada, England and the US. But when she uncovers information about gruesome attacks on people with albinism in Tanzania, rooted in witchcraft, she feels compelled to travel to East Africa, her sun-shy toddler in tow, in an effort to understand these human-rights violations. Upon her return to Canada she discovers a family photograph from the past that might illuminate her daughter’s present. While navigating new territory as a first-time parent of a child with a disability, Emily embarks on a three-year journey across North America and Africa to discover how we explain human differences, not through scientific facts or statistics but through a system of cultural beliefs. Part parenting memoir, part cultural critique and part travelogue, Beyond the Pale, as the title suggests, takes the reader into dark and unknown territory in the search for enlightenment.

    With three "fur babies" already at home, Joal wasn't looking to adopt another dog. But there was something special about Sadie, a shepherd mix who had been shot in the head and in the back and left for dead in the hills of Kentucky after giving birth. One gaze into those sorrowful eyes and Joal vowed to do everything possible to get the pitiful creature walking again. The first three vets offered little hope for Sadie and two even recommended euthanasia. But with patience, hope, and plenty of love, Joal noticed a change in her canine companion. And somewhere along the difficult journey, she discovered that sweet Sadie had transformed her life in ways she never could have imagined. Now, media darlings Joal and Sadie are spreading their message of compassion, acceptance, and kindness around the world. Joyous and inspiring, Saving Sadie is a triumphant story about the power of unconditional love and second chances--for humans and animals alike.

    Under the codename ‘Echo 7’, he was ‘licenced to kill’ bringing down scores of targets, sometimes with deadly force. In 1985 he opened fire on a suspect to save a four-year-old girl whose mother had been stabbed to death by her assailant. Two years later he was involved in another high profile shooting while confronting three armed criminals. On both occasions Tony was commended by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. But in the spring of 2005, coming face to face with suspected drug dealer and armed robber Azelle Rodney, a volley of point blank shots would bring his career crashing to an end, tarnish his reputation and leave him fighting a murder charge and possible life sentence. From life or death cases and botched operations to political fallouts, this book charts the controversial career from rookie seventies beat cop to Long's command of SO19 – the Met’s most elite specialist firearms unit. Long’s personal testimony and professional insight raises serious issues about the duties, pressures and responsibilities that fall on the shoulders of those we task to risk their lives, and take the lives of others, in our name.

    Adopting a sunny, genial tone, Dunthorne lures the reader to darker places, exploring death and dread, failure and regret - the 'lounge of our suffering'. Often, he catches us off-guard: a 'whiplash' effect where poems shift from laughter to slaughter in a moment. Impertinent owls, an immersive theatre troupe, ancient men from the Great War and idiot balloonists - such characters dramatise our human fancies and foibles, joining the protagonist in scenarios both humorously bizarre and all-too-familiar. These performances serve to probe and unpeel the layers of the self - all the way down to the raw.

    

    In a desperate attempt to preserve his identity, he sets out to (somewhat faithfully) record the most formative moments of his life—ranging from the brutal murder of his childhood girlfriend, to a diagnosis of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, to opening for famed indie band Yo La Tengo at The Fillmore in San Francisco. But the process of trying to remember his past only exposes just how fragile the stories that lay at the heart of our self-conception really are.  As Liar twists and turns through Roberge’s life, it turns the familiar story of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll on its head. Darkly funny and brutally frank, it offers a remarkable portrait of a down and out existence cobbled together across the country, from musicians’ crashpads around Boston, to seedy bars popular with sideshow freaks in Florida, to a painful moment of reckoning in the scorched Wonder Valley desert of California. As Roberge struggles to keep addiction and mental illness from destroying the good life he has built in his better moments, he is forced to acknowledge the increasingly blurred line between the lies we tell others and the lies we tell ourselves.

    But he was also blessed with exceptional musical talent—able to play the piano as a toddler and now, at age 19, a nationally known pianist, singer, and trumpeter who has performed at the Grand Ole Opry and the Kennedy Center. Currently he’s a member of his college marching band, playing while his devoted father pushes him in his wheelchair. With determined optimism and courage, Hughes has made “I am potential” his mantra and defied the impossible at every turn.Now, for the first time, Hughes and his father share the full account of his extraordinary journey. In I Am Potential, Hughes recounts the eight critical lessons he has learned that are at the heart of his success, including “When Life Gives You Lemons, Accept Them and Be Grateful” and “Do All You Can to Change What You Can.” Uplifting and revealing, I Am Potential is remarkably inspirational for anyone facing challenges in their own life.

    

    This fascinating book reveals his personal experience with the confusion and trauma associated with this condition-and offers insights into living an independent and productive life.Now the Executive Director of the world's largest Asperger's oranization, Carley helps readers in such areas as:- Social interactions - Nurturing interests - Whom to confide in-and how - Dealing with family and loved ones - Finding work that suits your strengths and talents

    Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But from the 1930s to the late 1960s, when it came to Harlem, the undisputed king of the underworld was Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson. Bumpy was a man whose contradictions are still the root of many an argument in Harlem. But there is one thing on which both his supporters and detractors agree in his lifetime, Bumpy was the man in Harlem. Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson is the first complete biography of a man who for years was Harlem s best kept, and most cherished secret. There is also a full chapter on Madame Stephanie St . Clair, the infamous Harlem numbers banker who instigated the famous fight with Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz. The book is written by Bumpy's widow, Mayme Johnson, and details not only his criminal life but also his personal life. This book also details Bumpy's relationship Harlem dopedealer with Frank Lucas, who has called himself Bumpy's right-hand man, but was -- according to Mrs. Johnson -- little more than a flunky.

    The excessive materialism of the late 20th century has proven an inadequate substitute for God. As we have acquired more things, we have developed an ever-growing emptiness. Even the popular media today are telling us there is a great hunger for the inner peace that comes from prayerful communion with a higher power. "Can We Talk to God?" offers readers a framework for prayer that is compatible with traditional religion, yet moves beyond it in the recognition of a divine presence within each person. This book sets forth the teaching of Ernest Holmes, called Science of Mind, which is a synthesis of the greatest ideas of religion, science and philosophy. Originally published in 1934 as The Ebell Lectures on Spiritual Science, it is as fresh and profound today as it was then, offering readers answers to such important questions as: What is the nature of God? What is our relationship to God? How do we communicate with God? What is the secret of spiritual power? Where is humanity headed? How can a prayer be used to help ourselves and others?Many readers wonder, Can I talk to God? This beautiful book answers with a resounding YES!, and shows readers the way. The method of prayer it teaches will open the door to healthier, happier living.

    This is Sheila Hocken's own story. A story of a young blind girl who sets out to fight for the right to live fully and to see again. Sheila's account of the events and people that transformed her life is moving and inspiring. Sheila introduces Emma, her beautiful chocolate-brown labrador, whose devotion and intelligence as a guide dog are inspiring. We also meet Don, who brings romance into Sheila's life - through a radio program. And furthermore, Mr Shearing, the skilled surgeon who performs the miracle which gives Sheila a whole new world.

    We have to get it right in all areas of life--work, home, family, and faith--because our children's futures hinge on our ability to perfectly orchestrate the present.But those impossible standards leave us oscillating between worry, fear, anger, and shame. They threaten to steal all the wonder from parenting, life, and our personal relationship with God.In this 7-session study, discover how the gospel message can empower you to parent in the freedom of God's sovereignty. So that you can breathe deeper, walk lighter, and enjoy your children--and the parenting journey--more than ever before.Benefits: Thrive in what God has asked you to carry by abandoning all He hasn't asked of you.Embrace your significance in your children's lives in light of God's sovereignty.Trust God with the children He has entrusted to you.Receive the Lord's grace, so you can reflect that grace to your children.Learn to stop trying so hard, and allow yourself to simply enjoy your kids.Features: Leader tips to guide questions and discussions within small groupsPersonal study segments with homework to complete between 7 weeks of group sessionsOptional teaching videos, approximately 5-8 minutes in length per session, in digital download format to help start group sessions