Sgt. Charles Black is a 35 year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol during those years he has had many experiences and he shares his favorites in this book. In 35 years I have seen a lot of changes from the name of the organization to the primary function. From hearses to ambulances to rescue units with EMT's. From paper list of stolen cars to computers.From no recorders to body cameras. From fist fights to gun fights.But human nature and the effects of drugs and alcohol remain the same.

    

    But when he had a son, Marc became the father he had always wanted to have. When seven-year-old Cole asked him about beer, Marc Pittman put down his can and never drank again. He told his boys everything, and they were honest with him in return. They unburdened their fears; told him their dreams; and even admitted their sins. Despite the fact that his sons were star football players, they felt no shame in holding their father's hand in public. People told him he was lucky to have the relationship he did with his children, but Marc Pittman knew the truth-it wasn't luck, he worked at it every day. And then his eldest son, Cole, was killed in a traffic accident on the way to football practice at the University of Texas. This book is the story not just of how Marc Pittman dealt with this tragedy, but of the 21 years he lived with Cole and the lessons he learned about being a good father, a good friend, and a good man. "A must read...Marc Pittman crosses the boundary and stigma of the tough guy and shows that while being very tough, you can also be very compassionate. This book will make you appreciate not every hour, but every second you spend with someone you love."

    Featuring brand new stories and some old favorites, many of these tell-all, gritty tales were originally published on the blog Make It MAD between 2010 and 2012, and have been rereleased in their originality for this special print and digital anthology.

    And I have nothing against my dad, given the same set of conditions. In a fit of questionable judgment, consummate indoorsman John Sellers tags along on a journey to search for snakes with his eccentric, aging father—an obsessive fan of Bob Dylan, a giver of terrible gifts, a drinker of boxed wine, a minister- turned-heretic, and, most importantly, the self-designated guardian of the threatened copperbelly water snake.The quest is their fumbling attempt to reconnect. Decades of bitterness, substance abuse, acrimonious divorce, and divergent opinions about personal hygiene have conspired to make the two estranged. Sellers has just begun to develop a new appreciation for the American wilderness, and all the slithering creatures that populate it, when his father’s deteriorating health thwarts their mission and disturbs their tentative peace. Determined to finish what they started, he ventures back into the swamp— alone, but more connected to his dad than ever. With big-hearted humor and irreverence, The Old Man and the Swamp tells the story of a father who always lived on his own terms and the son who struggled to make sense of it all.

    It's nothing like the suburb you might live in . . . Unless, that is, an insane, Listerine-guzzling Realtor sold you your house? Or perhaps your postman happens to have a disturbing relationship with his claw hammer? A grieving Dan LaBarbara knows something is different in Helltown as soon as he comes back home. Yeah, sure, the town always been a little off. You can feel that about the place, like if you stepped into a house whose only occupants were freshly murdered corpses in an upstairs bedroom. But this is something else entirely. Standing in his little brother Barbie's basement workshop, holding one of those dioramas Barbie's been building since the accident, the ones that seem to move when you hold them, Dan can feel Barbie's terror. Barbie must know something is coming, something big, something evil. He's trying to warn Dan in the only way he knows. Why else would Barbie build a diorama depicting a man-sized version of a cartoon rabbit with bloody teeth about to devour a trembling teenager? Why else would he spend so much time crafting an intricate model of Death standing over a pimply teenager in the school library? And let's not even talk about that little model of the mob of undead surrounding the massive tower of vicious black spines behind the high school. Hilltown has a story to tell, and the lonely brain-damaged man who builds magical dioramas in his basement workshop has been telling it all along. As the evil closes in around them, Dan and his new love interest Jessica must do the impossible: save everyone one in Hilltown before it's too late.

     Barbara Robinette Moss grew up in the red clay hills of Alabama, the fourth of eight children, in a childhood defined by close sibling alliances, staggering poverty, and uncommon abuse at the hands of her wild-eyed, charismatic, alcoholic father. In Fierce, Moss looks at what happens when a child of such a family grows up. At once poetic and plainspoken, Moss, a "powerful writer" (Chicago Tribune), paints a vivid, moving portrait of her persistent quest to reinvent her life and rebel against the rural indigence, addiction, and broken dreams she inherited from her parents. With warmth, insight, and candor, Moss tells the poignant story of finally leaving everything she knew in Alabama to fulfill her ambition to become an artist. It is an odyssey filled with gritty improvisation (bringing her son, Jason, to her night job to sleep on the floor), bittersweet pragmatism (filling her purse on a dinner date with shrimp, rolls, and even a doily, to bring home to a waiting eight-year-old), and staunch conviction and pride (chasing a mail carrier down the street to defend her use of food stamps). As with many other children of alcoholics, the legacy of her father's alcoholism catches up with Moss, and an abusive relationship -- an inheritance and addiction of its own sort -- threatens to destroy all that she has accomplished. But as Moss learns to cope with her anger and pain, parenthood helps her discover true strength. Ultimately, Fierce is a warm, honest, and triumphant story, from a writer celebrated for her Southern lyricism, about a woman determined to make it on her own -- to shrug off the handicaps of her childhood and raise her son responsibly and well.

    On that afternoon, her husband of ten years crash-landed his malfunctioning single-engine plane in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Dr. Darrell Swank suffered multiple fractures, and third degree burns over sixty percent of his body when the gas tank exploded as he crawled away from the wreckage. Over the next five weeks, she struggled to be a mother to their children while she kept a near round-the-clock vigil at the hospital. Darrell’s survival was questionable from one day to the next, and even if he survived, would he be the same man he was before the crash? Did his fate depend on this test of her faith?The Death of Me is the true story of a wife and mother living day to day through a fog of shock and unimaginable agony. And, alone in the aftermath, fumbling for some way to not only survive, but to thrive. It is a story of pain, of release, of forgiveness. And of healing, resilience, and rebirth. It is a story of a writer finding her voice.

    When she reaches her unplanned destination, self acceptance, you’ll shout hallelujah!

    Fifteen years later, his Minnesota company had created over 500 American jobs and developed more than 50 new medical devices that saved and improved lives. But in 2011, the federal government threatened to destroy his company and put Howard behind bars for years. Why? Federal prosecutors had been sold a bill of goods – a tall tale peddled by a money-hungry ex-employee out for revenge. All over one device. A device that never harmed a single patient and made up less than 1% of the company s sales. The investigation revealed the charges to be baseless, but the scalp-hunting prosecutors didn't back off. Instead they dug in – threatening witnesses, misleading grand juries, and strategically leaking secret documents. Whatever it took to pressure a headline-grabbing settlement. Howard Root stood up to the shakedown. Five years, 121 attorneys and $25 million in legal fees later, his life's work and freedom rested in the hands of 12 strangers in a San Antonio jury room. Would Howard and his company be vindicated by the verdict, or had he made the biggest mistake of his life by challenging the federal government? Cardiac Arrest is the eye-opening true story of life on the Feds' hit-list, told from the desk of a CEO who decided to fight back. Follow Howard from the boardroom to the courtroom, as he tells the inside story of the case that sparked outrage in the pages of The Wall Street Journal and triggered a congressional investigation.

    Neglected by his parents his whole life, he’s finally found the family that he’s always wanted at the shop. He thinks he’s got everything that he needs...until Darcy walks into the shop.One look at the shy girl with the kind eyes and the curvy body of a goddess and Atlas is hooked. Now, he just needs to show Darcy that he’s here to stay.Mischa:Love, romance, dating. Mischa Jennings wants no part of any of it. He’s seen up close and personal how love can ruin your life and he’s vowed to stay far away from that emotion. Armed with a set of rules to keep him safe, he’s been going through life just fine. Then Indie Hearst comes bouncing into Eye Candy Ink and turns his whole world upside down.Suddenly, he’s breaking every one of his rules, but it’s okay. He’s not even close to falling for Indie.Right?Sam:Sam Kavan has grown up learning to be tough, at least on the outside. Like everyone else at Eye Candy Ink, she’s not interested in falling in love. In fact, after a string of failed dates, she's grown disillusioned with dating. She doesn't want to go out with boys who send her dick pics or who text at midnight looking to hook up. She wants someone that she can rely on—someone who loves and wants her for her. She wants a real man.Then she meets Maxwell Schulz, and she wonders if she’s finally met her match.Zeke:Zeke Miller is the owner of Eye Candy Ink and the father figure to everyone at the shop. He’s spent years building Eye Candy Ink into what it is today. While others dated and settled down, he worked, honing his skills until he’s one of the best and most sought after tattoo artists in the world. At thirty-six, he thinks his time to meet someone has passed and he’s resigned to being happy with the family that he’s found at his shop.Then Trixie Clemonte comes into Eye Candy Ink. She has all of his protective instincts kicking in. But none of them are fatherly.Nico:Nico Miller is the quiet, silent type. With ten years of experience, he’s probably the best artist at the shop. He's a giant at 6'8" and built like a linebacker with tattoos covering his neck and torso. Most people are a little afraid of him when they first meet him, but it doesn’t take long to see that while he might look scary, with his almost permanent frown, tattoos, and size, he was actually a giant teddy bear.Most of the time, he can’t wait for people to leave, but one encounter with Edie, and he doesn’t want to let her go. Will he be able to convince her that settling down with him doesn’t mean settling?

    She was engaged to be married and everyone knew that her fiancé Rakesh was a great guy. But life took a detour when her father collapsed and Manasi had to rush back to India to take care of ND Software, her father’s company that focused on software for manufacturing industry. When she had been running the company for about six months, ZipMake, the company that was their best customer, got acquired by AccellaFab. Jay Randive, the founder and CEO of AccellaFab wanted to get into the Indian market and he had identified NDS as the Indian software company he wanted to acquire for that purpose. Jay Randive was coming to India to visit NDS, and when he learnt that the CEO’s daughter had stepped in after the CEO suffered a stroke; Jay was looking forward to an easy acquisition.

    Slowly but surely, she’s been on a mission to knock things off her list. She has the career, the home, and the cars, but the one thing she is lacking is a love of her own. Her fifteen-year-old pact with her best friend, Timothy, should solidify her last mission, however, on a dinner-date gone wrong, she finds out that Timothy has already planned to get married to someone else - his fiancée - Melanie. Heartbroken and ready to give up on love, Cynthia’s mother steps in and introduces her to a kind, ambitious man named Shawn. Shawn has love and marriage on the brain and is ready to take Cynthia to new heights if she’ll let him. Timothy has a hard time letting Cynthia go once he finds out how hurt she is, and if he doesn’t step in quickly, he’ll lose Cynthia for good. Melanie is pushing him to make plans for their wedding, and Timothy does his best to make her happy while still trying to accommodate Cynthia’s feelings, but she’s no longer pressed over what Timothy wants. For once, she’s putting her wants and needs first, and Timothy’s lack of acceptance for how he feels for Cynthia might force her down the aisle before him if he doesn’t run towards his feelings for the woman he’s truly in love with.

    When Stacks decides to merge his empire with Chad, money starts coming in by the boatload. With more money comes more problems when the men find themselves battling with their past infidelities in order to keep peace in their home. The past is a Finesser and is out for blood when secrets are revealed that threatens the lives and faith of some relationships. Snakes reappear out of the blue to cause hell, while new love is found. Follow these couples on a journey as the realize that Fallin' For A Boss was one thing, but getting married to one is completely a different story.

    She’s a rich daddy’s girl who is used to living a lavish life with the ability to get her way at the bat of her pretty blue eyes. Just months away from graduating with one of the highest GPAs at Coral Gables High and heading off to Harvard, Jaysee’s world is turned upside down when she needs a favor from her handsome neighbor. After being exiled to Miami for wreaking too much havoc on the streets of New York, Gunny is just counting down the days until he can get back on the block. Gunny’s strategy is simple; while laying low in the 305, he’s gonna keep his head down and stay out the way. But his plans are quickly derailed when he has an unexpected encounter with the girl next door.