Start Your Engines: My Unstoppable CrossFit Journey


Sam Briggs - 2020
    This is the story of how she got to the top, and battled with everything she had to stay there. Sam’s memoir takes in the whole story, from being kicked out of ballet lessons as a child but being accepted on the boys’ sports teams, to working as a firefighter in West Yorkshire for ten years, tackling dangerous and adrenaline-fueled situations on a daily basis, and to taking up CrossFit at the comparatively ancient age of 27. Sam tells of what it took to become champion a mere three years later, and after a year out with a broken patella. Despite the numerous setbacks and debilitating injuries that have plagued her in the years that followed, when most other athletes would have thrown in the towel, Sam has fought, and continues to fight, to be the very best that she can be. Start Your Engines is the story of how, with a combination of grit, training and dogged motivation, it’s never too late to achieve your dreams.

Medical School: Stumbling Through with Amnesia (Playing Doctor, #1)


John Lawrence - 2020
    Those manic blogs from the hospital wards during under-slept call nights (which left a few friends wondering if he had invaded the hospital pharmacy) were the genesis for this book, Playing Doctor. This is a journey through medical training as interpreted by someone who told their college career advisor that the only thing they did not want to be was a doctor-not that medical schools want you believing their training was interpretive, like a modern dance company's version of Grey's Anatomy-and started school with a traumatic brain injury. This entertaining, heartfelt demystification of medical school via the confusion that seemed to litter John's medical trail, takes readers along the studies and clinical wards that miraculously teach students how to care for patients. The follow up books cover residency.

Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too


Amanda Thebe - 2020
    In her original, laugh-out-loud account, Thebe reveals the unique methods that have worked for her and her many clients. She also cuts through the thicket of information (and misinformation) about menopause to demystify hormone replacement therapy, hormone-related stress, weight gain, poor energy, lack of sleep, and more.Menopause isn’t fun, sexy, or cool, and a woman might spend one-third of her life in it—but that doesn’t mean we should suffer in silence. Let the outspoken, honest, and hilarious Amanda Thebe be your guide to surviving—and thriving—during menopocalypse. (Greystone Books)

Weightless: My Life as a Fat Man and How I Escaped


Gregg McBride - 2014
    His blog, JustStopEatingSoMuch.com, focuses on the topics of weight loss and food addiction. McBride has made multiple appearances on the Today Show and is also the author of the book Just Stop Eating So Much!, as well as a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.Joy Bauer, MS, RD, CDN, is the longtime nutrition and health expert for the Today Show, a contributing editor to Woman's Day magazine, and the New York Times best-selling author of Food Cures and Joy Fit Club.

Moonshiner's Daughter


Mary Judith Messer - 2010
    Her father, an ardent moonshiner when he wasn't in prison, and her mother, often showing mental illness from an earlier brain injury, raised their four children in some of the grimmest circumstances that you will ever read about. Messer eventually escaped her extreme living conditions by going to live with a family as their mother's helper outside of Washington, DC. She then moved to New York City to join her oldest sister who had fled an abusive arranged marriage when she was fifteen and left behind a young son. These two teenage girls, uneducated but determined, found freedom from their Appalachian abuse yet encountered a culture and some inhabitants who provided scars even so. Messer's memoir is told through the eyes and with the words of a barely educated child and young woman yet their meaning and her descriptions are clear as a mountain stream. Messer changed the names of many people and places she wrote about to protect her still living family members and herself as well. In the final chapter, Messer shares one legacy from her father....he even taught the infamous "Popcorn" Sutton of Maggie Valley how to be a moonshiner when Popcorn was a teenager. The moonshiner's daughter did survive and ultimately thrive. This is her story. You won't be able to put it down.

Crossing the Moon: A Memoir


Paulette Bates Alden - 1998
    On the way to achieving her most important goal, she had always considered motherhood but as she neared the end of her fertile years, with a wonderful husband and aging, obstinate, yet irreplaceable parents, Alden was struck by all she would be giving up by not having a child. Suddenly, she found herself faced with the possibility that she had waited too long. In this intimate and searching memoir, Alden looks back on her southern upbringing and her conscious rejection of what seemed in the sixties to be antiquated roles -- those of wife and mother. Finally, she and her husband embark on a long and difficult course of infertility treatment.Crossing the Moon is a wry, poignant, and beautifully wise story of the choices that all women make -- and learn to live with.

Coming Clean


Kimberly Rae Miller - 2013
    Kim Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a beautifully tidy apartment in Brooklyn. You would never guess that she spent her childhood hiding behind the closed doors of her family’s idyllic Long Island house, navigating between teetering stacks of aging newspaper, broken computers, and boxes upon boxes of unused junk festering in every room—the product of her father’s painful and unending struggle with hoarding. In this coming-of-age story, Kim brings to life her experience of growing up in a rat-infested home, concealing her father’s shameful secret from friends for years, and of the emotional burden that ultimately led to an attempt to take her own life. And in beautiful prose, Miller sheds light on her complicated yet loving relationship with her parents that has thrived in spite of the odds. Coming Clean is a story about recognizing where we come from and the relationships that define us—and about finding peace in the homes we make for ourselves.

Four Thousand Days: My Journey From Prison To Business Success


Duane Jackson - 2015
    After being arrested in the US in possession of 6,500 ecstasy tablets he served time in prison on both sides of the Atlantic.On his release he started a business with the help of the Prince's Trust. A business that he grew and sold four thousand days after his release from prison, making him a millionaire many times overRead his entertaining and inspiring story and realise that, no matter what your background, you too can chart your own course from adversity to success.

Eating Well for Optimum Health


Andrew Weil - 2000
    It clarifies the mishmash of conflicting news, research, hype, and hearsay regarding diet, nutrition, and supplementation, and further establishes the judicious Dr. Weil, the director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, as a savior of public well-being. If you've ever wondered what "partially hydrogenated soybean oil" really is, been perplexed by contrary news reports about recommended dosages for supplements, or questioned the safety of using aluminum pots for cooking, Dr. Weil will make it all clear. Weil (pronounced "while") bravely criticizes many of the major diet books on the market, and backs up his admonitions with science. He warns readers to not fall under "the spell" of the anticarbohydrate Atkins Diet, but also criticizes the eating plan advocated by Dr. Dean Ornish--which has been granted Medicare coverage for cardiac patients--as being too low fat for the majority of people. (The omega-3 fatty acids missing from Ornish's diet are essential for hormone production and the control of inflammation, he says.) It's also fascinating to learn that autism, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease may be caused by omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies, while an excess of omega-6 fatty acids--very common in the typical American diet--can exacerbate arthritis symptoms. Weil's explanation of the chemistry of fats will prove difficult for most readers, but few will want to eat fast-food French fries ever again after reading his appalling reasons for avoiding them, which go way beyond their well-documented heart-clogging capabilities. After a thorough rundown of nutritional basics and a primer of micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals, Weil unveils what he feels is "the best diet in the world," with 85 recipes, such as Salmon Cakes and Oven-Fried Potatoes, that are healthy, tasty, quick to prepare, and complete with nutritional breakdowns. He includes a stirring chapter on safe weight loss (he sympathizes with the overweight and comically recalls his one-week trial of a safflower oil-diet while an undergraduate). Other, equally enlightening sections include tips for eating out and shopping for food (with warnings on various additives and a guide to organics), and a wondrous appendix with dietary recommendations for dozens of health concerns, including allergies, asthma, cancer prevention, mood disorders, and pregnancy. Eating Well is an indispensable consumer reference and one not afraid to lambaste the diet industry and empower the public with information about which the majority of doctors--to the detriment of the public health--are ignorant. --Erica Jorgensen

Me and the Ugly C


Becky Dennington - 2011
    Breast cancer. In an instant, her life changed all because of a single word she couldn’t even bring herself to say out loud. The ugly C word.Share in the journey of one young woman’s fight against breast cancer, the sacrifices a family makes, the heartbreak cancer leaves in its path, and the joy found along the way.

Don't Stop Me Now: 26.2 Tales of a Runner’s Obsession


Vassos Alexander - 2016
    Part escape, part self-discovery, part therapy, part fitness. Part simple childlike joy of running when you could be walking.Vassos Alexander shares the highs and lows of falling in love with running, from his first paltry efforts to reach the end of his street to completing ultra marathons and triathlons in the same weekend. Each of the 26.2 chapters also features a fascinating insight into how others first started – from Paula Radcliffe to Steve Cram, the Brownlees to Jenson Button, Nicky Campbell to Nell McAndrew. Also includes a foreword by Chris Evans.Funny, inspiring, honest - the perfect read for anyone with well-worn trainers by the door (or thinking of buying a pair...)

Guardian Angel: My Journey from Leftism to Sanity


Melanie Phillips - 2013
     Beginning with her solitary childhood in London, it took years for Melanie Phillips to understand her parents’ emotional frailties and even longer to escape from them. But Phillips inherited her family’s strong Jewish values and a passionate commitment to freedom from oppression. It was this moral foundation that ultimately turned her against the warped and tyrannical attitudes of the Left, requiring her to break away not only from her parents—but also from the people she had seen as her wider political family. Through her poignant story of transformation and separation, we gain insight into the political uproar that has engulfed the West. Britain’s vote to leave the EU, the rise of far-Right political parties in Europe, and the stunning election of US president Donald Trump all involve a revolt against the elites by millions. It is these disdained masses who have been championed by Melanie Phillips in a career as prescient as it has been provocative. Guardian Angel is not only an affecting personal story, but it provides a vital explanation why the West is at a critical crossroads today. “Melanie Phillips has been one of the brave and necessary voices of our time, unafraid to speak the language of moral responsibility in an age of obfuscation and denial. This searing account of her personal journey is compelling testimony to her courage in speaking truth to power.”—Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Waffle Street: The Confession and Rehabilitation of a Financier


James Adams - 2010
    Wearied by eight years in the bond market and disillusioned by the financial services profession, he decides to get an “honest job” for a change. Before he knows what hit him, Jimmy finds himself waiting on tables of barflies at his local Waffle House.Amidst the glorious chaos of the night shift, the 24-hour diner affords a bevy of comedic experiences as the author struggles to ingratiate himself with a motley crew of waiters and cooks.Unexpectedly, the restaurant also becomes a font of insight into financial markets and the human condition.In a uniquely hilarious and thought-provoking narrative, Waffle Street unravels the enigmas of money, banking, economics, and grits once and for all. As they laugh heartily at the author’sexpense, readers will develop a profound appreciation for the first principle of economics: there really is no such thing as a free lunch.

A Life in the Day


Hunter Davies - 2017
     The Co-op’s Got Bananas! left our protagonist at the cusp of working for one of the world’s greatest newspapers – The Sunday Times . In this much-anticipated sequel, Hunter now looks back across five decades of successful writing to reflect on his colourful memories of the living in London during the height of the Swinging Sixties, becoming editor of Britain’s first colour weekend supplement The Sunday Times magazine; where he befriended the Beatles; and reporting on (and partying with) some of the biggest names in television, film and theatre of the day. As time moved on into the 1970s, '80s and '90s, Hunter encountered the likes of Sir Michael Caine, George Best, Melvyn Bragg, Joan Bakewell, Sir Sean Connery, Cilla Black, Paul Gascoigne, and Wayne Rooney to name a few. Hunter brings the story full circle to reflect on his years spent with the love of his life – the bestselling writer Margaret Forster, who sadly passed away in February 2016. This will not only be a colourful and enjoyable memoir of what it was like to be at the epicentre of Britain’s artistic heart, but also an emotional, heart-felt tribute to family, friends and colleagues. For those captivated by The Co-op’s Got Bananas!, this sequel is a must read.

A Short Guide to a Long Life


David B. Agus - 2014
    David B. Agus shared what he has learned from his work as a pioneering cancer doctor, revealing the innovative steps he takes to prolong the lives of not only cancer patients, but all those who want to enjoy a vigorous, lengthy life. Now Dr. Agus has turned his research into a practical and concise illustrated handbook for everyday living. A Short Guide to a Long Life is divided into three sections (What to Do, What to Avoid, and Doctor's Orders) that provide the definitive answers to many common and not-so-common questions: Who should take a baby aspirin daily? Are flu shots safe? What constitutes "healthy" foods? Are airport scanners hazardous? Dr. Agus believes optimal health begins with our daily routines. His book will help you develop new patterns of personal health care, using inexpensive and widely available tools that are based on the latest and most reliable science.