John Charrington’s Wedding


E. Nesbit - 1891
    It was written in 1891 and is included in Nesbit's 1893 anthology Grim Tales. The story's title character is a man who somehow always seems to get what he wants. John makes up his mind to marry May Forster, the prettiest young woman in the village. After John asks her to marry him several times, May finally agrees. John says that his love for May is so great that he would come back from the dead if that was what she wanted him to do. Two days before his wedding, John leaves to visit his seriously ill godfather. May begs him not to go because she has a feeling that something bad will happen. John reassures her that nothing will prevent him from arriving at his wedding on time.

Bowled Over by the Broken


Sarah Mehmood - 2019
    From coming to terms with the fact that the one guy she was in love with actually loved her best friend, to witnessing their union before her eyes; from building walls around her heart and throwing away the key, to having to bear with an annoying neighbor who took pride in unbolting the strongest of locks, Anabya was so done with being an adult. All she needed was a good book, some shots of coffee and her bed, but unfortunately, her mum had other plans for in a desi society, a young daughter at home equated to match fixing day in and day night. So while Anabya was a strong, sassy woman, finishing her Masters in Psychology with a promising future ahead, all her mum, Nikhat, wanted was to see her married and well settled. And since no suitors had worked so far, she found her friend's son as the perfect choice. The only problem? Not only did Anabya have a heart that wasn't ready to fall in love, the person her mum suggested was that one neighbor she despised. A dramatic saga of heartbreak, love, emotional blackmail, faith in God, loss and victory packed in a captivating and humorous narrative, Bowled Over by the Broken is for the ones who love too deeply, or don't love at all. There's no in between.

Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives


Tanya Biank - 2006
    Tanya Biank goes beyond the sound bites and photo ops of military life and shows what it is really like to be an Army wife--from hauling furniture off the rental truck by yourself at a new duty station when your husband is in the field, to comforting your son who wants his dad home from Afghanistan for his fifth birthday--she takes readers into the hearts and homes of today's military wives.In the summer of 2002, Army wives were in the headlines after Biank, a military reporter for the Fayetteville Observer, made international news when she broke the story about four Army wives who were brutally murdered by their husbands in the span of six weeks at Fort Bragg, an Army post that is home to the Green Berets, Airborne paratroopers, and Delta Force commandos. By that autumn, Biank, an Army brat herself, realized the still untold story of Army wives lay in the ashes of that tragic and sensationalized summer. She knew the truth--wives were the backbone of the Army. They were strong--not helpless--and deserved more than the sugarcoating that often accompanied their stories in the media.Under the Sabers tells the story of four typical Army wives, who, in a flash, find themselves neck-deep in extraordinary circumstances that ultimately force them to redefine who they are as women and Army wives. In this fascinating and meticulously researched account, Biank takes the reader past the Army's gates, where everyone has a role to play, rules are followed, discipline is expected, perfection praised, and perception often overrides reality. Biank explores what happens when real life collides with Army convention.Biank describes what it means to be a wife and mother in a subculture that is in a constant state of readiness for war. In this hard-hitting and powerful book, Biank takes a close look at the other woman--the Army itself--and its impact on wives, marriages, and home life. This story of strength and perseverance is an eye-opener for those who have never experienced military life and an anthem to those women who each day live the "unwritten code."

All About You: An Adopted Child's Memoir


Liz Butler Duren - 2017
    She was adopted. This discovery leads Liz on a 29-year journey to find the mother who gave her away. Like a master detective, she deciphers decades-old agency documents to decode the truths within. Fraught with dead ends and disappointments, her journey threatens to reveal secrets that have long defined the lives of her loved ones. Told with heart, humor and bittersweet reflections of a South Carolina girlhood, All About You will resonate with any reader struggling to find their place in the world.