But when her second child is born with albinism, a rare genetic condition whose most striking characteristics are white blonde hair, pale skin and impaired vision, she discovers that the very definition of normal is up for grabs. A moving memoir with flashes of humor, this essay tells one mother’s story of navigating the spectrum of ability and disability, filled with both heartbreak and joy. And how ultimately she and her daughter learn to balance together on the edge of normal. Reviews and Praise THE EDGE OF NORMAL was selected for Amazon's Best Kindle Singles of the Year, and has been featured in the SundayTimes Magazine (UK), Longreads, and OZY. About the Author Hana Schank is an author and a technology consultant. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Atlantic.com, and her writing has appeared across the web and in national magazines. Her memoir, A More Perfect Union: How I Survived the Happiest Day of My Life, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.

    While many books outline the popular teachings of traditional Chinese medicine, only this one offers step-by-step instructions for treating injuries. Expert practitioner and martial artist Tom Bisio explains the complete range of healing strategies and provides a Chinese first-aid kit to help the reader fully recover from every mishap: cuts, sprains, breaks, dislocations, bruises, muscle tears, tendonitis, and much more. He teaches readers how to: -Examine and diagnose injuries -Prepare and apply herbal formulas -Assemble a portable kit for emergencies -Fully recuperate with strengthening exercises and healing dietary advice Comprehensive and easy to follow, with drawings to illustrate both the treatment strategies and the strengthening exercises, this unique guidebook will give readers complete access to the powerful healing secrets of the great Chinese warriors.

    Filled with illustrated exercises and recipes, this book offers a unique, integrated system of preventive health care so that now anyone can promote good health, longevity, and spiritual awareness using these traditional techniques. Included are:    •  Key concepts of Chinese medical theory    •  Dozens of illustrated T'ai Chi and Chee-gung exercises    •  The Chinese approach to healing common ailments    •  Authentic secrets of Taoist sexual yoga    •  Therapeutic food recipes and herbal tonics    •  Alternative treatments for diseases such as AIDS and cancer    •  Resource listings: teachers, schools, centers, stores, and mail-order suppliers

    Brilliant Positive Thinking will show you how to reap the benefits of positive thinking, giving you the necessary the tools to make the most of your life, whatever you have experienced.Includes: - Information on transforming negative feelings to positive feelings in simple steps- Guidance on how to deal with negative people and lessening their influence on you- Identifying your emotional 'triggers' and learning to control them

    Winning the 2008 national championship was certainly the highlight, but the most dominant era in school history also includes a national-best 300 wins, three Final Fours and nine Big 12 titles since 2001.The consistency was unmatched.As a sportswriter covering the Jayhawks, first for The Kansas City Star and then for Yahoo! Sports, Jason King was there to chronicle it all. From Roy Williams' stunning departure to Mario's Miracle against Memphis to Kansas' 69-game winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse, King witnessed all the highlights - and lowlights - from 2000 and beyond. In short, he was the ultimate insider.Now you will be, too.With "Beyond the Phog," King provides Kansas fans with an unprecedented glimpse into one of the most memorable eras in the program's rich history. Extensive interviews with nearly 40 players from the last decade, as well as both head coaches, reveal fascinating details about the inner-workings of a true college basketball dynasty.You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be riveted - and, at times, shocked. Whatever the case, even the most ardent Kansas supporters will be exposed to candid, behind the scenes stories and anecdotes that, until now, had been confined to the Jayhawks' locker room.Here's a sample of what's inside:• Did Drew Gooden's shoes cost Kansas the 2002 NCAA title?• Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich lament their final game against Syracuse• Roy Williams provides details about his final few weeks at Kansas and his relationship with Al Bohl• Why did Wayne Simien almost quit basketball?• Jeff Graves comes clean about violating a sacred locker room rule• Russell Robinson describes why he tried to fight his own coach• J.R. Giddens gives his version of the Moon Bar stabbing• Darrell Arthur explains why he's been hesitant to return to campus since winning the 2008 title• Mario Chalmers provides a step-by-step account of his heroic shot against Memphis• Tyshawn Taylor discusses the aftermath of the Jayhawks' 2011 loss to VCU• Josh Selby talks about his decision to enter the NBA draft• And hundreds of other stories from favorites such as Sherron Collins, Keith Langford, Jeff Boschee, Aaron Miles, Michael Lee, Eric Chenowith, Xavier Henry, Luke Axtell, Sasha Kaun, Tyrel Reed, Jeff Hawkins, Brady Morningstar, Darnell Jackson and others.Time has clearly loosened lips in Lawrence. "Beyond the Phog" is an honest, candid look at what really happened during a magical - and often controversial - period in Kansas basketball history.

    But now that the Imperium Titus has taken over, every ship sails on the edge of a knife. Young airman Cyprian Fields isn't one to turn away from danger. During his service as the deckmaster of an old freighter named Philomena, the arrival of mysterious young physician Basil Black and alluring stowaway Veronica Stromm turn the intrepid boy officer's world upside-down. Suddenly, Cyprian and Philomena's ragtag crew are thrown into a wonderful and perilous adventure that will take them to the furthest reaches of air, land, and sea. In the midst of whispering Silverspoons and murderous admirals, printing presses and aetherolabes, fleets and fortresses, Cyprian, Veronica, and Basil must decide whether they will face down the might of the Imperium or allow the doom descending on Cor Nova to overwhelm them all.

    Captain Collier teamed up with his best Vietnam helicopter pilot buddy, Gary, and the two rascals shared enough true adventure to make any novel seem lame. Flying combat in mountainous and weather-hostile Laos was some of the most challenging ever experienced by any pilot, any time, any war. Making fabulous money and having airline benefits allowed them to live an exotic lifestyle, to travel the world on their monthly R&Rs, and to chase and capture more than a few stewardesses from several different airlines.War correspondent Anne Darling described the helicopter pilots for AIR AMERICA as "CIA Super Pilots" Captain Bill Collier was one of those "Super Pilots." This is his story.

    

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Naked, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Holidays on Ice, Santaland Diaries, Barrel Fever. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Naked, published in 1997, is a collection of essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The book details Sedaris life, from his unusual upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, to his booze-and-drug-ridden college years, to his Kerouacian wandering as a young adult. The book became a best-seller and was acclaimed for its wit, dark humor and irreverent tackling of tragic events, including the death of Sedaris mother. Prior to publication, several of the essays were read by the author on the NPR program This American Life. About the early life of the Sedaris family, and David's hopes to one day be rich and famous. It is revealed that the family is actually middle class. A description of Sedaris' obsessive-compulsive and Tourettic tendencies as a child. His behavior quirks include licking light switches and kissing newspapers, and they frequently land him in trouble at school. These tendencies are abandoned when he begins smoking at college. An account of Sedaris' elderly (and slightly senile) grandmother, known as Ya-Ya. After suffering an injury she is forced to live with his family, resulting in tension for all. Eventually, at the urging of Sedaris' mom (who was against Ya-Ya moving in with the family in the first place), she is put into a low-grade nursing home. When she dies, only his father seems to mourn. A description of events regarding a pornographic book that Sedaris finds when he is a child. The book is passed between his siblings, and eventually confiscated by his mother, who in turn reads it. A description of...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=89168

    Now in her ninety-fourth year, this timely celebration sheds new light on the myriad attributes and personal qualities she brings to the nation. From fortitude in the face of adversity to standing as the nation's ambassador all over the world, no one could doubt the work ethic that powers this remarkable woman, even into her nineties. Equally, her love of family - from her rock of over sixty years' marriage, Prince Philip, to her great grandchildren - shines through. But what are the secrets of her success? How does she still approach her day-to-day with such vitality and aplomb, even when culture and society are changing rapidly all around her?The Queen on fame: When an MP commented that it must be a strain meeting so many strangers all the time, the Queen smiled, 'It is not as difficult as it might seem. You see, I don't have to introduce myself. They all seem to know who I am.'The Queen on fashion: In the late sixties when Mary Quant and the mini skirt came to epitomize all that was fashionable, Princess Anne suggested her mother might also consider shortening her hemline. The Queen was adamant, 'I am not a film star.' The Queen on family: As Great Britain's most famous great grandmother, it is no surprise that the Queen values family life. 'Marriage gains from the web of family relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, cousins, aunts and uncles.'In this book Karen Dolby unpicks the key elements that make the Queen so special to - and so loved by - the nation and presents a guide to how you too could put into practice some of Her Majesty's traits to help overcome adversity, find inner strength and present yourself as wonderfully considered and calm, even when all about you seems in chaos.

    In Think Yourself Thin, Smith helps you uncover the root of your struggle and address the spiritual or emotional issues tied to your eating behavior. By applying the strategies outlined in this book, you will have the tools you need to take control of your weight, and thus your health, and experience the joy of having your dream body. Divided into four parts, Smith’s book uncovers the five psychological stages required to lose weight and keep it off. Smith also introduces the all-new SUCCESS System detailing the mental habits and approaches necessary for permanent weight loss. Filled with inspiring, motivational success stories and user-friendly principles that provide the guidance you need to eat in a manner that helps the body burn fat and lose weight, Think Yourself Thin makes long-term weight loss a reality by starting with what matters most.

    The perfect reference tool for those already familiar with the step-by-step processes of ThetaHealing, this comprehensive work contains all of the programs, belief systems, intuitive insights, remedies, and supplements that Vianna Stibal has found to be of value for treating certain diseases and disorders, based on more than 47,000 sessions with clients. Alphabetized for quick reference, this book addresses an extensive and varied list of ailments and points the way to a revolutionary path of healing.     With growing scientific evidence that toxic emotions can contribute to disease; and increased awareness that emotions, feelings, and the power of thought have a direct bearing upon one’s physical health, more and more people are now realizing that changing how their minds influence their bodies can be of huge value in creating optimal health. This book represents a valuable contribution to the new paradigm that is emerging in the world of healing!

    

     Theo Aronson's The Kaisers is the story of six people whose bitter differences were a microcosm of, and greatly influenced, a national conflict which echoed all round the world. Kaiser Wilhelm I, born 1797, King of Prussia 1861, proclaimed Emperor of all Germany 1871, died only in 1888 an autocratic, militaristic man of the eighteenth century completely opposed to the liberalizing ideas which swept Europe in his lifetime. In contrast his Empress, Augusta, was progressive in thought, open-minded in outlook, yet with all had a taste for the theatrical and pageantry of her royal status. The best of her was seen in their son, Kaiser Frederick III, who was Crown Prince for all but the last few cancer-torn weeks of his life. He personified the best of European liberalism of the nineteenth century. In this he was supported—many said unduly influenced by his energetic and vivacious English wife Victoria, Queen Victoria's eldest and 'Dearest Child', who brought to the marriage the enlightened ideals and hopes of her shrewd, practical mother and her far-seeing father, the Prince Consort. The tragedy, the tempting speculation of Germany's history, is that this couple reigned for only three months before Frederick III's death brought their son to the throne. Kaiser Wilhelm II, 'Kaiser Bill' of the first World War, was again the antithesis of everything his parents stood for. Queen Victoria's hopes that her grandson might be 'wise, sensible, courageous — liberal-minded — good and pure', could hardly have been more misplaced. The sixth, the dominating figure in the Hohenzollern story, is Prince Otto von Bismarck, the ruthless 'Iron Chancellor', virtual dictator of Germany for nearly thirty years. He served all three Kaisers, claiming with justification that on his shoulders he had carried the first to the Imperial throne—where he manipulated him to his will despite the hatred and manoeuvrings of the Empress Augusta. He feared the reign of the short-lived second Kaiser and feared more perhaps (and never missed an opportunity to disparage) the Empress Victoria and the constant, commonsense influence from England of her mother. (`That', he said ruefully after their one meeting, 'was a woman ! One could do business with her ! ') Their son he flattered, siding with him against his parents, and in so doing brought about his own downfall, when the vainglorious young man he had schooled as Crown Prince came as Kaiser to believe that he could do without his mentor. But for Europe it was too late, and the policies of one and the vanities of the other were already leading Europe helter-skelter into the holocaust of 'the Kaiser's War'. Theo Aronson's gifts as a writer have deservedly brought him high regard as a chronicler of the complex histories of Europe's great ruling Houses. Rarely have his talents been better employed than in this study of the comet-like rise and fall of the House of Hohenzollern, the House of the Kaisers of Germany. It is a story of bitter, almost continual conflict, yet even in what can now be seen as a path to inevitable destruction Mr. Aronson finds passages of light and shade that show the Hohenzollerns not simply as Wagnerian puppets posturing on a vast European stage, but people deserving of our understanding and compassion.

    By experimenting with new concepts of time, integrating Eastern philosophies into Western music, and exploring multiphonics and other new sounds on his saxophone, he opened avenues of expression that influenced musicians and composers from jazz to rock to avant-garde.Bill Cole focuses on two aspects of John Coltrane in this provocative study: Coltrane the musician and Coltrane the religious person. Deeply interrelated, both aspects are bound up with Coltrane's identification as an African- American. Coltrane accepted the traditional African belief in the magical powers of sound and connected his music to its African roots via a devout religiosity. Cole shows how Coltrane's influences extended from tribal tone languages to speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. -- he even adapted King's rhythmic inflections into a saxophone solo.Bill Cole offers a lengthy musical analysis of Coltrane's career; it also includes a detailed discography with recording data and personnel and over two dozen photographs. Cole draws on quotes from Coltrane himself, transcriptions of his improvisations, analyses of his music, research into West African religion, and his own personal reminiscences of the man, to offer a stimulating perspective on Coltrane's music, life, and thought.