Once a successful painter and printmaker, Jonathan now lives in complete darkness, rarely leaving his apartment and angry at the world. When he encounters his precocious 11-year-old neighbor, Lupe, the two form an unlikely friendship. Her cheerful presence shatters his hardened exterior, revealing a gentle man struck by tragedy. Lupe leads him to a fresh perspective by showing him the power of kindness, compassion, and love.Based on the celebrated teachings of Louise Hay, Painting the Future explores the power of positive thinking in healing past struggles and learning to live a joyful, heart-centered life.

    -Quit crying in a corner 'cause your boyfriend dumped you; you know he was a lame lay, anyway. Bask in the glory of being single for a while! (That doesn't mean sluttin' it up with every guy you meet.) -Whatever you've been dying to do or try but have been too scared--today is the day! Carpe diem, bitches! Carpe diem! This ain't no dress rehearsal! -You spend eight hours a day, five days a week at your job...and you hate it? Quit, bitch! Life is short and time is precious! Don't you know that the Universe wants you to have everything you've ever dreamed of? Rory and Kim learned this sacred truth and how to harness its power, and they want the same for you. So get off your ass and get your groove on! You're gonna rock your own world!

    Her work has also been featured in numerous publications, including Chicago Reader and The Believer, as well as several anthologies, including McSweeney’s Future Dictionary of America and The Best Underground Fiction. A winner of the Chicago Public Library’s 21st Century Award, Crane teaches creative writing at Northwestern’s School of Continuing Studies, The School of the Art Institute, and The University of Chicago. She lives in Chicago.

    From the author of A Bell For Adano and Hiroshima comes this final collections of stories.

    These stories are unique in time and circumstance, yet they address a common dilemma: how to reconcile America's mythologized "promise" with its more complex reality. New to the collection are Sherman Alexie, Michelle Cliff, Edwidge Danticat, Junot Diaz, Chitra Divakaruni, Jewelle Gomez, Thomas King, Bruce Morrow, Agnes Rossi, and David Wong Louie. They join Toni Cade Bambara, Richard Bausch, Marita Bonner, Nash Candelaria, Sandra Cisneros, Louise Erdrich, Mei Mei Evans, Oscar Hijuelos, Gish Jen, LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, Kim Yong Ik, Monfoon Leong, Bernard Malamud, Paule Marshall, Nicholasa Mohr, Toshio Mori, Bharati Mukherjee, Mikhail Naimy, Tahira Naqvi, Gregory Orfalea, Grace Paley, Jeanne Schinto, Leslie Marmon Silko, Michael Stephens, Sui Sin Far, Alice Walker, and Hisaye Yamamoto—making this, once again, the most authoritative and useful multicultural collection available.

    This collection of stories cuts through the hype of modern living, travelling inward to the elusive terrain of dreams and nightmares.

    In What Makes the Great Great, the author explores the strategies and thought processes of successful African-Americans. Through dozens of interviews and the inspirational stories of people like John H. Johnson, Publisher of Ebony magazine, Condoleeza Rice, Provost of Stanford University, and Ann Fudge, President of Maxwell House Coffee, Dr. Kimbro outlines the nine strategies that determine success.According to Dr. Kimbro, being great depends on a commitment to making dreams come true: "All high achievers make choices, not excuses." He believes we all have the seeds of greatness in us, and his book gives readers the tools to discover and nurture those seeds, showing hem how to motivate themselves to master every aspect of their lives.

    A magical book celebrating the timeless connection between people and their "forever dogs."

    Half of the essays are brand new, the others are all reworked and rewritten, based on pieces that were originally published in Golf Digest. Often biting, usually cranky, always hilarious and surprising—this is Dan Jenkins at his best, writing about the sport he loves the most.      "I've always wanted to do something for the golfer who has everything. I thought about a suede golf cart, or maybe a pair of cashmere Footjoys. Then I settled on writing this book." So begins Dan Jenkins's latest—and funniest—collection of golf essays. The book consists of thirty-eight essays, all of them, as Dan says in the first essay, are "literally throbbing with opinion."     In this book Dan delves into the greatest rounds of golf he's ever seen; the funniest things said on a golf course; the rivalries on tour and in the press box; the game's most magical moments—and its most absurd. Unplayable Lies is an ode to the game Jenkins loves. But it is Dan Jenkins, so nothing—even the game of golf—can escape his wrath, his critical eye, or his acerbic pen. The best way to describe it is to turn the book over to Mr. Jenkins:      In "Titanic and I"—probably the most hilarious and surprising essay in the book, telling true stories of Titanic Thompson: gambler, golf hustler, accused murderer, legendary storyteller—Dan explains how Titanic would win a wager by saying he could knock a bird off a telephone wire: "Titanic would drop a ball on the ground and take out his four-wood, waggle it, and pretend to aim at the bird on the wire. When some sucker would bet him he couldn't do it, Ti would pull out a gun he carried and shoot the bird off the wire."     In "The Greatest Rounds": "Show me a man who doesn't know what Arnold did in the last round of the '60 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, and I'll show you a soccer fan in Paraguay."     This is a perfect follow up to His Ownself. It even has an Introduction by Sally Jenkins, one of the country's top sportswriters and Dan's own darling daughter.