That is the final lesson that Amy York's father sends her off to college with, never suspecting just how far his daughter will take it. Clinging to the Utensil Classification System as her guide, Amy tries to convince her skeptical roommate, Veronica Warren, of its usefulness as they navigate the heartbreaks and soul mates of college and beyond. Beginning in 1988, their freshman year at Syracuse University, Amy and Veronica meet an assortment of guys from slotted spoons and shrimp forks to butter knives and sporks all while trying to learn if the UCS holds true. On the quest to find their perfect steak knives, they learn to believe in themselves and not to settle in love or life.

    She recounts the travails of growing up in a large, affluent family where there was a paucity of love and of basics such as food and clothing despite the presence of a chauffeur and a cook. She goes on to recount her early hospitalization for depression in poignant detail, as well as her complex relationship with her mercurial, withholding mother.Along the way Merkin also discusses her early, redemptive love of reading and gradual emergence as a writer. She eventually marries, has a child, and suffers severe postpartum depression, for which she is again hospitalized. Merkin also discusses her visits to various therapists and psychopharmocologists, which enables her to probe the causes of depression and its various treatments. The book ends in the present, where the writer has learned how to navigate her depression, if not “cure” it, after a third hospitalization in the wake of her mother’s death.

    The Domestic Crusaders focuses on a day in the life of a modern Muslim Pakistani-American family of six eclectic, unique members, who convene at the family house to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the youngest child.With a background of 9-11 and the scapegoating of Muslim Americans, the tensions and sparks fly among the three generations, culminating in an intense family battle as each "crusader" struggles to assert and impose their respective voices and opinions, while still attempting to maintain and understand that unifying thread that makes them part of the same family.

    You’ll see. Draw me just one more time.”No one knows if his mother will come out of her coma, so fourteen-year-old Jordie memorializes her in the only way he knows how: by drawing her. His older brother doesn’t approve of these sketches, but Jordie’s determined to capture the person she used to be. Unfortunately, Jordie must draw her from memory because his mom didn’t keep pictures, and her body in the hospital no longer looks like her. But the images of her are quickly fading, and if he doesn’t get a drawing right soon, the mother he remembers may slip away forever. No matter how close Jordie gets to completing a drawing, his mom’s most vital feature always evades him.Will Jordie capture his mother’s eyes? Or are they and his mother gone forever?Content Warning:SuicideDeathAnimal Death​Reader discretion advised

    Despite Ruth Ann’s best efforts to live a life that’s all her own, her family is coming together around her. Marvelle and Ashley need a place to live and Ruth Ann is unable to turn them away; and her womanizing ex-husband has been coming around again, dredging up the past. Now a flurry of outbursts, emotions, and outrages is shattering Ruth Ann’s separate peace.For here is Ashley, who has spent nineteen years running furiously away from home, now finding herself on a strange journey with her unraveling grandmother. And here is Cassandra, protected by layers of obesity and loneliness, wondering how to put magic back in her life. And Marvelle, slowly losing touch with reality, privately contemplating the story of her life and the secret that would change everything for everyone—if they only knew.... By turns fierce and tender, harrowing and heartbreaking, Moon Women resonates with emotional power, holding us captive under its beguiling spell.

    The Herreras: made up of two tired parents, three grumbling children and one promiscuous dog; the Littles: he's loaded (despite two divorces and five kids), she's gorgeous, but maybe the equation for a truly happy marriage is a bit more complicated than that; and the Browns, who seem oddly jumpy around people, but especially each other. By the pool, new friendships blossom; at the aga door, resentments begin to simmer. Secret crushes are formed and secret cigarettes cadged by the teens, as the adults loosen their inhibitions with litres of white wine and start to get perhaps a little too honest ... Mother hen to all, Evie Herreras has a life-changing announcement to make, one that could rock the foundations of her family. But will someone else beat her to it?

    However, her husband Darius is too pigheaded to work on it, since—in his mind—he is not the problem. Tired of being kept under lock and key—and completely controlled by Darius, Safa makes a trip back to her old neighborhood to see her grandmother against Darius’s wishes, and everything changes. Safa meets Kordell, a sexy, street boxer who gives her what she's been missing out on. They begin an affair that pulls Safa even further away from her marriage. After some major flare ups, Safa finds herself questioning everything. Was her marriage a mistake? Is Kordell the one? Could she really give up everything for him? And what will happen if Darius finds out? So many things are shaken up when a woman gets fed up.

    Complete with exclusive photos and stories from his childhood as well as lots of behind-the-scenes fun, Austin's first official book will give you the glimpse into his life you can't get by following him on Twitter. Mahomies, this book is for you!

    It’s the forgetting that’s hard.” The year is 1923 and Prohibition is the law of the land. Levi Bowman and his four sons struggle to survive and thrive in the remote woods and mountains outpost of Sultan, Washington. It is a time and place governed by the gun and the fist where family comes first, rules are meant to be broken, and enemies put down.“The Bowman Boys is D.W. Ulsterman at his best. Lots of action, mystery, crackling dialogue, and a touch of romance while also having plenty to say about the importance of family, living by a code, and defending what’s yours.” -MobelyReviews--------------D.W. Ulsterman is the USA Today-recommended author of the bestselling family drama, The Irish Cowboy, and a Kindle Scout winner for the San Juan Islands Mystery series.

    The prospect is about as exciting as a wet blanket, but with her rogue spy ex-husband after her, Charlie's willing to tough it out.After all, everything's going great... Charlie's getting to bond with her retired spy grandmother, enjoyed the company of the resident cat and learned how to make a mean vanilla cupcake. That's until she gives one of those cupcakes to a guest and they drop dead seconds later.It's murder, and Charlie's the prime suspect. The clock is ticking--can she solve the mystery before her ex finds her?Join Charlie and Gamma on their adventures, as they solve mysteries, take care of kittens and hide from their worst enemies in Gossip, Texas. Grab your copy today!Books in this set include:Vanilla VendettaStrawberry SinCocoa Conviction

    The epic tale of the outback Australian family, the Carmodys. The Carmodys live in the outback, travelling around, shearing, droving, making ends meet and looking for that one special place they can settle down in. Along the way, Paddy, his wife Ida, and their son, Sean, meet some of the most memorable characters in fiction. The Sundowners is a novel filled with kindness and happiness, as well as toughness and danger and is set against the magnificent backdrop of the wild, harsh and beautiful Australian landscape. In 1960 The Sundowners was turned into a film starring Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Peter Ustinov with a supporting cast including Chips Rafferty.