Book picks similar to
Warden Ragen of Joliet by Gladys A. Erickson
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A Life Inside: A Prisoner's Notebook
Erwin James - 2003
A young man when he was sent down, he has matured in prison and has reflected on the wasted years he has spent inside. This is the candid and hard-hitting account of those years. He tells of arriving in prison; about learning the who, what, why and when of prison life; about bullying and terror from other inmates and security staff; about replaying the crimes of his past over and over; and about discovering his talent for writing. This is a book that takes its readers on Erwin James's moving and terrible journey from vicious youth to reformed and reflective middle age.
The Paradiso Files: Exposing an Unknown Serial Killer
Timothy M. Burke - 2008
Burke makes his case against one Leonard Paradiso. Lenny “The Quahog” was convicted of assaulting one young woman and paroled after three years, but Burke believes that he was guilty of much more – that Paradiso was a serial killer who operated in the Boston area, and maybe farther afield, for nearly fifteen years, assaulting countless young women and responsible for the deaths of as many as seven. Burke takes the reader inside the minds of prosecutors, police investigators, and one very dangerous man who thought he had figured out how to rape and murder and get away with it. The Paradiso Files generated headlines when first published in February 2008. Nine days later, Paradiso died at the age of sixty-five without commenting on any of Burke’s accusations, including that he murdered Joan Webster, a Harvard graduate student who disappeared from Logan Airport in 1981. Boston-area prosecutors announced in September 2008 that Burke’s revelations had led them to reopen the unsolved murder cases of three young women – Melodie Stankiewicz, Holly Davidson, and Kathy Williams. There were “too many similarities between the individual cases to ignore,” a prosecutor involved in the new investigation said. Burke’s account leaves little doubt that Paradiso’s deeds should go down in infamy, alongside those of the Boston Strangler.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption
Kermit Alexander - 2015
The victims were Ebora Alexander, Dietra Alexander, Damani Garner, and Damon Bonner—the mother, sister, and nephews of retired All-Pro cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers Kermit Alexander. In his own words, Kermit Alexander finally shares the full story of what happened to his loved ones and the aftermath of that tragic day. He recounts the hours leading up to the massacre, and how afterward he lost himself in the LA underworld, pleading, bribing, and threatening in a search for answers. He describes his journey through the “wilderness” of despair—the years of isolation living out of his car, broke, depressed, and sick. We also learn about his coming-of-age in 1950s LA, the following decade he spent in the NFL, the events leading up to that fateful August day, and finally the shocking truth behind the murders. Kermit opens up about his darkest hours, but also what it took to turn his life around, rebuild his family, and ultimately find peace. Ominous and intense, powerful and uplifting, tragic and triumphant, The Valley of the Shadow of Death is more than a rendering of one man’s adversity; it’s testament to the value of family and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming loss.
None Shall Divide Us
Michael Anthony Stone - 2003
His name and face are painted on walls across Belfast, and his desire to remove Adams and McGuinness from the political spectrum has turned him into a local super-hero. A meticulous killing machine, he executed six men, whose deaths were claimed under different Loyalist groupings, and when justice finally caught up with him he was sentenced to 800 years in prison. Twelve years later, he left a free man, renounced terrorism, apologized for the suffering he had caused and said the fledgling peace process was the only way forward. This is his own true story.
Starfish - One Family's Tale of Triumph After Tragedy
Tom Ray - 2017
I have no idea if it is part of the dream, a hallucination, or reality. It talks of children, bringing news of a girl called Grace who loves me very much and a new baby boy called Freddie, who apparently needs me to get better... It stirs a part of me, even in my coma, reminding me that I'm thirty-eight and in love with the most beautiful woman in the world. It tells me that one third of me is gone but what's left is enough; that the thing is, above all, to survive.'
When Tom Ray put his young daughter to bed one chilly December evening, he had everything he could ever want - the house of his dreams, a beautiful wife and a second baby on the way. By the next morning all of this was in jeopardy as Tom succumbed to the devastating illness that is sepsis.Starfish tells Tom and Nic Ray's truly inspirational story of their life before, during and after the illness which claimed Tom's lower arms, legs, and a portion of his face. Heart-breakingly honest and affecting, their story charts the devastating effects of Tom's illness, Nic's heroic struggle to cope and, ultimately, the love and hope that has held their family together in the ensuing years.
A tragic yet beautiful tale of a couple whose love is tested to its limit after their perfect life falls apart in a single moment.
War Stories: From a New York City Cop in the Seventies and Eighties
Jack Fitzgerald - 2018
At least a few, sometimes more than a few of our third platoon would be looking forward to spending an hour or so “unwinding from the stress” with brother officers while enjoying a cold beer.Every precinct had a “cops” bar where we could gather without concern about running into the guy we locked up last week. The bad guys knew that bar was off-limits and they were not welcome. They stayed away. After that first cold beer the conversation would usually begin with, “Let me tell you what happened to me and my partner tonight. You won’t believe it.” The storyteller would embellish his most recent policing experience and a good storyteller would always add just enough drama to keep everyone interested. Of course there was always a follow-up by someone with another story and that’s the way it would go until it was time to leave. Those stories became known as “War Stories,” as in, “Do I have a war story for you guys tonight!”
A is for Airway: More EMS adventures with Roxy McCoy
Robin Watt - 2016
Between the foolish and sometimes silly calls she goes on, are the heart-pounding serious cases that make every EMT anxious. And somehow, she still has time for a love life.
Who Says You Can't Go Home?: An Autobiography
B. Loren - 2021
It is isolating, painful, and confusing. Loneliness and longing are your reality. You’re consumed with guilt, self-deprecating inner dialogue, and worst of all, the fear of doing even the smallest thing wrong. You spend a lot of time alone…even when you’re not. You watch a lot of TV.Obviously, this is all your fault. Obviously, the reason you are living this way is because of something you did to warrant it. If they beat you, you deserved it. If they punish you, you asked for it. You never want to go home, but you don’t have a choice because you’ve never had a choice. This is it. This is what you have. This is all you know.And yet, you still smile when you sometimes catch a glimpse of the sweeter things and treasure the smallest kindness. Inside, you know life isn’t supposed to be like this, but it is. Your life is like a bubble of poison gas that could burst at any moment…you know that. You live that. But how are you supposed to make sense of any of this? How do you make it stop?You can’t.You are powerless.You haven’t even reached kindergarten yet.From a severely abusive childhood in the inner city of Baltimore, a string of unsatisfying relationships and several broken marriages, to a six-figure income from the multi-million dollar business I built out of my home, this is my story in my own words.I was stolen as a baby when my mother died. I was lied to by my kidnapper and used as a Cinderella punching bag by his never-ending parade of “step-mothers” and girlfriends, and much worse when he didn’t have one.This memoir covers the good, the bad, and the ugly.As this story unfolds, my hope is that you, the reader, will discover a little girl who survived that abusive childhood, healed, and empowered herself through discipline and hard work. I hope you see a girl who became a woman who learned from her mistakes and a whole human being who loves her newfound family with all her heart.I am no longer an outsider. I can go home now.
The Murder of Dr Muldoon: A Suspect Priest, A Widow's Fight for Justice
Ken Boyle - 2019
Three local women notice the couple's suspicious behaviour and apprehend them. The two are handed over to the police, charged and sent for trial. A month later, a young doctor is shot dead on the streets of Mohill, Co. Leitrim. The two incidents are connected, but how? In the days following the shooting of Dr Paddy Muldoon, the name of a local priest was linked to the killing and rumours abounded of a connection to the events in Dublin a month earlier and also that an IRA gang had been recruited to carry out the murder. However, despite an investigation at the time, the murder remained unsolved for almost 100 years. Now, newly discovered archive material from a range of sources, including the Muldoon family, has made it possible to piece together the circumstances surrounding the doctor's death, and reveals how far senior figures in the Church, State and IRA were willing to go to cover up a scandal.
Magic Moments: Four Seasons on a Scottish Hill Farm
Tom Duncan - 2004
He is helped in his endeavours by Cha and Big Tam, two unforgettable characters, as he struggles with sheep with a mind of their own, stubborn bulls, horrific weather and an often hostile environment. A Scottish best-seller whern it was first published in 2004 the book has since been reprinted six times and continues to delight everyone with an interest in farming and the countryside.
Confessions of a Trauma Nurse
Arayah Sunshine - 2018
You will rethink your entire perspective on the healthcare industry and their providers after reading this book. “Do yourself a favor and never give in to someone telling you that you need to smell something in the medical field.” -Nugget of wisdom from a trauma nurse. There is a lot about the healthcare industry and the medical profession, especially the workers that keep it functional that is unknown and shrouded in secrecy. If you’ve ever wondered how they deal with the things they’ve seen that will probably make you throw up your last meal and all the ones before that, then this book is for you. In Confessions of a Trauma Nurse, Arayah Sunshine gives a unique and rare peek into the daily activities of professionals in the healthcare industry with a fresh perspective never seen elsewhere or written down in this manner. Not for the weak-minded, this book gives a different spin on the realities of the medical profession. Taken from trauma nurses from different backgrounds with stories and anecdotes that will make you laugh, cringe-inducing horror stories, moments that will make you indignant and others that will bring you near tears, this book will take you on an emotional, yet insightful and enlightening roller coaster. Confessions of a Trauma Nurse is chock-full of lots of captivating thoughts, ideas, and comments that border deliciously on the edge of very dark humor. Some are as little as a sentence long, yet pack a punch so powerful that you will be thinking about them for hours, if not days. It also contains tips from the “pros” to avoid falling for the tricks and traps that healthcare providers set for themselves! But beware, once you’ve begun reading, you will not want to put this one down for even a minute, so make sure you’ve cleared your schedule for the day before delving into the psyche of trauma nurses. You might also want to make sure you can handle gross moments because this book contains a lot. If you’re a healthcare provider, then this is definitely a book you should add to your shelf. If you’re interested in the daily activities and thought processes of healthcare providers and trauma nurses, get this book. Scroll up and click the buy button now to get your copy of Confessions of a Trauma Nurse by Arayah Sunshine and get started on your way into the world of healthcare providers!
Perseverance
Kristin Peck - 2014
Now, graduating from business school, newly married, Kristin is ready to take the next step of starting a family. But when Kristin’s first pregnancy ends with a miscarriage, she is devastated. When her second pregnancy does as well, Kristin and her husband Bob turn to in vitro fertilization – and are heartbroken again after a third miscarriage. Undaunted, they turn to alternate options, including surrogacy and adoption, but face setbacks at every turn, some so unthinkable that they never could have been predicted. In the most extreme of circumstances, when all of our careful plans are thrown out the window, how do we persevere? In spite of the pain and sorrow of the many years spent trying to start their family, Kristin and Bob remain positive, loving, and driven – and learn in their ultimately rewarding journey that life’s joys come more from the unexpected than from the expected.100% of Kristin Peck’s proceeds from the sale of Perseverance will be donated to Family and Children's Agency.Kristin Peck is thrilled to be the working mother of two amazing children. She keeps herself sane by belting out her favorite pop and country songs while running and completing triathlons, and is proud to have recently completed her first marathon. She is currently EVP, Group President of Zoetis, Inc., the world's largest animal health company. Kristin received her bachelor’s from Georgetown and her MBA from Columbia Business School. Kristin, her husband, two children and their dog live in CT. Perseverance is her first book.Cover design by Hannah Perrine Mode.
Prisoners In The Shed: The Harrowing True Journey From Captivity To Hope
Bella Hope Shiloh - 2020
DOUBT: The Madeleine McCann Mystery (Gone Girl Book 1)
Nick van der Leek - 2017
We also know the original lead investigator, Goncalo Amaral’s, counter-narrative, now a legally defensible matter of public record. The questions that arise from these opposing narratives are dead simple: Which narrative is more credible? Which narrator is more credible? What was the motive behind all the publicity? Neither Madeleine nor her abductor ultimately benefited from the ongoing media barrage, so who did? True crime maestro, Nick van der Leek, plumbs quagmires of confusion and a thicket of thorny inconsistencies to probe what lies beneath: the psychologies. What is the significance of "doctors" as suspects? Did it matter or mean anything that the McCanns and their cabal of friends in the Algarve were mostly doctors? Peeling away the gossamer threads, over the course of just four days [April 29th – May 2nd], van der Leek intuits that very little was routine: not the weather, not where meals were eaten, not where or when they slept and not what they did as a family. But what were their routines when it came to other, murkier things, like sleeping patterns, cell phones and sedatives? Drawing intangibles out of the darkness, van der Leek sews the vexing loose ends from several conflicting stories into a definite - if not definitive - end-result.
The Violent Stepfather: A True Story Of Child Abuse
Scott B. Salvatore - 2014
He'd lay on his bedroom floor, locked in his room listening to the horror unfolding below. Waiting until the boots came up the stairs and it would be his turn. He couldn’t even begin to understand what he’d done wrong. Why he wasn’t allowed to see his brother, why he was always brutally punished and his mother was horribly beaten. Bullied at school and brushed away by his teachers, this fragile boy's only companion was teddy; a dusty, battered and torn teddy bear that meant everything to this young boy. A sad story unfolds shedding light on some of the horrific events that occurred behind closed doors and a seemingly normal house. A harrowing childhood nightmare. A broken and traumatic childhood. "Heart-breaking, I felt every blow to that poor boy who went through so much pain, but I smiled at the happy ending even through my tears, an excellent read" - Joan Johns (Author) WARNING: This book is based upon a true story of child abuse, and as such contains passages that some readers may find disturbing.