Book picks similar to
Teens With the Courage to Give: Young People Who Triumphed over Tragedy and Volunteered to Make a Difference by Jackie Waldman
non-fiction
young-adult
class-library
courage-list
Call The Midwife!: Your Backstage Pass to the Era and the Making of the PBS TV Series
Jessica Long - 2014
Full of drama, sadness, grief, joy and gritty story lines, this series takes a close look at what life was like in the post-war, East End of London. Poverty, squalid living conditions and hard times all jostle for space, but the overriding feeling is one of strong women, facing their hardships head on. Find out more about this intriguing time, in our look behind the scenes, and also discover how the East End had been shaped over the centuries.
Flying to Norway, Grounded in Burma: A Hudson Pilot in World War II
Goronwy 'Gron' Edwards - 2008
After gaining his wings he joined No 233 General Reconnaissance Squadron of Coastal Command based at Thornaby in Yorkshire. The aircraft he flew was the Avro Anson, a small twin engine aircraft that was originally designed for civilian use but had been hastily modified with the addition of two machine guns and a 280 lb bomb load. Before the outbreak of war the squadron was moved to Leuchers. Early in 1939, Coastal Command crews were ordered to ferry some Blenheim twin-engined bombers to Middle East Command and Gron was selected as a navigator for the flight to Egypt. Upon landing in Egypt they found that they had set a record time of 33 hours, 3 hours less than Imperial Airways. 233 Squadron were re-equipped with the Lockheed Hudson, a larger aircraft that enabled reconnaissance patrols along the Norwegian coast. In April 1940, as they were approaching the Norwegian coast, Gron spotted a Heinkell 115. He attacked from astern and damaged the aircraft. Although very nearly flying into the sea. Patrols continued, searching for German capital ships hiding in the Fiords. During the first five months of the Norwegian campaign 233 Squadron suffered 35% casualties even 50% on one shipping strike. Gron was awarded the DFC for his part in this operation. After becoming short-sighted and night-blind Gron was given a brief respite and then posted to the Navigational School at Cranage in Cheshire and a little later qualified as a Specialist Armament Officer. In September 1944 he sailed for Bombay and then travelled overland to Maniur, 500 miles north-east of Imphal. Gron took the job of Armament Officer of No 221 Group, a close-support fighter/bomber group of about 20 squadrons attached to the 14th Army. With the Japanese in retreat the group moved to Indianggye in Burma. Gron commanded the RAF advance party. During his service there he was Mentioned in Despatches.
A Guarded Life: My story of the dark side of An Garda Síochána
Majella Moynihan - 2020
51 Dirty Tricks Bad Guys Really Hate: Sneaky Tactics used by Police, Private Investigators and Bounty Hunters
Larry Kaye - 2014
Some tricks are completely unethical but, many can be used ethically, however any criminal would consider them unfair because they are sneaky and effective beyond what an investigator might use on a day-to-day basis to catch a criminal including...How a dirty cop can beat the daylights out of a completely compliant subject, on video, and get away with it every time!The Dirty Trick I wish I had learned YEARS ago! (This alone is worth the price of the book many times over.)The social media Dirty Trick Al-Queda used to blow up 4 Top Secret U.S. helicopters!The “How Much Do They Drink” Dirty Trick.WARNING: Don't even think about using any of the Dirty Tricks in the “Off Limits” chapter!The one Dirty Trick thieves hate even more than getting caught!Real-World Case Studies.The “Freakishly Effective” Dirty Trick to catch underage drinkers in a bar. (This is one I almost didn't include!)REVEALED: The Dirty Trick that saved me from a beating.The Dirty Trick cops use to shut down a Private Investigator's surveillance in 30 seconds or less. (Don't conduct another surveillance until you learn this one!)A cute little Dirty Trick to drive a stalker crazy. (I've used this one pro-actively for years!)One sneaky way to discover who installed a hidden cam.Bonus Tips!Section on Little Known Sources of Info (If you're a real-world P.I. you better learn these!)The best time of day to use “The Last Place You Look Dirty Trick”.The “Particularly Devastating” trick to catch a liar. (That's what the U.S Government said in a previously classified report!)The Post Card Dirty Trick. (This is so powerful it's one of my all-time favorites!)And Much, Much More!
Man vs Ocean - A toaster salesman who sets out to swim the world's deadliest oceans and change his life forever
Adam Walker - 2016
He took on arguably the toughest extreme sport on the planet - to swim non-stop across seven of the world’s deadliest oceans wearing only swim trunks, cap and goggles. It is not a test for the faint-hearted: swimmers face freezing temperatures, huge swells and treacherous currents, potentially deadly marine life (from sharks to Portuguese men o’ war), vomiting and burning off a week’s calories in a single swim.In 2007, Adam, then a toaster salesman, saw a fi lm about a man attempting to swim the English Channel and change his life in doing so. Inspired by this, he decided to try to emulate the feat. After a year of rigorous training without a coach - his first open-water swim was in 9 degrees and he nearly died from hypothermia - Adam achieved his goal in 11 hours 35 minutes, despite a ruptured bicep tendon leading to medical advice to give up long-distance swimming. In 2011, after two operations and a change to his swimming style to take pressure off his injured shoulder, he became the first Briton to achieve a two-way crossing from Spain to Morocco and back. In the process, he broke the British record one way.Shortly afterwards, the Ocean’s Seven challenge was born, a gruelling equivalent to the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. At fi rst it seemed that injury would prevent Adam from participating but, ignoring medical advice, he developed an innovative technique - the Ocean Walker stroke - that would enable him to continue with the ultimate aim of completing this seemingly impossible feat. Whether man would triumph over ocean, or fail in the attempt, forms the core of this extraordinary autobiography.Always intriguing, sometimes terrifying, and occasionally very funny, Adam’s story is about sport in its truest form: rather than competitions between teams and individuals, it is about man against nature - and against his own failings.
Bronze
Kerri-Anne Weston - 2012
She and her friends from Nobby’s Beach are the first women in Australia to gain their Bronze medallions for Surf Life Saving. On the eve of the year 1981 on the Gold Coast, Australia, this active teenager’s life is about to shatter and transform her once perfect world into one of despair as she tackles a life of paralysis. Through the support of her friends and family, Kerri will find her way back to the water and into the history books.A memoir filled with joy, tears, letters and poetry of a time when all else seemed lost. A life of hopes, dreams, love and humility learned.
The Baby Chase: An Adventure in Fertility
Holly Finn - 2011
“I smoked in my twenties. I preferred red wine to sparkling water. I ate too much milk chocolate. I liked limericks. I know all the wrong I’ve done. But also, more than any of that, I’ve always longed for children.” Yet there she was: successful, social, mostly happy, and not a mother. Knowing that her chances of becoming pregnant naturally were quickly fading, Finn decided to gamble: she—like some 85,000 other women in the U.S. each year—would attempt in vitro fertilization. Almost three years later, she’s still trying, and in the process has become an accidental pioneer (and, at times, a guinea pig) in the ever-evolving science of IVF.“The Baby Chase” is a primer for anyone contemplating or undergoing IVF. More than that, it’s a story of longing, hope—and hormones—that will appeal to all parents, present and future.Finn’s engaging and honest account sheds light on a subject that few people who undergo IFV are willing to talk about: what happens when the science doesn’t work. “Usually, it’s only the people who come out on the other side, beaming, with a baby on one hip, who speak up about IVF,” she writes. “We never hear from those IVF has failed - it’s too crushing to talk about. We don’t hear from men and women in the middle of treatment, either.... People like me.”
Unguarded: My Autobiography
Jonathan Trott - 2016
Yet shortly after reaching those heights, he started to crumble, and famously left the 2012-13 Ashes tour of Australia suffering from a stress related illness. His story is the story of Team England - it encompasses the life-cycle of a team that started out united by ambition, went on to achieve some of the greatest days in the team's history but then, bodies and minds broken, fell apart amid acrimony.Having seen all of this from the inside, Jonathan's autobiography takes readers to the heart of the England dressing room, and to the heart of what it is to be a professional sportsman. Not only does it provide a unique perspective on a remarkably successful period in English cricket and its subsequent reversal, it also offers a fascinating insight into the rewards and risks faced as a sportsman carrying the hope and expectation of a team and a nation. And it's a salutary tale of the dangers pressure can bring in any walk of life, and the perils of piling unrealistic expecations on yourself.
A Life Stolen: My Father's Journey Through Alzheimer's
Vanessa Luther - 2014
It’s an inside look into the day-to-day challenges facing not only the patient, but also the caregivers. For many years, her father exhibited signs of dementia, eventually becoming too significant to ignore. Everything culminated during an incident one night, after which her father was taken away, never to return to his home again. The disease changed him every day until he was a stranger. Then, it stole his life. Through the initial days at home to hospital stays, living in a memory care unit, rehab stints and eventually hospice care, this book reveals many of the struggles encountered while facing Alzheimer’s in a world not quite ready for it. It is based on actual events depicted exactly as they happened while travelling the heartbreaking and harrowing road through this horrific illness. Its purpose is to give guidance and insight to others caring for loved ones with this terrible affliction, whether it is in providing helpful information, feelings of support or simply words of encouragement. Most importantly, the hope is that it will make the road for others an easier one to travel. May the many tears in this journey be the fortitude that helps others deal with the adversity from this overwhelming disease.
After 9/11: One Girl's Journey through Darkness to a New Beginning
Helaina Hovitz - 2016
Her memoir encapsulates the journey of a girl growing up with PTSD after living through the events firsthand, chronicling its effects on a young girl at the outset of adolescence and following her as she spirals into addiction and rebellion, through loss, chaos, and confusion.The events and experiences that are now common knowledge to everyone were a very real part of Helaina’s life and are still as vivid in her memory today: the sickening thud of falling bodies hitting cars, the crumbling towers, running for her life as she tried to get home, her universe literally engulfed in a cloud. Hundreds, including Helaina, were stranded in the neighborhood, also just blocks from the towers, without phones or electricity or anyone to help. For fear of subsequent attacks, not to mention the toxic substances in the air, everyone was urged to stay inside their debris-filled apartments.Anyone who has survived a horrific event knows that just because a body remains in motion does not mean everything will simply “go back to normal.” The chemistry of the brain and the body changes, impacting our relationships, our choices, and how we experience the world around us. Yet, we rarely find out what actually happens to people as they try to move on from a life-threatening experience—especially children, who are just beginning to develop an understanding of the world around them.It would take Helaina more than a decade to overcome the PTSD — and subsequent alcohol addiction — that went misdiagnosed and mistreated for so many years. In many ways,
After 9/11
is the story of a generation growing up in the aftermath of America’s darkest day. And for one young woman, it is the story of a survivor who, after witnessing the end, got to make a new beginning.
Wildboy
Brando Yelavich - 2015
He needed a mission. He was going to walk around New Zealand.Brando reached Cape Reinga on 23 August 2014 after a gruelling journey of over 8000 kilometres, traversed almost completely on foot over 600 days – the first time it had ever been done.It was an outlandish odyssey of physical and mental fortitude. He slept under the stars and lived off the land. He almost drowned on several occasions and experienced near-hypothermia. He gained 20 kilograms. But the transformation ran much deeper.As much for fans of Bear Grylls or Cheryl Strayed's Wild as it is for those of the off-the-grid outdoors Kiwi experience, Wildboy is a ripping adventure story with an inspiring life change at its heart.
Forged Through Fire: A Reconstructive Surgeon's Story of Survival, Faith, and Healing
Mark D. McDonough - 2019
It also left Mark with burns on over 65 percent of his body. During a long and painful recovery, his faltering faith in God was strengthened by a remarkable near-death experience. Inspired to pursue a career as a plastic surgeon to help those who suffer as he has, McDonough has overcome numerous other adversities on his journey, including addiction and a stroke. Now he shares his incredible true story of survival and perseverance to bring hope and healing to those dealing with great physical and emotional pain.Anyone who has suffered or watched a loved one suffer from a personal trauma, disease, or loss that has tested or stolen their faith and exhausted their emotional resources will find real hope in this redemptive story.
How to Fix Your Sh*t: A Straightforward Guide to a Better Life
Shaa Wasmund - 2019
a very, very good book" - Steve Wright (BBC Radio 2) on Do Less, Get More"Inspiring ... sage and sane advice" - Booklist on Do Less, Get MoreHave you ever dreamt of doing something new - setting up a business, getting in shape, or writing a novel - but haven't gotten round to actually doing it? Does 'now' never feel like a good time to start? The time has come.In January 2015, entrepreneur and bestselling author Sháá Wasmund made a decision: to finally get what she wanted. Years after packing in her business (and her salary) to take the plunge, life is everything she hoped it would be. As she discovered, the key to getting what you want is within reach.Building on her many years of professional experience and inspired by her own personal challenges and sh*t-fixing moments, How to Fix Your Sh*t is your pocket life coach. In this simple and systematic guide, Wasmund will empower you to conquer fear, ditch the excuses and start living your best life today.
The View from Casa Chepitos: A Journey Beyond the Border
Judith Gille - 2013
Without consulting her husband or knowing how she's going to pay for it, she makes the owners a full price offer. Despite a rough start in the new culture, Gille and her family eventually befriend their neighbors on callejon de Chepito and form a close bond with the Cordova clan. As their affection for the lively Mexican family grows, so do the complications of their cross-cultural relationship. When the oldest daughter seeks to cross the border illegally, the lives of the two families become inextricably entwined. The View from Casa Chepitos puts a human face on the immigration controversy and paints an intimate portrait of Mexican life. But the story also explores the deeper issues women of all ages and cultures face: affirming their self-worth and purpose, building enduring relationships, and discovering where it is they truly belong. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bracing for Impact: True Tales of Air Disasters and the People Who Survived Them
Robin Suerig Holleran - 2015
Bracing for Impact’s compilers and contributors know. They have both lived out that fear and survived, albeit badly hurt, in their own plane crashes.In this collection of true-life survivor tales, people from all walks of life—a freelance writer, a crew member of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band, a naval flight surgeon, a teenager, and a newlywed on her honeymoon, among others—recount their traumatic narrow escapes as engines stalled, fuel ran out, hazardous weather conditions descended, and landings did not go according to plan. In the face of death, as life flashed before their eyes—or not, as some wryly note—these survivors encountered the terrific split of before and after the crash. Their lives, though preserved, would change forever.Perhaps more significant than the crash itself is how each story plays out in the aftermath of the ordeal. In heart-wrenching, unrelenting honesty, these stories explore the wide spectrum of impacts on survivors—ranging from debilitating fear, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse, to a renewed sense of urgency, where survivors swear to live each day to the fullest and rededicate their lives to helping others.Including the 1977 story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash that killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and vocalist Cassie Gaines, Bracing for Impact is as much a horrific account of air disasters as it is a celebration and recognition of the people who survived them.Fans of the 2016 Clint Eastwood film Sully starring Tom Hanks will enjoy this edge-of-your-seat read!Features 45 black and white photographs of survivors and wreckages.