A Foolish Voyage: Self-Discovery At Sea


Neil Hawkesford - 2015
    Working as yacht delivery crew. Near shipwreck on Spain's 'Costa da Morte'- the Coast Of Death. Fire onboard in the Atlantic. Engine failure in the Mediterranean. Then he decides to sail his own tiny boat across the Bay of Biscay.It doesn't go well.This is a book not just about sailing but about life. It's about what happens at the very limits of physical, emotional, and mental capacity.Ultimately it's about how personal tragedy led to a life-changing discovery - The realisation that hidden deep inside of us all is the perseverance and passion needed for achieving long-term goals.It's a book that might just start you on your own Foolish Voyage.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING"I really enjoyed this book. I started reading it for the "sailing adventure" aspect....but ended up getting so much more out of it." B.RICH"First book I've read in years that I literally couldn't put down - great story." AMAZON CUSTOMER"Simple honesty of the best and rarest kind. If this book were a bell it would ring loud and sweetly and our hearts would resonate just as sweetly, just as poignantly. This book is the story we need to hear. A story of hope, of failure and the truths that only failure brings, and of hope regained and triumph on one's own terms." KEN STEPHENS"I read it in one sitting, and if there's an ounce of longing for freedom and adventure left in your heart, so will you." BORDER CORSAIR"I have a feeling reading Neil's book will be a life changer for me. He is right, there is more to life than this." R.N.SCOTT

Breakfast at the Exit Cafe


Wayne Grady - 2010
    It soon becomes a journey of exploration. For Grady, whose forebears were slaves who came to Canada in the 1880s, this is a journey through fear, racism, and violence into his own family roots. For Simonds, who grew up a lonely Canadian in the American School of Campinas, Brazil, it is a journey into the heart of the ex-pat promised land, the nation of the American Dream. As Grady and Simonds travel back through American history, they encounter the splendours of the Mojave Desert, the Grand Canyon, the Mississippi River, and the bayous of Louisiana and the Outer Banks, and they experience the impact of geography on culture and of culture on the landscape. Although they are observing America from the outside, they also strangely feel at home. The Americans they meet illuminate a country dissolving in the grip of the Bush administration's final years and inspire them to reassess their-and our-assumptions about that powerful and complex country. Also available in paperback.

Secondhand Scotch: How One Family Survived in Spite of Themselves


Cathy Curran - 2016
    Lillian Low's homespun values-people come in all flavors just like ice cream-bring joy and humor into the Low house. When restless Joe Low ditches one suburb for another because he wants a do-over, Lillian tells him, "How the hell many do you need? Don't you know that wherever you go, you've got to take yourself with you?" Along for the ride is the colorful, extended Low clan, who turn up to celebrate the arrival of Joe and Lillian's army of kids. They eat, sing, Joe gets plastered, and all too often, scotch-fired arguments lead to some good old-fashioned fistfights. The mayhem that actually started the brawl gets swept under the carpet, and when Curran finally pulls it up, pandemonium emerges from hell with a vengeance. Through the vision of a sensitive young girl with a wickedly funny voice, "Secondhand Scotch" uncorks some harsh realities, but never ceases to warm and entertain.

Patient 71


Julie Randall - 2017
    Out of the blue she went from a fit, healthy, fun-loving wife and mother of two, to not knowing what had happened. Or why.Rushed to hospital by ambulance, it was discovered Julie had a malignant brain tumour. Diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Advanced Melanoma, she was told to get her affairs in order because she didn't have long to live.After getting over the initial shock, Julie fought off the fear and started searching for hope. She found an American experimental drug trial, but was told there was only room for 70 patients and the numbers were full. Julie had promised her teenage daughters that she would find a way to 'fix it' so she refused to take no for an answer. Her tenacity paid off and she flew to Oregon and the Providence Cancer Center. She became PATIENT 71.Not everyone survives a cancer diagnosis. Julie is one of the lucky ones. She discovered that when you push the boundaries, refuse to give up and never lose sight of your goal... extraordinary things can happen.

Out of Bondage


Linda Lovelace - 1986
    The woman who used to be Linda Lovelace is here to tell you that. She doesn't exist anymore. In this book you will find that a courageous, independent, loving woman has taken her place, and you will be moved by the story of the struggles she went through to make this happen.When Ordeal became a national bestseller in 1980 it was an event that had meaning beyond the success of a single book. It is clear now that it was one of the early signs of a new awareness that the "sexual revolution" was not all that it first seemed. Some of its results now include growing awareness of sexual exploitation, battered women and child abuse. The author of Ordeal was swamped by letters and calls from women who immediately understood her story from having suffered similar experiences.Written frankly, openly and in a style that struck such a chord in the heart of American public, Out of Bondage is an important addition to Linda Lovelace Marchiano's story. In it Linda gives details of the agony she suffered in facing the public with her story the first time."Tell me, Linda, what in your background led you to a concentration camp?" is the ironical but extremely apt sentence that Gloria Steinem used to describe the new ordeal that Linda faced on television. She had to sit in a court room where a judge arbitrarily insisted on a screening of Deep Throat, "for evidence," and she had to live as a person in fear for her life, on the run from men who had made millions of dollars from her degradation.Linda makes clear that the dirty movie business is very much a dirty business. The people who run it, with the typical arrogance of real criminals, routinely enforce a form of slavery on its performers.But things are a lot different for Linda now. She has had the warm support of feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Susan Brownmiller and she has participated in the campaigns of Women Against Pornography. She has even had the satisfaction of seeing some of her former tormentors arrested and punished by the law. She has also had the warmth and portection of her marriage. Much of Out of Bondage is, in fact, a love story. Here Linda tells how she finally was able to share the burden of her past with her husband Larry. It was not easy. Larry is the kind of man who tells another man to get away from his wife, not caring that the man happens to be mafia boss Joe Colombo. But much of what happened was too tough even for him.Linda, in her candid, unaffected way, andmits that she had much more to learn after she set out to control her own life, and she is still learning. In Ordeal she wrote, "I could be happy just vacuuming my home." In this book she tells us, "Well, that was the truth. Then." The truth now is that it is much more important to her that she is not totally dependent on anyone. Instead of vacuuming the house she prefers the picture of herself testifying before the Senate Subcommittee investigating the effect of pornography on women and children, bringing her message to the world.Following publication of her book Ordeal, Linda Marchiano traveled extensively, speaking out against pornography in all parts of the country. The story of her victimization caught the attention of many feminist leaders who have since become her friend. Linda is particularly concerned with helping other women who have suffered from coercion and commercial sexual exploitation. She lives in a quiet Long Island community with her husband and two children, a son and a daughter.

It ends with a dream: The farther you go, the closer we get


Medha Nagur - 2021
    He is a lawyer aspiring to become the youngest MLA of Telangana state and comes from a messed-up family, or so he believes.Yashika- 23, tall, fair and beautiful. She is a doctor from Coorg, the land of sophistication and perfection. What more, the same is reflected in her work and her presence.Both are strong, bold, and capable in their own ways, yet vulnerable to each other. Coming from distinguished backgrounds and yet two ordinary people when it comes to love and their emotions. They both believe in the same and even share their dream; still, they are two worlds apart.He has everything that he could ask for in life, even the love of his family by the grace of God. But…She has a loving father, a coffee estate to look after, a degree to fulfil her dream to become an Obstetrician. But…Yadnya and Yashika first met in their childhood and then parted ways three times. Already. But fate keeps bringing them together. And it did yet again.But the question is, will they be together for good this time or will they part again, God forbid, for good?It’s a heartbreaking story of love and loss that ends with a dream and rekindles hope and faith in life and relationship.This book also explores the many facets of relationships that are not shallow.An emotionally gripping read with a satisfying ending.This Valentina’s season, gift this heart-wrenching romance book to your love and feel the beautiful and growing pain along!Written in lucid, crisp and elegant language, it is a love story that will stay with you for a long time.Every sentence in the book tells a tale! No boring fluff! No dragging middle!

Looking for Heroes: One Boy, One Year, 100 Letters


Aidan Colvin - 2016
    Reading quickly and accurately is often the key to success in school. Without it, many dyslexics struggle and fail. Some, however, go on to achieve wild success. How?In this true story, dyslexic high school student Aidan Colvin decides to ask them. Over the course of one year, he writes 100 letters to successful dyslexics. He doesn't expect anyone to write back, and is genuinely surprised when people do. This book features letters from Writer John Irving, Arctic Explorer Ann Bancroft, Surgeon and CEO DelosCosgrove, Sculptor Thomas Sayre, Poet Phillip Schultz and others. It also features conversations with Comedian Jay Leno and Filmmaker Harvey Hubbel.This is a story about growing up, fostering grit and humor in the face of challenges, and seeing one's differences in a new light. It is also a story about the importance of heroes -- for kids like Aidan, but also for anyone. Throughout the book, Aidan shares tips that have helped him succeed in the classroom.

To Heaven and Back: The Journey of a Roman Catholic Priest


John Tourangeau - 2015
    There was no immediate response on my part, only a deep sense of fear entombed by a completely paralyzed inner spirit. Much to my surprise, he spoke again: "Sir, you've waited too long to get here. You're not going to make it." And he continued: "If you believe in God, this is the time to make peace." In that very moment, I said to myself, "What do you mean, 'If you believe in God?' Of course I believe in God! I'm a man of faith and a Catholic priest!" Fr. John Tourangeau, O. Praem., a Norbertine priest who had an afterlife experience following a major heart attack, emphatically states, "Heaven is for real!" Within this enlightening and hope-filled book, Fr. John weaves a powerful and dynamic tapestry of the Kingdom of God at hand through the exploration of Christian tradition, Sacred Scripture, Catholic teaching, as well as his own lived experiences. "While the fullness of heaven cannot be fully experienced in our life here on earth," Father explains, "we are able to more fully experience God's love for us through our relationships with others. For it is in and through these relationships that we draw closer to Christ and his promise for us."

A Fly on the Ward


Michael K. Chapman - 2012
    A collection of humorous hospital stories and events as witnessed by a frequently incarcerated patient and told from a patient's point of view while secured and gagged in a hospital bed.Stories and tales from a lifetime of hospital admissions, showing that hospital life as a patient is not all doom and gloom.

White Sheets To Brown Babies


Jvonne Hubbard - 2018
    It includes tales of living through a lifetime of dysfunction, violence and terror at the hands of both her father and other nefarious individuals who would seek to perpetuate the cycle. More importantly though, it is also a story of how they did not succeed in this hateful quest, as Jvonne struggled on and through to the other side to embrace love, laughter and the pursuit of personal happiness. Part of this amazing transformation even led to her adoption of a biracial infant, an event that served both as a healing elixir to her soul and a grandiose “!#%& you” to all the ugliness that hate brings.

ER DOC: Defining Moments of a Career in Emergency Medicine


Reggie Duling - 2021
    

Alone In The Wind: A Journal of Discovery in 'The Summer of 88'


Charles Schiereck - 2015
     1988 would prove to be the worst drought since the ‘dustbowl’ of the 1930’s.  Yellowstone would burn,  Ronald Reagan would shake his fist at the 'Evil Empire', and the author, oblivious to it all, hit the road and never looked back. That trip would consume the entire summer, logging over twelve thousand miles from sea to sea and back.  “Alone In The Wind” is the account of that trip, with pictures, maps, historical & geographical notes, and rolling narrative. A few selected excerpts: The early evening sun is bright red and except for wind slapping the tents, all is quiet.  Other campers are talking in subdued tones.  The  scene has a timeless quality I can’t explain.  Maybe it’s how I’d picture an Oregon Trail  camp.  Everybody too exhausted to do more than whisper, anticipating the day ahead, trying to forget the ones behind. Kurt Vonnegut might have written that the Custer annihilation occurred solely to provide me with a ranger to give advice on the coming storms.  That irony rattled around in my helmet for the next forty miles. Chewing mindlessly I stare at passing trucks with red eyes.  This has been an endless, grueling day.  A far cry from the mystical experience that other writers claim.  The bone numbing reality of motorcycle touring is exhaustion, dehydration, disorientation. Vacant eyes seem to be nothing more than rubber stoppers that keep my liquefied brains from spilling out over my face. Carved out by the tides, the cave is probably underwater for most of the day.  At the entrance is a rock with a well-formed depression at the top.  Without thinking I dump both bottles of Atlantic Ocean into that shallow basin, move deeper into the cave and sit.  There’s a lot on my mind, and it all seems to be demanding immediate attention.  The mission will be accomplished.  The oceans will unite.  It will take a few hours, and I won’t be here to see it, but this is a better way.  Letting the sea take it on its own terms seems more fitting. Heat was the real problem.  Both the heat of a western summer day and the heat thrown off an air-cooled engine that's being pushed to its limits.   While it was never transcendental, the passage was always very real, very immediate, and unforgettable.  Thinking back to the other riders that I met, it seemed the same for them as well.  They were all worn down with fatigue and loneliness - while at the same time brimming over with confidence and satisfaction. I won't forget them.

Michelle's Story: One Woman's Escape from a Lifetime of Abuse


Shelley Chase - 2012
    Her first husband, and then her second husband end up abusing her also. Later on, both her surviving children were abused, one by her ex husband, another by a trusted boyfriend. Michelle finally manages to free herself from this cycle of abuse. This is her true story of her escape. It is Michelle's hope that her story will encourage others who are trapped in abuse to seek freedom.

Twenty-Seven Years in Alaska: True Stories of Adventure in the Alaskan Wilderness


Jennifer Hellings - 2015
    From canoe camping next to unnamed lakes, to kayaking in Alaska’s pristine waters, she describes her many encounters with the bears, moose and other animals that make this wilderness their home. With her partner David she helped to build a cabin on a remote piece of property, off the grid and accessible only by boat. Illustrated with the photos she took along the way, her story is sometimes comic, and sometimes tragic, but throughout its pages she speaks with the voice of one who loves nature and the wilderness.

Marine A: The truth about the murder conviction


Alexander Blackman - 2019
    . . For the first time, a blistering, highly charged account from the man known as 'Marine A' who was at the centre of the controversial murder of a wounded Taliban fighter. His case led to an unprecedented wave of public support which raised over £800,000 to fund his appeal. The nerve-shredding situations Sgt Blackman operated within, under sustained attack for long periods, living in the unrelenting horror of a theatre of war, took their toll mentally and physically. 'This book chronicles my young life, my recruitment and training, my first deployments, and then my experiences in the Middle East, where I fought first in Iraq, and later completed two tours of duty in Helmand, Afghanistan - before finally confronting the final moment of my 2011 tour, and the killing of the Afghan insurgent which led to my conviction for murder. 'I confront this moment in a spirit of total honesty, chronicling the weeks and months of a hellish tour that led up to it, the mental frailties the tour exposed - and, without seeking to make excuses, reclaim at least some of that experience for myself. 'This is a searingly honest look at the brutal realities of life in the military.' - Sgt Alexander Blackman (Marine A)