Book picks similar to
NEXT GIRL: Based on a True Story by Sophia V. Biondi and Frank Ralph
book-club
true-crime-and-other-non-fiction
true-story
The Last Road Trip
Gareth Crocker - 2015
Abandoning the humdrum routine of life at their retirement estate, they embark on a thousand-mile road trip that will take them from the furthest corner of the Kruger Park to the blazing stars of Sutherland for the biggest adventure of their lives and one last hurrah together. Along the way, they rediscover things about themselves that they thought had long since been lost. Above all, they discover that it’s never too late to start living. Gareth Crocker’s latest novel is all heart and page-turning glory.
The Chicken Who Saved Us: The Remarkable Story of Andrew and Frightful
Kristin Jarvis Adams - 2017
He spoke English – and Chicken. But the day he told his pet chicken Frightful that his body was trying to kill him, Andrew’s family and an entire medical community were launched into a decade-long quest for answers. This honest memoir of fierce and faithful parenting takes readers on a heartfelt journey through chronic illness and Asperger’s syndrome to discover the healing bond between a boy and his chicken. Navigating the complex landscape of modern medicine and genetics, through a rare diagnosis of Trisomy 8 Mosaicism and an experimental bone marrow transplant, readers venture to places where chickens talk, superheroes come alive, and a boy on the brink of death finds the courage to survive.
Spilled Milk
K.L. Randis - 2013
When social services jeopardize her safety condemning her to keep her father’s secret, it’s a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she’s been hiding. In her pursuit for safety and justice Brooke battles a broken system that pushes to keep her father in the home. When jury members and a love interest congregate to inspire her to fight, she risks losing the support of family and comes to the realization that some people simply do not want to be saved. Spilled Milk is a novel of shocking narrative, triumph and resiliency.
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
Jim DeFede - 2002
airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill. As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill.
Mob Killer:
Anthony M. DeStefano - 2011
He hung grisly souvenirs on nails in his junkyard.La Costra NostraCharles Carneglia was a stone-cold killer who fell in with the bloodthirsty John Gotti crew. As the infamous crime family rose to power with their murderous trail of sex, jealousy, greed, and revenge, Carneglia rose with them.Mafia, Madness And MurderThis is the horrifying story of a misfit who fit perfectly into the New York mafia. In a harrowing journey inside a ruthless criminal underworld, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano chronicles one man s life in a world of depraved acts of violence and the horrors that went with being a member of the Gambino family."Thrilling American crime writing. -Jimmy Breslin on "King of the Godfathers"Includes 16 Pages of Shocking Photos"
Scotland with a Stranger
Ninya - 2020
One day, she received a message from a stranger. This woman offered to lead her on a self-healing trip hiking through the Scottish highlands.It seemed like a sign—a big sister sent when she needed one most.In this sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, but always inspiring memoir, an introverted pollyanna is paired up with her polar opposite—a steamrolling, abrasive female with completely unorthodox healing methods. As they barrel through the winding one lane roads in a tiny rental car stopping to hike at breathtaking mountains and glens, an outrageous series of events forces Ninya to reclaim her power and find the strength to heal herself in one of the most beautiful places on earth.Readers of “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Wild” will love this memoir.
The Carroll Shelby Story
Carroll Shelby - 2019
He was born to
race
—some of the fastest cars ever to tear up a speedway.
Carroll Shelby wasn’t born to run. He was born to race—some of the fastest cars ever to tear up a speedway. The exciting new feature film Ford v Ferrari--starring Matt Damon as Shelby and Christian Bale as fellow racer Ken Miles--immortalizes the small-town Texas boy who won the notorious Le Mans 24-hour endurance challenge, and changed the face of auto racing with the legendary Shelby Cobra. But there’s much more to his high-velocity, history-making story.A wizard behind the wheel, he was also a visionary designer of speed machines that ruled the racetrack and the road. While his GT40s racked up victories in the world’s most prestigious professional racing showdowns, his masterpiece, the Ford Cobra, gave Europe’s formidable Ferrari an American--style run for its money. If you’ve got a need for speed, strap in next to the man who put his foot down on the pedal, kept his eyes on the prize, and never looked back.
Dicmatized: The Doctor Is in
Dyphia Blount - 2012
Lenese Stringfield Puts the "Sex" in Sex Therapy as she takes the profession by storm with her new and innovative techniques. Her seductive nature and sexy demeanor has her clients eating out of the palm of her hand; amongst other things. Lenese has loved once and lost. So, if she can't be with the one she loves; she will love the one she's with. But, amazing sex doesn't come without a price tag. Too bad life has a lesson to teach this freaky therapist! She will soon learn that Karma is the "one bitch" that has everyone's address. Fooling around with another woman's husband is dangerous, but falling in love with one can be deadly.
Mary-Alice Moves In
Frankie Bow - 2016
But before Mary-Alice can even unpack her bags, a man of the cloth dies under mysterious circumstances, a device with strange powers turns up in the glove box of her Oldsmobile 88, and her new friends, Ida Belle, Gertie, and young Fortune, are behaving oddly…even for Baptists. This is the first book in a new series, the Mary-Alice files, set in the Miss Fortune world in Sinful, Louisiana. Many thanks to Jana DeLeon for letting us write in her Sinful world!
Mercy Like Sunlight
Liz Curtis Higgs - 2014
Adrift on the streets of Chicago, she is surrounded by strangers and hounded by demons, both real and imagined. Her neighbors in Lincoln Park call her Mad Mary—until a fearless young pastor dares to call Mary his friend.Inspired by the biblical account of Mary Magdalene, this touching contemporary story first appeared in Liz’s nonfiction book, Mad Mary, later titled Unveiling Mary Magdalene. Now updated as a stand-alone novella, Mercy Like Sunlight is a powerful tribute to God’s boundless compassion and unending grace.“I was deeply moved by the story of Pastor Jake and Mary Margaret Delaney. So well written. So challenging to me. So Christlike. And so Chicago!”—Neta Jackson, best-selling author of The Yada Yada Prayer Group“Irresistible, unconditional love shines through on each and every page!”—Sharon Ewell Foster, Christy Award-winning author of Passing by Samaria
Walking in Light
Kelvin Cruickshank - 2009
From his early days growing up in an isolated rural environment to travelling the world as an acclaimed psychic investigator, Kelvin's life story is amazing, inspirational and at times heart-breaking. Walking In Light shares memories of his earliest psychic experiences and his struggles to accept his gift, and recalls many of the amazingly accurate communications he has shared with believers and sceptics alike.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Behind the Story (Backstage Pass to Novels)
Behind the Story Team - 2011
Inspired by a hunger to know the story behind every good read and governed by the vision that what has transpired has a story to tell, we’ve brought Behind the Story™ for every book fan to enjoy.Our mission is to enable novel lovers all around the world to heighten and enrich their reading experience like they’ve never thought possible before… Begun “For the Fans, By the Fans“, we take our readers on a tour by the hand to show what is behind the curtains – what is “Behind the Story”That’s what makes us smile. Now, let us share it with you.Praises from: The "Behind the Story Effect"After reading a BTS... You feel inspired to follow your hearts and dreams... — ArshiI felt like the Behind the Story offered a new look into the book, and appreciated that, as most of the time, that angle is unexplored.— Aspiring AuthorEver been backstage at a concert? Here you go -- in written form.— Author, EditorI felt enriched with knowledge about the book, and I felt like I knew more about the book. — Aspiring AuthorIt makes me discover new things, and when I re-read the book, my emotions are different, deeper now that I understand what's behind the book.— KarlenI felt closer to the writer knowing more about them as a person and why they wrote what they wrote. — The Beta Reading ClubGet ready for one of the most unique experiences you will ever have...this is definitely CliffNotes and SparkNotes on Steroids. — Author, EditorSAMPLE EXCERPT:Inspiration is a hackneyed word in the creative writing world. All writers are inspired by something. Perhaps a better word to help phrase the question of ‘what inspired Jamie Ford to write his historical-fiction novel’ might be enthused, spurred, stimulated, or impassioned.The answer was a small red button pinned to Jamie’s father’s shirt that read: “I am Chinese.” A simple statement that became the title of the short story that grew into Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet—the same short story that his workshop editor urged him to turn into something bigger. The button distinguished Chinese residents from the Japanese community, the perceived enemy, whom the American government persecuted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. It was the paranoia epidemic and the destruction of Japan towns across the United States that forms the historical backdrop of Ford’s novel.When Jamie’s father, an only child, passed away thus severing the links with his Asian heritage, he begin to explore his legacy and unearthed the histories that became the seeds of his novel. It was during his research about the Wah Mee club massacre in Seattle, that Ford encountered other people from his father’s generation who had had to wear the little red badge...
Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick Douglass in His Own Words
Frederick Douglass - 1993
in black-and-white. Opening note by Coretta Scott King. For the first time, the most important account ever written of a childhood in slavery is accessible to young readers. From his days as a young boy on a plantation to his first months as a freeman in Massachusetts, here are Douglass's own firsthand experiences vividly recounted--expertly excerpted and powerfully illustrated.
My Secret Sister
Helen Edwards - 2013
But they could not protect her from her neglectful mother and violent father. Jenny was adopted and grew up in Newcastle. Neither woman knew of the other's existence until, in her 50s, Jenny went looking for her birth family and found she had a sister.