Book picks similar to
The Fear of the Blow: A Young Woman's Gut-Wrenching True Story of Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Alcoholism and Redemption by Jena Parks
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Buddhism for Beginners: All you need to start your journey
Richard Johnson - 2017
Written in a style that is simple and engaging, it explores the history of Buddhism, its philosophies, and its relevance in today’s society. The book provides numerous meditative exercises that will allow you to experience the wondrous teachings of this ancient wisdom. Inside you will read about... ✓ A Brief History of Buddhism ✓ The Spread of Buddhism ✓ The Servant or the Master: Which One are You? ✓ Self-Identification with the Mind and Body ✓ Meditation ✓ The Presence of Mindfulness ✓ The Principle of Karma ✓ Dualistic versus Non-Dualistic Perspectives ✓ The Principle of Non-Substantiality ✓ One’s Life and the Environment ✓ Sentient and Non-Sentient Beings ✓ Attachment ✓ The Ten Worlds The author explains how Buddhism is more than a religion; it’s an internal science. Rather than relying on dogma or sacred texts, Buddhism teaches us to look inward and challenge our most deep-seated beliefs for the purpose liberating ourselves from our minds.
How to Hold a Cockroach: A book for those who are free and don't know it
Matthew Maxwell - 2020
It's a truth both astounding and powerful in its simplicity, and Maxwell skillfully builds a window through which readers of all ages can observe its emergence as they watch his protagonist's seemingly pitiful day unfold.How to Hold a Cockroach is Maxwell's delightful and moving love letter to humankind. A quick, compelling read, it is indeed a book for those who are free and don't know it. . . yet.
The Priest and the Medium
Suzanne R. Giesemann - 2009
Anne Gehman gave her first spirit readings to her teddy bears at age five. Raised in the Mennonite tradition, she left home at age 14 to finish her schooling. A life-changing near-death experience led Anne to develop her natural gifts, including an uncanny ability to predict future events. She has gained international attention for her help in solving crimes, locating oil and missing persons, healing illnesses, and connecting family members with their loved ones in spirit. She has worked with top government agencies and officials, police departments, judges, and corporate CEOs. While remarkable for her spiritual gifts and experiences, Anne’s life is all the more fascinating due to an unusual twist: she is married to Wayne Knoll, Ph.D., a former Jesuit priest. A brilliant student devoted to his faith, Wayne also left home at 14 to join a Roman Catholic seminary. Even while pursuing his life’s dream as a professor of literature at Georgetown University, Wayne felt an emptiness that only a woman could fill. After more than a decade of religious training, he made the wrenching decision to leave the priesthood, not knowing if he would find the love he sought. The Priest and the Medium shares the remarkable story of two soul mates on parallel paths with divergent beliefs, yet united in their love for God and each other.
Brigham's Destroying Angel: Being the Life, Confession, and Startling Disclosures of the Notorious Bill Hickman, the Danite Chief of Utah
William Adams Hickman - 1904
Hickman’s memoir chronicles his life as a significant member of the church and his position as Brigham Young’s underling. Hickman does not shy away from sharing the plethora of crimes he committed but he controversially claims that they were ordered by Young. J. H. Beadle, the editor of this account, examines the history of the Mormon church and the reasons behind the church’s lack of action over Hickman’s brutal crimes. He also questions how Hickman remained in positions of power despite knowledge of his murderous ways being publicly known. Hickman’s account sheds light on these issues as well as providing a unique insight into the mind of an infamous murderer and is an important addition to the history of the nineteenth century Mormon church. William Adams "Wild Bill" Hickman was an American frontiersman. He also served as a representative to the Utah Territorial Legislature. Hickman was baptized into Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1839 by John D. Lee. He later served as a personal bodyguard for Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young. Hickman was reputedly a member of the Danites. He died in Wyoming in 1883.
Between a Rock and a White Blaze: Searching for Significance on the Appalachian Trail
Julie Urbanski - 2012
She is accompanied by her husband, Matt, aka Optimist, for whom it is his second thru-hike of the AT. They are both burnt out from stressful jobs and are both hopeful that the simplicity of the trail life will recharge their batteries, especially since they have experience on their side. For Julie, it is a chance to improve the person that she came to be and came to dislike, and for Matt, it is a chance to relive old memories while living the trail life he’d come to love. While they could never predict all that would unfold over the months ahead, with volatility in the weather and in their moods, they expect the trail to change the way they see themselves and the world around them. They are also not alone on the trail. Each day they are presented with new perspectives from the varied cast of trail characters hiking alongside them, a few of which have a lasting impression on their hike. This book is for those that appreciate challenges that lead us down the path of self-honesty, who are willing to join Matt and Julie as they make their way through rainy weather and rocky terrain, as expectations meet reality, as they meet new people along the way, and as they search for meaning in it all, all the while following the white blazes of the Appalachian Trail.
Sit. Stay. Heal.: How Meditation Changed My Mind, Grew My Heart, and Saved My Ass
Spike Gillespie - 2015
It traces my journey from a brutal Depression in 2012 to some amazing healing over the course of 2013 through a dedicated daily meditation practice. It also includes Twelve Lessons for those of you who wish to get a meditation practice started without tracking down a guru, without converting to a particular religion, and without investing in $500 yoga pants. All you need is your ass, your lungs, and a desire to try.
My Mad Dad: The Diary of an Unravelling Mind
Robyn Hollingworth - 2018
His brilliant mind, which saw him building power stations and literally bringing light into the lives of others, has succumbed to darkness.As Robyn settles back in the rhythms of life in the rain-soaked vast Welsh valleys, she keeps a diary charting her journey as the dad she knew disappears before her eyes. Lyrical, poignant and with flashes of brilliant humour, My Mad Dad explores how in helping others we can heal ourselves. 'At some point the cared for become the carers...this isn't a shame and it isn't a tragedy and it isn't a chore. It is an honour. To be able to return the gift of love that someone bestows upon you is a gift in itself. This is a story of caring...'
Whisper My Secret
JB Rowley - 2007
Eventually, rescued from her despair by tall, dark and handsome George Rowley who fell in love her, Myrtle started a new life and had seven more children. She buried the grief of losing her first children deep within and kept her pain secret. JB and her siblings were unaware of the existence of Myrtle’s first three children until after she died. Desperate to know how such a thing could happen to a devoted and caring mother, JB went on a journey to find out. What she discovered was a heartbreaking story of loss. It was a long time before JB was able to work out that her mother kept her early life and her first family secret out of misplaced guilt and shame. To redress that, JB decided to tell the whole world her mother’s secret. Whisper My Secret is a proud declaration that Myrtle did nothing deserving of guilt or shame.
Waiting Wives: The Story of Schilling Manor, Home Front to the Vietnam War
Donna Moreau - 2005
Author Donna Moreau was the daughter of one such waiting wife, and here she writes of growing up at a time when The Flintstones were interrupted with news of firefights, fraggings, and protests, when the evening news announced death tolls along with the weather forecasts. The women and children of Schilling Manor fought on the emotional front of the war. It was not a front composed of battle plans and bullets. Their enemies were fear, loneliness, lack of information, and the slow tick of time. Waiting Wives: The Story of Schilling Manor, Home Front to the Vietnam War tells the story of the last generation of hat-and-glove military wives called upon by their country to pack without question, to follow without comment, and to wait quietly with a smile. A heartfelt book that focuses on this other, hidden side of war, Waiting Wives is a narrative investigation of an extraordinary group of women. A compelling memoir and domestic drama, Waiting Wives is also the story of a country in the midst of change, of a country at war with a war.
The Cruel Mother: A Memoir
Siân Busby - 2004
One of the babies died at birth, and eleven days later she drowned the surviving twins in a bath of cold water. She was sentenced to an indefinite term in a prison for the criminally insane. For generations to come, the author's family dealt with the murders and the accompanying shame, guilt, and anxiety by suppressing the disturbing memory. It wasn't until Busby began to experience severe bouts of postpartum depression herself that she felt compelled to learn more about this shadowy story, ultimately immersing herself in the puzzling and horrific tragedy that had quietly shaped her family's collective history. In Cruel Mother, Busby digs out her own postpartum depression, by re-creating not only the broader reality of post-WWI working class England, but the more intimate setting in which her great-grandmother tried to raise a family. In the process, Busby brings ghosts to very real and familiar life, making these unexpected and inexplicable deaths that much more tragic. Ultimately, Busby and the reader are left not only with new understanding, but heartfelt empathy for all involved.
Nobody's Child
Kate Adie - 2005
What's your name? Where were you born? What is your date of birth? Simple questions that we are asked throughout our lifeand shows what makes us who we really are.
Nikola Tesla: Prophet Of The Modern Technological Age
Michael W. Simmons - 2016
He was a celebrity during the height of America’s Gilded Age. In this book, you will read about his friendship with Mark Twain, his furious competition with his former employer Thomas Edison, his uneasy relationship with billionaire J.P. Morgan, and his rivalry with Albert Einstein. During his lifetime, Tesla revolutionized the field of electrical engineering with his most famous invention: the induction motor. But that wasn’t all he contributed to the world of technology. His coils, turbines, robotic boats, and mysterious “death ray” continue to beguile the imagination and inspire the inventors of the 21st century. But who was Tesla really? This book will take you from his early childhood in Croatia, where he experienced strange optical visions and “luminous phenomenon” that gave him near super-human powers of memory and visualization, to the “War of the Currents”, Thomas Edison’s bizarre campaign to ruin Tesla’s reputation. From trying to fight the Spanish American War with robots, to electrifying the skies of the Colorado desert, and to starting an earthquake in the middle of New York city, learn how Nikola Tesla shaped the world we live in today.
The Athlete's Way: Sweat and the Biology of Bliss
Christopher Bergland - 2007
The Athlete's Way program, focusing on cardio, strength, stretching, nutrition and sleep, uses neurobiology and behavioral models to enable you to think, train and behave like an athlete, making you more optimistic, resilient, and intense. You will want to get a glow on every day to increase your daily bliss quotient. Exercise will no longer be something to dread but something to enjoy and experience to the fullest. The Athlete's Way teaches you how to make exercise a source of joy and something you will want to engage in daily. Sweat will become a symbol of your striving for a standard of excellence and a solid work ethic that is synonymous with peak performance. The stamina, tenacity, and drive fortified through athletics--and this program--can be applied to any dream, obstacle, or goal you aspire to achieve. Christopher Bergland is a Manhattan-based world-class endurance athlete. He holds a Guinness World Record for treadmill running (153.76 miles in 24 hours) and has won the longest nonstop triathlon in the world three times. He completed The Triple Ironman, a 7.2-mile swim, 336-mile bike, followed by a 78.6-mile run (done consecutively) in a record breaking time of 38 hours and 46 minutes. He directs the triathlon program at Chelsea Piers and has been sponsored by Kiehl's since 1996. He has been featured in dozens of TV, magazine, and newspaper articles including CNN, PBS, ABC, CBS, Fox, Men's Journal, ESPN magazine, and the L.A. Times. He currently manages a specialty sporting goods shop in New York City called "JackRabbit Sports." Inspiring Lessons from a World-class Endurance Athlete"I love to sweat. All told, I have run distance equal to four trips around the world on a treadmill and on the streets of Manhattan where I live. I have biked to the moon and back, dueling it out with a red, blinking pacer light on a LifeCycle control panel or logging countless laps in Central Park. I've even crossed the Atlantic a few times - in the pool - and I've swum in almost every ocean around the world competing in Ironman triathlons. When I am running, biking, or swimming, happiness pours out of me. I am not alone. Everyone who exercises regularly experiences this bliss. And it is available to you, too, anytime you break a sweat. The Athlete's Way is an individual process but ultimately a universal experience. We feel good when we sweat. I have learned how to find Nirvana on the treadmill, and I am going to teach you my secrets." --Christopher Bergland
The Broken Road Home: A True Story
Evie Gallagher - 2019
Evie much later on also became a survivor of Domestic Violence, as a young wife and mother. Melvin, a family friend, and sexual predator carved a path for himself using Evie’s young innocence, by showing her kindness in a place of loneliness. Evie had no one to turn to, her mother an alcoholic, and her step-father a cruel, and vicious man. Evie through the years was placed in several different foster homes; Evie ran away from them all, even living on the cold streets of London at eleven years old. A homeless traveller took Evie under their wing, kept her safe, and eventually helped to guide her home. All she had to cling to in the end was her biological father, also an alcoholic, her Nan, and her great love of horses. Evie would later marry Andrew, yet another man in her life who deceived her in every heartbreaking way imaginable. Andrew viciously beat Evie many times over during a six-year period, and he had numerous affairs with prostitutes, as well as affairs with other women whom she knew. Evie had nowhere to run to, that Andrew would not find her, and bring her back. She felt broken in mind, body, and spirit, with no one to protect her. Evie sometimes felt like giving up her very existence, though it was her deep bond, and love for her children that she found the strength to keep on going. Evie’s great fondness for books eventually led her to find spirituality, which gave her calm and peaceful moments, and through spirituality she met two amazing women, and with their help she found the strength to take back her life, and then she met Steve. Steve gave Evie a love story, which she would never, ever forget. Evie wanted to keep her readers in mind, and so her re- account of her childhood memories of being sexually abused is written in such a way, as to not to be too upsetting, and so she decided to write about it very softly, and only touching on this subject very briefly. Her story may appear very harrowing, though it has it does have it’s up’s and down’s, as well it's funny and sad moments. Evie does however eventually experience a beautiful love, and she does have her happy ever after, by walking a broken road…home.
Brutal: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Little Girl Stolen
Nabila Sharma - 2012
I should have been able to trust him. But he made me do unspeakable things!It is a tale of innocence lost and a life shattered, but above all it is a tale of survival, of a young girl who found love and hope in the darkest of places.