But as his thoughtful ways become increasingly controlling, Savanna seeks help from her mom, only to find that she's too wrapped up in her new family to care.Left to deal with an abuser on her own, Savanna turns to her best friends, Jane and Tally, for help. What was supposed to be a fun summer for the three best friends turns into a series of twists to break free from a stalker.

    Inside the Thornton house, floors and countertops were piled high with dirty laundry and garbage because Bev was unable to move well enough to clean. Dinners were a Russian roulette of half-cooked meat, spoiled milk, and foods well past their expiration dates. A moment of frustration might prompt her to hurl a knife at Shawn, his brother, Troy, or their dad or to vehemently cuss them out, only to shower them with love and affection moments later as though nothing had happened. And God help the family cat!On several occasions, Bev even tried to jump out of the car on the highway while Shawn and his brother struggled to keep her inside. Yet this same woman was also a devoted Bible reader, Sunday school teacher, and friend to the elderly, poor, and marginalized wherever she went. How the same woman could be a saint one minute and a nightmare the next was a constant source of frustration for the family. Then one day, after decades of embarrassing outbursts, a surprise discovery finally helps the Thornton family come to grips with Bev's mysterious condition and brings Shawn to a startling realization that changes the course of his life forever.A heartwarming coming-of-age story, All But Normal is a powerful reminder that sometimes the "broken" people in our lives are the ones who need fixing the least.

    She refuses to give her name, and gives birth to a baby girl. But immediately after the birth, she disappears, leaving the baby alone in the hospital. The child, named Dani after the midwife who delivered her, is put up for adoption.Twelve years later Dani is living with a foster family. A vulnerable and unworldly girl, Dani is an inconvenience and always being blamed for things that aren't her fault. After being wrongly accused of performing an act of petty childish spite, Dani is sent to a children's home. The home is full of difficult children, who bully and victimise Dani. Terrified of both the children and the grown-ups, she runs away.Dani spends several nights on the streets of London, begging for food. When a stranger offers her something to eat and a place to sleep, she accepts gratefully. But what she does not know is that this man is a brutal pimp who tries to drag Dani into a violent, drug-fuelled world of prostitution. Soon she is plunged into an unimaginable nightmare of abuse that she truly believes will never end.But there is one person out there searching for Dani; one person who has her best interests at heart; one person who will do anything to save her. It's just a matter of whether she can find her in time…

    But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act—suicide.Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun—and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life—but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

    Labeled "crazy girl" for much of her childhood, Anna suffered physical and emotional damage at the hands of the adults who were supposed to love and protect her. Committed to various mental institutions by her family, at sixteen Anna was finally able to escape her chaotic home life and enter a foster home. As an effort toward recovery and self-affirmation as well as a powerful plea on behalf of other abused children, Anna wrote this memoir while the experience was fresh and the emotions were still raw and unhealed. Her story is a powerful tale of survival."A teen's raw, in-your-face chronicle of events almost as they were happening. As such, it's unforgettable. . . . Michener's story gives voice to the thousands of children and adolescents trapped in 'the system,' biding their time until their 18th birthdays. A candid and unstinting tell-all."—Kirkus Reviews"Extraordinary. . . . Michener's expressive writing does justice to a topic that is clearly very disturbing to her personally and communicates a profoundly important message on behalf of all abused and neglected children."—Booklist"An important book, painful to read, but essential if other children in similar situations are to be saved."—Library Journal"An innocent child's account of 16 years in hell and of the terrible wrongs inflicted on children who are without rights or caring advocates."—Choice"[Michener] emerges as a compelling and courageous advocate for children and their welfare—she's a young writer with an extraordinary voice."Feminist Bookstore News"Quite simply one of the best, most compelling, well-written autobiographies published in years. . . . Remember the name. We have not heard the last of Anna Michener."—Myree Whitfield, Melbourne Herald-Sun, cover story

    My throat tightens in fear…’At the tender age of five, Madeleine was living a daily nightmare. In a dark, grey building on Jersey, she was just another orphan, defenceless and alone. She was also an easy target. Unbeknownst to the outside world, the care home manager was abusing her, using her like she was his toy. “Say nothing, no one will believe a nasty little kid like you,” he’d whisper. Terrified, Madeleine would keep quiet. And, worse still, the home was selling the children to men who would inflict on them the worst possible abuse. No one cared.This is Madeleine’s heart-breaking story and her fight to survive.

    County Sheriff’s detective Danny R. Smith put his life on the line for twenty-one years. His career covered some of L.A.’s darkest hours: a crack cocaine epidemic, unprecedented gang warfare, a spike in homicides that stunned the nation, flames lighting the skies while gunfire rang through the nights during the Rodney King riots. There were deadly encounters: fights, pursuits, shootings, and a beating that left him unconscious. A confrontation with a murderous gangster in a dark alley, where only the miraculous malfunction of a fully automatic weapon saved his life. Hardened by the years spent on the streets and the hundreds of deaths and untold numbers of tragedies he would witness, Smith’s frustrations with a dysfunctional system weighed heavily, and his continued pledge to see justice for the victims came at an astronomical personal cost.In this no-holds-barred memoir, Smith reveals the shocking imagery of fallen colleagues, murdered children, gang warfare, and a Native American who was tortured and burned alive by skinheads. And through his unique insights battling PTSD and being forced to leave the profession he loved, his story will offer new insight into the aftermath of working in law enforcement.Nothing Left to Prove is by turns shocking, terrifying, poignant, and thought-provoking. It’s the very personal story of one man’s career and its effect on his life afterwards, unveiled through Smith’s masterful storytelling. If you think you know cops, if you love compelling true-crime stories, then you’ll love Danny R. Smith’s powerful narrative.

    She was wrong. Her relative came too. And, as her parents had to work nights, Jayne's abuser became her 'carer'.Raped repeatedly by him, beaten, abused and battered, Jayne's life was a living hell.One thing kept Jayne sane: the love and care of her older brother, Stuart. But he had demons of his own, and Jayne watched in helpless despair as the boy who had always protected her turned into an adult consumed by rage. Out of control and on the edge, Stuart went on to commit one of the most terrible crimes of recent years....DESTROYED is the heart-stopping tale of an innocence destroyed and a family torn apart - told by a woman who has finally managed to confront her harrowing past.

    While Kayla is forced to fight for her life in hospital, Dane is thrown back into a world he fled from years before.Kayla tells her story through a series of quirky, unsent letters to Dane and relives her rollercoaster past in her childhood diaries, a past she must face if she is to survive. At the same time, Dane must confront his own violent past and the person who hates him most – the one he was once closest to – if he is to make it back to the woman he loves.Just Went Out For Milk is a physical and emotional journey, the raw love story of two scarred people, who long to find their place in the world.Will Dane make it back to Kayla? Will she be alive if he does?

    Based on taped conversations that Patrick Suraci had with Shirley Mason (known to the world as “Sybil”) from 1993 until her death in 1998, the book reveals the untold story of Sybil’s life.This new information about Sybil’s early years, her psychoanalysis, and the integration of her sixteen personalities has never before been disclosed to the public.One hundred reproductions of paintings from the Sybil years are presented and interpreted. Most of them have never been seen by the general public.Previously unreleased photographs of Shirley Mason at various ages are presented. Shirley’s cousin also provided Dr. Suraci with letters written by Shirley. Included is a photograph of Shirley with her painting at The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park where she won the student competition while attending Columbia University and undergoing psychoanalysis in New York in 1955.Sybil’s story is very much alive today. CBS aired a new TV movie on June 7, 2008, based on Flora Rheta Schreiber’s book, “SYBIL”, starring Jessica Lange as “Dr. Wilbur” and Tammy Blanchard as “Sybil”.Her story is so compelling because of the rarity of her complete integration of all sixteen personalities. For almost half her life she lived under the shadow of multiple personality symptoms such as black outs, fugue state and amnesia. After her cure the second part of her life was thrust into glaring light of reality of the world. Although she was known to almost everyone as the troubled Sybil of the book and movie, she was known to her colleagues as a remarkable teacher, a gifted artist, a devoted friend and a generous spirit. New details about the nature of Shirley’s recovery and treatment as written in Flora Schreiber’s book are uncovered. The reader will also discover the remarkable friendship and relationship that Shirley had with her former therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur. This relationship resulted in Shirley taking care of Dr. Wilbur after she had a stroke. It only ended with Dr. Wilbur’s death.“SYBIL in her own words” explores the continuing controversy about dissociative identity disorder, its cures, its causes and its place in modern popular culture, in no small part due to the overwhelming popularity of Sybil’s enduring story. It’s a book about why these subjects - Sybil and Dissociative Identity Disorder - continue to intrigue us, and what they say about our own nature, our own place in the world, our own society.

    Ever since her dad left, it’s been one let down after another. But no one—not even her best friend—gets all the pain she’s going through. So Dell hides behind self-deprecating jokes and forced smiles.Then the one person she trusts betrays her. Dell is beyond devastated. Without anyone to turn to for comfort, her depression and self-loathing spin out of control. But just how far will she go to make all of the heartbreak and name-calling stop?

    Written by a woman who endured horrendous abuse from her mother and became a split personality by the age of five, here is the story of her agonizing childhood, the conflicting personalties, and struggle back to sanity.

    From as early as one month old, he was gravely ill with one illness after another. By the time he was three years old, he had been hospitalized more times than she could count. He would get better and then suddenly relapse with no reasonable explanation. When her granddaughter was born, she too started having alarming health problems. She had known that her daughter-in-law seemed to exaggerate but never could she have imagined this. The children’s mother was so cunning and crafty in her manipulative deception that she fooled dozens of medical professionals along the way. After three years of her grandson being constantly sick with countless hospitalizations, this grandmother was faced with the horrifying realization; that her grandchildren were sick because their mother was making them sick. Then the real fight began. Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy is one of the cruelest forms of child abuse imaginable. It is very difficult to prove and even harder to prosecute. This story chronicles a woman’s journey as she discovers that her two grandchildren are victims of this abuse that most people have never even heard of. Her faith in God kept her going as she turned their tragedies and trials into triumph. Follow her journey of faith as she fights to rescue, protect, and bring healing to her grandchildren’s broken spirits and shattered little souls.

    These workplace disasters bring out the voyeurism, Schadenfreude, and plain old warped sense of humor in all of us. And so . . . from my naïve colleague who called our CEO a dildo, to the employee caught on videotape licking door handles in the company parking garage, their stories must be told! “...the entertainment factor is consistent and the laughs should come easily for readers who fancy the awkwardness of workplace weirdness... Ideal for readers who need a refresher course on the consequences of impropriety.” - Kirkus Reviews

    She is seven; he is fifty-one. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child's paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice. In time, he insidiously takes on the role of Margaux's playmate, father, and lover. Charming and manipulative, Peter burrows into every aspect of Margaux's life and transforms her from a child fizzing with imagination and affection into a brainwashed young woman on the verge of suicide. But when she is twenty-two, it is Peter -- ill, and wracked with guilt -- who kills himself, at the age of sixty-six. Told with lyricism, depth, and mesmerizing clarity, Tiger, Tiger vividly illustrates the healing power of memory and disclosure. This extraordinary memoir is an unprecedented glimpse into the psyche of a young girl in free fall and conveys to readers -- including parents and survivors of abuse -- just how completely a pedophile enchants his victim and binds her to him.