Book picks similar to
Ya Sama! Moments from My Life by Tatyana McFadden


foster
genre-biography
juv-nonfic-and-bio
young-adult

Player Brothers Box Set


Maddie Bandy - 2020
    For a limited time the book is under dollar or free on KU.

Ginger's Story


Steven M. Wells - 2011
    As their relationship grows the girl and her puppy find they share something in common, a broken heart. Their time together pays tribute to the richness dogs bring to our lives and the lessons they teach us about love. This short story is 50 pages in length.

Hope's Boy: A Memoir


Andrew Bridge - 2008
    Trapped in desperate poverty and confronted with unthinkable tragedies, all Andrew ever wanted was to be with his mom. But as her mental health steadily declined, and with no one else left to care for him, authorities arrived and tore Andrew from his screaming mother's arms. In that moment, the life he knew came crashing down around him. He was only seven years old. Hope was institutionalized, and Andrew was placed in what would be his devastating reality for the next eleven years--foster care. After surviving one of our country's most notorious children's facilities, Andrew was thrust into a savagely loveless foster family that refused to accept him as one of their own. Deprived of the nurturing he needed, Andrew clung to academics and the kindness of teachers. All the while, he refused to surrender the love he held for his mother in his heart. Ultimately, Andrew earned a scholarship to Wesleyan, went on to Harvard Law School, and became a Fulbright Scholar. Andrew has dedicated his life's work to helping children living in poverty and in the foster care system. He defied the staggering odds set against him, and here in this heartwrenching, brutally honest, and inspirational memoir, he reveals who Hope's boy really is.

Emily: My True Story of Chronic Illness and Missing Out On Life


Emily Smucker - 2009
    . . all of the time.Plagued with some sort of cold or fever or bizarre aches and pains for much of her life, Emily thought the dizziness and stomachaches at the start of her senior year were just another bout of "Emily flu." But when they didn't go away, she knew something was seriously wrong. Eventually diagnosed with the rare and incurable West Nile virus, Emily watched her senior year and the future she had planned for go up in smoke."I want a normal life for a teenager. I want to ache from a long day at work. I want to be so busy that I don't have time to post on my blog. I want to run the race of life instead of being pushed along it in a wheelchair. I want to be on the ride of my life, you know?"Because Truth Is More Fascinating Than Fiction

Beyond District 12: The Stars of The Hunger Games


Mick O'Shea - 2012
    With detailed biographies outlining Liam, Jennifer, and Josh’s early lives, their first forays into acting and how they landed the most sought-after roles in Hollywood, this book gives you the chance to really get to know your new favourite screen idols.Beautifully illustrated with glossy photographs of each hot young sensation, Beyond District 12: The Stars of the Hunger Games also profiles the characters that they will be playing in the film franchise already being dubbed ‘the new Twilight’. The Hunger Games film is sure to be one of the cinematic highlights of next year and Beyond District 12: The Stars of the Hunger Games gives you exclusive first access to the on- and off-screen lives of the soon-to-be household names at the heart of the movie phenomenon.

In the Middle of Nowhere


Terry Underwood - 1998
    John was itching to get home to his family's cattle station in the Northern Territory. He promised Terry he'd write.After five long years of corresponding, John and Terry married and moved to their new home - a tent and a newly drilled bore in the middle of nowhere. Their love for each other was only matched by their love for this 'last frontier'in the heart of the Territory. Modern-day pioneers, they built their cattle station, Riveren, from scratch and raised and educated a new generation of Underwoods there, on the headwaters of the Victoria River, 600 kilometers south-west of Katherine. Times were tough and there was heartbreak, danger and struggle, but the power of love and the strength of family ties helped them overcome every obstacle.In the Middle of Nowhere is their story. It's a story of beating the odds, told with warmth and a genuine knowledge of the Outback. It's a real story of the Territory, and is as vast, dramatic and inspiring as the land that lies at the heart of this unforgettable book.

The Amazingly Disorganised Help Dictionary


Georgia Productions - 2018
    It contains random and relatable lists, hot tips, advice, activities, stories from my past, info about how I got started on YouTube, lots of LOLs and so much more!Hopefully this book will make you laugh, but also help you to see that everyone’s brain works differently and that your so-called weaknesses can really be gifts.

Shattered: Struck Down, But Not Destroyed


Frank Pastore - 2010
    Frank Pastore was a physically awkward kid who became a professional athlete. An okay student who goes on to earn two masters degrees in philosophy. A former atheist who ends up hosting the biggest Christian radio talk show in America. Shattered is part sports book, because you'll go on road trips, enter clubhouses, and walk on the fields of professional baseball. It's part romantic novel, because you'll journey with two young kids who fall in love and eventually elope, evading not only her family, but the law as well--for she was only 16. It's also a story of brokenness, betrayal, and burn-out. If you were raised in a dysfunctional family, if you've ever had your dreams fall apart, been betrayed by close friends, or hit the psychological "wall" in your professional career, this is your book too. But, most of all, this is an uplifting story of how an unpredictable God can surprise any of us with His goodness and love when we allow Him to make beautiful the shattered fragments of our lives.

McGraw: The Incredible Untold Story of Tam 'The Licensee' McGraw


Reg McKay - 2008
    He rose from poverty in the city's East End to amass a vast fortune from crime and, when he died in 2007, his empire stretched from Glasgow to the Canaries. When he was alive, few would talk openly about the man known as 'The Licensee'. But now his incredible, untold story can finally be revealed. Real stories about the time McGraw cheated The Godfather, risking his life to end a dynasty. How he was behind the UK's biggest coke heist and who paid the price. Who killed the six Doyles in the Ice Cream Wars. Why the BarL Team was never caught even with MI5 on their case. Armed jail breakouts - who arranged them, who grassed them. There are hit contracts, backstabbings, vendettas and scores to settle with everyone from The Godfather to The Devil, M Family, Specky Boyd and Paul Ferris. McGraw did all that and much more yet was never caught. Why? He was The Licensee. Licensed to Commit Crime.

American Legends: The Life of Paul Newman


Charles River Editors - 2014
     *Includes Newman's own quotes about his life and career. "The first time I remember women reacting to me was when we were filming Hud in Texas. Women were literally trying to climb through the transoms at the motel where I stayed. At first, it's flattering to the ego. At first. Then you realize that they're mixing me up with the roles I play - characters created by writers who have nothing to do with who I am." - Paul NewmanA lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' American Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.Over the course of his long film career, Paul Newman was once one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood during his peak, and that was decades before he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Color of Money (1986), one of the eight times he was nominated for an Oscar. Having come to prominence as a handsome but rebellious young man in the mold of James Dean, Newman was able to maintain an aura that viewers found both cool and irresistible even into his 60s, typically an age when leading men find themselves on the outs. Newman was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Road to Perdition (2002), when he was in his late 70s, and he continued working in the industry until just shortly before his death in 2008.While Newman was a recognizable film star in his time, younger generations know Newman more as a pop culture fixture than as a movie star. Newman acted and directed in Hollywood for six decades, but he was noteworthy off the screen for various pursuits, including running a racing team that was successful in IndyCar racing, but especially for the food products that bore his name. Newman established the food company Newman's Own as a philanthropic endeavor, once joking, "When I realized I was going to have to be a whore, to put my face on the label, I decided that the only way I could do it was to give away all the money we make. Over the years, that ethical stance has given us a 30 per cent boost. One in three customers buys my products because all the profits go to good causes and the rest buy the stuff because it is good." Although he started jokingly referring to himself as the "star of oil and vinegar and the oil and vinegar of the stars", consumers still find Newman's face on labels for goods like salad dressing and popcorn, and the brand name is still very popular today, helping carry Newman's name and legacy forward.American Legends: The Life of Paul Newman examines the versatile life and career of an American icon. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Paul Newman like never before, in no time at all.

Hollywood Celebrities: Where Are They Now?


Ron Ebner - 2013
    Here in this book Ron Ebner—author of The Winds of Hell, Nova, Plague World, and two short story collections—has collected a voluminous amount of information about current actors and former actors, including:Disney favorites Annette Funicello, Tommy Kirk, Tim Considine, Hayley Mills and Kevin Corcoran, as well as Mouseketeers Sharon Baird, Lonnie Burr, Cubby O’Brien and Karen Pendleton; Lauren Chapin and Elinor Donahue of “Father Knows Best”; Johnny Crawford of “The Rifleman”; Shelley Fabares of “The Donna Reed Show”; Little Rascal “Spanky” McFarland; Beverly Washburn; Cynthia Pepper; Native American actors Chief Dan George and Will Sampson; the frisky star of the original Nancy Drew movies, Bonita Granville; Al “Grandpa” Lewis; Fess Parker; John Amos…and many others.Read through these pages and find out what’s happening with about 100 of your favorite Hollywood celebrities.

When love is not enough


Cherry Willoughby - 2012
    How devastatingly and terrifyingly wrong she was.Her entire world was about to be broken apart in more ways than she could ever have imagined.Who could she turn to, and more importantly, who would listen?

Living With Arabs: Nine Years with the Petra Bedouin


Joan Ward - 2014
    How can we begin to understand what drives people to treat each other as they do? “Medieval” is a word often used. Well-informed commentators analyse political and military issues but give little insight into the cultural and domestic backgrounds of the protagonists."Living with Arabs" is an account of nine years spent visiting and living among the Bedouin tribes of Petra in southern Jordan; in some ways a world away from the neighbouring war zones. Through insightful accounts of day-to-day life, a world of nobility and simplicity is revealed: so too is a world of violence, gender imbalance, and the significance of Islam. It is a story that begins viewed through rose-coloured spectacles and moves to a gripping realisation of reality. The shocking, the funny, the heart-warming – it is all here.Joan Ward was born and bred in Birmingham, UK. She spent four years commissioned in the Royal Air Force before starting a teaching career that lasted 33 years. From 2004-2006, she was Head of English at the International Community School in Amman. On her retirement in 2006, she remained in Jordan and spent six years living in Um Sayhoun with the Petra Bedouin.

Mink, Mary, and Me: The Story of a Wilderness Trapline


Chick Ferguson - 2019
    He definitely was not planning on spending the next eighteen years in the wilderness. For he was only a simple photographer with a little studio in a little town in North Dakota. His business was failing and having heard of the riches of the fur-trade he was hoping to spend a year or two trapping, making a stake and returning to his routine life. But he didn’t figure on love. . . . For this is a story of romance. A story of survival, hardship, success, trials, adventure, happiness, and romance. A romance of the wilderness and the trapline, and a romance with Mary—who was the bravest and most wonderful woman in the North. Mary was a one-in-a-million. One could only wish for a partner of such courage and companionship. The only white-woman in a vast and unforgiving territory. The closest city, many hundreds of miles. And the only visitors to be expected, the unwanted kind. How many women could endure such hardship and learn to love it? She had many chances to leave and go back to a normal life in the states, but she always returned to her man and her wilderness. Against all odds, Chick and Mary built a life in the Far North and made a successful living on the trapline. Though a life full of struggles and danger they both could not imagine living any other way. With a wonderful writing style that makes you feel as if you are there, Chick Ferguson takes us along with him on his adventures in the Far North.

Quitters Never Win: My Life in UFC — The American Edition


Michael Bisping - 2020
    readers, the story of his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, fresh insights about his fighting career, never-before-told stories about his film and TV career, and a harrowing account of his fighting off attempted kidnappers while filming in South Africa, Quitters Never Win tells the incredible story of how he went from rough and humble beginnings and then on to a legendary mixed martial arts career capped by winning the Middleweight Championship in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history. “If I quit the first time I tasted defeat, I wouldn’t be here now,” Bisping once said. The ultimate UFC underdog, Bisping fought his way to Number One contender three times, only to be knocked back each time. But he refused to give in, clawing his way to his first World Title shot at the age of 37—and becoming the first ever British UFC world champion. Loaded with the humor and brutal honesty that first won him a following on the television show Ultimate Fighter 3, Bisping recounts his record setting 13-year fight career battling the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, and Dan Henderson. The most engaging UFC color analyst in recent memory, and a budding film and television star, Bisping tells his story in a way that only he knows how.