Smith was a young mother in her thirties when her own mother’s illness struck, so the family’s shock and pain at the disease’s manifestations is nearly unbearable. Not only is Beauty still young and fit; she is also Sarah’s best friend. This powerful and personal story about a daughter facing the unthinkable and the love she found to carry her through will touch the hearts of everyone who reads it. Sarah Bearden Smith is a housewife, mother of three, and a woman of deep faith, who has lived in Texas all her life. Sarah was born and raised in the Houston area, and remained there until her departure for the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a speech communications major, varsity cheerleader, and a member of Tri Delta sorority. After her marriage to Thad Smith in 2002, the couple moved to Dallas, Texas. During their years in Dallas, Sarah and her husband have served on various boards and committees, including the Greer Garson Gala, Presbyterian Hospital Healthcare Foundation, East-West Ministries, AWARE Dallas, and Providence Christian School of Texas. They actively serve with their children in assisted living and memory care facilities and support organizations such as Council for Life, Alzheimer’s Association, Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and Community Bible Study. Sarah and her family are members of Watermark Community Church.

    He can tell you everything there is to know about successful trade show programs. He can tell you stories about the thousands of people he has met, miles he has flown, hotel rooms he has stayed in, and ways to work the system to your advantage when you travel. But he can't tell the woman he loves how he feels. Think "Up in the Air meets Planes, Trains and Automobiles..". Based on his own extensive business trips, Paul Michael Peters brings us this funny, bittersweet story of a traveling software salesman. Filled with wry observations and entertaining vignettes, life moves fast in this quick read about a "trade show guy" and a love he thinks he can never have.

    Blending personal stories from Martin's own history with accessible social science, cultural theory, and interviews with sex researchers, psychologists, primatologists, anthropologists, and real women from all walks of life, she reveals startling insights about female sexuality.

     Born by the River is Clark’s account of her nine-month trip around the river to visit extended family, all connected by marriage but markedly different in culture, class, and traditions—circumstances certain to provoke discord. A coming-of-age story set in a time and place deeply divided, Clark’s memoir explores her family’s past, referencing the area’s history from 1820 to 1964. The region acts as a conflicted backdrop, threatening the hopes, the dreams, and the American way of life for the author’s family. Alternating in viewpoint between the reflections of the adult Clark as she looks back on life and her stirring impressions during the time of her river journey, Born by the River is an inspirational memoir lifted from family destruction and the prejudices of a socially divided region.

    Despite decades of discipline, her chronic illness is getting worse. Despite hosting a radio show about dating, she hasn't been in love in years. And despite a successful writing career, she's deeply in debt. Weary of trying to solve her problems by adding things to her life, she attempts the opposite and subtracts some of her most constant habits—social media, shopping, sugar, and negative thoughts—for periods of thirty to ninety days over the course of one calendar year. In this intimately curated search for self-improvement (a quest that readers can easily personalize for themselves), Raposo confesses to the sometimes violent and profound shifts in her social interactions, physical health, and sense of self-worth. With the input of doctors, psychologists, STEM experts, and other professionals, she offers fascinating insights into how and why our brains and bodies react as they do to our habits. She also sheds light on the impact of our everyday choices on our mental state. Part memoir, part case study, this book offers you an inspiring example of how to forge your own journey, expose your  wounds, and help yourself heal.

    For the first time in American history, our sons will have less education than their dads. It's a crisis of mental health. As boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women. It's a crisis of sexuality. Sex is a minefield for our sons. They're bombarded with mixed messages, afraid of being either too sensitive or not sensitive enough. It's a crisis of fathering. Boys with less-involved fathers are more likely to drop out of school, drink, do drugs, become delinquent, and end up in prison. It's a crisis of purpose. Boys' old senses of purposes, being a warrior, a leader, or a sole breadwinner, are fading. Many bright boys are experiencing a "purpose void," feeling alienated, withdrawn and addicted to immediate gratification. Compounding this issue are addicting video games that lead to distraction and ADHD.So, what is The Boy Crisis? A comprehensive blueprint for what parents, teachers, and policy-makers can do to renew our sons' sense of purpose to help them become men, fathers, and leaders worthy of our respect.

    Oliver and Smalley help women distinguish between self-centered, insecure, childish relationships and other-centered, healthy, "grown-up" relationships. Using personal anecdotes and scriptural principles, they explain ten characteristics of a grown-up friend and offer ideas on how readers can develop these attributes in themselves. Finally, they tackle the tough issues of friendships, such as how to support a friend in crisis, how to work toward forgiveness when a friend has injured you, and how to determine when it is best to let a friendship go.

    A recent French biography begins, Who doesn't know Nadar? In France, that's a rhetorical question. Of all of the legendary figures who thrived in mid-19th-century Paris a cohort that includes Victor Hugo, Baudelaire, Gustave Courbet, and Alexandre Dumas Nadar was perhaps the most innovative, the most restless, the most modern. The first great portrait photographer, a pioneering balloonist, the first person to take an aerial photograph, and the prime mover behind the first airmail service, Nadar was one of the original celebrity artist-entrepreneurs. A kind of 19th-century Andy Warhol, he knew everyone worth knowing and photographed them all, conferring on posterity psychologically compelling portraits of Manet, Sarah Bernhardt, Delacroix, Daumier and countless others a priceless panorama of Parisian celebrity. Born Gaspard-Felix Tournachon, he adopted the pseudonym Nadar as a young bohemian, when he was a budding writer and cartoonist. Later he affixed the name Nadar to the facade of his opulent photographic studio in giant script, the illuminated letters ten feet tall, the whole sign fifty feet long, a garish red beacon on the boulevard. Nadar became known to all of Europe and even across the Atlantic when he launched "The Giant," a gas balloon the size of a twelve-story building, the largest of its time. With his daring exploits aboard his humongous balloon (including a catastrophic crash that made headlines around the world), he gave his friend Jules Verne the model for one of his most dynamic heroes. The Great Nadaris a brilliant, lavishly illustrated biography of a larger-than-life figure, a visionary whose outsized talent and canny self-promotion put him way ahead of his time."

    The strangest thing about pinball is that it persists, and not just as nostalgia. Pinball didn’t just stick around—it grew and continues to evolve with the times. Somehow, in today’s iPhone world, a three-hundred-pound monstrosity of wood and cables has survived to enjoy yet another renaissance. Pinball is more to humor writer Adam Ruben than a fascinating book topic—it’s a lifelong obsession. Ruben played competitive pinball for years, rising as high as the 80th-ranked player in the world. Then he had children. Now, mired in 9,938th place—darn kids—Ruben tries to stage a comeback, visiting pinball museums, gaming conventions, pinball machine designers, and even pinball factories in his attempt to discover what makes the world’s best players, the real wizards, so good. Along the way, Ruben examines the bigger story of pinball's invention, ascent, near defeat, resurgence, near defeat again, and struggle to find its niche in modern society.

    But instead of easing our emotional burden, the pressure to love ourselves more actually makes it worse. Even so, the idea that unconditional self-love can cure all that ails us is tempting and easy to rationalize.It's time to admit to ourselves what we already know: we are not smart enough; we are not beautiful enough; we are not tough enough; we are not good enough. And that's okay, because God is.Allie Beth Stuckey, a young mother, Christian, and conservative thought leader, was once herself sucked into the Cult of Self-Love--and knows that you probably have been too. In this book, she shows you how to identify and combat the toxic, exhausting myths our culture encourages with Scripture and traditional values like personal responsibility, self-sacrifice, and grit. For instance:Myth: There is no objective truth.Truth: We'll never feel personally fulfilled if we have no moral benchmark at which to aim.Myth: Life is all about me.Truth: When our highest priority is our own comfort and success, we end up alienating family and friends.Myth: Happiness is the goal.Truth: Since good vibes don't last forever, they're not sufficient criteria for personal purpose and meaning.Blending timeless wisdom and biblical truths, Stuckey shows how these sneaky, pervasive myths threaten women and fuel victimhood culture--from social justice warriors to radical feminism and the new wave of socialism. Stuckey dismantles these myths step-by-step and offers strategies that can help you move past them--and undo the damage they've done.

    It’s a deep dive into what lies behind our self-criticism, whether it is about the size of our thighs, the expression of our thoughts, or the shape of our ambitions. And it’s about stopping the search to fix ourselves by realizing that on the other side of the “Me Project” is spaciousness, peace, and the capacity to reclaim one’s power and joy.This Messy Magnificent Life explores the personal beliefs, hidden traumas, and social pressures that shape not just women’s feelings about their bodies but also their confidence, choices, and relationships. After years of teaching retreats and workshops on weight, money, and other obsessions, Roth realized that there was a connection that held her students captive in their unhappiness. With laugh-out-loud humor, compassion, and dead-on insight she reveals the paradoxes in our beliefs and shows how to move beyond our past to build lives that reflect our singularity and inherent power. This Messy Magnificent Life is a brilliant, bravura meditation on who we take ourselves to be, what enough means in our gotta-get-more culture, and being at home in our minds and bodies.

    And that's completely normal! In fact, everyone could use a little help sometimes, especially in their first year. We know, because we've been there.But don't worry: We have you covered! From the day you set foot on campus until the day you wear a cap and gown, get advice from a source you can trust: the expert and diverse team of all--star college students and recent grads behind U Chic.Campus Living -- managing roommate relationships, and settling in that first semesterAcademics -- schedules, majors, academic resources, and strategies for staying on top of your studiesSocial Life -- tips and tricks on making friends, getting involved, and finding love in the age of appsHealth & Safety -- partying smart, coping with the winter blues, and knowing when to ask for help College Perks -- internships, study abroad, spring break, and more!Plus! A brand new chapter on being a non--traditional student--its challenges, its joys, and how you can take charge of your college experience.We've got answers to your most burning college questions and tons of practical tips to ensure that you have the best four years of your life.We Are Supporting 1,000 Dreams: Every copy of U Chic sold helps fund scholarships for high school-- and college--aged women with big dreams. Learn more about U Chic's 1,000 Dreams mission at UChic.com.

    What's the best way to ask someone what their pronouns are? How do you talk about racism with someone who doesn't get it? What is intersectionality anyway, and why do you need to understand it? While it can seem intimidating or overwhelming to learn and talk about such issues, it's never been easier thanks to educator and historian Blair Imani, creator of the viral sensation “Smarter in Seconds” and “Learn O'Clock” series of videos.Accessible to learners of all levels—from those just getting started on the journey to those deeply entrenched in social justice—Read This to Get Smarter covers a range of issues including race, gender, class, disability, privilege, oppression, relationships, family, and beyond. This essential guide is a radical but warm and non-judgmental call-to-arms, structured in such a way that you can read it cover-to-cover or start with any topic you want to learn more about.With Blair Imani as your teacher, you'll “get smarter” in no time, and be equipped to intelligently and empathetically process, discuss, and educate others on the crucial issues we must tackle to achieve a liberated, equitable world.

     Jane Alexander had it all: A wonderful family, a beautiful home on three acres just north of San Francisco, and a deep romance with Tom O'Donnell. A family friend for 25 years prior to their romance, Tom helped Jane cope with the death of her husband, and captivated her with his charming, unflappable personality. But Jane's picturesque life came crashing down the morning that her beloved aunt was savagely murdered. Slowly, astonishingly, the evidence began to point to the last person Jane would ever believe capable of such an act: Tom O'Donnell. She soon discovered that he had fled with thousands of dollars of her money, forcing her to sell her possessions and move into a dilapidated old house. Jane would eventually learn that she was his next victim: he had secretly taken out a million dollar life insurance police on her. With and unresponsive criminal justice system and almost everyone telling her that her quest was futile, Jane devoted her entire life to tracking him down and forcing the system to do its job and get justice for her beloved aunt. But the story does not stop there: along the way, Jane met dozens of people with similar horror stories: a savagely murdered loved one, a justice system that refused to function. She and Jan Miller, whose daughter was murdered during summer break at Chico State University in a case still unsolved, founded "Citizens Against Homicide" to fight back for the victim's families. At the time of Jane Alexander's death in 2008, they had helped solve 20 cold case murders, were working on 500 homicide investigations, and had seen their organization spread to all 50 states, with more than 5,000 members. People Magazine, 48 Hours, the ABC news and a dozen other media organizations have trumpeted their exploits.

    Though British Nobel Prize winner Bertrand Russell called My First Thirty Years "truthful, which is illegal" and Larry McMurtry pronounced it the finest Texas book of its era, Beasley's words have been all but inaccessible for almost a century—until now.Beasley penned one of the most brutally honest coming-of-age historical memoirs ever written, one which strips away romantic notions about frontier women's lives at the turn of the 20th century. Her mother and sisters braved male objectification and the indignities of poverty, with little if any control over their futures. With characteristic ferocity, Beasley rejected a life of dependence, persisting in her studies and becoming first a teacher, then a principal, then a college instructor, and finally a foreign correspondent.Along the way, Beasley becomes a strident activist for women's rights, socialism, and sex education, which she sees as key to restoring bodily autonomy to women like those she grew up with. She is undaunted by authority figures but secretly ashamed of her origins and yearns to be loved. My First Thirty Years is profoundly human and shockingly candid, a rallying cry that cost its author her career and her freedom.Her story deserves to be heard.