Rachel was no different. She juggled her many roles and responsibilities well and rewarded herself with wine at the end of each day; after all, she deserved it. But, gradually her wine intake began to increase each night and soon it had gone from being a little treat to an absolute necessity. As wine invaded more and more areas of her life, it became harder to cope. In turn it meant she drank more wine, firmly believing it was the cure, never considering for a moment that it could be the problem. Eventually, when wine was dictating everything she did and did not do, Rachel realised that something had to change. However, as soon as she attempted to restrict or moderate her drinking, she seemed to want it even more. Her best intentions fell quickly by the way side after the first bottle was opened and the first drink took control, compelling her to have more. Drinking would continue until there was none left or Rachel 'fell asleep'. The following day consisted of a hangover, depression, overeating, remorse, worry, despair and self-hatred, until the time came around when the next bottle could be opened and these awful feelings could be blotted out. This pattern of trying and failing to control her wine drinking brought Rachel to acknowledge that it was not possible to do so, and she decided that she had to remove alcohol from her life forever. Despite being sick and tired of the drinking-hangover-drinking cycle of failure, giving up was not easy and it was only after a few more failed attempts that Rachel managed to do so. This book details her life in that first year of going alcohol-free. It describes in detail how her everyday pursuits became challenging and changing. Her outlook on the whole point of life turned on its axis when alcohol was removed, leaving her with a whole different sense of self and being. The changes that occurred were astounding and beyond anything she believed could be possible. She thought that removing alcohol from her life was all about giving up; she had never considered what she might gain.

    Raped by her father from age six and pregnant at eleven and again at thirteen, he kidnapped her and went on the run as the net eventually closed in around him. Shannon's story is not an easy read; she goes into graphic detail about her sexual, physical and mental abuse, which included being burned with an iron, hit with a hammer and even stabbed. Her father told her "it was something all fathers do with their daughters," and for a time she believed him. Shannon wrote this book to start making sense of her childhood and is currently studying towards a degree in Forensic Psychology to help understand what makes people evil. "It was a painful journey," she explains, “but it was worth it because I want to help others who have been through similar experiences."

    Elizabeth is forced to become estranged from her father and struggles alone to create hope and meaning for her life while serving her mother like a slave. This book is a true account of a daughter's struggle to survive a mother with paranoia, schizophrenia, and manic depression.

    She has survived brutality and discrimination with astonishing resilience and optimism. "Horrifying, heartbreaking, informative and inspiring." "A story from the heart...a riveting memoir." "An eye-opening view of life on the streets and beyond." "Cry Purple chronicles a shattered life, rebuilt through sheer determination, courage and faith." "The most inspiring story I've ever read. A must-read filled with hope."

    Born in Dundee in 1938, Maureen Reynolds grew up in wartime Scotland, a young girl surrounded by adult concerns and as she came of age, a whole generation seemed to suddenly do the same, with the rise of the Teddy Boy and rock'n'roll.

    No it doesn't, sorry to dissapoint you. But I promise if you keep reading you will get something better... And no, you are not going to get two ice creams.Happiness is a widely discussed topic, and still it is quite disconcerting. In fact, many sociological studies show that most people have no idea what it is that makes them happy.According to a poll taken by psychiatrist Robert Waldinger about what the most important goals were in life for today's young people, 80% of the respondents said 'being a millionaire.' And not only that, half of them also wanted to be famous. So we work hard to get those things but, are they actually the most important in life for our happiness? In addition. for a long time, it was also said that positive thinking was the key to happiness. Well, sorry to dissapoint again but it is not.As the entrepreneur Nat Ware afirms: The first step to being happy is to understand why we can often become unhappy. There is no magic pill for true happiness, at least nothing that will last in the long run. Happiness is an emotional process that can be learned if we understand the primary factors that determine it. Giving you a better understanding of happiness will actually help you to make yourself happier, but this undoubtedly requires a lot of work, effort and determination.

    Cole's harrowing account of his life spent in the ER and on the battlegrounds, fighting to save lives. In addition to his gripping stories of treating victims of gunshot wounds, stabbings, attempted suicides, flesh-eating bacteria, car crashes, industrial accidents, murder, and war, the book also covers the years during Cole's residency training when he was faced with 120-hour work weeks, excessive sleep deprivation, and the pressures of having to manage people dying of traumatic injury, often with little support.Unlike the authors of other medical memoirs, Cole trained to be a surgeon in the military and served as a physician member of a Marine Corps reconnaissance unit, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and on a Navy Reserve SEAL team. From treating war casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq to his experiences as a civilian trauma surgeon treating alcoholics, drug addicts, criminals, and the mentally deranged, TRAUMA is an intense look at one man's commitment to his country and to those most desperately in need of aid.

    While he excelled on the court, Vin harbored a dark secret: a dependency on drugs and alcohol that began after the clean-cut preacher’s son turned pro. Eventually becoming a full-blown yet functional alcoholic, Vin convinced himself he played better under the influence—until his addiction cost him his basketball career, his fortune, and his health.But Vin’s story isn’t a tragic fall from grace. It is a joyous tale of salvation. For Vin, hitting rock bottom was a difficult yet transformative experience that led him to renew his relationship with God and embrace life in a rich and fulfilling new way. Today the manager of a Starbucks and a youth minister, Vin has found more security and happiness in his ordinary working life than in all his years in the glamorous world of professional basketball.God and Starbucks is a wise and unflinching look at the real dangers of addiction and the importance of taking charge of your life with meaning and purpose. It’s a powerful memoir about reaching the top and beginning again from the bottom—an inspiring personal tale of humility and grace that reminds us what is truly important in our lives.

     Geneva Snow commits the unforgivable Southern sin. No longer the apple of her father’s eye, she is a pariah, defying her society's most sacrosanct rule. To protect her—and hoping for a change of heart—her shattered yet steadfast father hides her at Cairnaerie, his mountain estate. But his iron-willed daughter is unrepentant. After years of solitude, an older and wiser Geneva is finally mellowing, and she is desperate to leave a legacy worthy of the father she loved and lost. To that end, she engages an unwitting young history professor for help to escape Cairnaerie long enough to attend the wedding of her granddaughter—a girl dangerously unaware of her lineage. But when a postman’s malevolence and a colleague’s revenge converge, Geneva's long-kept secret is exposed. For a second time, she faces a calamity of her own making. Only this time, there is no place to hide.

    Discharged in 1966, after finally receiving proper psychiatric care, Sawyer kept her past secret and moved on to graduate from Yale University, raise two children, and become a respected psychotherapist. That is, until 2001, when she reviewed her hospital records and began to remember a broken childhood and the even more broken mental health system of the 1950s and 1960s.

    While teaching in Europe, he meets a prostitute who secures drugs for him at the dangerous price of helping out the Russian mafia; in China, he gets his Percocet and Xanax fix but terrifies a crowd of children and parents at his job in the process; and in Mexico, Smith thought a Tijuana jail cell would be the perfect place to kick his Fentanyl habit, but soon realizes that the power of addiction is stronger than his desire to escape it. The Bitter Taste of Dying paints a portrait of the modern day drug addict with clarity and refreshing honesty. With a gritty mixture of self-deprecation and light-hearted confessional, Smith’s memoir deftly describes the journey into the harrowing depths of addiction and demonstrates the experience of finally being released from it. "Jason is a great writer who's clearly done the life-destroying research that I can relate to. This is the voice of a new generation of drug addicts." – Jerry Stahl, NY Times bestselling author of Permanent Midnight and Happy Mutant Baby Pills

    She was born into a large family in rural Romania?and grew up feisty and willing to fight back physically against anti-Semitism from other schoolchildren. She defied her father' s orders to turn down a scholarship that took her to Bucharest, and got herself expelled from that school when she responded to a priest/teacher' s vicious diatribe against the Jews by hurling a bottle of ink at him?After a series of incidents that ranged from dramatic escapes to a year in a forced labor detachment, Sara ended up in Ravensbruck, a women' s concentration camp, Aand? managed to survive?she tells this story with style and power." --Kirkus Reviews

    This is the story of Grace's journey from the snow-capped peaks of Banff, Canada, down the spine of the Rocky Mountains, and finally into the forbidding desert of New Mexico. Grace battled many difficulties, including an infection that put her two days behind the nearest competitor, Multiple Sclerosis, the elements, demons from her past, as well as a secret that even she didn't know. Ride with Grace and laugh at her hilarious interactions with the oddballs she encountered along the way. Divide By One is an adventure story with heart and humor that shows how indomitable will and perseverance can change the way we see our limitations and our world.

    One of these "spirit people" delivered a message that would ultimately save her life. Still, she wanted nothing to do with these visitors and sought help from her local Spiritualist church. There she learned to embrace these new experiences, opening her to a lifetime of service that has spanned continents. World-renowned and universally respected and beloved as a medium and teacher for over fifty years, Mavis Pittilla remains modest and humble. The story of her life reveals a multi-faceted, endearing woman who has overcome tremendous adversity, much of it caused by her own human frailties. Droplets of God is far more than Mavis's fascinating biography. It is a primer of the foundations of mediumship, the key philosophical teachings of Spiritualism, and of the soul's journey of self-realization.