Book picks similar to
Only the Devil Tells the Truth by Jake Parent
check-out
giveaway-losses
memoirs
recovery
The Taste of Cigarettes: A Memoir of a Heroin Addict
Jon Vreeland - 2018
After three decades of living in the sandy suburbs of Huntington Beach, Jon Vreeland’s heroin addiction has finally destroyed his once promising music career, and estranged him from his wife and his two daughters. Now Vreeland broods over his daughter’s absence while living in his old, broken-down tour van. He and Zooey Leigh—his brand new lover and longtime junkie—sell and shoot heroin in the van. They move from place to place, from crime to crime, and rob the undeserving in a brazen attempt to escape their hypodermic reality. No matter where they go or who they stay with, they always circle back to the shores of Huntington Beach, where the dark nights are their lonely playground. But Jon isn’t meant for this life. He wants nothing more than to rid himself of this nightmare, and return to his estranged family and career. This is the story of how he began to get out.
Finding Ruth
Cynthia Hamilton - 2016
While her author daughter shifts through Ruth's possessions prior to her move into a skilled nursing facility, she discovers a previously unseen photo from 1949 and realizes how little she knows of her mother's life.As Alzheimer's continues to warp Ruth's once sharp mind, she can no longer shed any light on the past. Yearning to know who her mother was as a person in her own right, the author painstakingly reconstructs Ruth's life from photos, letters, public records and firsthand memories.What emerges is a portrait of a bright, beautiful woman who is propelled through decades of broken promises and heartache, bouncing from one ill-fated relationship to the next, but always staying strong, always surviving. Through a timeline going back sixty years, the author gleans a much better understanding of the woman she had known only as Mom.
Blueberry Hill: a Sister's Story
Bette Lee Crosby - 2014
Based on the realities of her own family, Crosby calls this a memoir of sorts. Traveling back to a time when the sisters were young enough to feel invincible and foolish enough to believe it would last forever, Crosby has bared her soul in a story of regrettable decisions and inevitable outcomes. Blueberry Hill is a tale of family relationships, love and tragedy. It is a story that will touch your heart and stay with you long after you have closed the book.
South on Highland
Liana Maeby - 2015
screenwriter, is on the verge of hitting it big when she falls into the grip of drug and alcohol addiction. Her descent into the narcotic underbelly of the city leads her to a commune in the desert, a filthy room at the Chateau Marmont, and, eventually, rehab. Will Leila continue down the dark path of addiction? Or will she make it as a successful writer? Based on the author’s own life, Liana Maeby’s brilliant debut novel is raw and haunting, and simultaneously incredibly astute and humorous. South on Highland explores true identity and questions our culture’s response to addiction and sensationalism.
David Niven: The Man Behind the Balloon
Michael Munn - 2009
Despite his on-screen persona, Niven wasn’t always the perfect gentleman. He was insecure both privately and professionally and used people to get ahead. But he did, he said, ‘at least try to be a decent man.’ He knew he often failed, although it isn’t easy to find people who ever had a bad word to say about him. In this fascinating biography of the star, Munn looks at the funny stories and the sad underlying truth, from his outrageous days with Errol Flynn and their irrevocable split –‘You always know where you are with Flynn. He always lets you down’ – and numerous affairs with stars and prostitutes, to an attempted suicide, his horrific experiences in war-torn France and the breakdown and blame of his second marriage. This compelling text includes interviews with his second wife, Hjordis, John Huston, Rex Harrison, Laurence Olivier, Loretta Young (they discussed marriage once), Niven’s long-time friend Michael Trubshawe, Peter Ustinov, Ava Gardner and many more.
When God Steps In, Miracles Happen
Neale Donald Walsch - 2011
Their stories of incredible synchronicities, extraordinary coincidental circumstances, and everyday miracles are collected here in this warm inspirational book, previously published in hardcover as Moments of Grace and now available for the first time in a paperback edition.
These are stories of everyday folks who have experienced God touching their lives in very real, visible, and direct ways. Walsch weaves these tales seamlessly into the concepts and messages presented in the Conversations with God books. These amazing stories will show you how you, too, can experience miracles in your life and discover that they are all around us.
The Fund
H.T. Narea - 2011
defense intelligence operative Kate Molares is investigating a suspicious international money trail. Her instincts place her at the center of a plot involving a terrifying new kind of terrorism—financial terrorism— perpetrated by a suave, handsome Middle Eastern hedge fund mogul. His goal is to wreck the West by bringing the global economy to its knees.Kate's mission takes her from the defense intelligence command center on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. to the oil-fueled economy of Caracas, Venezuela; from the Beaux-Arts buildings of Old Havana in Cuba to a hedge fund king’s magnificent back-country estate in Greenwich, Connecticut; from the United Nations to the site of a deadly Islamic conspiracy in the Iberian Peninsula.Kate is in a race against time to fit together the pieces of this global puzzle…or risk the catastrophic destruction of the world’s financial markets.
You've Done What, My Lord?: Hilarious tales from a country estate
Rory Clark - 2000
However, when James Aden takes up the position of Deputy Agent he does not realise the full extent of what the job entails.He finds himself spending his days negotiating with royalty, farmers, and even wildlife, as well as the imperious Lady Leghorn. In order to survive, James must come to terms with his role quickly, and not let himself get too distracted by Sophie, the pre-college assistant.
Bottled: A Mom's Guide to Early Recovery
Dana Bowman - 2015
Author of the popular momsieblog.com, she leads and presents workshops on both writing and addiction, with a special emphasis on being a woman in recovery while parenting young children.
A Beginner's Guide to Free Fall
Andy Abramowitz - 2020
Brothers and sisters. Mothers and daughters. Okay, everybody. Hold on tight.
Davis Winger has it all. A respected engineer who designs roller coasters in theme parks across the country, he is deeply in love with his wife and has a beautiful young daughter and a happy home. Until an accident strikes on one of his rides. Nothing fatal—except to his career. And to his marriage, when a betrayal from his past inadvertently comes to light. In one cosmically bad day, Davis loses it all.His sister, Molly, is at a crossroads herself. She’s coasting through a dire relationship with an incompatible man-child. And she’s a journalist whose deeply personal columns about mothers and daughters are forcing her to confront the truth about her own mother, who abandoned Molly and Davis years ago and disappeared.For these two siblings, it’s just a matter of bracing themselves for one turbulent summer in this redemptive and painfully funny family drama about making the best of the sharp turns in life—those we choose to take and those beyond our control.
Stories I Tell On Dates
Paul Shirley - 2017
Sometimes we tell these stories to make people laugh. Sometimes we tell them to make people think. Sometimes we tell them so we can increase the chances we'll see the other person naked.Paul Shirley's stories are about an adulthood spent all over the world: living in Spain, playing in the NBA, and having his heart (and spleen) broken. But they're also stories about growing up in small-town Kansas: triumphant spelling bees, catastrophic middle school dances, and a Sex Ed. class taught by his mother.They're funny stories. They're vulnerable stories. Most of all, they're universal stories, just as the stories we tell on dates should be.
Forging On
Catherine Robinson - 2017
He's in his element when he's outside in the country air, not stuck in a classroom wasting his youth and the beauty of Yorkshire. When he starts as an apprentice farrier, his first few days are a baptism of fire. His fellow apprentice is a wind-up merchant and his gruff boss, Stanley, ribs him mercilessly about his tea drinking habit. But in this chaotic environment, the three of them form a brotherhood, and soon, Will realises that the coming year is going to teach him a lot more than how to shoe a horse properly...
Hold Me Tight and Tango Me Home
Maria Finn - 2010
Maria Finn relays her adventures in the world of tango with excitement, wit, and insight.” —Robert Farris Thompson, author of Tango: The Art History of Love Maria Finn's husband was cheating. First she threw him out. Then she cried. Then she signed up for tango lessons. It turns out that tango has a lot to teach about understanding love and loss, about learning how to follow and how to lead, how to live with style and flair, take risks, and sort out what it is you really want. As Maria's world begins to revolve around the friendships she makes in dance class and the milongas (social dances) she attends regularly in New York City, we discover with her the fascinating culture, history, music, moves, and beauty of the Argentine tango. With each new dance step she learns—the embrace, the walk, the sweep, the exit—she is one step closer to returning to the world of the living. Eventually Maria travels to Buenos Aires, the birthplace of tango, and finds the confidence to try romance again. As exhilarating as the dance itself, the story whirls us into the center of the ballroom dancing craze. And buoyed by the author's humor and passion, it imparts surprising insights about how to get on with life after you've lost in love.
Everything the Heart Wants: A Novel
Savannah Page - 2017
Married for eleven years, she and her husband, Adam, are still living their happily ever after. They both know what they want—and don’t want—for their life together. And that includes being child-free. But when one of them has a change of heart about wanting a baby, it brings their marriage and life plans into harsher focus.Devastated that this bombshell might destroy their relationship, Halley finds comfort in her closest friends: Nina, who’s finally pregnant after years of trying; her sister, Charlotte, an overwhelmed mother of three; and Marian, a successful businesswoman who regrets letting go of her one true love.Now, with their guidance and support, Halley begins a painful journey of self-discovery. As she searches her heart to make a life-changing decision for both herself and Adam, she realizes that someone is bound to get hurt. Will their perfect love be too great a sacrifice for everything her heart wants?
Divine Mercy Explained
Michael E. Gaitley - 2013
Michael Gaitley, MIC gives you a brief and easy-to-understand introduction to the Divine Mercy message and devotion. You’ll read about the history and context of Divine Mercy, the essential elements of the devotion, and how you can live the message. Includes the full prayers of the Divine Mercy Novena and St. Faustina’s Litany to Divine Mercy, as well as two bonus appendices.
