Book picks similar to
Banished Babies: Secret History of Ireland's Baby Export Business by Mike Milotte
ireland
adoption
biography
pete-s-office
The Great Divorce: a Nineteenth-Century Mother's Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times
Ilyon Woo - 2010
He had taken them, she learned, to live among a celibate, religious people known as the Shakers. Defying all expectations, this famously petite and lovely woman mounted an an epic campaign against her husband, the Shakers, and the law. In its confrontation of some of the nation's most fundamental debates--religious freedom, feminine virtue, the sanctity of marriage--her case struck a nerve with an uncertain new republic. And its culmination--in a stunning legislative decision and a terrifying mob attack-- sent shockwaves through the Shaker community and the nation beyond.With a novelist's eye and a historian's perspective, Woo delivers the first full account of Eunice Chapman's remarkable struggle. A moving story about the power of a mother's love, The Great Divorce is also a memorable portrait of a rousing challenge to the values of a young nation.
To Mormons, With Love
Chrisy Ross - 2011
Sure, she knew Mormons didn't drink caffeine (cough), and they never swore (double cough), but life with family-centered folks would be cozy and wonderful. She could smell the fresh-baked bread just thinking about it. Join her as she honestly, humorously, and lovingly describes her quest to find someone with a real panty line problem, requests her LDS friends baptize her-after she dies-and considers her dad's suggestion to become a Jack Mormon. Although not a convert, Chrisy develops an understanding and respect for a widely misunderstood religion and has found a comfortable spot in her town, the community and the culture.
The Soul's Remembrance: Earth is Not Our Home
Roy Mills - 1999
A moving and inspiring personal account of one man's extraordinary memories of the pre-birth existence--the life in Heaven before physical birth.
Rude
Katie Hopkins - 2017
From being kicked out of the army for being epileptic, to firing Lord Sugar; from her first husband leaving her in the maternity ward for the big-boobed secretary, to the reality behind Celebrity Big Brother, she has plenty of surprises to share and lessons she thinks we should learn.Readers be warned, however! Katie doesn’t sugar-coat anything, and neither does she hold back, making her as honest in her book as she is in life.But this book is an introduction to a quieter Katie too, one people seldom see. She takes us beyond her front door and into the privacy of her home, writing as a mum of three, sharing things even she feels awkward saying.
This Side Up
Amy Mangan - 2018
An inspiration to us all.” –Southern Living
This Side Up: The Road to a Renovated Life is a home and garden editor’s story of a life constantly under construction, none by design. Written with candor, humor and grace, Amy Mangan shares her own home tour, but this one deftly sheds light on job loss, financial shame, home displacement, marital discord, illness and caregiving. Faced with one crisis after the next, Amy discovers how to cope, hope and rebuild, finding a new way home to a stronger way of life.
Only Here For A Visit: A Life Lived to the Full – from Sporting Glories to Wild Stories
Alan Brazil - 2020
As Alan recounts tales from his extraordinary life, he relives the sporting occasions, radio broadcasts and famously long drinking sessions that have defined his career. He takes readers inside the talkSPORT studio for a behind-the-scenes view of his most memorable interviews, and talks for the first time about the on-pitch rivalries and dressing room debriefs of his footballing career.With his typically outspoken and irreverent delivery, Alan shares everything from his thoughts on how the sports he loves have changed to his top tips for picking winners (and many losers) at Cheltenham. And he revels in wine-soaked jaunts in the South of France and late-night supermarket sweeps with Ray Parlour – if you can keep up.Packed full of never-before-told stories, refreshing appraisals, sporting controversy and a cast of larger-than-life characters, this is a brutally honesty and wickedly funny insight into an extraordinary life.
Ken Dodd
Stephen Griffin - 2006
A new generation of fans and comedians, including Johnny Vegas, Victoria Wood and Vic Reeves, are now rediscovering Dodd's unique talents. Dodd has a huge and fiercely loyal fanbase. On the eve of his eightieth birthday, Ken Dodd is still touring the country, performing in packed venues an average of two nights a week with his legendary four-hour sets. 'I do it because that is what I do. I do it because that is what I am,' he said, when asked why he continues with this punishing schedule. Ken Dodd's career has spanned over five decades as he went from singer to actor, and presently, most famously, comedian. He is considered the last, great, music-hall-inspired variety comic, but what drives this man whose career has been tainted by hardship? Dodd still lives in his childhood home of Knotty Ash and has never married, despite having two-long term fiances. In 1989, his strange relationship to money culminated in a trial for tax evasion, and he was also famously stalked by a mystery woman. How did this feather-duster salesman become one of the most loved, though least-lauded, British comedians of all time? Stephen Griffin interviewed friends, colleagues and fellow comedians to get inside the mind of the original Diddyman.
Douglas Bader
Robert Jackson - 2015
His courage was remarkable, as was the way he defied his handicap. The film Reach for the Sky brought Bader’s life into cinemas, and Robert Jackson's classic biography was the first to document his life. After a lonely childhood Bader’s early reputation as a sportsman and a daredevil made him popular with his contemporaries. But he was also an irritation to his superiors, a pattern which continued throughout his life, and hid an academic ability which won him a scholarship to St Edward’s School and a cadetship at the elite RAF College in Cranwell. After his accident, Bader was determined to rejoin the RAF. As a pilot, he was an tactical innovator, a man who confronted the methods of other pilots. When he was a Prisoner of War, Bader’s antagonism toward his guards, and his political pronouncements in later life, sometimes provoked his colleagues, but never lost him their lasting respect and admiration. After retiring from the RAF he combined a full-time job with Shell with all the demands of being a celebrity; his inspiration to the disabled gained him many accolades and finally a knighthood.Both aggressive and charming, Bader’s outward personality was famous. Robert Jackson describes the evolution of that forceful character, and the motivation behind his remarkable achievements. ‘Its style and structure make it readily accessible and, like your favourite armchair, it is easy to relax into at the end of a busy day.’ Frank BurnsRobert Jackson has been a full-time author since 1969, specializing in aviation and military history. A retired member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, he has flown a wide variety of aircraft, ranging from jets to gliders. A prolific author, he has written both fiction and non-fictionEndeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
When The Legend Became Fact - The True Life of John Wayne
Richard Douglas Jensen - 2012
With decades of research and insight, Jensen lifts the veil of public relations half-truths and exposes the reality of the man who is still, 30 years after his death, the iconic Western movie hero and hero of red state America. Jensen proves that the public John Wayne was very different from the private man, who struggled with severe alcoholism, chronic infidelity, self-esteem and personal demons that often made life hell for his wives and children. The book painstakingly recounts the triumphs and tragedies of the life of John Wayne – who rose from abject poverty to become the world’s most famous movie star – and creates a portrait of a man haunted by a childhood of abuse; a man conflicted by his own definition of masculinity; a man fighting to control his own rage and his propensity for violence; a man who committed domestic violence against all three of his wives and his children; and a man haunted by and driven to overcome his fear of failure, poverty and ridicule.
The Marigold Story: Indira Gandhi & Others
Kumkum Chadha - 2019
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi hated the marigold flower, although in death it was strewn all over her body; her son Sanjay Gandhi was dictatorial, but also uncommonly empathetic; Smita Patil, who was synonymous with strong, women-centric films, was deeply insecure in her personal life; Ekta Kapoor, the television czarina believes that her unabashed faith in God helped her scale heights and earn her first big bucks; and Abhinav Bindra, who won India the first Olympic gold medal in an individual event confessed how he was a laidback child with no goals in sight. Embellished with interesting nuggets, this book is a collection of fascinating profiles including, L.K. Advani, Smriti Irani, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rajiv Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan and Arun Jaitley. Uncommon access, being privy to confidences and, above all, a willingness to tell the story, bring alive the people behind the headlines. The Marigold Story: Indira Gandhi & Others is not a gushing account of newsmakers; if anything it captures their weaknesses; goes beyond their achievements and examines what makes these individuals distinctive and unforgettable at the same time.
Rearview Mirror
Alana Stewart - 2012
But despite her many accomplishments and successes, the truth is, her life has been rife with abandonment, abject poverty, tragedy, and even violence. In Rearview Mirror, she takes the reader through her mesmerizing journey from her beginnings in poor rural Texas, her escape to New York to become a Ford model, and finally, her seemingly fairytale, but often heartbreaking life in the glittering world of Hollywood. With compelling openness and honesty, Alana chronicles her unstable, chaotic childhood, her traumatic and violent rape, and her struggles with bulimia, depression, and self-worth. She also writes about her marriages and divorces with two iconic stars, raising three children on her own, the devastating effects of drug addiction in her family, and the tragic deaths of her mother as well as her best friend, Farrah Fawcett.Rearview Mirror is an inspiring, rags-to-riches story in which Alana also shares the valuable life lessons she has learned from her many challenges and heartaches: unconditional love, faith, gratitude, perseverance, and the importance of finding your higher purpose in life.
Everybody Matters: My Life Giving Voice
Mary Robinson - 2012
Displaying a gift for storytelling and remembrance, Robinson reveals, in Everybody Matters, what lies behind the vision, strength, and determination that made her path to prominence as compelling as any of her achievements.Born in 1944 into a deeply Catholic family-the only girl among five childrenshe was poised to become a nun before finding her own true voice.Ever since, she has challenged convention in pursuit of fairness-whether in the Church, in government and politics, or in her own family.As an activist lawyer, she won landmark cases advancing the causes of women and marginalized people against the prejudices of the day, and in her twenty years in the Irish Senate she promoted progressive legislation, including the legalizing of contraception. She shocked the political system by winning election as Irelands first woman president in l990, redefining the role and putting Ireland firmly on the international stage. Her role as UN high commissioner for human rights, beginning in 1997, was to prove an even bigger challenge; she won acclaim for bringing attention to victims worldwide but was often frustrated both by the bureaucracy and by the willingness to compromise on principle, which reveal the deep and inherent barriers to changing the status quo. Now back in Ireland and heading her Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice, she has found the independence she needs to work effectively on behalf of the millions of poor around the world most affected by climate change.Told with the same calm conviction and modest pride that has guided her life, Everybody Matters will inspire anyone who reads it with the belief that each of us can, in our own way, help to change the world for the better.
The Quest for Love & Mercy: Regulations for Wedding & Marriage in Islam
Muhammad Mustafa al-Jibaly - 2000
It is not surprising, therefore, that the scholars of Islam have discussed it extensively through the ages. Under the contemporary influence of non-Islamic cultures, however, misconceptions have crept into various areas of Islam - spilling into marriage, divorce, and other family-related matters.Viewing the needs of the Muslims who live in non-Islamic environments, and realizing that most Islamic writings on marriage are restricted in scope, we find quite a large gap that needs to be filled for the benefit of the English-speaking Muslims - which is what we attempt to accomplish over the span of this 4-book- set that covers various aspects of marriage according to the authentic Sunnah:This book covers the importance and advantages of marriage, selecting a spouse, the courting process, the marriage contract, celebrating the wedding, the waleemah, forbidden marriages, etc. Provides a practical procedure for performing a marriage contract, and includes a sample marriage certificate.
Mistletoe Kisses & Christmas Wishes
Leah Atwood - 2016
For seven years, she has raised her daughter without a father.Scott Lamar never meant to abandon his daughter and pregnant girlfriend, but life happened, and college provided a means of escape. All that changed when he found faith in God, and now he wants to make up for his past mistakes. Is it ever too late to do the right thing?Mistletoe and Mochas by Lynnette BonnerChelsea Tan looks up from the mocha she's making to see Cannon Jones. She nearly drops the cup. He hasn't contacted her once in the past several weeks. She'd gotten his message loud and clear. But now he wants to spend time with her? Well, he'll just see how gullible she is this time! Cannon hopes Chelsea will understand the reasons he hasn't been in contact. But she's as frosty as the Seattle air the week before Christmas. He'd better put on all his charm. Maybe with the help of a few mochas and some mistletoe all will not be lost.Cephalopod Cupid by Kathleen FreemanLacey McDowell has the best job in the world. She's a Marine biologist at the Seattle Aquarium. Her favorite "exhibit," an octopus escape artist named Gabriel, should make the coming Christmas merry enough. But with her friend marrying her ex-boyfriend, it may be time for a change. The N.O.A.A. research vessel in port is looking for a marine biologist. But how can Lacey leave Gabriel? And what about the boy who loves her favorite cephalopod, or his father, a handsome executive who's moving to Seattle?Christmas Bells are Ringing by Lesley Ann McDanielHaving recently relocated to Seattle, Shelby longs for someone special in her life. When a handsome green-eyed stranger walks into the coffee shop where she works, her interest is piqued. Later, she finds a bag containing five beautiful hand-painted Christmas bells on the cream and sugar table. No one comes back to claim it, so she decides to do a little detective work. Does she dare hope that it will lead her to the stranger with the magnetic green eyes?Seattle Rayne by Sylvia StewartLoneliness has hovered over Rayne DeMarco's life. Frequent infusions of coffee have neither enlivened her flagging business as a freelance writer nor her social life. Seattle's gray winter skies seem to mirror her life. Then a mama cat with three rambunctious kittens finds a home in her above-the-garage apartment, and a handsome Montana cowboy, Matt Hayes, walks back into her life. Add a puppy who needs a little love and you have a Seattle romance that is as sure to warm your heart as the hot coffee Seattleites crave.All I Want for Christmas by Janalyn VoigtWhen Corey broke Hailey's heart, her best friend Matt picked up the pieces. If Matt wasn't a cubicle worker moonlighting as a Seattle street musician, this would be easy. But never mind that he stirs her emotions, Hailey can't afford a drag on her ambitions. She needs to climb the career ladder to keep her childhood home. Matt isn't about to tell Hailey that the 'fiddle' he carries is a Stradivarius or that he owns a tuxedo, not after his fiancé ditched him for a man with more money.
The Good, the Mad and the Ugly: The Andy Morrison Story
Andy Morrison - 2011
The autobiography of the most troubled footballer of modern times.