The Heart of an Orphan


Amy Eldridge - 2016
    Written by Amy Eldridge, founder and CEO of Love Without Boundaries, this poignant chronicle of LWB's life-changing work, told through the stories of individual children, offers personal insight into the complex issues surrounding orphan care, abandonment, international aid, and adoption. Both thought-provoking and inspirational, "The Heart of an Orphan" reminds us all that while the needs of vulnerable children around the world may seem overwhelming, the human heart triumphs in believing that every life has value and every child deserves love.

The Metabolic Storm: The Science of Your Metabolism and Why It's Making You FAT and possibly INFERTILE


Emily Cooper - 2013
    It’s a book about the pure science behind why diets don’t work for the majority of people. Forget everything you have ever heard about dieting and being overweight! The Metabolic Storm addresses the science that obliterates those myths about diets and weight gain.As a doctor board certified in Obesity Medicine, Family Medicine, and Sports Medicine, Emily Cooper sees hundreds of patients who attempt every conceivable diet and spend a huge amount of time and effort exercising, yet find that their excess weight doesn’t stay off and their overall health doesn’t improve long-term. The Metabolic Storm is the result of Dr. Cooper’s 25 years of working with those patients and researching the existing science about metabolism. Cooper wants readers to understand that while everyone’s metabolism is slightly different, if you face weight issues, you might simply have been “dealt a bad hand” metabolically. It’s not your fault that you can’t lose weight or keep it off.The Metabolic Storm explains why weight and metabolic issues are not the result of laziness, lack of commitment, or absence of willpower. It introduces the breakthroughs and answers discovered, but never properly disseminated, through more than 100 years of scientific research. Once you understand the intricate systems of metabolism and hormones, you will never want to diet again. And from there begins the journey of letting go of the guilt and shame too often associated with weight issues.

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness


Susannah Cahalan - 2012
    Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Cahalan tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen.

Tears in the Wind: Triumph and Tragedy on America’s Highest Peak


Larry Semento - 2016
    The author endured so much on that mountain, and his description is vivid and emotional. I recommend this book to anyone. You don't have to be interested in climbing to enjoy this slice of adventure and terror. I could not recommend this book more!”-- K. Hymel. In this riveting account of an expedition to climb Denali, the author describes how a childhood fascination with mountaineering led to the adventure of a lifetime. As an average middle-aged guy, he began mountain climbing as a pastime, eventually signing on with a guided group to attempt an ascent of Denali. Formerly called Mt. McKinley, Denali is the highest peak in North America and well known for its vicious winds and dreadfully cold weather. During an expedition that was both triumphant and tragic, the team experienced the full force of the mountain’s fury. They were forced to face life and death on terms that had a lasting effect on each of them. This is a rare peek into a world often shrouded in glamor and mystery. More than a description of the climb, this is an introspective look at the physical and mental demands of climbing a high mountain, and it provides thoughtful insight on the impact that this amazing adventure had on Larry and his family and friends. Come along on a journey from armchair to the top of the continent, and share in the drama of this epic journey.

Medications and Mothers' Milk 2006 (Medications and Mother's Milk)


Thomas W. Hale - 1995
    This book provides you with the most complete, easy to read, and relevant information on breastfeeding and using medications found anywhere in the world. Soon to be in its 4th language, Medications and Mother's Milk is considered the most authoritative source in this field. Written by renowned Clinical Pharmacologist Dr. Thomas W. Hale, this drug reference provides the reader with the most up-to-date information on each drug and its relative safety in breastfeeding mothers and their infants. This comprehensive reference is packed with information on more than 814 drugs, vitamins, hers, vaccines, and their use in breastfeeding mothers, including tables on radioisotopes, radiocontrast agents, and common cold remedies.

A Bump in the Road: A Story of Fertility, Hope and Trying Again


Elle Wright - 2021
    in this book, once more, her heart is laid bare' Giovanna Fletcher 'I didn't want to put it down' Jools Oliver 'Raw and honest... like a letter from a friend' Sarah Turner, The Unmumsy Mum 'Beautifully emotional and healing' Genelle Aldred 'Heartbreaking yet uplifting... I was truly holding my breath' Cat Strawbridge, The Finally Pregnant podcast ***** 'It turns out there are plenty of us: the unlucky ones. The women whose journey into motherhood, or whose yearning for more children, has yet to be fulfilled by the universe. I am certain that in so many parts of my story I really am not the only one to have gone through it, so it makes sense to write it all down. For all of us - and for any parents who might go through some of what we did in the future too. So here it is, our journey to a rainbow. A story of fertility, trying again and, above all, hope.' After the death of her three-day-old son Teddy in 2016, Elle Wright never expected what came next - that the path to bringing home a living child could be so winding. Elle's loss was followed by three and a half years of endless waiting. She and her husband waited for test results, hospital appointments and so many new procedures to help with their experience of secondary infertility. This wait included friends announcing their happy news whilst Elle was experiencing three rounds of IVF and the loss of three more babies. Months and years slipped by, of immense physical and emotional toll, and still those two lines were just out of reach. Faced with constant questions, drugs, negative tests, tears, loss, frustration and so many more tears, throughout it all Elle managed to still believe that one day it would happen for her, somehow... A Bump in the Road reflects the reality of becoming a parent for thousands of people like Elle who have difficulty conceiving in the UK today. It captures Elle's journey to a rainbow, comforting through her beautifully written words with a story of fertility that might just reflect yours, too.

A Girl Called Barney


Christopher Stevens - 2011
    But when Richard Colman adopts his dead sister's daughter, he has no idea how tough life can be.Richard's girlfriend walks out. His business starts losing clients. And there's something terribly wrong with the little girl.Her name is Bernadette, but Richard calls her "Barney". It's a word his own father used to use... a barney, a row, a terrible racket. And Barney is well-named – she never stops screaming. She hammers her head on the floor and the walls. She's adorable, but she doesn't sleep. She cannot talk. She won't even respond to her name.Richard slowly faces the unbearable truth that his little girl is profoundly autistic. And as he prepares for a battle simply to be allowed to keep his child, he's only beginning to find out how tough life can be. Christopher Stevens, the bestselling author of A REAL BOY, draws on painful and intensely personal experiences of raising his own autistic child, to create this compelling story of a single parent who must come to terms with his beloved little girl's autism.AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a novel. The characters are fictional, though they are very real to me. Many of the events in the story did really happen to my family, following the diagnosis of my younger son with autism. I later wrote a memoir about this intensely emotional and exhausting experience: it was published as A REAL BOY. If you have read this memoir, you might recognise some of the scenes and situations in A GIRL CALLED BARNEY – and if you want to read a strictly factual account, the memoir will better suit your needs. A GIRL CALLED BARNEY is more dramatic, more tragic and less humorous than the later, non-fiction book. I used the novel to express the darker, more frightening emotions that, in real life, we hardly dare admit that we feel.Praise for A REAL BOY, Christopher Stevens's factual account of raising his autistic son:Jane Asher, President of the National Autistic Society"This wonderfully honest book tells us a great deal, not only about autism, but also about the extraordinary tolerance and unselfishness that is borne out of unequivocal love. At the same time, it reveals some uncomfortable truths about the struggle it takes to access the rights of those with disabilities in our so-called civilized society."The Sun, 15 Feb 08"incredibly moving"Daily Mail, February 26, 2008Christopher Stevens writes poignantly about life with his autistic son. It's a moving account of the boy's struggle to cope with a world that confuses him - and the extraordinary leap forward that gave them all hope.Bournemouth Daily Echo, 27th June 08By turns harrowing, humorous and inspirational.About the AuthorChristopher Stevens has been a senior sub-editor at the Observer for fourteen years and is also the author of Born Brilliant, the acclaimed biography of Kenneth Williams; Masters of Sitcom, a celebration of Galton and Simpson; and Thirty Days Has September, the bestselling reference book on Kindle.Born Brilliant was shortlisted for a "Sherry", the Sheridan Morley Theatre Biography Prize. It was adapted and broadcast as a Radio Four Book of the Week.