He seemed to be living a normal life with his wife, Rosemarie, and their family—though one daughter, Elisabeth, had decades earlier been "lost" to a religious cult. Throughout the years, three of Elisabeth's children mysteriously appeared on the Fritzls' doorstep; Josef and Rosemarie raised them as their own. But only Josef knew the truth about Elisabeth's disappearance…For twenty-seven years, Josef had imprisoned and molested Elisabeth in his man-made basement dungeon, complete with sound-proof paneling and code-protected electric locks. There, she would eventually give birth to a total of seven of Josef's children. One died in infancy—and the other three were raised alongside Elisabeth, never to see the light of day.Then, in 2008, one of Elisabeth's children became seriously ill, and was taken to the hospital. It was the first time the nineteen-year-old girl had ever gone outside—and soon, the truth about her background, her family's captivity, and Josef's unspeakable crimes would come to light.John Glatt's Secrets in the Cellar is the true story of a crime that shocked the world.

    This is the story of how he grew up and gained the courage to reach out for love.

    I should have been able to trust him. But he made me do unspeakable things!It is a tale of innocence lost and a life shattered, but above all it is a tale of survival, of a young girl who found love and hope in the darkest of places.

    The ensuing trial was rife with inconsistencies, false testimony and superstition. Echols was accused of, among other things, practising witchcraft and satanic rituals – a result of the “satanic panic” prevalent in the media at the time. Baldwin and Miskelley were sentenced to life in prison. Echols, deemed the ringleader, was sentenced to death. He was eighteen years old.In a shocking reversal of events, all three were suddenly released in August 2011. This is Damien Echols' story in full: from abuses by prison guards and wardens, to descriptions of inmates and deplorable living conditions, to the incredible reserves of patience, spirituality, and perseverance that kept him alive and sane for nearly two decades. Echols also writes about his complicated and painful childhood. Like Dead Man Walking, Life After Death is destined to be a classic.

    The details of her cruelty were so sickening they shocked the country. Alloma Gilbert was one of Spry's young victims, left at her mercy for 11 brutal years. This is her story.

    By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to the wife and kids waiting at home, and the fast-talking, hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did his bidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of the ill-fated genius they called . . .THE WOLF OF WALL STREETIn the 1990s Jordan Belfort, former kingpin of the notorious investment firm Stratton Oakmont, became one of the most infamous names in American finance: a brilliant, conniving stock-chopper who led his merry mob on a wild ride out of the canyons of Wall Street and into a massive office on Long Island. Now, in this astounding and hilarious tell-all autobiography, Belfort narrates a story of greed, power, and excess that no one could invent.Reputedly the prototype for the film Boiler Room, Stratton Oakmont turned microcap investing into a wickedly lucrative game as Belfort’s hyped-up, coked-out brokers browbeat clients into stock buys that were guaranteed to earn obscene profits—for the house. But an insatiable appetite for debauchery, questionable tactics, and a fateful partnership with a breakout shoe designer named Steve Madden would land Belfort on both sides of the law and into a harrowing darkness all his own.From the stormy relationship Belfort shared with his model-wife as they ran a madcap household that included two young children, a full-time staff of twenty-two, a pair of bodyguards, and hidden cameras everywhere—even as the SEC and FBI zeroed in on them—to the unbridled hedonism of his office life, here is the extraordinary story of an ordinary guy who went from hustling Italian ices at sixteen to making hundreds of millions. Until it all came crashing down . . .

    Both funny and insightful That'd Be Right is part memoir, part personal history of Australia over the last thirty years. It's a biographical trip told through sport, and families and William's own experiences. He writes: 'As with A Man's Got to Have a Hobby I weave in and around the events that have held such fascination for this country over the last thirty years or so, connecting them all with the progression of a life.' Some of these events would be considered momentous, some small and personal. And all are seen through William's eyes. They range from a day at the Melbourne Cup with his mother where too many champagnes and too few winners were picked; a swimming carnival early in the morning after a gloomy and long federal election the night before; watching truly surreal Grand Final moments in a pub with a group of odd and unknown bar companions. William also writes about a night at the cricket with his son, which shows how things can change and oddly come full circle.

    She was eight years old. Far from being cared for, Judith found herself in a savage and terrifying institution where physical, emotional, and sexual abuse was the daily norm and the children's lives were reduced to stark survival. As the months became years and no word came from her mother, she sought comfort instead from the girls around her, and especially the bright, angel-voiced Frances, who seemed miraculously untouched by the nuns' persecution and the abject misery surrounding her. When a tragic accident robbed Judith of her dearest friend, the traumatic memories of the event were to trouble her deeply, long into her adult life. Years later, at a kibbutz in Israel, Judith met and befriended an elderly Holocaust survivor. It was a friendship that began with an instinctive recognition of the fear and suffering each had experienced, and one that would begin an emotional journey culminating in Judith's return to the Nazareth House orphanage to confront her memories and to achieve some measure of peace. Updated and revised by the author to confront her critics, this astonishing, moving, and deeply shocking memoir resonates in the mind long after the final page.

    a ballsy paean to self-determination and body confidence ... McSharry's style is a pleasure: precise, colloquial, tightly paced. She's nailed the elusive directness central to the work of essayists like Lena Dunham. If you read one heart-breaking yet bouncy true-life memoir this summer, make sure it's this one.' Sunday Times 'An absolutely stunning piece of work ... just a fantastic book' Roisin Ingle'Hello there @louisemcsharry. Well, I LOVED your book and now I LOVE YOU TOO!!!!! You are INSPIRATIONAL!' Marian Keyes on Twitter'Louise is heartbreakingly honest. A sharp, well-observed, and ultimately inspirational read. Every woman of every age should read this book.' Louise O'Neill'Searingly honest ... at times makes for heart-breaking reading but Louise is at her most inspiring talking about her journey towards fat acceptance' Irish Daily Star'Louise's life reads like a thriller - I had goose-bumps throughout! Brave, funny, emotional and totally relatable for women.' Roz Purcell'Hugely enjoyable. So honest and insightful. I loved the positivity and the REALNESS! Will be amazing for young women to read.' Una Mullaly'Both heart-warming and heart-breaking. Vividly raw and surprisingly visceral, Louise makes you feel every single bit.' Angela Scanlon'Should be compulsory reading for all young people, male and female. Older readers will also be inspired by McSharry's no-nonsense approach ... Whether writing about sex, feminism, family or body acceptance, McSharry is compassionate, funny and wise' Irish Times'A mighty woman, with cojones the size of Mexico and coolness in the face of adversity not seen since John Wayne's heyday' Irish Independent'She's a straight shooter, honest and to the point' The HeraldLouise McSharry's passion is to talk to young women (and the men who love them), about being a woman in the modern world. Drawing on her own 33 years of life, she writes about everything from surviving a messed up childhood, to crashing out of education and still making it, to figuring out sex, weight, feminism, make-up, friendship, workplace politics and a whole lot more.Though she has the raw material (the early death of her father and being taken into care at seven because of her mother's alcoholism) the last thing Louise wanted do was to write a misery memoir. She wasn't keen on writing a cancer survival story either (she went through treatment while planning her wedding ... trying on white dresses while sweating and hairless - not a good look).So, though it has its sad moments, Fat Chance is honest, upbeat, irreverent and inspirational - just like a long chat with a best friend. A fabulous, funny and wise best friend!

    What surfaced was terrifying: she was inhabited by 'the Troops'-92 individual personalities. This groundbreaking true story is made all the more extraordinary in that it was written by the Troops themselves. What they reveal is a spellbinding descent into a personal hell-and an ultimate deliverance for the woman they became.

    Push/pull, give/take, love/hate, guilt/forgiveness, monetary generosity/emotional stinginess - these kids were jerked this way and that, and none emerged unscathed. Of the nine children, 2 died of either suicide or murder and the others continue, as adults, to struggle in their own ways with their violent heritage. Etienne describes her own descent into alcoholism and promiscuity as a teenager and young adult, and she is horrified to find herself following her mother's physical abuse tactics with her own two young sons. We travel with Etienne on the path of healing as she sheds her addictions and discovers ways to forge a new future with her children, a future based on love and trust. Imminently readable and inspirational." ~ Peggy Vincent - author of Baby Catcher "A compelling memoir...Etienne's writing is fresh; her epiphany is clear, her ending powerful and satisfying." --San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, August 10, 2003 Storkbites is a complicated portrait of a family...The writing is vivid and honest." --Adair Lara, Hold Me Close, Let Me Go, August 15, 2003 In her memoir entitled Storkbites, Marie Etienne paints a powerful picture of her wealthy Louisiana family - a mother who bounces from sobriety to drunkenness, kindness to vicious cruelty, and an eccentric father who takes bizarre steps to protect his nine children from danger. Storkbites weaves two timelines -- one showing a childhood filled with abuse, insanity, and material excess, and the other, the adult trying to make her way in California as a new mom. Murder, suicide, promiscuity, and alcoholism overshadow Mardi Gras balls, Christmas celebrations, and a daughter's bittersweet coming-of-age. Vivid scenes depict Daddy, nightly, tucking his children into bed, and hours later, Momma waking them for a beating. After years of heavy drinking, Momma lies dying in ICU and pull-the-plug battles emerge among the seven surviving daughters. In the midst of a divorce, Marie sees her handprint on her son's back and vows stop the cycle of abuse-both as victim and perpetrator. Filled with hope, Storkbites shows the fierce love between siblings and the determination of one young mother desperate to escape her abusive past. Biography: Marie Etienne's writing has appeared in numerous publications including the San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times, and Diablo Magazine. She is a competitive springboard diver, an accountant, a high school dive coach, and an avid reader. Her second memoir, Confessions of a Bi-Polar Mardi Gras Queen, was published in February 2009. She makes jewelry and steel wire baskets adorned with beads and yarn. Born in Louisiana, Marie now lives in Northern California with her two teenage sons.

    But home life was still better than the time she spent in one of Dublin's industrial orphanages. In that harsh regime she was beaten and sexually assaulted. Set to work in the nursery, she saw the nuns treat the babies with horrifying cruelty.As an adult those experiences haunted Irene. When she fell in love with Matt, who was fighting his own demons, they moved to England for a new start. They wanted their daughter Jennifer to have a better life, but in trying to protect her by hiding their past they only succeeded in pushing her away. Until, one day, Irene had a phone call from Ireland that changed everything . . . Sins of the Mother is a powerful and inspiring story of a family whose love was tested but never broken, who finally found the strength to heal the past.

    He became first controlling, then violent, and Cathy found herself trapped in a terrifyingly abusive marriage. Eventually, for the sake of her young son, she found the strength to escape. Then in 2006 she saw on TV that her ex-husband was a serial killer.

    Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch and subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. Their step-father kept a loaded rifle by the door to make sure the young girls were too terrified to try to escape. No rescue would ever come since the few people who knew they existed did not care.When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community. Devastated to again find herself in a world of fear, cruelty, and abuse, Misty was sexually assaulted by the bishop. As Misty recalls, "Amish sexual abusers are only shunned by the church for six weeks, a punishment that never seems to work... I knew I had to get help, and one freezing morning in early March, I made a dash for a tiny police station in rural Minnesota. After reporting the bishop, I left the Amish and found myself plummeted into a strange modern world with only a second-grade education and no ID or social security card."

    This New York Times bestselling memoir of a young man’s addiction to methamphetamine tells a raw, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful tale of the road from relapse to recovery.Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge into the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It's a harrowing portrait—but not one without hope.