Book picks similar to
Dancing with a Porcupine: Parenting wounded children without losing your self by Jennie Lynn Owens
parenting
adoption
foster-care
non-fiction
The Family Nobody Wanted
Helen Grigsby Doss - 1954
She writes of the way the "unwanted" feeling was erased with devoted love and understanding and how the children united into one happy family. Her account reads like a novel, with scenes of hard times and triumphs described in vivid prose. The Family Nobody Wanted, which inspired two films, opened doors for other adoptive families and was a popular favorite among parents, young adults, and children for more than thirty years. Now this edition will introduce the classic to a new generation of readers. An epilogue by Helen Doss that updates the family's progress since 1954 will delight the book's loyal legion of fans around the world.
Robin Williams: Biography
Brian Morris - 2014
Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. This book is devoted to America's best actor and best comedian. Robin Williams was a celebrated actor and comedian. Robin McLaughlin Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois, July 21, 1951; he received the prestigious degree at the Juilliard School of Music and Performing Arts in New York. Williams received his first Golden Globe nomination a Soviet Russian circus performer in the comedy Moscow on the Hudson, and eventually was nominated for an Oscar for best actor award three times, and won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. He also won five Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Emmy Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Williams not only be seen in the critically acclaimed film, and at the box office, hook, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Night at the Museum, as well as the animated film Happy Feet and Aladdin. Many in the entertainment industry was impressed with Williams to a variety of roles, such as turning ability, his infectious energy and versatility improvisation inspired many stand-up comedian. At the age of 63, Williams was found dead at his home in Paradise Island, California August 11, 2014. Tags: Robin Williams
Toddlers Are A**holes: It's Not Your Fault
Sopha King Tyerd - 2014
Delve deep into the mind of these creatures and learn what makes them tick.
50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your Life
Maria Leonard Olsen - 2018
She had, against advice, put all her eggs in the motherhood basket, willfully derailing her successful law career. As teenagers, her precious children did not need her in the hands-on way they previously had. Her husband and she had grown apart because, among other things, they failed to nurture that important relationship. She was depressed and stuck. When she turned 50, she had the distinct feeling that she was on the downward slope of her life. Actuarially speaking, she was. So when she turned 50, her gift to herself was to go on a crusade to make the most of whatever time she had left. She set out to do 50 new things that were significant, at least to her. The list spanned physical challenges, adventure travel, and lifestyle changes. Each taught her something about herself and about how she wanted to lead the next years of her life to come. This work follows the work she did to accomplish those 50 new things and shows readers how to make their own action lists - whether it be joining a knitting club or hiking the Himalayas, every item has significance for each individual and speaks to her needs and desires. The list is the match to spark the fire that will light the years after 50. Readers will hear about Maria's adventures and the rewards of each. Accomplishing new things, learning new skills, deepening personal and spiritual relationships, and seeking out challenges will add the spice to a life that may feel repetitive, insignificant, inauthentic, or just plain boring.
Confessions of an Adoptive Parent: Hope and Help from the Trenches of Foster Care and Adoption
Mike Berry - 2018
From parenting children with traumatic pasts, to dealing with attachment issues, to raising a child with special needs, it can sometimes be a struggle just getting through the day. Mike Berry knows the loneliness and isolation you can easily feel in your particular parenting role—because he's been there. He's still there, and he wants to give you the hope and encouragement you so desperately need. There are plenty of how-to guides out there on parenting, but this one-of-a-kind book is specifically designed to address your needs as a parent of an adopted or foster child. With a refreshing dose of honesty, empathy, and care, you'll discover you are definitely not alone on your journey and God has a very special plan for you and your family.
Mudhouse Sabbath
Lauren F. Winner - 2003
Now, with characteristic wit, intellectual sharpness, and passion for authenticity, Winner illuminates eleven spiritual lessons that Judaism taught her. By reflecting deeply on these religious practices and how they shape and inform her faith as a Christian, Winner provides a fascinating guide for all Christians seeking to enrich their spiritual lives through a deeper understanding of Judaism.
Timeless: Love, Morgenthau, and Me
Lucinda Franks - 2014
She’s a radical, self-styled hippie, and he is New York’s famous district attorney, a legal luminary of the establishment; she’s a prizewinning New York Times journalist who has chained herself to fences, bloodied draft files, and otherwise broken the law for her beliefs, and he is a secret iconoclast who could have put her in jail. Timeless: Love, Morgenthau, and Me is the memoir of their triumph against the odds, their ongoing thirty-five-year marriage, a union between two people so deeply in love but so different—and with so many decades separating them—that their family and friends fought to keep them apart. Franks offers a confidential tour of their marriage, as well as the never-revealed, behind-the-scenes details of Morgenthau’s famous cases. We see a red-faced Ronald Lauder storm into Morgenthau’s office after the DA seizes a priceless Egon Schiele painting from the walls of the Museum of Modern Art; we witness the CIA dismissing Morgenthau’s discovery of the growing terrorist cell in New York that would become al-Qaeda headquarters. This is an unusually close look at the privates lives of two well-known people who have always refused to reveal themselves to the public.
Under Our Roof: A Son's Battle for Recovery, a Mother's Battle for Her Son
Madeleine Dean - 2021
"Beautiful and inspiring."--Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper (Book of the Week)When Madeleine Dean discovered that her son Harry was stealing from the family to feed a painkiller addiction, she was days away from taking the biggest risk of her life: running for statewide office in Pennsylvania. For years, she had sensed something was wrong. Harry was losing weight and losing friends. He had lost the brightness in his eyes and voice, changing from a young boy with boundless enthusiasm to a shadow of himself, chasing something she could not see. Now her worst fears had come to light. Under Our Roof is the story of a national crisis suffered in the intimacy of so many homes, told with incredible candor through the dual perspectives of a mother rising in politics and a son living a double life, afraid of what might happen if his secret is exposed. In this honest, bracing, yet ultimately uplifting memoir, they discuss the patterns of a family dealing with an unspoken disease, the fear that keeps addicts hiding in shame, and the moments of honesty, faith, and personal insight that led to Harry's recovery.In a country searching for answers to the devastating effects of opioids and drug abuse, Under Our Roof is a ray of hope in the darkness. It is not only a love story between mother and son but also an honest account of a pressing national crisis by a family poised to make a difference.
Anatomy of the Soul: Surprising Connections Between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices that Can Transform Your Life and Relationships
Curt Thompson - 2010
Integrating new findings in neuroscience and attachment with Christian spirituality, Dr. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be. Explaining discoveries about the brain in layman's terms, he shows how you can be mentally transformed through spiritual practices, interaction with Scripture, and connections with other people. He also provides practical exercises to help you experience healing in areas where you've been struggling. Insightful and challenging, Anatomy of the Soul illustrates how learning about one of God's most miraculous creations--your brain--can enrich your life, your relationships, and your impact on the world around you.
Believing It All: Lessons I Learned from My Children
Marc Parent - 2001
The acclaimed book in which a natural-born storyteller relays the vital lessons and inspiration he has drawn from life's most perfect teachers: children.
Not Like My Mother:Becoming a sane parent after growing up in a CRAZY family
Irene Tomkinson - 2008
How to separate what belongs to your history and what belongs in your present life is some of the rich, practical advice you will take away from Not Like My Mother. In the early distribution of Not Like My Mother readers reported they couldn’t put the book down. It reads like a compelling novel with a human and spiritual insight that makes you feel a part of the conversation. YOU WILL WANT THIS BOOK FOR ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!!"
Own Your Life: How to Grow a Legacy of Faith, Love, and Spiritual Influence
Sally Clarkson - 2015
So now is the time to make each moment of your ordinary, everyday, beautiful existence count. It’s time to own your life.Sally Clarkson’s Own Your Life is a breath of fresh air into the life and soul of a busy woman. Like a faithful friend, Sally journeys with you to explore what it means to live meaningfully, follow God truly, and bring much-needed order to your chaos. Each page offers deeply personal, authentic, and practical guidance to help you build an intentional life. Discover what it means to own your life, and dare to trust God’s hands as He richly shapes your character, family, work, and soul.
Hell Minus One
Anne A. Johnson Davis - 2008
Until she ran away from home at 17, her parents and other cult members subjected her to satanic ritual abuse (SRA), a criminally inhumane and bizarre form of devil worship. In the middle of the night, Anne would be drugged and forced to endure hours of ritualistic torture as a symbolic sacrifice. The horrors she experienced, the miracles that made it possible for her to survive, and the hard choices she made as an adult to triumph over her past, are revealed in her new book, Hell Minus One: My Story of Deliverance from Satanic Ritual Abuse and My Journey to Freedom. Anne's story is different from other previously published memoirs by victims of SRA. Instead of distressing, heart-breaking accounts without collaborative or corroborative evidence, Anne's story is fully and responsibly documented. Her parents confessed their atrocities-both in writing and verbally-to clergymen, and to detectives from the Utah Attorney General's Office. Anne's suppressed memories, which erupted when she was in her mid-30s, were fully substantiated by her mother and stepfather. Hell Minus One is an unforgettable and moving story that takes the reader to the depths of human depravity, and to the heavens of human will and forgiveness. The foreword was written by Lt. Detective Matt Jacobson, who was the lead investigator with the Utah Attorney General's Office on Anne's case.
My Mother's Rules: A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius
Lynn Toler - 2007
Toler credits her mother’s “rules” for life – a life that saw her grow up the daughter of a poor teen mother and endure a husband who suffered mental illness and alcoholism – with providing the grounding for her own success and happiness. Toler shows how the mindset of “a black woman who knew how to make things work” taught her the power of knowing how to manage one’s emotional business—lessons that this book offers in wrenching stories written in spare and graceful prose. My Mother’s Rules is an unforgettable book that will captivate readers with its illustrations of how to rise above the most difficult circumstances and find peace and success in life.
Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth
Jenny McCarthy - 2004
The New York Times bestseller--never shy, frequently crude and always funny, Jenny McCarthy gives the lowdown on pregnancy in the grittiest girlfriend detail Revealing the naked truth about the tremendous joys, the excruciating pains, and the inevitable disfigurement that go along with pregnancy, Jenny McCarthy tells you what you can really expect when you're expecting! From morning sickness and hormonal rage, to hemorrhoids, granny panties, pregnant sex, and the torture and sweet relief that is delivery, Belly Laughs is must-read comic relief for anyone who is pregnant, has ever been pregnant, is trying to get pregnant, or, indeed, has ever been born!