For the Love of Prague: The True Love Story of the Only Free American in Prague During 30 Years of Communism


Gene Deitch - 1997
    No reporter, who flew in, contacted a few dissidents, and flew out again, could ever match his experience, insight, or personal adventures. His book, For The Love Of Prague, is part love story, part history, part a record of national lunacy, and part terror. It is all true, with real names, real people, and real incidents. The New York Times, in a two-thirds page illustrated story, hailed it as a spicy, funny memoir! About the Author: Gene Deitch is an Oscar-winning animation film director and scenarist. He is a voting member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Scientists. In the early 1950s he was Creative Director of UPA s New York studio, where among his many gold-medal winning films were the famous Bert & Harry Piels beer commercials. His TV commercials were the first ever shown at the New York Museum of Modern Art. In 1956 CBS purchased the Terrytoons animation studio and named Gene Deitch as its Creative Director. Under his supervision and direction, the studio produced 18 CinemaScope cartoons per year for 20th Century-Fox, and won its very first Oscar nomination. He personally created and directed the Tom Terrific series for the CBS nationwide Captain Kangaroo show. Tom Terrific, with Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, was the very first animated serial for network television. In 1958 he set up his own studio, Gene Deitch Associates, inc., in New York.

The World and I, Vol. 1: A Woman, Several Suitcases, 65 Countries.


Cassia Meare - 2017
    This is her story... Told with humor and insight into countries where she lived for months, The World and I is comprised of the real adventures of Cassia Meare as she jumps from country to country for work and learns to rely on herself. In the first volume she is sent to Algiers right after being hired and gets a scorpion as a marriage proposal in the Sahara; she travels from glorious St Petersburg all the way to Sakhalin in Russia just as it is emerging from communism -- without forgetting to stop at the casinos of Siberia; she falls in love with Istanbul and meets crazy Sergei and his gun in Kiev; she works with a very handsome man in Vladivostok -- only to travel on with him to stunning Rajasthan. Get an insider's view on Madrid, Rome, Palermo and find out more about Warsaw, Prague and what is in Azerbaijan. There will be information on culture, sights, history -- but most of all there will be the people Meare finds along the way, often the most memorable things about her trips. You'll laugh, discover things about places you might never go to, or which have changed beyond recognition since then. You'll also find out about some of the world's most beautiful spots. Just don't expect this book to teach you how to travel for less...

Broken Bananah: Life, Love, and Sex... Without a Penis


Ross Asdourian - 2018
    Broken Bananah is my completely true and overly honest journey through severe genital trauma. What happens when you lose something you love? And... can you really break a penis? Absolutely, and mine was one of the worst on file. Tethered to a catheter and surrounded by that’s-what-she-said jokes, I learned one of life’s greatest lessons: it can always be worse. Experience life and love without a penis in a recovery story that could only happen in New York City. Let’s laugh til we cry, dive into the weird, and grapple with the power of sex in this modern coming-of-something tale.

Final Approach - Northwest Airlines Flight 650, Tragedy and Triumph


Lyle Prouse - 2011
    He was fired by his airline, stripped of his FAA licenses, tried, convicted, and sent to Federal prison. This was a first. It had never occurred before. Lyle Prouse came from a WWII housing project in Kansas and an alcoholic family where both parents died as a result of alcoholism. He rose through the ranks of the United States Marine Corps from private to captain, from an infantryman to a fighter pilot. He made his way to the pinnacle of commercial aviation, airline captain...then lost it all. Today he is a recovering alcoholic with nearly twenty-two years sobriety. This story describes his rise from the ashes of complete destruction from which he was never to fly again. It is full of miracles which defy all manner of odds. In a long and arduous journey, he eventually regained his FAA licenses. He never fought his termination; he considered it fair and appropriate. Miraculously, after nearly four years, the President/CEO of his airline personally reinstated him to full flight status in spite of all the adverse publicity and embarrassment. In effect, the President/CEO gambled his own career by taking such a risk on a convicted felon and publicly acknowledged alcoholic pilot. In another stunning event, the judge who tried, sentenced, and sent him to prison watched his journey and reappeared eight years after the trial. He became the driving force behind a Presidential pardon although he'd never supported a petition for pardon in all his years on the bench. Lyle retired honorably as a 747 captain for the airline he'd so horribly embarrassed and disgraced. He lives with his wife of nearly forty-nine years and has five grandchildren. He continues to work with all the major airlines in their alcohol programs. He is also active in his Native American community, and he provides hope to those struggling with the disease of alcoholism, no matter who they are or where they are.

Innocent: A murdered son. A grieving mother. The fight to clear her name.


Sarah Rose - 2015
    I couldn’t speak to any of my family. It was like I’d been found guilty before I could be proved innocent’Losing a child is any mother’s worst nightmare, but how do you grieve when you’re being blamed for his death? When Sarah Rose discovered her 15-month-old son Kamran had been brutally murdered, she was immediately put under arrest. The days she spent in jail were terrifying and harrowing, but it was when she heard the results of the post-mortem that the truth hit her: her boyfriend, Nicholas, the man she’s loved and trusted, had beaten her little boy to death. Heartbroken, isolated and alone, she knew she’d have to fight to prove her innocence and put Nicholas behind bars.Tragic, moving, yet ultimately uplifting, this is story of a mother’s love and her battle for the truth.

Trans-Siberian Adventures: Life on and off the rails from the U.K. to Asia


Matthew Woodward - 2017
    Knowing little of the red tape, cultural differences and climate ahead, Matthew sets off alone across the North Sea bound for Shanghai. Trans-Siberian Adventures follows his exploits as he learns the ropes of becoming a long-range train adventurer. This is a captivating insight into the reality of life on the legendary Trans-Siberian and Trans-Mongolian railways.

The Camino Way: Lessons in Leadership from a Walk Across Spain


Victor Prince - 2017
    Each year, hundreds of thousands of peregrinos make their way through rugged countryside and medieval towns in order to reflect, test their will, and join a community of strangers on a shared mission. In short, it's the ideal training ground for authentic leadership.Challenged to walk the Camino, Victor Prince began his trek as one person: driven, work-focused and highly competitive, and he finished it a very different one: more balanced, more caring, and more present in the moment. In this transformative book he guides readers on their own Camino, translating his experience into seven essential leadership lessons inspired by the values emblazoned on the back of every pilgrim's passport:Treat each day as its own adventure ● Make others feel welcome ● Learn from those who've walked before ● Consider your impact on those who follow ● And moreLeadership is a journey. The Camino Way prepares you to tackle it with a pilgrim's heart, a wayfarer's grit, and a leader's vision.

The Appalachian Trail Girl's Guide: Part Memoir, Part Manifesto


Megan Maxwell - 2014
    While she had a lively and beautiful six month journey, she noticed that there were not a lot of women on the trail. She wants to change that by inspiring other women to hit the A.T. and feel confident in their own backpacking abilities. In this book, Megan uses her own trials and errors to guide readers through their gear selections, mental preparation, dealing with weary friends and family, avoiding potentially dangerous situations, and everything else you need to know to be a successful solo girl in the wilderness. Some of the highlights of the book include: -Budgeting for your hike and cutting costs on the trail. -Selecting the best gear for your price range. -Choosing practical clothing that you will actually want to wear. -Getting a support system in place to improve your chances of success. -Dealing with things like your period and peeing in the woods. -Dealing with creepy or annoying men on the trail. -Learning skills like hitch-hiking, building fires, getting the most out of your phone battery, and Yogi-ing. -Megan's favorite spots to camp or visit in each state. -An outline of the best section hikes in each state. -Megan's personal account of her own thru-hike. -Awesome photos from Megan's thru-hike.

Tea & Bee's Milk


Karen Gilden - 2008
    So they quit their jobs, sold their house and car, and flew off to Turkey with two bags each, a laptop computer and a camera. If you've ever dreamed of ditching the rat race and taking a year off, you’ll find inspiration in this charming and humorous series of essays and emails. A delightful memoir of a memorable year.

A Camino of the Soul: Learning to Listen When the Universe Whispers


Katharine Elliott - 2016
    Don’t ask what or why...just start” My sister Jeannie, deceased 7 years earlier, wrapped her angel arms around me that September day on the Camino Santiago de Compostela and guided me to my purpose. What is it that magically draws us to step outside our normal realm of existence? That unexplainable energy that sings a calling to our soul? A knowing which came in the late summer of 2011, my pilgrimage was the culmination of several years in which I began learning to listen to the energies of the Universe. Listen to the knowledge my soul cradles deep within. Listen to the love and guidance of my guardian angels. Believe that all I need to know, all I need to understand, is available to me if I simply remain open to the forces of the Universe ...and listen. In September 2014 I followed my soul knowledge and embarked on the Camino Santiago de Compostela, an ancient pilgrimage path some 500 miles crossing the French Pyrenees and west across the north of Spain. A Camino of the Soul - Learning to Listen When the Universe Whispers shares my Camino story and, more importantly, a lesson of growth and transformation.

Bill Bryson Box Set: Three Vols. A Walk In The Woods, Notes From A Big Country, Notes From A Small Island


Bill Bryson
    A box set consisting of three Bill Bryson books, 'Notes from a Small Island', 'Notes from a Big Country' and 'A Walk in the Woods'.

Naked (in Italy): A Memoir About the Pitfalls of La Dolce Vita


M.E. Evans - 2019
     In her late twenties, M.E. Evans hops on a plane to Italy on a mission to change her life and that’s exactly what happens. Unfortunately, personal growth isn’t always easy. In Naked, bestselling author, M.E. Evans tackles the dysfunctional family narrative and travel memoir in a way that is refreshingly honest, painfully vulnerable, and wildly entertaining. If you’ve ever set foot in a foreign country or picked up a travel memoir you probably think you already know what Naked is about: a dreamy personal account of the life-altering beauty that is Italy. And sure, that’s in there, nestled somewhere between the profound grief, bruised ego, debilitating anxiety, chronic depression, vagina paintings, a boyfriend with billowing chest hair and a mother-in-law who forcibly irons your underwear. Evans’ dream of a magical life abroad is marred by forbidden love, the death of her younger brother, and a batshit crazy family, yet she skillfully merges tragedy and humor for a wild emotional journey exploring what it means to be human–flaws and all. Evans’ wit, compassion, and vulnerability make reading this book a rarely authentic and relatable experience. You’ll cry, you’ll cackle, and you’ll want Evans to be your best friend.

Finding Freedom in the Lost Kitchen


Erin French - 2021
    And of her son who became her guiding light as she slowly rebuilt her personal and culinary life around the solace she found in food--as a source of comfort, a sense of place, as a way of creating community and making something of herself, despite seemingly impossible odds.Set against the backdrop of rural Maine and its lushly intense, bountiful seasons, Erin French's rollercoaster memoir reveals struggles that have taken every ounce of her strength to overcome, and the passion and courage behind the fairytale success of The Lost Kitchen.

50 Years in the OR: True Stories of Life, Loss, and Laughter While Giving Anesthesia


Ronald Whitchurch - 2020
    

All My Dogs Go to Heaven


Kay Bratt - 2021
    Kay Bratt explores these ideas in All (my) Dogs Go to Heaven. Touching on relevant Biblical scriptures, she chronicles her tumultuous past— including a traveling childhood and a near decade of domestic abuse— revealing how her beloved pets helped her cope, and instilled hope for better days ahead. Interspersed within this memoir are short essays from real people who have experienced signs from their departed pets as proof that they are still around in spirit. Included in the back of the book is a Grief Guide to help get us through those first devastating days after our loss.Insightful and fascinating, Kay Bratt has ultimately given us a message of hope with All (my) Dogs Go to Heaven. -Judy Morgan, Founder of Yorkie Rescue of the Carolinas