Girl gets a reality check. This is the story of a year in my Glamorously Unglamorous life.""When I was 23 I hopped a plane for New York City, off to pursue my destiny, sure that I'd never look back. This is my story of looking back. Of a journey that took on a whole new meaning and purpose. A year in New York City. A year of discovering the best and worst parts of myself. A year of learning the lessons that you can only learn the hard way."

    The infectious excitement in his voice, his boyish love of the game, and his uncanny ability to anticipate the play have earned him the affection of generations of fans, induction into the Hall of Fame, and the unofficial title of best hockey broadcaster ever.Now, for the first time, readers will see Cole at the centre of the story rather than watching it from the broadcast booth. We meet the young man growing up in Newfoundland in the years before it joins Canada. We see him talk his way into Foster Hewitt's office and into his first job. And of course we see some of the most cherished players in the game backstage: on the plane back from Russia in 1972, rubbing elbows with Bobby Orr; in the hallway on the old Montreal Forum, running into Jean Beliveau; meeting young players like Steve Stamkos, who grew up listening to him on Hockey Night in Canada.Written with the expert help of massively bestselling author and respected broadcaster Stephen Brunt, these stories come to life with the charm and detail of a conversation with Cole. They sound like Cole.No one has been closer to the game over the years than Cole, and no one is more closely associated with all we love about the game than the man whose eyes we've seen it though. Now we will see so much more through those same eyes and in that unforgettable voice.

    She fell through the net of the care system and reached out for friendship, only to be consumed by an escalating spiral of abuse. This harrowing and truly shocking story captures in vivid detail how gangs of men were able to ply a child with drink and drugs, then rape her and pass her around their associates with no one seemingly able to step in and prevent it. Cassie was lost in a world of appalling degradation for years before a local policeman and caring social worker became instrumental in helping her to escape and rebuild her life. In 2016, the largest case of child sexual exploitation ever brought to trial at that time in the UK resulted in the conviction of 17 men. Since Cassie's abusers were jailed, child safeguarding policies have improved so that vulnerable children like Cassie should never again fall through the net and become prey.

    and trying, and trying some more? How far do you go to achieve your dream of having children?So Close is the heart wrenching, exhilarating, devastatingly funny story of Tertia Albertyn's battle with infertility. Tertia wanted a baby so badly she went through nine IVFs. Most people give up after the third.I don't think I am being brave at all. I am just too terrified NOT to try again.In her worst nightmare she could never have imagined that making a baby would take her four years, each treatment bringing her and her husband Marko closer and closer to creating their family.During Tertia's journey everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Until, finally, everything goes just right.Tertia is as hilarious as she is irrepressible, as approachable as she is knowledgeable. If you are struggling with infertility, have triumphed over infertility or have felt empathy with someone who is going through this experience, you will find a friend in Tertia.

    The topics may vary widely, from love to mental illness to the most recent "Florida Man" headline, but it's all in the same handwriting. Welcome to The Immortal Soul Salvage Yard.

    But nearly choking to death on her own vomit after yet another secretive binge forced her to seek professional help and confront the origins of her consuming and shame filled behavior of compulsive eating and extreme dieting. This raw, illuminating and tragically comic book is the story of child Azure struggling to survive her upbringing by a brilliant, sociopathic father who starved and belittled her as well as adult Azure attempting to save her marriage and her psyche while contending with her preoccupation with food, her body, a fat-phobic society, and her insatiable hunger for love and acceptance.

    From Aaron Karo, stand-up comic and acclaimed author of Ruminations on College Life and Ruminations on Twentysomething Life, comes I’m Having More Fun Than You, an irreverent exploration of why guys embrace bachelorhood and love flying solo in their twenties and thirties.

    The familiar group of characters appear again, as do a few more waifs and strays. The plight of the rhino takes centre-stage in One Chance, bringing awareness to the risk they face on a daily basis.

    "Confessions of a Bi-Polar Mardi Gras Queen" is the Marie's second memoir, dropping true stories of her life that read like fiction and give the reader much empathy with Marie's bipolar condition. She also hopes to inspire others with her will as a mother and woman of the world, and "Confessions of a Bi-Polar Mardi Gras Queen" is a fine execution of that goal." Marie Etienne, author of STORKBITES: A Memoir, returns with a collection of outrageous true stories that are fast-paced, heartfelt, and brutally honest.CONFESSIONS OF A BI-POLAR MARDI GRAS QUEEN is filled with thematically connected stories that swing between hilarity and devastation. One of nine children growing up in a well-to-do family in Southern Louisiana, Marie Etienne spent decades risking everything in her search for happiness, sanity, and love. As an adult, her increasingly erratic behavior mirrored the drama of her upbringing and took its toll on her two sons. At 43, recently diagnosed as bi-polar and on the brink of suicide, her last-ditch hope was to come to terms with her deep-rooted feelings of fear, shame, and resentment by facing head-on who she really was, who she wanted to be, and what she was willing to do to make her life worth living. Etienne explores the themes of love versus lust, the legacy of abuse and mental illness, the impact of murder and suicide among her siblings, and the redemptive powers of faith, forgiveness, and courage. Marie Etienne has written a book that reveals the unstoppable drive of a woman determined to forge her own path through the world. Praise for Confessions of a Bi-Polar Mardi Gras Queen: "Marie Etienne has not lived an ordinary life, as the title of her second memoir suggests. Born into a wealthy family, she endured the untimely deaths of her alcoholic parents, the murder and suicide of two brothers, her own severe depression and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, Etienne has come back from the abyss and is anxious to help others through her inspirational stories of survival." -- Karen Jones of Publishers Weekly Show Daily, May 2008 "Not everyone can pull of a Trifecta of overcoming promiscuity, alcohol abuse, and towering rage as consequences of an abusive Louisiana childhood. In her second book, Marie Etienne shares her trials and victories with humor, compassion, and insight. Etienne's candor always leaves me breathless with both envy and amazement, and her writing skills make for an enjoyable and revelatory read." -- Peggy Vincent, Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife "Marie Etienne has written a brutally frank and captivating memoir that will have readers rooting for her at each step along the way in her quest to attain balance and confidence in her life and overcome years of dysfunction and insecurity." -- Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, Love In Translation

    Coming from the all-mod-cons society of Britain at the beginning of the 1980’s, the author is literally transplanted to a farm in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in what is now Kwazulu Natal.Once there, she finds her feet in the ways of Africawith the help of a charming, elderly Dutch couple, an appealing but wily African farm hand, his practical and motherly daughter and a wise and fascinating neighbour who has a fund of local knowledge.These are tales of a different kind of life, whichinclude living without electricity, hand-milking cows, drought, veld fires and mad-cap adventures into the unknown.They are stories told with deep affection and respect, and above all a liberal dose of tongue-in-cheek humour.

    Amidst the fantastic luxury, sexy celebrities, and hyped-up household politics, the nanny certainly has more to handle than diapers and bedtimes. But if you’re just looking for dirt, you won’t find it in these pages. Instead, authors Julie Swales and Stella Reid share anecdotes and insights about what happens when money, power, and fame intersect with the highly personal arena of raising children.

    My narrative covers many issues which increasingly threaten all classes of modern day society. Principle among these is the heartbreak of Addiction, and the collateral devastation it exacts in all its’ forms. Regrettably, true appreciation of addiction’s desperate landscape, too often requires one’s intimate personal involvement with its twisted and insidious nature. Despite this grim caveat, a powerfully descriptive account can nevertheless provide some measure of protective awareness. With this in mind, please consider some of the issues discussed in my story: · Raised primarily by an abusive, unemployed, alcoholic step-father, and a mother more concerned with maintaining her tenuous relationship than protecting her children. · My gradual descent into the drug-culture of the 1960’s, culminating in Heroin use at 15, and addiction by 16 years of age. · Forcible eviction from my home by my stepfather at age 16; the grueling adaptation to street-life and homelessness, while supporting a significant drug habit. · Surviving as a frightened white teenager in Spanish Harlem; forced to live in abandoned buildings (which doubled as “Shooting Galleries”), Central Park, the Subways (during winter), stairwells or boiler-rooms. · Ejection from High School after being caught shooting Heroin in the school bathroom. · My criminal involvement and subsequent arrests, resulting in jail time, jumping parole, and interstate flight to avoid prosecution. · My decision to begin Methadone Maintenance. · My mysterious “Epiphany”, providing incentive for my detox, and subsequent devotion to Physical Fitness. · Falsifying documents to enter College without ever achieving a GED or Diploma. · Gaining early admission to Medical School, with neither a College Degree nor High School Diploma. · Relapse into narcotic addiction following surgery during my 3rd year of Medical School. · Completing Internship and gaining acceptance to an Anesthesiology Residency while maintaining a narcotics habit. · Entry into treatment following my 1st year of Residency; my re-entry into another Anesthesia Residency. · Relapse after completing Residency, while performing 3rd world medicine; taking a position at a hospital in Penn. · My arrest for narcotic diversion; my imprisonment which ultimately totaled 34 months, and the loss of my Medical License. · Becoming the subject of a 20/20 television broadcast which was intentionally twisted and malevolently distorted through disingenuous editing. · The years following the loss of my profession. My depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and subsequent suicide attempts; my eventual acceptance of life’s disparate and capricious nature, and how life, and our success within it, is defined simply by our own perspective. DIRTY WHITE BOY avidly supports and encourages the belief that no matter how desperate our current life appears, we all have the power to rise above it. Those currently struggling with personal demons need to realize their future is malleable by design, not immutable or cast in stone. It is also a cautionary tale warning that success comes hand-in-hand with inherent temptations. Arrogance and conceit are equally as addictive as any narcotic; to forget our past quite often means we are destined to repeat it.

    

    Following the death of her parents, Christine goes to live on a housing scheme with her sister Kirsty, her brother-in-law and niece. But while existence on the housing scheme leaves much to be desired, Christine is as determined as ever to live a full and happy life. With much humour, warmth and charm, Fraser explores the realities of growing up in a wheelchair, as well as her experiences of working in a factory, of finding love, and of beginning what would become a successful writing career. Set against the evocative backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, Roses Round the Door is a heart-warming tale that is every bit as delightful and moving as Blue Above the Chimneys. Praise for Christine Marion Fraser ‘Christine Marion Fraser writes characters so real they almost leap out of the pages… you would swear she must have grown up with them.’ — The Sun ‘Christine Marion Fraser weaves an intriguing story in which the characters are alive against a spellbinding background'— Yorkshire Herald Fraser writes with a great depth of feeling and has the knack of making her characters come alive. She paints beautiful pictures of the countryside and their changing seasons — Aberdeen Express Full-blooded romance, a strong, authentic setting — The Scotsman Christine Marion Fraser (1938-2002) was one of Scotland's best-selling authors. She was the author of the much-loved Rhanna series, a Scottish saga set on the Hebridean island of Rhanna. She also wrote the acclaimed King’s Croft series as well as the Noble series. Christine’s formative years were spent in the post-war Govan district of Glasgow and she spent her later life in Argyll with her husband.

    And even more than that, it's the awe-inspiring life story of Kailen Combs Taylor. Kailen lived with a perpetual sense of wonder, maintaining immutable joy and resilient hope in the midst of some of life's most barbaric trials. Narrated with heartrending candor, this harrowing love story will make you laugh, cry, and frantically turn the page, often all at once. And long after you finish the book and fall back into the hectic fray of life, you may find Kailen's message still resonates in your heart: that life can be a fairytale, even when it's a tragedy. "Bryan has written a book which proves that even in the face of impossible odds, love never fails." -Christina Rasmussen, Author of Second Firsts: Live, Laugh, and Love Again