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How It Goes in Mexico: Essays from an Expatriate
by Carol MerchasinCarol Merchasin first visited San Miguel de Allende in 2005, fell in love with its language, people, and culture, and moved there full-time with her husband shortly thereafter. A lawyer by training, Merchasin is curious about how everything around her in Mexico works—the health care system, religious rituals, loaning money, small change at the market, narcotrafficantes, telenovelas, and the subtleties between the verbs ser and estar. An intrepid researcher, she informally consults her neighbors, history books, and experts until she&’s satisfied. In How It Goes in Mexico, her essays are by turns funny and poignant, and her portrayal of Mexico is neither romantic nor wary, but respectful and compassionate.
Everything I Never Wanted: A Memoir of Excess
by Barbara SantarelliLife in a middle-class Italian American-Catholic neighborhood in the 1950s Bronx was not supposed to include divorce, Judaism, classical music, political discourse, or poverty in the social construct. So, in the absence of friends, young Barbara takes comfort in the minutiae, the small details available to her in her everyday life that seem to be overlooked by others. But that appreciation for the inanimate world leads her on a path to the acquisition of objects and a quest for identity that dominates her choices—from her marriage and family life to her constant striving for more and more. Barbara&’s chosen nursing career offers validation and some affirmation, but falls short of providing her what&’s most elusive—self–esteem—until finally, at age fifty, she abruptly abandons her conventional role of mother, wife, nurse, and neighbor to attempt a three-hundred-mile bike ride from Boston to New York. Poorly prepared, she takes only what she needs to flee her life, and a fierce determination that finally allows her to discover her place in the world—and to find true belonging.
Never a Girl, Always a Boy: A Family Memoir of a Transgender Journey
by Jo IvesterJeremy Ivester is a transgender man. Thirty years ago, his parents welcomed him into the world as what they thought was their daughter. As a child, he preferred the toys and games our society views as masculine. He kept his hair short and wore boys’ clothing. They called him a tomboy. That’s what he called himself. By high school, when he showed no interest in flirting, his parents thought he might be lesbian. At twenty, he wondered if he was asexual. At twenty-three, he surgically removed his breasts. A year later, he began taking the hormones that would lower his voice and give him a beard—and he announced his new name and pronouns. Never a Girl, Always a Boy is Jeremy’s journey from childhood through coming out as transgender and eventually emerging as an advocate for the transgender community. This is not only Jeremy’s story but also that of his family, told from multiple perspectives—those of the siblings who struggled to understand the brother they once saw as a sister, and of the parents who ultimately joined him in the battle against discrimination. This is a story of acceptance in a world not quite ready to accept.
Painting Life: My Creative Journey Through Trauma
by Carol K. WalshWhen Carol Walsh pulled her fiancé from the bottom of a diving well—dead from a massive heart attack—her life was turned upside down. Even though she was a psychotherapist working with clients suffering from trauma, this personal shock felt unbearable. Nonetheless, she had to heal herself while supporting clients—and, as a single mother, her two children. Using the creative interests she&’d developed during childhood in order to emotionally save herself from a difficult mother, she fully recovered from her grief and PTSD symptoms—and as she recreated her personal, artistic, and professional life, she began to thrive.
Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men's Prison, A Memoir
by Deborah TobolaAt the age of forty-five, Deborah Tobola returns to her birthplace, San Luis Obispo, to work in the very prison her father worked in when he was a student at Cal Poly. But she&’s not wearing a uniform as he did; she&’s there to teach creative writing and manage the prison&’s arts program—a dream job. As she creates a theatre program for prisoners, Tobola finds plenty of drama off the stage as well. Inside the razor wire she finds a world frozen in the &’50s, with no contact with the outside except by telephone; officers who think prisoners don&’t deserve programs; bureaucrats who want to cut arts funding; and inmates who steal, or worse. But she loves engaging prisoners in the arts and helping them discover their voices: men like Opie, the gentleman robber; Razor, the roughneck who subscribes to The New Yorker; charismatic Green Eyes, who really has blue eyes; Doo Wop, a singer known for the desserts he creates from prison fare. Alternating between tales of creating drama in prison and Tobola&’s own story, Hummingbird in Underworld takes readers on an unforgettable literary journey—one that is frank, funny, and fascinating.
Mission Afghanistan: An Army Doctor's Memoir
by Elie Paul CohenElie Paul Cohen, a Franco-British civilian emergency doctor, was in his youth an anti-militarist who evaded conscription. But decades later, his military record comes back to haunt him when it turns up in his professional dossier. In a surreal coincidence, the French, British, and Israeli secret services suddenly become interested in recruiting him, and Cohen accepts the deal the French Army offers: he can settle his accounts by serving as a liaison emergency doctor in Afghanistan. After a year and a half of training, Cohen is in 2011 deployed at Camp Bastion, the largest British Military base since World War II. His mission is twofold: First, to study Damage Control Resuscitation, a new treatment for polytraumatized soldiers that was developed by British doctors in Afghanistan. Second, to share these advanced protocols with the French Military Health Service. Combining elements of spy thriller and adventure story with reflections on the costs of war, Cohen&’s memoir offers a unique perspective on the conflict in Afghanistan, and on the medical challenges presented by the expansion of terrorism into Europe and America.
Raw: My Journey from Anxiety to Joy
by Bella Mahaya CarterRaw is the story of one woman&’s quest for health and happiness, which dragged her kicking and screaming into spiritual adulthood. Anxiety and a desire to heal it holistically—even before she knew what it was—is at the heart of this story, which reveals Carter&’s struggles to face her fears, release perfectionism, surrender things beyond her control, and find validation within for her life and work. The book is divided into three sections—body, mind, and spirit—and it begins with Carter&’s efforts to holistically cure chronic stomach problems. Toward that end, she adopted a 100 percent raw, vegan diet, which eased her symptoms and produced impressive, unexpected perks, but didn&’t completely heal her. She then looked to her mind for answers and discovered that unconscious negative thoughts combined with a stressful, hectic-paced life sabotaged her well-being. Finally, a few mystical experiences brought her &“home&” to a visceral understanding of who she really is.
A Doctor's Journey: What I Learned About Women, Healing, and Myself in Eritrea
by Mary Lake PolanDr. Mary Lake Polan takes us on a compelling journey into Eritrea, where she started a surgical clinic to offer life-changing care to African women. She and her team repair fistulas, a condition that results from traumatic births and leads many African women to lives of stigma and shame. Dr. Polan describes how she and her surgical team offered the care and compassion that forever changed the lives of their African patients, in a story that will inspire readers to believe that they, too, can make a difference.
My First Year in the Country
by Kim CherninAn urban woman moves to the country and falls in love with a horse—an embodiment of nature, wisdom, and living in the moment. She is not exactly a spring chicken, as the village people are quick to point out, and she hasn&’t been in the saddle since she was a child. Her tireless quest for the world&’s most beautiful horse makes her look like a fool. That&’s OK with her; she knows it isn&’t far from the truth. But will it stop her?
Magician of Light: A Novel
by J FremontFor fans of Marie Benedict, Lauren Willig, and Diana Gabaldon, comes a Gothic romance about the charming and ambitious glassmaker René Lalique, the mysterious Englishwoman he falls in love with and their haunting encounters. Fascinated by the occult, René feels stifled, apprenticed to a traditional jeweler. Yearning for the creative freedom to explore the mythical world in his art, he leaves Paris to study at the Crystal Palace outside London. There, he meets Lucinda Haliburton and her dysfunctional family. Having returned from an archaeological dig and tomb discovery in Egypt, Lucinda believes she is preyed upon by ancient spirits. Rene finds her unearthly situation both enchanting and frightening. Is it imagination, delusional, or a real ghostly encounter? Magician of Light illuminates the dark side of Lalique’s life while spinning a suspenseful tale of twisting fates. An enthralling love story filled with historical intrigue and overshadowed by the unknowable.
Hope for a Sea Change: A Search for Healing
by Elizabeth AquinoWhen her three-month-old daughter Sophie is diagnosed with a rare seizure disorder, Elizabeth Aquino and her husband, Michael, are thrust into a nightmarish world of impossible decisions, toxic drug cocktails, and talk of brain surgery on their tiny child. As they grapple with the harrowing progression of their child&’s seizures, they grow to understand that the doctors know little more about how to heal Sophie than they do. They are in a terrifying no-man&’s-land. This narrative of unintended medical trauma and the search for healing through alternative means will sear you with its stubborn hope, unexpected grace, and abiding love.
Rootlines: A Memoir
by Rikki WestRikki and her sister, Linda, fell out with one another four months ago. They are not speaking when Linda emails that she has lethal abdominal tumors, that her only hope of survival is a total bone marrow replacement. Linda claims Rikki is too old to donate, and explains there’s only a slight chance she is a good match anyway—but Rikki refuses to accept that. Despite the wounding between them, Linda’s email ignites a wild aspiration in her sister: she will become the perfect donor, the perfect match, with the healthiest, most vigorous cells possible. She rises with intent to heal herself, her sister, and their rootlines, the patterns formed in their family of origin that have quietly shaped their lives. Rikki walks through the science while confronting dogma that limits how mind can transform body. She builds herself into a stem cell factory using Muay Thai kickboxing and vegetarian nutrition. Working through childhood wounds and mental limits with meditation and yoga, she finds her own power, as well as ways to show up for Linda and walk with her from the edge of death to a new life. Together, the two sisters beat the lymphoma—and, as they rediscover the intimacy and love of their innocent childhood, heal the intertwined roots of their family pain.
One Pound, Twelve Ounces: A Preemie Mother's Story of Loss, Hope, and Triumph
by Melissa HarrisMelissa Harris&’s dream of being a mother again shatters when a fertility doctor tells her she may never have another child due to a physical anomaly in her uterus. Determined to persevere, she undergoes nine surgeries and a year of fertility treatments until she finally gets a positive pregnancy test—only to miscarry both twins within the first fifteen weeks. When what she&’s decided will be her last attempt results in her finally becoming pregnant, she&’s told that this baby, Sam, is also at risk. While lying in a hospital bed for six days, trying to get to the golden standard twenty-four-week gestation mark, Melissa makes a decision—she will give this baby every chance to live, no matter what it takes.One Pound, Twelve Ounces is the journey of one mother&’s determination to give her micro-preemie a fighting chance, and the story of that baby&’s remarkable battle to survive.
Estelle: A Novel
by Linda Stewart HenleyWhen Edgar Degas visits his French Creole relatives in New Orleans from 1872 to &’73, Estelle, his cousin and sister-in-law, encourages the artist—who has not yet achieved recognition and struggles to find inspiration—to paint portraits of their family members. In 1970, Anne Gautier, a young artist, finds connections between her ancestors and Degas while renovating the New Orleans house she has inherited. When Anne finds two identical portraits of Estelle, she discovers disturbing truths that change her life as she searches for meaningful artistic expression—just as Degas did one hundred years earlier. A gripping historical novel told by two women living a century apart, Estelle combines mystery, family saga, art, and romance in its exploration of the man Degas was before he became the artist famous around the world today.
No Rules: A Memoir
by Sharon DukettIn this coming-of-age memoir, Sharon takes you with her on a nail-biting adventure through the early 1970s after leaving her sheltered home life at sixteen years old to join the hippies. Yearning for freedom, she lands in an adult world for which she is unprepared, and must learn quickly in order to survive. As Sharon navigates the US and Canada—whether by hitchhiking, bicycle, or the back of a motorcycle—she experiences love and heartbreak, discovers whom she can and cannot trust, and awakens to the growing women’s liberation movement while living in a rural off-grid commune. In this colorful memoir, she reflects upon the changes that reshaped her during that decade, and how the ways in which she and her peers threw off the rules meant to keep women in their place has transformed and empowered the lives of girls and women today.
Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix
by Erin SeidemannThe aviation world is a man&’s world—it always has been, and it continues to be so today. In fact, women make up a mere 5 to 6 percent of the total pilot population worldwide. But from the first time Erin Seidemann experienced what it was like to see the world from a small plane&’s perspective, she was hooked—and she&’s spent much of her time since then fighting her way into becoming one of that 5 to 6 percent. Postcards from the Sky: Adventures of an Aviatrix tells of the struggles and adventures one encounters as a woman in the male-dominated space of aviation. With humor and equanimity, Seidemann recounts her varied experiences as a female pilot—from the chauvinistic flight instructor she makes the mistake of falling in love with to the many, many customs agents who insist she can&’t possibly be her plane&’s owner (&“Where&’s your boyfriend?&”)—while at the same time giving insight about just what makes flying so incredible . . . and so very addictive. Frank, funny, and full of adventure, Postcards from the Sky is an entertaining foray into a world few women have dared enter.
Beyond Jesus: My Spiritual Odyssey
by Patricia A. PearceIn the crucible of grief following a friend's death, Presbyterian pastor Patricia Pearce sensed a dimension of existence beneath her ordinary perception-and became resolved to discover it. She soon found herself in a vortex of revelatory dreams, synchronicities, energy openings, and insights that shattered her worldview, exposed a unified Reality of Love, and unveiled the illusory nature of the ego and the world it has created. Faced with these discoveries, she struggled to remain in a religion that, she now realized, has been shaped by the very ego consciousness Jesus transcended and urged others to abandon. Enlightening, revelatory, and bold, Beyond Jesus reveals how our political and religious institutions are an outward manifestation of the inner beliefs we hold about who we are, and that beneath the layers of dogma about Jesus lies a key to our spiritual evolution and the astonishing possibility it holds for the future.
Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
by Renee HodgesWhen Renee Hodges invited her nephew, Bobby, to come stay with her for a few weeks so he could visit a doctor about his back pain, she knew he was recovering from an addiction to prescription painkillers. She believed that if he could address his back problems, he would have a better chance of staying clean—but she had no idea what a roller coaster ride she was getting on. Unlike other books about addiction, Saving Bobby begins after rehab is over. Told in part through journal entries, e-mails, and personal recollections, this raw, honest, deeply moving memoir—begun to keep the family accountable—describes the sixteen months that Hodges, her husband, and their community struggled alongside Bobby as he attempted to successfully re-enter the day-to-day world. Using a holistic and open approach, the shame and stigma associated with addiction was lessened—and ultimately, Bobby learned he had to save himself. A gripping and heartrending story of survival, Saving Bobby is an essential, timely read for those concerned about America&’s most pressing epidemic.
Rudy's Rules for Travel: Life Lessons from Around the Globe
by Mary K. JensenMost honeymoons, Mary knows, do not start this way. Lying outside on the sloping attic roof in Edinburgh, listening to the soft snores of her groom, she realizes that Rudy&’s number one rule, &“adapt," once again reigns. Rudy&’s Rules for Travel takes you across the twentieth-century globe with intrepid, frugal Rudy and his spouse Mary, a catastrophic thinker seeking comfort. Whether stalled in a Spanish car tunnel, stranded atop a runaway elephant, or held at rifle-point at a Soviet border, Rudy has a rule for every occasion—for example, &“Relax, some kind stranger will appear.&” Mary, meanwhile, has her deep breathing and her own commandment: &“Expect the worst.&” The two are a picture of contrast. As Mary was being born, Rudy was a new American citizen flying US Air Force missions over his homeland, Germany. His father was a seaman, hers an accountant. And when this marriage of opposites goes traveling, their stories combine laugh-out-loud humor with poignant lessons from the odyssey of a World War II veteran. So start packing—you&’ll want to join these two.
Feeling Fate: A Memoir of Love, Intuition, and Spirit
by Joni SenselAs her sweetheart&’s body lies cooling on the living room floor, Joni Sensel—shattered but not surprised—revisits her premonition about this moment. From nearly the start of their fairy tale romance less than four years ago, she knew she would lose Tony, the man she considered to be her soul mate. He was in great health, but fate had other plans—a hard truth that visited Joni in the form of a startling vision during their second weekend together. Though she kept the premonition a secret while Tony was alive, upon his death she&’s compelled to share it with his spirit in the form of a letter. A grief memoir with a paranormal twist, Feeling Fate explores how a dark intuition magnified Sensel&’s love and gratitude in the time she and Tony had together before her premonition came true. Faced with evidence of a grand design alongside her grief, she&’s torn between faith and skepticism. While she&’s nearly undone by the pain of her loss, she eventually discovers that a sassy imagination and the irrational insights of the heart can both defeat despair and transform her grief into meaning.
Changed By Chance: My Journey of Triumph Over Tragedy
by Elizabeth BarkerElizabeth Barker spent years planning and working hard to achieve her version of the American dream - one that is supposed to culminate in parenthood and the role of supermom. But when her first child is born with Down syndrome and a fatal heart condition, her dream suddenly becomes a nightmare. And that&’s only the beginning… Liz&’s new reality is a detoured obstacle course of life altering encounters, medical mishaps, a breast cancer diagnosis, and cruel hardships. From the moment of her daughter&’s birth, she is pummeled with life lessons that no schooling or formal education could have ever taught her. Can Liz keep her sanity and some semblance of her former self alive and well through all of this? Changed by Chance is a courageous story of soul searching introspection about how this champion acquired the necessary life skills to Triumph over Tragedy. Her inspiring journey offers a roadmap to others who may face their own bumps in the road.
The Buddha at My Table: How I Found Peace in Betrayal and Divorce
by Tammy LethererCan you come sit at the table? Tammy Letherer’s husband of twelve years spoke these words on a Tuesday night, just before Christmas, after he had put their three children in bed. He had a piece of paper and two fingers of scotch in front of him. As he read from the list in his hand, his next words would shatter her world and destroy every assumption she'd ever made about love, friendship, and faithfulness. In The Buddha at My Table, Letherer describes―in honest, sometimes painful detail―the dismantling of a marriage that encompasses the ordinary and the surreal, including the night she finds a silent, smiling Thai monk sitting at the same dining room table. It’s this unexpected visitation, this personification of peace, that sticks with her as she listens to her husband reveal hurtful, shocking things―that he never loved her, he doesn’t believe in monogamy, and he wants to “wrap things up” with her in four weeks―and allows her to find the blessing in her husband’s betrayal. Ultimately, it’s when she realizes that she is participating in her life, not at its mercy, that she discovers the path to freedom.
Drawing Outside the Lines: A Julia Morgan Novel
by Susan AustinMeet the brilliant, fearless, and ambitious Julia Morgan. In 1883, eleven-year-old Julia visits the amazing new Brooklyn Bridge—an experience that ignites within her a small but persistent flame. Someday, she decides, she too will build an astounding structure. Growing up in horse-and-buggy Oakland, Julia enjoys daring fence walks, climbing the tallest trees, and constantly testing her mother&’s patience with her lack of interest in domestic duties and social events. At a time when &“brainy&” girls are the object of ridicule, Julia excels in school and consistently outsmarts her ornery brothers—but she has an even greater battle ahead. When she enrolls at university to study engineering, the male students taunt her, and the professors belittle her. Through it all, however, Julia holds on to her dream of becoming an architect. She faces each challenge head-on, firmly standing up to those who believe a woman&’s place is in the home. Fortunately, the world has yet to meet anyone like the indomitable Miss Morgan. Drawing Outside the Lines is an imagined childhood of pioneering architect Julia Morgan, who left behind her an extraordinary legacy of creativity, beauty, and engineering marvels.
Redeemed: A Memoir of a Stolen Childhood
by Penny LanePenny is just four years old when she is snatched away from her all-American home by the Hungarian father who abandoned her when she was a baby. After facing isolation and neglect in a strange, dysfunctional household where heartache, rejection, and physical abuse rule her life, she escapes—only to find herself in a relationship with a man who&’s just converted to fundamentalist Christianity. Penny&’s road is long, winding, and often painful, but gradually she begins to listen to her inner voice, stand up for herself, and refuse to bow to the pressures of either her family or society—freeing herself to build a life on her own terms and find her way to happiness. A rise-from-the-ashes hero&’s story of overcoming abuse, trauma, and unbearable odds, of being waylaid by both family and religion&’s promise of love, and harnessing the resilience to find the way home, Redeemed offers a rare window into Eastern European immigrant culture and reads like a page-turning thriller. Especially relevant today—a time when marginalized people are increasingly finding a voice—this memoir will serve as an inspiration to women everywhere, encouraging them to overcome their obstacles and go after their dreams.
Tranquila: A Doctor-Mom Attempts the Slow Life in Spain
by Amy BreenDrinking glasses of cava in the sunshine, indulging in delicious tapas, and learning Spanish with ease is what Amy Breen, a hard-charging physician and mother of three, expected of life in Spain. But when she and her young family move to Barcelona, the tranquilo lifestyle of their new country has other ideas for her.Join Amy and her family in their mishaps and adventures living in Barcelona and traveling throughout Europe, and watch as Amy—openly and with a self-deprecating humor—unfolds her struggles in her transition from a handle-it-all doctor and mother in the States to full-time parent who needs her kids to translate. The tranquilo way of life is Amy&’s adversary, and then teacher, in this humorous personal and family journey.