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Clear It with Sid!: Sidney R. Yates and Fifty Years of Presidents, Pragmatism, and Public Service
by Michael Dorf George Van DusenThe son of a Lithuanian blacksmith, Sidney R. Yates rose to the pinnacle of Washington power and influence. As chair of a House Appropriations Subcommittee, Yates was a preeminent national figure involved in issues that ranged from the environment and Native American rights to Israel and support for the arts. Speaker Tip O'Neill relied on the savvy Chicagoan in the trenches and advised anyone with controversial legislation to first "clear it with Sid!" Michael C. Dorf and George Van Dusen draw on scores of interviews and unprecedented access to private papers to illuminate the life of an Illinois political icon. Wise, energetic, charismatic, petty, stubborn--Sid Yates presented a complicated character to constituents and colleagues alike. Yet his get-it-done approach to legislation allowed him to bridge partisan divides in the often-polarized House of Representatives. Following Yates from the campaign trail to the negotiating table to the House floor, Dorf and Van Dusen offer a rich portrait of a dealmaker extraordinaire and tireless patriot on a fifty-year journey through postwar American politics.
A Clear Premonition: The Letters of Lieutenant Tim Lloyd To His Mother, North Africa and Italy, 1943-44
by Raleigh TrevelyanAn insightful collection of WWII correspondence between a British lieutenant & his mother, with commentary by his best friend and fellow soldier. Tim Lloyd was aged twenty-two, a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, when he was killed in action near Florence in July, 1944. His personality made a vivid impression on his companions, and after all these years he is remembered still for his extraordinary zest for life, his indomitable cheerfulness, and his appreciation of beautiful things. If he had lived, he might well have joined the famous publishing firm of his brother-in-law, Sir William Collins, but more likely he would have been a theatre designer, possibly a great one. He was also brave, though his period at the front line was brief. Raleigh Trevelyan, a year younger, regarded him as his best friend. It was a shock when Tim's nephew Samson Lloyd showed Raleigh Tim&’s letters to his mother when they were together in North Africa and Italy. For the first time, Raleigh reread extracts from his own diary and found himself plunged into memories he hoped he had put to rest. Tim had been ill in Italy, so missed being sent to Anzio Beachhead, the subject of Raleigh&’s much praised and harrowing battle memoir The Fortress, and also part of his later book Rome &‘44. Meanwhile Tim continued his letters to his mother, outstanding not only in their descriptions of landscape and people, but as an example of a son's deep devotion. Sue Ryder, who had first met Tim on the boat to South Africa, was convinced that he had a clear premonition of what lay in store. Based on his letters to Mrs. Lloyd, the book traces his childhood at Repton, his passion for the theatre and his marionette shows in ENSA, also life in the ranks and wild times in London after being commissioned.
Clear Skies, Deep Water: A Chautauqua Memoir (Excelsior Editions)
by Beth PeytonAfter a year of devastating personal and financial loss, Beth Peyton and her husband, Jeff, moved to the hamlet of Maple Springs, New York, on Chautauqua Lake to pick up the pieces of their lives, certain to be in a place that they loved and certain of nothing else. As they worked to restore a neglected old house, the community, the beauty of the lake, and the old-fashioned sensibility of the place comforted them. While Peyton's story traces the couple's progress toward recovery, it also includes tales of the silly, colorful, and warm characters who became their neighbors and friends. Whether it's the mystery of Emil and Betty's lost blue plate, dead bodies in the water, or memories of karaoke at the Village Casino, Clear Skies, Deep Water is a testament to the healing power of rituals, friendships, the beauty of the natural world, and the possibility of grace. Filled with nostalgia about an America that has slipped, or is slipping away, it will resonate with anyone who has searched for meaning and home.
Clear Springs
by Bobbie Ann Mason<P>In this superb memoir, the bestselling author of In Country and other award-winning books tells her own story, and the story of a Kentucky farm family, the Masons of Clear Springs. <P> Like Russell Baker's Growing Up, Jill Ker Conway's The Road from Coorain, and other classic literary memoirs, Clear Springs takes us back in time to recapture a way of life that has all but disappeared, a country culture deeply rooted in work and food and family, in common sense and music and the land. <P>Clear Springs is also an American woman's odyssey, exploring how a misfit girl who dreamed of distant places grew up in the forties, fifties, and sixties, and fulfilled her ambition to be a writer. <P> A multilayered narrative of three generations--Bobbie Ann Mason, her parents and grandparents--Clear Springs gracefully interlaces several different lives, decades, and locales, moving from the industrious life on a Kentucky farm to travels around the South with Mason as president of the Hilltoppers Fan Club; from the hippie lifestyle of the 1960s New York counterculture to the shock-therapy ward of a mental institution; from a farmhouse to the set of a Hollywood movie; from pop music concerts to a small rustic schoolhouse. <P>Clear Springs depicts the changes that have come to family, to women, and to heartland America in the twentieth century, as well as to Bobbie Ann Mason herself. <P>When the movie of Mason's bestselling novel In Country is filmed near Clear Springs, it brings the first limousines to town, even as it brings out once again the wisdom and values of Mason's remarkable parents. <P>Her mother, especially, stands at the center of this book. Mason's journey leads her to a recognition of the drama and significance of her mother's life and to a new understanding of heritage, place, and family roots. <P> Brilliant and evocative, Clear Springs is a stunning achievement.
The Clear Stream: The Life of Winifred Holtby
by Marion ShawWinifred Holtby was a prolific journalist and writer whose most famous work South Riding is on many university courses. She was an active campaigner for several progressive causes during the inter-war period such as pacifism, feminism and most important to her, racial equality and harmony in South Africa. She was the subject of Vera Britain's Testament of Friendship. She was essentially a 'woman in her time' and yet could also be seen as an index to many of the progressive movements which were around in the pre-war days and in this sense she was indeed a 'clear stream'. Written in a wonderfully accessible style interspersed with excellent research as well as warmth from one born in the same district as Winifred herself this is the definitive biography of a woman ahead of her time.
The Clear Stream: The Life of Winifred Holtby
by Marion ShawWinifred Holtby was a prolific journalist and writer whose most famous work South Riding is on many university courses. She was an active campaigner for several progressive causes during the inter-war period such as pacifism, feminism and most important to her, racial equality and harmony in South Africa. She was the subject of Vera Britain's Testament of Friendship. She was essentially a 'woman in her time' and yet could also be seen as an index to many of the progressive movements which were around in the pre-war days and in this sense she was indeed a 'clear stream'. Written in a wonderfully accessible style interspersed with excellent research as well as warmth from one born in the same district as Winifred herself this is the definitive biography of a woman ahead of her time.
Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang
by Richard O'KaneTang carried the war to the enemy with unparalleled ferocity. This is her story as told by her skipper.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Cleared Hot!: The Diary of a Marine Combat Pilot in Vietnam
by Bob StoffeyFull of vivid detail, this combat diary uncovers the real heroes of the Vietnam War, the behind-the-scenes Marine Corps pilots who helped our boys return home...then went back for more.Daring missions. Dangerous rescues. Deadly accuracy.Many pilots never made it out of 'Nam. This one did. Highly decorated Col. Bob Stoffey-- a Marine Corps pilot for over twenty-five years, who served multiple tours in Vietnam-- has seen and done it all. Cleared Hot! is his story-- a fast-paced, high-casualty flight into heart-stopping danger.Includes eight pages of heroic photographs!
The Clearing: A memoir of art, family and mental health
by Samantha ClarkThis house has been a regular presence in my life for as long as I can remember. My heart has sunk a little every time I walk in . . .Samantha Clark enjoyed a busy career as an artist before returning home to Glasgow to take care of the house that her parents had left behind. Moving from room to room, sifting through the clutter of belongings, reflecting on her mother's long, sedated years of mental illness and her father's retreat to the world of amateur radio and model planes, Samantha began to contemplate her inheritance.A need for creativity and a desire for solitude had sprung up from a childhood shaped by anxiety and confusion. Weaving in the works and lives of others, including celebrated painter Agnes Martin and scientist of dark matter Vera Rubin, The Clearing is a powerful account of what we must do with the things we cannot know.'Samantha Clark writes on the subtle edge of words and thought. She renders the world within and the world of ideas with electric sensitivity and acute intelligence' Jay Griffiths
A Clearing In The Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the 19th Century
by Witold RybczynskiIn a brilliant collaboration between writer and subject, Witold Rybczynski, the bestselling author of Home and City Life, illuminates Frederick Law Olmsted's role as a major cultural figure at the epicenter of nineteenth-century American history.We know Olmsted through the physical legacy of his stunning landscapes -- among them, New York's Central Park, California's Stanford University campus, and Boston's Back Bay Fens. But Olmsted's contemporaries knew a man of even more extraordinarily diverse talents. Born in 1822, he traveled to China on a merchant ship at the age of twenty-one. He cofounded The Nation magazine and was an early voice against slavery. He managed California's largest gold mine and, during the Civil War, served as the executive secretary to the United States Sanitary Commission, the precursor of the Red Cross. Rybczynski's passion for his subject and his understanding of Olmsted's immense complexity and accomplishments make his book a triumphant work. In A Clearing in the Distance, the story of a great nineteenth-century American becomes an intellectual adventure.
A Clearing in the Wild (Change and Cherish #1)
by Jane KirkpatrickYoung Emma Wagner chafes at the constraints of Bethel colony, an 1850s religious community in Missouri that is determined to remain untainted by the concerns of the world. A passionate and independent thinker, she resents the limitations placed on women, who are expected to serve in quiet submission. In a community where dissent of any form is discouraged, Emma finds it difficult to rein in her tongue-and often doesn't even try to do so, fueling the animosity between her and the colony's charismatic and increasingly autocratic leader, Wilhelm Keil. Eventually Emma and her husband, Christian, are sent along with eight other men to scout out a new location in the northwest where the Bethelites can prepare to await "the last days." Christian believes they've found the ideal situation in Washington territory, but when Keil arrives with the rest of the community, he rejects Christian's choice in favor of moving to Oregon. Emma pushes her husband to take this opportunity to break away from the group, but her longed-for influence brings unexpected consequences. As she seeks a refuge for her wounded faith, she learns that her passionate nature can be her greatest strength-if she can harness it effectively.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Clearing the Air
by Daniel SchorrIn 1977 veteran TV newsman Daniel Schorr was forced to "resign" from CBS News and threatened with imprisonment by the U.S. government. His "crime"--releasing a damaging report on CIA corruption to the American people. Schorr refused to back down from his heroic decision and now he tells the full, dramatic story behind his two decades on the most explosive assignments in Washington: Watergate, the CIA and FBI scandals, the Kennedy assassination, and his own head on confrontation with Congress and CBS.
Clearing the Air in Los Angeles: The Fight Against Smog (Narrative)
by Carl R. OliverSolving the mystery of California's most persistent smog.Once known as the Smog Capital of the World, Los Angeles has changed "air you can see " into "air you can breathe ." While the fight to eliminate pollution in the city continues, modern smog is not the thick, oppressive, silver-blue haze that drove people to move out of Los Angeles altogether during the mid-twentieth century. Professor Arie Haagen-Smit became a key leader in the fight against smog after making a crucial discovery--what caused it. Join author Carl R. Oliver as he delves into the sixty-year battle to clear the air in Los Angeles.
Clearly Now, the Rain: A Memoir of Love and Other Trips
by Eli HastingsThis memoir of a relationship with a self-destructive woman is &“as elemental, lyrical and cringe-inducing a love story as they come&” (Kirkus Reviews). Suspenseful, darkly funny, and devastating, this is Eli Hastings&’s true story of his troubled, decade-long relationship with his friend Serala. At family events, Serala wore saris and ate delicately from plates of curry. But elsewhere, she wore a lip ring, designer shades, and a cowboy hat; would regularly drink frat boys under the table; would sleep less than five hours a week; and would place herself in dangerous situations for another bag of heroin. Serala&’s complex character and seemingly haphazard choices are brought to vivid life, from ill-advised quests for narcotics in Mexican border towns to unplanned fifty-hour road trips from Los Angeles to New York City. Although her dark and traumatic journey concluded tragically at age twenty-seven, Hastings writes with a sense of hope and tenderness in this &“drug, romance and adventure-filled&” memoir of their unique relationship (The Seattle Times). &“An unflinching account of how it feels to be young and flirting with the abyss in America. The narrator&’s observations as he and his friends ride rough across the U.S.A., all pulled to orbit around their friend, lover, and lost soul, Serala, are also an investigation into the dangerously different ways that people respond to addiction. This is an elegy, yes, as if told by a boy who began his quest tutored by Kerouac&’s ghost, but became, on this hard road, a man schooled in love by the spirit of the Dalai Lama.&” —Rachel Rose, author of Giving My Body to Science
Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession
by Julie PowellJulie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she'd ever do--until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, CLEAVING. Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer's, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs--tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts. The camaraderie at Fleischer's leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world--from South America to Europe to Africa . At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart.
Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero
by David MaranissDiscover the remarkable life of Roberto Clemente—one of the most accomplished—and beloved—baseball heroes of his generation from Pulitzer Prize winner David Maraniss.On New Year&’s Eve 1972, following eighteen magnificent seasons in the major leagues, Roberto Clemente died a hero&’s death, killed in a plane crash as he attempted to deliver food and medical supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake. David Maraniss now brings the great baseball player brilliantly back to life in Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball&’s Last Hero, a book destined to become a modern classic. Much like his acclaimed biography of Vince Lombardi, When Pride Still Mattered, Maraniss uses his narrative sweep and meticulous detail to capture the myth and a real man. Anyone who saw Clemente, as he played with a beautiful fury, will never forget him. He was a work of art in a game too often defined by statistics. During his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he won four batting titles and led his team to championships in 1960 and 1971, getting a hit in all fourteen World Series games in which he played. His career ended with three-thousand hits, the magical three-thousandth coming in his final at-bat, and he and the immortal Lou Gehrig are the only players to have the five-year waiting period waived so they could be enshrined in the Hall of Fame immediately after their deaths. There is delightful baseball here, including thrilling accounts of the two World Series victories of Clemente&’s underdog Pittsburgh Pirates, but this is far more than just another baseball book. Roberto Clemente was that rare athlete who rose above sports to become a symbol of larger themes. Born near the canebrakes of rural Carolina, Puerto Rico, on August 18, 1934, at a time when there were no blacks or Puerto Ricans playing organized ball in the United States, Clemente went on to become the greatest Latino player in the major leagues. He was, in a sense, the Jackie Robinson of the Spanish-speaking world, a ballplayer of determination, grace, and dignity who paved the way and set the highest standard for waves of Latino players who followed in later generations and who now dominate the game. The Clemente that Maraniss evokes was an idiosyncratic character who, unlike so many modern athletes, insisted that his responsibilities extended beyond the playing field. In his final years, his motto was that if you have a chance to help others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on this earth. Here, in the final chapters, after capturing Clemente&’s life and times, Maraniss retraces his final days, from the earthquake to the accident, using newly uncovered documents to reveal the corruption and negligence that led the unwitting hero on a mission of mercy toward his untimely death as an uninspected, overloaded plane plunged into the sea.
Clemente: La Pasión y El Carisma del Último Héroe del Béisbol
by David MaranissOn New Year's Eve 1972, following eighteen magnificent seasons in the major leagues, Roberto Clemente died a hero's death, killed in a plane crash as he attempted to deliver food and medical supplies to Nicaragua after a devastating earthquake. David Maraniss now brings the great baseball player brilliantly back to life in Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero, a book destined to become a modern classic. Much like his acclaimed biography of Vince Lombardi, When Pride Still Mattered, Maraniss uses his narrative sweep and meticulous detail to capture the myth and a real man. Anyone who saw Clemente, as he played with a beautiful fury, will never forget him. He was a work of art in a game too often defined by statistics. During his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he won four batting titles and led his team to championships in 1960 and 1971, getting a hit in all fourteen World Series games in which he played. His career ended with three-thousand hits, the magical three-thousandth coming in his final at-bat, and he and the immortal Lou Gehrig are the only players to have the five-year waiting period waived so they could be enshrined in the Hall of Fame immediately after their deaths. There is delightful baseball here, including thrilling accounts of the two World Series victories of Clemente's underdog Pittsburgh Pirates, but this is far more than just another baseball book. Roberto Clemente was that rare athlete who rose above sports to become a symbol of larger themes. Born near the canebrakes of rural Carolina, Puerto Rico, on August 18, 1934, at a time when there were no blacks or Puerto Ricans playing organized ball in the United States, Clemente went on to become the greatest Latino player in the major leagues. He was, in a sense, the Jackie Robinson of the Spanish-speaking world, a ballplayer of determination, grace, and dignity who paved the way and set the highest standard for waves of Latino players who followed in later generations and who now dominate the game. The Clemente that Maraniss evokes was an idiosyncratic character who, unlike so many modern athletes, insisted that his responsibilities extended beyond the playing field. In his final years, his motto was that if you have a chance to help others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on this earth. Here, in the final chapters, after capturing Clemente's life and times, Maraniss retraces his final days, from the earthquake to the accident, using newly uncovered documents to reveal the corruption and negligence that led the unwitting hero on a mission of mercy toward his untimely death as an uninspected, overloaded plane plunged into the sea.
Clemente: The True Legacy of an Undying Hero
by The Clemente FamilyWith a swift bat and fierce athleticism, Roberto Clemente intimidated major league pitchers for eighteen seasons, compiling three thousand hits. His legs were among the quickest of his era. His throwing arm was one of the strongest, gunning down base runners from right field with incredible frequency. He would spend a career fighting for respect and finally achieve it after a historic World Series performance and a second half of a career that would have him mentioned with greats like Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle. But what Roberto Clemente did off the field made him an equally great humanitarian. One of the first athletes who understood how the power of sports could be used to transform not just a handful of lives but many thousands of them, he would die following his heart and conscience by helping others. Clemente was on an aircraft loaded with supplies for an earthquake-stricken Nicaragua when the plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. Forty years after that tragic day, the widow and sons of this regal athlete and consummate humanitarian open up for the first time about the husband and father they lost. Featuring an extensive array of rare and never-before-seen photos of Clemente on the field and off, this powerful memoir tells his inspiring story from the voices of those who knew him best.
Clemente!
by Kal WagenheimRoberto Clemente, one of history's greatest and most memorable Hispanic baseball stars, led a remarkable professional and personal life, until he met an untimely death in 1972 in a plane crash while on a mission of mercy to the site of a disastrous earthquake in Nicaragua. The first Latin American player to be recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente is honored once again in this book that illustrates his dramatic life from his childhood in Puerto Rico to his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Clemente (Spanish Edition)
by The Clemente FamilyINCLUYE FOTOS Gigante del béisbol, hombre de familia, activista humanitario... la vida y el legado de Roberto Clemente, contado aquí por su familia. Con la rapidez de su bate y un atletismo inigualable, Roberto Clemente intimidó a la mayoría de los lanzadores de las grandes ligas durante dieciocho temporadas, compilando más de tres mil hits. Tenía las piernas más veloces de la época. Su brazo era uno de los más fuertes; con increíble frecuencia fusilaba a los corredores de base desde el jardín derecho. Pasó toda su carrera luchando por ganarse el respeto del público y finalmente lo obtuvo con un desempeño histórico durante la Serie Mundial y a lo largo de la segunda mitad de su carrera, la cual lo dejaría en compañía de grandes nombres como Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays y Mickie Mantle. Pero es lo que Roberto Clemente hacía fuera del campo lo que lo convirtió en un gran ser humano. Fue uno de los primeros atletas en comprender cómo utilizar el poder de los deportes para transformar no sólo un puñado de vidas sino miles de ellas. Murió siendo fiel a su consciencia y a lo que le pedía su corazón. Clemente estaba llevando suministros a una Nicaragua afectada por el terremoto cuando su avión se cayó en el Atlántico. Cuarenta años después de esta trágica fecha, la viuda y los hijos de este atleta ejemplar y activista humanitario consumando, hablan por primera vez del hombre que perdieron. Con una colección de fotografías exclusivas nunca antes vistas, este poderoso libro cuenta la inspiradora historia de Roberto Clemente en la voz de quienes mejor lo conocieron.
Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill
by Sonia Purnell"Sonia Purnell has at long last given Clementine Churchill the biography she deserves. Sensitive yet clear-eyed, Clementine tells the fascinating story of a complex woman struggling to maintain her own identity while serving as the conscience and principal adviser to one of the most important figures in history." -Lynn Olson, bestselling author of Citizens of London Shortlisted for the 2016 Plutarch AwardA long-overdue tribute to the extraordinary woman behind Winston Churchill.By Winston Churchill's own admission, victory in the Second World War would have been "impossible without her." Until now, however, the only existing biography of Churchill's wife, Clementine, was written by her daughter. Sonia Purnell finally gives Clementine her due with a deeply researched account that tells her life story, revealing how she was instrumental in softening FDR's initial dislike of her husband and paving the way for Britain's close relationship with America. It also provides a surprising account of her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt and their differing approaches to the war effort.Born into impecunious aristocracy, the young Clementine was the target of cruel snobbery. Many wondered why Winston married her, but their marriage proved to be an exceptional partnership. Beautiful and intelligent, but driven by her own insecurities, she made his career her mission. Any real consideration of Winston Churchill is incomplete without an understanding of their relationship, and Clementine is both the first real biography of this remarkable woman and a fascinating look inside their private world.From the Hardcover edition.
Clementine Hunter: Her Life and Art
by Art Shiver Tom WhiteheadClementine Hunter (1887--1988) painted every day from the 1930s until several days before her death at age 101. As a cook and domestic servant at Louisiana's Melrose Plantation, she painted on hundreds of objects available around her -- glass snuff bottles, discarded roofing shingles, ironing boards -- as well as on canvas. She produced between five and ten thousand paintings, including her most ambitious work, the African House Murals. Scenes of cotton planting and harvesting, washdays, weddings, baptisms, funerals, Saturday night revelry, and zinnias depict experiences of everyday plantation life along the Cane River. More than a personal record of Hunter's life, her paintings also reflect the social, material, and cultural aspects of the area's larger African American community. Drawing on archival research, interviews, personal files, and a close relationship with the artist, Art Shiver and Tom Whitehead offer the first comprehensive biography of this self-taught painter, who attracted the attention of the world. Shiver and Whitehead trace Hunter's childhood, her encounters at Melrose with artists and writers, such as Alberta Kinsey and Lyle Saxon, and the role played by eccentric François Mignon, who encouraged and promoted her art. The authors include rare paintings and photographs to illustrate Hunter's creative process and discuss the evolution of her style. The book also highlights Hunter's impact on the modern art world and provides insight into a decades-long forgery operation that Tom Whitehead helped uncover. This recent attention reinforced the uniqueness of Hunter's art and confirmed her place in the international art community, which continues to be inspired by the life and work of Clementine Hunter.
CLEO: The Cat Who Mended a Family
by Helen BrownThe Beloved #1 International BestsellerTenth Anniversary Edition &“We&’re just going to look.&” Helen Brown had no intention of adopting a pet when she brought her young sons to visit a friend&’s new kittens. But the runt of the litter was irresistible, with her overlarge ears and dainty chin. When Cleo was delivered weeks later, she had no way of knowing that her new family had just been hit by an unthinkable tragedy. Helen was sure she couldn&’t keep her—until she saw something she thought had vanished from earth forever: her son&’s smile. The reckless, rambunctious kitten stayed. Through happiness and heartbreak, changes and new beginnings, Cleo was the glue that affectionately held Helen&’s family together. Rich in wisdom, wit, heart, and healing, here is the story of a cat with an extraordinary gift for knowing just where she was needed most. With a New Afterword by the Author &“A remarkable memoir . . . Helen Brown opened my heart.&” —Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author &“An absolute must.&”—Cat World
Cleo: How a small black cat helped heal a family
by Helen BrownFor all those people who say they aren't cat people, but deep down know they are.'Possibly the next Marley & Me' Red 'A reminder of the gratitude humans owe to our companion animals' Daily MailHelen Brown wasn't a cat person, but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard someone mention that her cat had just had a litter, he pleaded to go and see them. Helen was powerless to resist and the deal was done - to be delivered when the kitten was big enough to leave her mother.Tragically, just a week later, Sam was killed in a road accident. Not long after this, a little black kitten was delivered to the family's doorstep. Totally numbed by Sam's death, Helen had completely forgotten about the new arrival, which belonged in another universe when Sam was still alive.Helen was ready to send her back, but Sam's younger brother, Rob, identified with the kitten who'd also lost her brothers. Stroking her, it was the first time Helen had seen him smile since Sam's death. There was no choice, the kitten - dubbed Cleo - had to stay.Cleo's immense character slowly taught the family to laugh again, giving them hope of getting back to normal. Over the next 24 years she went on to become the high priestess of Helen's household - vetoing her new men, terrifying visiting dogs and playing an integral role in their lives to become both a guardian and beloved friend. Optioned for film.
Cleo
by Helen Brown"We're just going to look." Helen Brown had no intention of adopting a pet when she brought her sons, Sam and Rob, to visit a friend's new kittens. But the runt of the litter was irresistible, with her overlarge ears and dainty chin. When Cleo was delivered weeks later, she had no way of knowing that her new family had just been hit by a tragedy. Helen was sure she couldn't keep her--until she saw something she thought had vanished from the earth forever: her son's smile. The reckless, rambunctious kitten stayed.Through happiness and heartbreak, changes and new beginnings, Cleo turned out to be the unlikely glue that affectionately held Helen's family together. Rich in wisdom, wit, heart, and healing, here is the story of a cat with an extraordinary gift for knowing just where she was needed most."A remarkable memoir. . .I realized that Helen Brown didn't break my heart at all--she opened it."--Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt"An absolute must."--Cat World"The next Marley &Me. Even non cat-lovers will be moved."--Good Housekeeping