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Fabulous Female Firsts: Because of Them, We Can
by Marlene Wagman-GellerProfiles of pioneering women past and present who&’ve shattered glass ceilings from the author of Women of Means and Women Who Launch. Sexism has kept generations of women on the sidelines of history—but in every era, there are women who refuse to sit back in the shadows. Fabulous Female Firsts is a celebration of those women—the role models who proved that with enough daring and tenacity, the impossible can become possible.From the first woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor to the first female candidate for US President (it wasn&’t Hillary Clinton!) to the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director, this collection of biographical profiles celebrates the trailblazers who persisted—in spite of being labeled stubborn, improper, or worse. This book is written in praise of &“difficult women&” who made the world a better place, and offers the inspiring stories of: Aretha Franklin • Sandra Day O&’Connor • Lucy Walker • Sally Ride • Kathryn Bigelow • Misty Copeland • Viola Desmond • Pauli Murray • Emma Gatewood • Brig. Gen. Anna Hays • Junko Tabei • Gertrude Ederle and many more. &“Effervescent stories about diverse groups of female creators, entrepreneurs, and dynamos . . . every page gives the motivation to strive for greatness.&” —Becca Anderson, bestselling author of The Book of Awesome Women and Real Life Mindfulnes
Fabulous Finn: The Brave Police Dog Who Came Back from the Brink
by Dave WardellTHE TOP TEN BESTSELLER: The Inspirational Life of Finn, Britain's Bravest Dog, Winner of the 2017 Daily Mirror Animal Hero of the Year Award and Star of Britain's Got Talent 2019Hertfordshire, October 5th 2016. At around 2 a.m., PC Dave Wardell and his dog, PD Finn, were trying to apprehend a robbery suspect when he turned around and attacked them. Finn was stabbed with a ten-inch-bladed knife, both through his chest, via his armpit and then - the knife bound for Dave - through the top of his head. Finn no doubt saved Dave's life, but the race was on to try and save Finn's.Dave Wardell's heartfelt memoir charts an incredible journey of friendship and loyalty. It is a celebration of the bond between one man and his dog, from when Dave collected Finn from his kennels at just nine months old, all the way through to Finn's recent and hard-earned retirement. The book charts the career of a highly trained, highly decorated dog. In his time on the job Finn tracked offenders of all kinds; found missing children; tackled armed offenders; saved lives. But Finn isn't just a police dog - he's also a cherished family pet and this is his remarkable, life-affirming story.
Fabulous Finn: The Brave Police Dog Who Came Back from the Brink
by Lynne Barrett-Lee Dave WardellTHE TOP TEN BESTSELLER: The Inspirational Life of Finn, Britain's Bravest Dog, Winner of the 2017 Daily Mirror Animal Hero of the Year AwardHertfordshire, October 5th 2016. At around 2 a.m., PC Dave Wardell and his dog, PD Finn, were trying to apprehend a robbery suspect when he turned around and attacked them. Finn was stabbed with a ten-inch-bladed knife, both through his chest, via his armpit and then - the knife bound for Dave - through the top of his head. Finn no doubt saved Dave's life, but the race was on to try and save Finn's.Dave Wardell's heartfelt memoir charts an incredible journey of friendship and loyalty. It is a celebration of the bond between one man and his dog, from when Dave collected Finn from his kennels at just nine months old, all the way through to Finn's recent and hard-earned retirement. The book charts the career of a highly trained, highly decorated dog. In his time on the job Finn tracked offenders of all kinds; found missing children; tackled armed offenders; saved lives. But Finn isn't just a police dog - he's also a cherished family pet and this is his remarkable, life-affirming story.
Fabulous Finn: The Brave Police Dog Who Came Back from the Brink
by Dave WardellTHE TOP TEN BESTSELLER: The Inspirational Life of Finn, Britain's Bravest Dog, Winner of the 2017 Daily Mirror Animal Hero of the Year AwardHertfordshire, October 5th 2016. At around 2 a.m., PC Dave Wardell and his dog, PD Finn, were trying to apprehend a robbery suspect when he turned around and attacked them. Finn was stabbed with a ten-inch-bladed knife, both through his chest, via his armpit and then - the knife bound for Dave - through the top of his head. Finn no doubt saved Dave's life, but the race was on to try and save Finn's.Dave Wardell's heartfelt memoir charts an incredible journey of friendship and loyalty. It is a celebration of the bond between one man and his dog, from when Dave collected Finn from his kennels at just nine months old, all the way through to Finn's recent and hard-earned retirement. The book charts the career of a highly trained, highly decorated dog. In his time on the job Finn tracked offenders of all kinds; found missing children; tackled armed offenders; saved lives. But Finn isn't just a police dog - he's also a cherished family pet and this is his remarkable, life-affirming story.(P)2018 Quercus Editions Limited
Fabulously Feisty Queens: 15 of the brightest and boldest women who have ruled the world
by Valerie WildingWho needs a Prince Charming when you're busy running the world?From ancient empresses and warrior queens, to fearsome pirates and modern-day monarchs, Fabulously Feisty Queens explores the lives and legacies of history's most powerful women.Made of stronger stuff than beauty and grace, discover just how bright, brave, brilliant and clever the world's female rulers have been throughout the centuries.With a foreword by historian and Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, Lucy Worsley and illustrations by Pauline Reeves.
Face It
by Debbie HarryMusician, actor, activist, and the iconic face of New York City cool, Debbie Harry is the frontwoman of Blondie, a band that forged a new sound that brought together the worlds of rock, punk, disco, reggae and hip-hop to create some of the most beloved pop songs of all time. As a muse, she collaborated with some of the boldest artists of the past four decades. The scope of Debbie Harry's impact on our culture has been matched only by her reticence to reveal her rich inner life--until now. <p><p> In an arresting mix of visceral, soulful storytelling and stunning visuals, Face It upends the standard music memoir while delivering a truly prismatic portrait. With all the grit, grime, and glory recounted in intimate detail, Face It re-creates the downtown scene of 1970s New York City, where Blondie played alongside the Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Aesthetically dazzling, and including never-before-seen photographs, bespoke illustrations and fan art installations, Face It brings Debbie Harry's world and artistic sensibilities to life. <p> Following her path from glorious commercial success to heroin addiction, the near-death of partner Chris Stein, a heart-wrenching bankruptcy, and Blondie's breakup as a band to her multifaceted acting career in more than thirty films, a stunning solo career and the triumphant return of her band, and her tireless advocacy for the environment and LGBTQ rights, Face It is a cinematic story of a woman who made her own path, and set the standard for a generation of artists who followed in her footsteps--a memoir as dynamic as its subject.
Face To Face
by Ved MehtaThe autobiography of a man in India, blind since birth and growing up during the last years of British rule, the tragedy of Partition, the conflicts between Muslims and Hindus, his journey to a new life in the United states, much more, reflecting the anguish of being blind amidst all these changes and sufferings, offering hope and insights to the modern world.
Face Value (America's Next Top Model #1)
by Randi Reisfeld Taryn BellEnter a world of high-fashion and high-drama with a fabulous new fiction series by America's Next Top Model! A group of girls share the same dream: becoming a model. It looks so glamorous: the clothes, the hair, the make-up, the exotic locales.
Face the Music: A Life Exposed
by Paul StanleyThe rock icon and co-founder of KISS recounts his turbulent life behind the face paint in this New York Times bestselling memoir.With his onstage persona, the “Starchild”, Paul Stanley made rock & roll history—thrilling countless fans with hard rock anthems and elaborate stage shows. But his famous makeup hid a difficult life. In Face the Music, Stanley shares a gripping blend of personal revelations and gritty war stories about the highs and lows both inside and outside of KISS. Born with a condition called microtia (an ear deformity rendering him deaf on the right side), Stanley's traumatic childhood experiences produced an inner drive to succeed in the most unlikely of places: music. Taking readers through the series of events that led to the founding of KISS, the personal relationships that helped shape his life, and the dynamics among his bandmates, this book leaves no one unscathed—including Stanley himself.With never-before-seen photos and images throughout, Face the Music is a colorful portrait of a man and the band he helped create, define, and sustain—made larger than life in artfully told stories that are shocking, funny, inspirational, and honest.
Face the Music: A Memoir
by Peter Duchin Patricia BeardIn this poignant memoir, the internationally celebrated bandleader reflects on family, illness, grief, and a bygone era of glamour, contemplating not just his career but the history of midcentury music and nightlife—and the enormously important role that the bandstand played in his life. The internationally-famous bandleader Peter Duchin's six decades of performing have taken him to the most exclusive dance floors and concert halls in the world. He has played for presidents, kings, and queens, as well as for civil rights and cultural organizations. But in 2013, Duchin suffered a stroke that left him with limited use of his left hand, severely impacting his career. Days of recuperating from his stroke—and later from a critical case of Covid-19—inspired Duchin to reconsider his complicated past. His father, the legendary bandleader Eddy Duchin, died when Peter was twelve; his mother, Marjorie Oelrichs Duchin, died when he was just six days old. In the succeeding decades, Duchin would follow his father to become the epitome of mid-20th Century glamour. But it was only half a century later, in the aftermath of his sudden illnesses, that he began to see his mother and father not just as the parents he never had, but as the people he never got to know; and at the same time, to reconsider the milieu in which he has been both a symbol and a participant. More than a memoir, Face the Music offers a window into the era of debutantes and white-tie balls, when such events made national headlines. Duchin explores what &“glamour&” and &“society&” once meant, and what they mean now. With sincerity and humor, Face the Music offers a moving portrait of an extraordinary life, its disruptions, and revitalization.
Face the Music: My Story
by Alfie BoeThe intimate and uplifting memoir from one of Britain's most loved singers - this is Alfie, off stage.Bringing his characteristic sense of cheeky humour to the page, in this heartfelt book Alfie describes for the first time the highs and lows of over a decade singing and performing across the world. From personal dinners with Queen Elizabeth II and following in the steps of King of Rock 'n' Roll Elvis in Vegas to mischievous antics with Michael Ball, Alfie's book takes us backstage to witness his brilliant career memories.But this book is also a heartfelt insight to Alfie's unmasked truth for the first time ever. His unflinching honesty reveals not only the success stories, but also the pressures and how, through challenging times, he learned more about himself than he ever thought possible.Laying bare the events that have shaped Alfie into the performer he is today, Face the Music demonstrates to us all that it's not our mistakes that define us - but instead, how we choose to come back from them.
Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection
by Brian GrazerFeatured on CBS This Morning, Squawk Box, MSNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, and more. &“Reading Face to Face is like being a fly on the wall, watching Brian Grazer work his magic. Utterly entertaining, this is how you become Hollywood&’s best producer.&” —Malcolm Gladwell, author of Talking to Strangers Legendary Hollywood producer and author of the bestselling A Curious Mind, Brian Grazer is back with a captivating new book about the life-changing ways we can connect with one another. Much of Brian Grazer&’s success—as a #1 New York Times bestselling author, Academy Award–winning producer, father, and husband—comes from his ability to establish genuine connections with almost anyone. In Face to Face, he takes you around the world and behind the scenes of some of his most iconic movies and television shows, like A Beautiful Mind, Empire, Arrested Development, American Gangster, and 8 Mile, to show just how much in-person encounters have revolutionized his life—and how they have the power to change yours. With his flair for intriguing stories, Grazer reveals what he&’s learned through interactions with people like Bill Gates, Taraji P. Henson, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Eminem, Prince, Spike Lee, and the Afghani rapper activist Sonita: that the secret to a bigger life lies in personal connection. In a world where our attention is too often focused downward at our devices, Grazer argues that we are missing an essential piece of the human experience. Only when we are face to face, able to look one another in the eyes, can we form the kinds of connections that expand our world views, deepen our self-awareness, and ultimately lead to our greatest achievements and most meaningful moments. When we lift our eyes to look at the person in front of us, we open the door to infinite possibility.
Facebook: The Inside Story
by Steven LevyHe has had unprecedented access to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg for three years. And now renowned tech writer Steven Levy delivers the definitive history of one of America&’s most powerful and controversial companies: Facebook.In his sophomore year of college, Mark Zuckerberg created a simple website to serve as a campus social network. The site caught on like wildfire, and soon students nationwide were on Facebook. Today, Facebook is nearly unrecognizable from Zuckerberg&’s first, modest iteration. It has grown into a tech giant, the largest social media platform and one of the most gargantuan companies in the world, with a valuation of more than $576 billion and almost 3 billion users, including those on its fully owned subsidiaries, Instagram and WhatsApp. There is no denying the power and omnipresence of Facebook in American daily life. And in light of recent controversies surrounding election-influencing &“fake news&” accounts, the handling of its users&’ personal data, and growing discontent with the actions of its founder and CEO, never has the company been more central to the national conversation. Based on hundreds of interviews inside and outside the company, Levy&’s sweeping narrative digs deep into the whole story of the company that has changed the world and reaped the consequences.
Facebook®: How Mark Zuckerberg Connected More Than a Billion Friends
by Celicia ScottToday, Facebook is one of the most-used websites on the Internet, visited by millions of users each day and home to more than 500 million accounts. Many people use Facebook to share pictures, news, and ideas with friends--but they may not know the true story behind Facebook's massive success. Facebook began as the idea of one college student: Mark Zuckerberg. Discover how Mark founded one of the most successful social networking sites on the Internet while he was still in school. Learn how he first got Facebook growing, and how he keeps millions of people logging in day after day. Find out more about the man behind Facebook--and learn what's next for his company.
Faces In The Water (Virago Modern Classics #142)
by Janet Frame'Janet Frame's luminous words are the more precious because they were snatched from the jaws of the disaster of her early life . . . and yet to read her is no more difficult than breathing' Hilary Mantel When Janet Frame's doctor suggested that she write about her traumatic experiences in mental institutions in order to free herself from them, the result was Faces in the Water, a powerful and poignant novel. Istina Mavet descends through increasingly desolate wards, with the threat of leucotomy ever present. As she observes her fellow patients, long dismissed by hospital staff, with humour and compassion, she reveals her original and questing mind. This riveting novel became an international classic, translated into nine languages, and has also been used as a medical school text.Books included in the VMC 40th anniversary series include: Frost in May by Antonia White; The Collected Stories of Grace Paley; Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault; The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter; The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann; Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; Heartburn by Nora Ephron; The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy; Memento Mori by Muriel Spark; A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor; and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame
Faces of America: How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered their Pasts
by Henry Louis Gates Jr.Explores the family trees and genealogical identity of twelve remarkable Americans: Stephen Colbert, Louise Erdrich, Eva Longoria, Yo Yo Ma, and others. Since 2007, the Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has been helping African Americans find long-buried details about their ancestors by researching their family trees and then, when the paper trail ends, by analyzing their DNA and marrying that information to a wealth of historical data. Now, in Faces of America, Gates explores the family trees of twelve of America&’s most recognizable and extraordinary citizens, individuals who learn that they are of Asian, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Jamaican, Jewish, Latino, Native American, Swiss, and Syrian ancestry: Inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander, chef Mario Batali, comedian and television personality Stephen Colbert, writer Louise Erdrich, writer Malcolm Gladwell, actress Eva Longoria, cellist Yo Yo Ma, writer and director Mike Nichols, former monarch of Jordan Queen Noor, surgeon and author Dr. Mehmet Oz, actress Meryl Streep, and Olympic gold medalist and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. In addition, each of the subjects in Faces of America underwent dense genotyping to trace their genetic ancestry on their father&’s line, their mother&’s line, and their percentages of European, Asian, Native American, and African ancestry. Readers will share in the surprise and delight, the shock and sadness of these twelve individuals themselves as Gates unveils their rich family stories, traced back to their arrival on America&’s shores, and beyond, deep into the history of their ancestors&’ countries of origin. In this compelling book, Gates demonstrates that where we come from profoundly and fundamentally informs who we are today.
Faces of Displacement
by Mykola Soroka"Whom do our people read? Vynnychenko. Whom do people talk about if it concerns literature? Vynnychenko. Whom do they buy? Again, Vynnychenko." So wrote Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky about the young Volodymyr Vynnychenko. An innovative and provocative writer, Vynnychenko was also a charismatic revolutionary and politician who responded to the dramatic upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century by challenging old values and bringing forward new ideas about human relationships. Despite his inseparable association with Ukraine, what is often overlooked is the fact that Vynnychenko wrote the majority of his works outside his native land following his flight from Tsarist and Soviet tyranny. In this ground-breaking study, Mykola Soroka draws on contemporary theories of displacement to show how Vynnychenko's expatriate status determined his worldview, his choice of literary devices, and his attitudes toward his homeland and hostlands. Soroka considers concepts of identity to study the intertwined experiences of the writer - as an exile, émigré, expatriate, traveler, and nomad - and to demonstrate how these experiences invigorated his art and left a lasting impact on his work. The first book-length study in English on Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Faces of Displacement is an insightful examination of an exiled writer that sheds new light on the challenges faced by the displaced.
Faces of Displacement: The Writings of Volodymyr Vynnychenko
by Mykola Soroka"Whom do our people read? Vynnychenko. Whom do people talk about if it concerns literature? Vynnychenko. Whom do they buy? Again, Vynnychenko." So wrote Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky about the young Volodymyr Vynnychenko. An innovative and provocative writer, Vynnychenko was also a charismatic revolutionary and politician who responded to the dramatic upheavals of the first half of the twentieth century by challenging old values and bringing forward new ideas about human relationships. Despite his inseparable association with Ukraine, what is often overlooked is the fact that Vynnychenko wrote the majority of his works outside his native land following his flight from Tsarist and Soviet tyranny. In this ground-breaking study, Mykola Soroka draws on contemporary theories of displacement to show how Vynnychenko's expatriate status determined his worldview, his choice of literary devices, and his attitudes toward his homeland and hostlands. Soroka considers concepts of identity to study the intertwined experiences of the writer - as an exile, émigré, expatriate, traveler, and nomad - and to demonstrate how these experiences invigorated his art and left a lasting impact on his work. The first book-length study in English on Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Faces of Displacement is an insightful examination of an exiled writer that sheds new light on the challenges faced by the displaced.
Faces of the Civil War Navies: An Album of Human and Confederate Sailors
by Ronald S. CoddingtonExplore the human side of the Civil War through archival images and biographical sketches of Confederate and Union sailors.During the American Civil War, more than one hundred thousand men fought on ships at sea or on one of America’s great inland rivers. There were no large-scale fleet engagements, yet the navies, particularly the Union Navy, did much to define the character of the war and affect its length. The first hostile shots roared from rebel artillery at Charleston Harbor. Along the Mississippi River and other inland waterways across the South, Union gunboats were often the first to arrive in deadly enemy territory. In the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic seaboard, blockaders in blue floated within earshot of gray garrisons that guarded vital ports. And on the open seas, rebel raiders wreaked havoc on civilian shipping.In Faces of the Civil War Navies, Civil War photograph collector Ronald S. Coddington focuses his skills on the Union and Confederate navies. Using identifiable cartes de visite of common sailors on both sides of the war, many of them never before published, Coddington uncovers the personal histories of each individual. These unique narratives are drawn from military and pension records, letters, diaries, period newspapers, and other primary sources. In addition to presenting the personal stories of seventy-seven intrepid volunteers, Coddington also focuses on the momentous naval events that ushered in an era of ironclad ships and other technical innovations.Taken collectively, these “snapshots” show that the history of war is not merely a chronicle of campaigns won and lost, it is the collective personal odysseys of thousands of individual men.
Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories
by Ronald S CoddingtonArchival images and biographical sketches of Union soldiers tell the stories of their lives during and after the Civil War.Before leaving to fight in the Civil War, many Union and Confederate soldiers posed for a carte de visite, or visiting card, to give to their families, friends, or sweethearts. Invented in 1854 by a French photographer, the carte de visite was a small photographic print roughly the size of a modern trading card. The format arrived in America on the eve of the Civil War, fueling intense demand for the keepsakes. Many cards of Civil War soldiers survive today, but the experiences?and often the names?of the individuals portrayed have been lost to time. A passionate collector of Civil War–era photography, Ron Coddington researched the history behind these anonymous faces in military records, pension files, and other public and personal documents.In Faces of the Civil War, Coddington presents 77 cartes de visite of Union soldiers from his collection and tells the stories of their lives during and after the war. These soldiers came from all walks of life. All were volunteers. Their personal stories reveal a tremendous diversity in their experience of war: many served with distinction, some were captured, some never saw combat while others saw little else. The lives of survivors were even more disparate. While some made successful transitions back to civilian life, others suffered permanent physical and mental disabilities, which too often wrecked their families and careers. In compelling words and haunting pictures, Faces of the Civil War offers a unique perspective on the most dramatic and wrenching period in American history.
Faces of the Confederacy: An Album of Southern Soldiers and Their Stories
by Ronald S. Coddington“Extensive research, fascinating characters . . . The author has done an admirable job of literally placing a face on the ordinary Confederate soldier.” —The Journal of Southern History“The history of the Civil War is the stories of its soldiers,” writes Ronald S. Coddington in the preface to Faces of the Confederacy. This book tells the stories of seventy-seven Southern soldiers—young farm boys, wealthy plantation owners, intellectual elites, uneducated poor—who posed for photographic portraits, cartes de visite, to leave with family, friends, and sweethearts before going off to war. Coddington, a passionate collector of Civil War-era photography, conducted a monumental search for these previously unpublished portrait cards, then unearthed the personal stories of their subjects, putting a human face on a war rife with inhuman atrocities.The Civil War took the lives of twenty-two of every hundred men who served. Coddington follows the exhausted survivors as they return home to occupied cities and towns, ravaged farmlands, a destabilized economy, and a social order in the midst of upheaval. This book is a haunting and moving tribute to those brave men.Like its companion volume, Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories, this book offers readers a unique perspective on the war and contributes to a better understanding of the role of the common soldier.“With his meticulous research and a journalist’s eye for good stories, Ron Coddington has brought new life to Civil War photographic portraits of obscure and long-forgotten Confederates whose wartime experiences might otherwise have been lost to history.” —Bob Zeller, cofounder and president of the nonprofit Center for Civil War Photography
Facing Armageddon: With the RAF on Christmas Island 1961–1962
by Chas Hall"...a worthy addition to a little-known aspect of British military history." — Flypast After being called up for National Service in July 1960, twenty-year-old Chas Hall joined the RAF and signed on to extend his time for an extra three years becoming a regular serviceman. Following initial training, he became a wireless operator and served at RAF Mildenhall. It was shortly after this that he got his first foreign posting in late 1961 to Christmas Island. It was on this island, that Chas encountered the horrors of nuclear testing. In an operation codenamed ‘Brigadoon’ by the British government and ‘Dominic’ by the Americans, Chas experienced 25 atmospheric nuclear tests. This he describes as his ‘12-month sentence’ alongside over 300 British and 10,000 American servicemen who were posted to one corner of a remote coral island. Facing Armageddon reveals the true extent of the controversial nuclear testing and how it affected servicemen; with 25 men dying during Chas’s time on Christmas Island and many more suffering mentally as they continued serving on the island. With the British government announcing medals for nuclear test veterans in November 2022 to recognize their contribution in the tests after a four-year campaign by participants and The Mirror newspaper, Chas’s story gives insight to why these servicemen deserve the recognition for their part in these tests. This book will contain a number of unpublished photos from the author’s personal collection and is an essential piece of work in understanding the tough conditions servicemen faced during their time on Christmas Island.
Facing Down the Furies: Suicide, the Ancient Greeks, and Me
by Edith HallAn award-winning classicist turns to Greek tragedies for the wisdom to understand the damage caused by suicide and help those who are contemplating suicide themselves In Sophocles&’ tragedy Oedipus the Tyrant, a messenger arrives to report that Jocasta, queen of Thebes, has killed herself. To prepare listeners for this terrible news, he announces, &“The tragedies that hurt the most are those that sufferers have chosen for themselves.&” Edith Hall, whose own life and psyche have been shaped by such loss—her mother&’s grandfather, mother, and first cousin all took their own lives—traces the philosophical arguments on suicide, from Plato and Aristotle to David Hume and Albert Camus. In this deeply personal story, Hall explores the psychological damage that suicide inflicts across generations, relating it to the ancient Greek idea of a family curse. She draws parallels between characters from Greek tragedy and her own relatives, including her great-grandfather, whose life and death bore similar motivations to Sophocles&’ Ajax: both men were overwhelmed by shame and humiliation. Hall, haunted by her own periodic suicidal urges, shows how plays by Sophocles and other Greek dramatists helped her work through the loss of her grandmother and namesake Edith and understand her relationship with her own mother. The wisdom and solace found in the ancient tragedies, she argues, can help one choose survival over painful adversity and offer comfort to those who are tragically bereaved.
Facing East: A Pilgrim's Journey into the Mysteries of Orthodoxy
by Frederica Mathewes-GreenThe Classic Story of a Family's Pilgrimage into the Orthodox ChurchVeiled in the smoke of incense, the Eastern Orthodox Church has long been an enigma to the Western world. Yet, as Frederica Mathewes-Green discovered, it is a vital, living faith, rich in ritual beauty and steadfast in integrity. Utilizing the framework of the Orthodox calendar, Mathewes-Green chronicles a year in the life of her small Orthodox mission church, eloquently illustrating the joys and blessings an ancient faith can bring to the worshipers of today.
Facing Fear: Step Out in Faith and Rise Above What's Holding You Back
by Nik WallendaNik Wallenda is the face of the famous circus family known for performing crazy feats without safety nets. Nik is also known for his daring televised tightrope walks, including over Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and, in 2020, he will walk over an active volcano.Nik is a seventh-generation member of the amazing Wallenda family and has been walking the wire since he took his first steps, but he had never experienced fear until a tragic accident in 2017. The eight-person pyramid he and several members of his family were practicing collapsed, and five of its members fell thirty feet to the ground. Miraculously, they all survived, but the accident changed Nik&’s life forever. For the first time, he felt fear, and he had to learn to get past it to get back out on the wire.Most of us will never walk a tightrope, but we face things that scare us every day. Whether putting ourselves out there socially or seeking a dream job, all of us allow anxieties and fears to hold us back. Facing Fear is a reader-centric memoir, interweaving parts of Nik&’s personal story of the accident and how he conquered his fear with practical advice for readers to overcome whatever fears are holding them back. This practical book will help everyday people step out in faith and trust that God will hold them steady, even when they&’re afraid.