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The Hairy Bikers Blood, Sweat and Tyres: The Autobiography
by Hairy BikersWritten and read by the Hairy BikersThe Hairy Bikers are known for their many best-selling cookbooks, including the HAIRY DIETERS, HAIRY BIKERS' PERFECT PIES, GREAT CURRIES and MUMS KNOW BEST, and now they are here to tell you how it all started. Si King and Dave Myers, aka The Hairy Bikers, have lived life to the fullest. They had fantastically rich northern childhoods, laced with food and fun, but of course, with some tragedy too. But we also get to know the early Bikers - we find out how their friendship developed and all of the mad capers and round-the-world trips they went on.Perfect for their fans, heavily seasoned with warmth, food, love, bikes and bro-mance, the Hairies never fail to entertain.(p) 2015 Orion Publishing Group
The Hairy Bikers Blood, Sweat and Tyres: The Autobiography
by Hairy Bikers Dave Myers Si KingSi King and Dave Myers, AKA the Hairy Bikers have travelled an interesting road. Born in the north of England, both Si and Dave had their childhood challenges. For Si, being bullied as the fat kid in class was part of his daily school routine. For Dave, his life changed when he became a childhood carer for his mother. But through the challenges of their early years came a love of really good food.And it was food that brought Si and Dave together. Their eyes met over a curry and a pint on the set of a Catherine Cooksoon drama, and they knew they would be firm and fast friends for life.From deserts to desserts, potholes to pot roasts, the nation's favourite cooking duo reveals what's made their friendship such a special and lasting one. They've eaten their way around the world a good few times, but have never lost sight of what matters: great friends, great family and great food.In this heartwarming memoir of friendship and hilarious misadventure, Si and Dave take you on the ride of their lives!
The Hairy Hikers: A Coast-to-Coast Trek Along the French Pyrenees
by David Le VayFuelled by a mid-life crisis and the need to escape modern life, David and Rob set out to walk from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This humorous and often poignant account of their coast-to-coast trek along the French Pyrenees, reveals the history and geography along the way and will appeal to all walkers and admirers of human endeavour.
The Hairy Hikers: A Coast-to-Coast Trek Along the French Pyrenees
by David Le VayFuelled by a mid-life crisis and the need to escape modern life, David and Rob set out to walk from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. This humorous and often poignant account of their coast-to-coast trek along the French Pyrenees, reveals the history and geography along the way and will appeal to all walkers and admirers of human endeavour.
Haiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Péralte (Critical Caribbean Studies)
by Yveline AlexisHaiti Fights Back: The Life and Legacy of Charlemagne Péralte is the first US scholarly examination of the politician and caco leader (guerrilla fighter) who fought against the US military occupation of Haiti. The occupation lasted close to two decades, from 1915-1934. Alexis argues for the importance of documenting resistance while exploring the occupation’s mechanics and its imperialism. She takes us to Haiti, exploring the sites of what she labels as resistance zones, including Péralte’s hometown of Hinche and the nation’s large port areas--Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien. Alexis offers a new reading of U.S. military archival sources that record Haitian protests as banditry. Haiti Fights Back illuminates how Péralte launched a political movement, and meticulously captures how Haitian women and men resisted occupation through silence, military battles, and writings. She locates and assembles rare, multilingual primary sources from traditional repositories, living archives (oral stories), and artistic representations in Haiti and the United States. The interdisciplinary work draws on legislation, cacos’ letters, newspapers, and murals, offering a unique examination of Péralte’s life (1885-1919) and the significance of his legacy through the twenty-first century. Haiti Fights Back offers a new approach to the study of the U.S. invasion of the Americas by chronicling how Caribbean people fought back.
Hakim’s Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey
by Fabien ToulméWhat does it mean to be a "refugee"? It is easy for those who live in relative freedom to ignore or even to villainize people who have been forced to flee their homes. After all, it can be hard to identify with others’ experiences when you haven’t been in their shoes.In Hakim’s Odyssey, we see firsthand how war can make anyone a refugee. Hakim, a successful young Syrian who had his whole life ahead of him, tells his story: how war forced him to leave everything behind, including his family, his friends, his home, and his business. After the Syrian uprising in 2011, Hakim was arrested and tortured, his town was bombed, his business was seized by the army, and members of his family were arrested or disappeared. This first leg of his odyssey follows Hakim as he travels from Syria to Lebanon, Lebanon to Jordan, and Jordan to Turkey, where he struggles to earn a living and dreams of one day returning to his home.This graphic novel is necessary reading for our time. Alternately hopeful and heartbreaking, Hakim’s Odyssey is a story about what it means to be human in a world that sometimes fails to be humane.
Hakim’s Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey
by Fabien ToulméA remarkable recounting of a human journey through an inhumane world.What does it mean to be a “refugee”? It is easy for those who live in relative freedom to ignore or even to villainize people who have been forced to flee their homes. After all, it can be hard to identify with others’ experiences when you haven’t been in their shoes.In Hakim’s Odyssey, we see firsthand how war can make anyone a refugee. Hakim, a successful young Syrian who had his whole life ahead of him, tells his story: how war forced him to leave everything behind, including his family, his friends, his home, and his business. After the Syrian uprising in 2011, Hakim was arrested and tortured, his town was bombed, his business was seized by the army, and members of his family were arrested or disappeared. This first leg of his odyssey follows Hakim as he travels from Syria to Lebanon, Lebanon to Jordan, and Jordan to Turkey, where he struggles to earn a living and dreams of one day returning to his home.This graphic novel is necessary reading for our time. Alternately hopeful and heartbreaking, Hakim’s Odyssey is a story about what it means to be human in a world that sometimes fails to be humane.
Hakim’s Odyssey: Book 2: From Turkey to Greece
by Fabien ToulméWhat choices would you make to reunite your family?“You know, Haidi, we’re going on a trip. A really big trip to find our way to Mama.”In exile and far from his homeland, Hakim finds a bit of hope in the birth of his son. But between unstable jobs and selling what he can in the streets, it’s hard to survive—and impossible for the family to stay together. Reluctantly separated from the woman he loves and alone with his child, Hakim will have to overcome incredible odds and seemingly impossible obstacles to reunite his family, which leads him to make the most difficult decision of his life.Captivating and deeply moving, this second book of the critically acclaimed Hakim’s Odyssey follows the true story of a Syrian refugee as he tries to find his way in Turkey and then makes the perilous trek to what he hopes will be a more settled life in Europe.
Haking: Lt Gen Sir Richard Haking, XI Corps Commander 1915–18, A Study in Corps Command
by Michael SeniorSir Richard Haking commanded the British XI Corps from 1915 to 1918 mainly in France, but also in Italy (December 1917-March 1918). This first study of Haking takes the form of a review and analysis of his career as a Corps Commander, placing the activities of XI Corps in the context of events on the Western and Italian Fronts. It has three aims. First, it is intended to make a balanced assessment of Haking as a Corps Commander in the light of an established popular reputation, which places him firmly in the donkey category of First World War generals. The second aim is to examine how Haking carried out his role as a Corps Commander, and the third aim is to relate the experiences of Haking and XI Corps to a number of important topics connected with the conduct of the war: trench warfare on the Western Front, with particular reference to the much-criticized attack at Fromelles in July 1916; the British involvement in Italy; the relationship with the Portuguese Expeditionary Force in France; and the British victories in 1918. Reference is made to several key operating issues such as command and control on the Western Front; the learning curve in the BEF; the doctrine of the offensive; and the British policy on defense in depth. Each is discussed taking account of Hakings experiences as XI Corps Commander. The study concludes, contrary to the general view, that, overall, Haking made a positive contribution to the conduct of the war, and that his dismal reputation is largely unjustified.
Hakluyt's Promise: An Elizabethan's Obsession for an English America
by Peter C. MancallRichard Hakluyt the younger, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, advocated the creation of English colonies in the New World at a time when the advantages of this idea were far from self-evident. This book describes in detail the life and times of Hakluyt, a trained minister who became an editor of travel accounts. Hakluyt's Promise demonstrates his prominent role in the establishment of English America as well as his interests in English opportunities in the East Indies. The volume presents nearly 50 illustrations--many unpublished since the sixteenth century--and offers a fresh view of Hakluyt's milieu and the central concerns of the Elizabethan age. Though he never traveled farther than Paris, young Hakluyt spent much of the 1580s recording information about the western hemisphere and became an international authority on overseas exploration. The book traces his rise to prominence as a source of information and inspiration for England's policy makers, including the queen, and his advocacy for colonies in Roanoke and Jamestown. Hakluyt's thought was shaped by debates that stretched across Europe, and his interests ranged just as widely, encompassing such topics as peaceful coexistence with Native Americans, the New World as a Protestant Holy Land, and in, his later life, trade with the Spice Islands.
Hal Moore: A Soldier Once . . . And Always
by Mike GuardiaHal Moore, one of the most admired American combat leaders of the last fifty years, has until now been best known to the public for being portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie We Were Soldiers. In this first-ever, fully illustrated biography, we finally learn the full story of one of America's true military heroes.A 1945 graduate of West Point, Moore's first combats occurred during the Korean War, where he fought in the battles of Old Baldy, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hill. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, Moore commanded the 1st Battalion of the 7th Cavalry in the first full-fledged battle between US and North Vietnamese regulars. Drastically outnumbered and nearly overrun, Moore led from the front, and though losing seventy-nine soldiers, accounted for 1,200 of the enemy before the Communists withdrew. This Battle of Ia Drang pioneered the use of "air mobile infantry"--delivering troops into battle via helicopter--which became the staple of US operations for the remainder of the war. He later wrote of his experiences in the bestselling book We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young.Following his tour in Vietnam, he assumed command of the 7th Infantry Division, forward-stationed in South Korea, and in 1971, he took command of the Army Training Center at Fort Ord, California. In this capacity, he oversaw the US Army's transition from a conscript-based to an all-volunteer force. He retired as a lieutenant general in 1977.At this writing, Hal Moore is ninety years old and living quietly in Auburn, Alabama. He graciously allowed the author interviews and granted full access to his files and collection of letters, documents, and never-before-published photographs.
Halal Sex: The Intimate Lives of Muslim Women in North America
by Sheima BenembarekAn unprecedented glimpse into the sex lives of female and gender-expansive Muslims living across Canada and the United States.In the Muslim world, sex is permissible (or halal) only within the confines of marriage. Outside of wedlock, the act is considered haram, a sin of the faith. Girls are taught to protect their virginity; their mothers, if not forgoing &“the talk&” altogether, obscure the facts with elliptical language and metaphors.So, what happens when immigrants and the children of immigrants set about pursuing an open and active sex life on a more sexually liberated continent, amid western peers and attitudes? The six deeply personal stories in Halal Sex attempt to answer this question, bringing a hushed conversation out into the open.Within these pages you&’ll meet Azar, a non-binary trans Sufi; Bunmi, a Nigerian navigating shame and Tinder; Eman, a lesbian stand-up comic in an interfaith marriage; Taslim, a virgin in her forties struggling to erect healthy boundaries; and Khadijah, an exotic dancer and sex worker.With great empathy, Sheima Benembarek makes space for the honesty and vulnerability of each participant and handles their stories with gentleness and care. What emerges is a tapestry of a diverse Islam—encompassing a wide variety of cultural and religious and socioeconomic backgrounds—and a frank, feminist contribution to the advancement of Muslim sexual education and pleasure.
Haldane: The Forgotten Statesman Who Shaped Britain and Canada
by John CampbellCan you name the creator of the Territorial Army, the British Expeditionary Force, the Imperial General Staff, and the Officers' Training Corps? The man who laid the foundation stones of MI5, MI6, the RAF, the LSE, Imperial College, the "redbrick" universities, and the Medical Research Council? This book restores Richard Burdon Haldane to his rightful place among the great men of British and Canadian history. Serving as war minister in the 1905 Liberal British government, his groundbreaking proposals on defence, education, and government structure were astonishingly ahead of his time – the very building blocks of modern Britain. Even the Canadian Constitution, as now interpreted, is unthinkable without Haldane. His ubiquitous networks ranged from Wilde to Einstein, Churchill to Carnegie, king to kaiser; his polymathic interests enabled pioneering cross-party, cross-sector cooperation. Yet in 1915 he was ejected from the Lord Chancellorship, unjustly vilified by an ignorant press campaign as a German sympathizer. John Campbell charts these ups and downs, reveals the intensely personal side of Haldane through previously unpublished love letters, and shows his enormous relevance in our search for just societies and states today. Amidst political and national instability, it is surely now right to reinstate Haldane as an outstanding example of true statesmanship.
The Haldanes of Gleneagles: A Scottish History from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day
by Neil Stacy&“The story of a remarkable Scottish family set against the great sweep of Scotland&’s history . . . [a] remarkable piece of research&” (Magnus Linklater, former Scottish editor of The Times). The Haldanes have been in Scotland for over eight hundred years, and their story illustrates many of the defining themes of Scotland&’s history. Haldanes played significant roles in the Bruce war of independence, the political upheavals which accompanied the establishment of the Stewart dynasty, the religious struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Darien Scheme and the Act of Union, the Jacobite rebellions, the development of the East India Company, and in the theological controversies of the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, Haldanes are still to be found in the public eye with some influence on matters of national significance. In this book, Neil Stacy follows the fortunes of the family, highlighting the extraordinary contributions they have made in so many areas, as well as uncovering some of the more colorful episodes in the family&’s history, such as long-buried secrets of romance in the teeth of parental opposition, a military career threatened by a youthful liaison with a blackmailing barmaid, and an attempt to run a temperance hotel in the western Highlands which ended in high farce. &“For producing so many individuals of unusual distinction there can be few families to rival the Haldanes of Gleneagles. Neil Stacy does them proud, he relates their 900-year saga with clarity and wit.&” —John Keay, author of India: A History &“I had expected to be intrigued and entertained by this comprehensive history of the Haldanes of Gleneagles; and I was, abundantly.&” —Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh
Haldol and Hyacinths
by Melody MoezziWith candor and humor, a manic-depressive Iranian-American Muslim woman chronicles her experiences with both clinical and cultural bipolarity. Melody Moezzi was born to Persian parents at the height of the Islamic Revolution and raised amid a vibrant, loving, and gossipy Iranian diaspora in the American heartland. When at eighteen, she began battling a severe physical illness, her community stepped up, filling her hospital rooms with roses, lilies, and hyacinths. But when she attempted suicide and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there were no flowers. Despite several stays in psychiatric hospitals, bombarded with tranquilizers, mood-stabilizers, and antipsychotics, she was encouraged to keep her illness a secret--by both her family and an increasingly callous and indifferent medical establishment. Refusing to be ashamed, Moezzi became an outspoken advocate, determined to fight the stigma surrounding mental illness and reclaim her life along the way. Both an irreverent memoir and a rousing call to action, Haldol and Hyacinths is the moving story of a woman who refused to become torn across cultural and social lines. Moezzi reports from the front lines of the no-man's land between sickness and sanity, and the Midwest and the Middle East. A powerful, funny, and poignant narrative told through a unique and fascinating cultural lens, Haldol and Hyacinths is a tribute to the healing power of hope, humor, and acceptance.
Half a Life
by Jill CimentJill Ciment weaves an unforgettable tale of survival, compassion, and courage, in this haunting recollection of a child surrounded by confusion and madness, and her struggle to find an identity. Half a Life traces Jill Ciment's family from Toronto to the California desert - -a landscape and culture so alien to her father that the last vestiges of sanity leave him. As madness engulfs him he becomes increasingly brutal and the family, grasping at survival, throws him out the door. Having no understanding that he has done anything wrong, he first lives in his car at the end of the driveway, waiting to be invited back in, before exiting completely from their lives.Poor and fatherless, Ciment spends the years from age fourteen to seventeen, as a gang girl, a professional forger, a stripper, a corporate spy, and finally, a high school dropout who by age eighteen has seduced her art teacher, a man nearly three decades her senior and bluffed her way into college in an effort to shape a future. Ciment is cutting, insightful and clearly unapologetic as she details the confusion and bravado of a child heroine whose dreams and tenacity allow her finally, to create the life she has been so desperately seeking.
Half a Life
by Darin StraussIn this powerful, unforgettable memoir, acclaimed novelist Darin Strauss examines the far-reaching consequences of the tragic moment that has shadowed his whole life. In his last month of high school, he was behind the wheel of his dad's Oldsmobile, driving with friends, heading off to play mini-golf. Then: a classmate swerved in front of his car. The collision resulted in her death. With piercing insight and stark prose, Darin Strauss leads us on a deeply personal, immediate, and emotional journey--graduating high school, going away to college, starting his writing career, falling in love with his future wife, becoming a father. Along the way, he takes a hard look at loss and guilt, maturity and accountability, hope and, at last, acceptance. The result is a staggering, uplifting tour de force.Look for special features inside, including an interview with Colum McCann.Join the Circle for author chats and more.RandomHouseReadersCircle.comFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
Half a World Away: The heart-warming, heart-breaking Richard and Judy Book Club selection
by Mike Gayle'His most accomplished and moving novel yet' Lisa Jewell'Emotionally high-voltage' MetroFrom the author of The Man I Think I Know***Strangers living worlds apart.Strangers with nothing in common.But it wasn't always that way...Kerry Hayes is a single mum, living on a tough south London estate. She provides for her son by cleaning houses she could never hope to afford. Taken into care as a child, Kerry cannot ever forget her past.Noah Martineau is a successful barrister with a beautiful wife, daughter and home in fashionable Primrose Hill. Adopted as a child, Noah always looks forward, never back.When Kerry reaches out to the sibling she lost on the day they were torn apart as children, she sets in motion a chain of events that will have life-changing consequences for them both. By turns funny and moving, Half a World Away is a story that will stay with you long after you read its powerfully emotional, heartbreaking final page.***Readers love Half a World Away!'These are people who matter, situations one can believe. Most readers will find themselves caring very much. A life-affirming read.' Vine'It isn't easy, it is heart-wrenching, but, oh, is it worth reading. I can't recommend this book highly enough.' Vine 'How have I not read a Mike Gayle book before? I want to give this book all of the starts in the universe. I cried my eyes out at the end. It is touching, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking.' Netgalley'This story is raw and beautiful and sad. It puts lots of things into perspective and makes you think about what is important in life. Beautifully written, easy to read and will certainly bring tears to your eyes. A must read.' Netgalley 'This is a beautiful, beautiful book. It's about family, about class, about love, about choices and sacrifice. It's about letting go and learning to hold on. It's optimistic and heartbreaking and funny and emotional. It's the kind of book that will stay with you, long after you finish it. Buy it, read it, love it - and hang on to those tissues, you'll need them.' NetgalleyAuthors love Half a World Away!'Mike Gayle has such a talent for delving into hearts, minds and contemporary issues. Half a World Away is supremely poignant, uplifting and heartwarming in equal measure - as well as being a real page-turner.' Sophie Kinsella, author of Surprise Me'Mike has a prodigious talent for writing completely relatable characters who draw you into their world and tug at your heart strings. Half a World Away is an absolute triumph and a joy to read. Once again Mike tackles complex and thorny issues with a confident and compassionate hand.' Ruth Hogan, author of The Keeper of Lost Things 'Half a World Away is heartbreaking and beautiful, full of poignant moments and characters you fall for from page one. I couldn't put it down.' Libby Page, author of The Lido(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Half and Half
by Claudine C. O'HearnAs we approach the twenty-first century, biracialism and biculturalism are becoming increasingly common. Skin color and place of birth are no longer reliable signifiers of one's identity or origin. Simple questions like What are you? and Where are you from? aren't answered--they are discussed.How do you measure someone's race or culture? Half this, quarter that, born here, raised there. What name do you give that? These eighteen essays, joined by a shared sense of duality, address both the difficulties of not fitting into and the benefits of being part of two worlds. Danzy Senna parodies the media's fascination with biracials in a futuristic piece about the mulatto millennium. Garrett Hongo writes about watching his mixed-race children play in a sea of blond hair and white faces, realizing that suburban Oregon might swallow up their unique racial identity. Francisco Goldman shares his frustration with having constantly to explain himself in terms of his Latino and Jewish roots. Malcolm Gladwell understands that being biracial frees him from racial discrimination but also holds him hostage to questions of racial difference. For Indira Ganesan, India and its memory are evoked by the aromas of foods.Through the lens of personal experience, these essays offer a broader spectrum of meaning for race and culture. And in the process, they map a new ethnic terrain that transcends racial and cultural division.From the Hardcover edition.
Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir
by Jennette FuldaAfter undergoing gall bladder surgery at age twenty-three, Jennette Fulda decided it was time to lose some weight. Actually, more like half her weight. At the time, Jennette weighed 372 pounds.Jennette was not born fat. But, by fifth grade, her response to a school questionnaire asking "what would you change about your appearance" was "I would be thinner." Sound familiar?Half-Assed is the captivating and incredibly honest story of Jennette's journey to get in shape, lose weight, and change her life. From the beginning-dusting off her never-used treadmill and steering clear of the donut shop-to the end with her goal weight in sight, Jennette wows readers with her determined persistence to shed pounds and the ability to maintain her ever-present sense of self.
Half-Bads in White Regalia: A Memoir
by Cody CaetanoA family tries to learn from the mistakes of past generations in this whirlwind memoir from a wholly original new voice.The Caetanos move into a doomed house in the highway village of Happyland before an inevitable divorce pulls Cody&’s parents in separate directions. His mom, Mindimooye, having discovered her Anishinaabe birth family and Sixties Scoop origin story, embarks on a series of fraught relationships and fresh starts. His dad, O Touro, a Portuguese immigrant and drifter, falls back into &“big do, little think&” behaviour, despite his best intentions. Left alone at the house in Happyland, Cody and his siblings must fend for themselves, even as the pipes burst and the lights go out. His protective big sister, Kris, finds inventive ways to put food on the table, and his stoic big brother, Julian, facilitates his regular escapes into the world of video games. As life yanks them from one temporary solution to the next, they steal moments of joy and resist buckling under &“baddie&” temptations aplenty. Capturing the chaos and wonder of a precarious childhood, Cody Caetano delivers a fever dream coming-of-age garnished with a slang all his own. Half-Bads in White Regalia is an unforgettable debut that unspools a tangled family history with warmth, humour, and deep generosity.
Half Baked: The Story of My Nerves, My Newborn, and How We Both Learned to Breathe
by Alexa StevensonAuthor Alexa Stevenson had spent most of her life preparing for the wrong disasters. When her daughter is born 15 weeks early, she is plunged into the strange half-light of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, where she learns the Zen of medical uncertainty and makes the surprising discovery that a worst-case scenario may just be the best thing thatOCOs ever happened to her. The absurdities of the medical system, grappling with mortality, and coming into oneOCOs own are all explored in this wryly heartfelt memoir. From the indignities of infertility treatments to managing bedrest and parenting a preemie (how does one wrangle an oxygen tank while changing a diaper?), Alexa recounts her rocky road to motherhood with a uniquely sharp, funny, yet poignant voice. "
A Half Baked Idea: Winner of the Fortnum & Mason’s Debut Food Book Award
by Olivia PottsWINNER OF THE FORTNUM & MASON'S DEBUT FOOD BOOK AWARD'A tender and beautifully written tour-de-force on love, grief, hope and cake. If this is not the book of the summer, I will eat my wig. An absolute triumph' THE SECRET BARRISTER 'An utterly beautiful, moving, bittersweet book on love and loss. I loved it' DOLLY ALDERTON _____________________________________________________When Olivia Potts was just twenty five, her mother died. Stricken with grief, she did something life changing and rather ridiculous: she gave up a high-flying legal career to study at the notoriously difficult Le Cordon Bleu, despite not being able to cook. No one ever told Olivia you couldn't bake your way to happiness - but could you?_______________________________________________ 'A brilliant, brave and beautiful book: funny and charming; utterly inspiring and life-affirming' Olivia Sudjic'A heart-wrenching yet humorous portrayal of grief, a delicious collection of recipes, an inspirational tale of changing careers, and a feel good love story' Vogue'Funny, sharp and sad. I laughed so much (and I cried)' Ella Risbridger, author of Midnight Chicken'An honest, brave and funny account of what it is to love, to lose love and how to make macarons' Red
Half A Brain: Confessions of a Special Needs Mom
by Jenni BaschA fascinating and inspiring memoir about one woman's epic struggle raising a child with severe disabilities. At nine months pregnant, Jenni Basch learns that her unborn baby experienced a catastrophic brain injury and may not survive. Against insurmountable odds, her daughter survives and Jenni is faced with raising a child with complex medical issues.When her daughter is diagnosed with a devastating form of epilepsy, Jenni and her husband must make the ultimate decision on behalf of their daughter. In order to save her, they must consent to a radical surgery, the removal of half the brain. With candor and wit, Jenni introduces us to a world usually unseen and misunderstood. Half A Brain provides an extraordinary account of a mom raising a child with special needs. Through each terrifying diagnosis and crisis, Jenni must face and confront her own insecurities, fears, judgments, and inexperience. But even when all hope seems lost, she finds a strength she never imagined possible.
Half Broke: A Memoir
by Ginger GaffneyA top-ranked horse trainer’s gorgeous, life-affirming memoir that offers profound insight into the fascinating ways both horses and humans seek relationships to survive. At the start of this remarkable story of recovery, healing, and redemption, Ginger Gaffney answers a call to help retrain the troubled horses at an alternative prison ranch in New Mexico, a facility run entirely by the prisoners. The horses are scavenging through the dumpsters, kicking and running down the residents when they bring the trash out after meals. One horse is severely injured. The horses and residents arrive at the ranch broken in one way or many: the horses are defensive and terrified, while the residents, some battling drug and alcohol addictions, are emotionally and physically shattered. With deep insight into how animals and humans communicate through posture, body language, and honesty of spirit, Gaffney walks us through her struggle to train the untrainable. Gaffney peels away the layers of her own story—a solitary childhood, painful introversion, and a transformative connection with her first horse, a filly named Belle—and she, too, learns to trust people as much as she trusts horses. As her year-long odyssey builds toward a dramatic conclusion, the group experiences triumphs and failures, brave recoveries and relapses, as well as betrayals and moving stories of trust and belonging. Resonant, smart, and beautifully written, Half Broke tears at the heart of what it takes to find wholeness after years of trauma and addiction and offers profound insight on how working with animals can satisfy our universal need for connection.