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Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere
by Cheryl Strayed Poe BallantineFans of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil will embrace Poe Ballantine's Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere.For well over twenty years, Poe Ballantine traveled America, taking odd jobs, living in small rooms, and wondering the big whys. At age 46, he finally settled with his Mexican immigrant wife in Chadron, Nebraska, where they had a son who was red-flagged as autistic. Poe published four books about his experiences as a wanderer and his observations of America. But one day in 2006, his neighbor, Steven Haataja, a math professor from the local state college disappeared. Ninety five days later, the professor was found bound to a tree, burned to death in the hills behind the campus where he had taught. No one, law enforcement included, understood the circumstances. Poe had never contemplated writing mystery or true crime, but since he knew all the players, the suspects, the sheriff, the police involved, he and his kindergarten son set out to find out what might have happened.
Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning
by Claire DedererFrom the New York Times best-selling author of Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses, a ferocious, sexy, hilarious memoir about going off the rails at midlife and trying to reconcile the girl she was with the woman she has become. Claire Dederer is a happily married mother of two, ages nine and twelve, when she suddenly finds herself totally despondent and, simultaneously, suffering through a kind of erotic reawakening. This exuberant memoir shifts between her present experience as a middle-aged mom in the grip of mysterious new hungers and herself as a teenager--when she last experienced life with such heightened sensitivity and longing. From her hilarious chapter titles ("How to Have Sex with Your Husband of Seventeen Years") to her subjects--from the boyfriend she dumped at fourteen the moment she learned how to give herself an orgasm, to the girls who ruled her elite private school ("when I left Oberlin I thought I had done with them forever, but it turned out ...they also edited all the newspapers and magazines, and wrote all the books"), to raising a teenage daughter herself--Dederer writes with an electrifying blend of wry wit and raw honesty. She exposes herself utterly, and in doing so captures something universal about the experience of being a woman, a daughter, a wife.From the Hardcover edition.
Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning
by Claire DedererA hilarious, confrontational and moving story of one woman's attempts to navigate her way through the challenges of mid-life, for lovers of HOW TO BE A WOMAN and I'M NOT WITH THE BAND. 'Claire Dederer is not only a brilliant author, but an honest and brave one' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of EAT, PRAY, LOVEClaire Dederer's youth was wild, an endless cascade of beer and rock and acid and sex that left her benumbed and adrift. But then, after two decades of disciplined transformation, she'd become a successful writer, a faithful wife, and a mother - a real adult. That is, until one morning at 44, she found herself overcome by the same sexual cravings and ineffable sadness of her younger years. The hedonistic girl, 'that crazy bitch', was back - or had she never left?Frank and disarming, seductive and hilarious, Love and Trouble: A Mid-life Reckoning is Dederer's attempt to reckon with those urges, and to reconcile the girl she'd been with the woman she's become.
Love and Trouble: Memoirs of a Former Wild Girl
by Claire DedererA hilarious, confrontational and moving story of one woman's attempts to navigate her way through the challenges of mid-life, for lovers of HOW TO BE A WOMAN and I'M NOT WITH THE BAND. 'Claire Dederer is not only a brilliant author, but an honest and brave one' Elizabeth Gilbert, author of EAT, PRAY, LOVEClaire Dederer's youth was wild, an endless cascade of beer and rock and acid and sex that left her benumbed and adrift. But then, after two decades of disciplined transformation, she'd become a successful writer, a faithful wife, and a mother - a real adult. That is, until one morning at 44, she found herself overcome by the same sexual cravings and ineffable sadness of her younger years. The hedonistic girl, 'that crazy bitch', was back - or had she never left?Frank and disarming, seductive and hilarious, Love and Trouble: A Mid-life Reckoning is Dederer's attempt to reckon with those urges, and to reconcile the girl she'd been with the woman she's become.(P)2017 Penguin Random House LLC
Love and War in the WRNS: Letters Home 1940-46
by Vicky UnwinSheila Mills’s story is a unique perspective of the Second World War. She is a clever, middle-class Norfolk girl with a yen for adventure and joins the WRNS in 1940 to escape the shackles of secretarial work in London, her unhappy childhood and her social-climbing mother. From a first posting in Scotland in 1940, she progresses through the ranks, first to Egypt and later to a vanquished Germany.Extraordinary and fascinating encounters and personalities are seen through the eyes of a young Wren officer: Admiral Ramsay, the Invasion of Sicily and Operation Mincemeat that triggered it, The Flap, the sinking of the Medway, the surrender of the Italian fleet and the Belsen Trials. These observations are peppered with humorous insights into the humdrum preoccupations of a typical Wren – boys, appearance and having fun, while worrying about home and family.This treasure trove of hundreds of letters, along with scrapbooks and memorabilia, some of which are reproduced here, was discovered in bin liners shortly after Sheila died. Her daughter, Vicky, has pieced together a fascinating and unusual record of the Second World War from a woman’s perspective.
Love Anyway: An Invitation Beyond a World that’s Scary as Hell
by Jeremy CourtneyFor all who are displaced. For all who are weary of the way things are. For all who long for a more beautiful world. Preemptive Love founder Jeremy Courtney has seen the very worst of war. He's risked his life saving lives on the front lines. He's come face to face with ISIS, been targeted by death threats, and narrowly escaped airstrikes. Through it all, the most powerful thing he's learned is this: we're not just at war with each other. We're at war with ourselves. But the way things are is not the way they have to be. There is a more beautiful world. To find it, we have to we confront our fear--and end war where it starts: in our own heads and hearts. With stories of people who have lived through war and terrorism, Love Anyway will inspire you to confront your deepest fears and respond to our scary world with the kind of love that seems a little crazy. Because when we do, we become agents of hope who unmake violence and unfurl the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible. Love Anyway is the story of Jeremy's incredible journey--and an invitation to discover the more beautiful world on the front lines where you live.
Love as Always, Mum xxx: The true and terrible story of surviving a childhood with Fred and Rose West
by Mae West'A CHILLING new memoir by the daughter of mass murderer Fred West and his wife Rose describes the savage cruelty of her upbringing in 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester' DAILY MAIL'Mae, I mean this ... I'm not a good person and I let all you children down ...' Rose West, HM PRISON DURHAM It has taken over 20 years for Mae West to find the perspective and strength to tell her remarkable story: one of an abusive, violent childhood, of her serial killer parents and how she has rebuilt her life in the shadow of their terrible crimes. Through her own memories, research and the letters her mother wrote to her from prison, Mae shares her emotionally powerful account of her life as a West. From a toddler locked in the deathly basement to a teen fighting off the sexual advances of her father, Mae's story is one of survival. It also answers the questions: how do you come to terms with knowing your childhood bedroom was a graveyard? How do you accept the fact your parents sexually tortured, murdered and dismembered young women? How do you become a mother yourself when you're haunted by the knowledge that your own mother was a monster? Why were you spared and how do you escape the nightmare?
Love as Always, Mum xxx: The true and terrible story of surviving a childhood with Fred and Rose West
by Mae West'A CHILLING new memoir by the daughter of mass murderer Fred West and his wife Rose describes the savage cruelty of her upbringing in 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester' DAILY MAIL'Mae, I mean this ... I'm not a good person and I let all you children down ...' Rose West, HM PRISON DURHAM It has taken over 20 years for Mae West to find the perspective and strength to tell her remarkable story: one of an abusive, violent childhood, of her serial killer parents and how she has rebuilt her life in the shadow of their terrible crimes. Through her own memories, research and the letters her mother wrote to her from prison, Mae shares her emotionally powerful account of her life as a West. From a toddler locked in the deathly basement to a teen fighting off the sexual advances of her father, Mae's story is one of survival. It also answers the questions: how do you come to terms with knowing your childhood bedroom was a graveyard? How do you accept the fact your parents sexually tortured, murdered and dismembered young women? How do you become a mother yourself when you're haunted by the knowledge that your own mother was a monster? Why were you spared and how do you escape the nightmare?What other readers are saying about Love as Always, Mum xxx:'A fascinating read. Mae West seems like such a warmhearted and caring person. It was heart-breaking to hear about what she went through.' 5* Goodreads'This book is truly moving in many ways and as much as I want to say I enjoyed it, I didn't, because it was heart-wrenching, but that's why it's a 5-star read. So much emotion and truth. It's definitely hard not to be moved by this.' 5* Goodreads'This is an extremely important story to read, giving Mae a voice to be verbal about breaking the cycle of abuse and surviving a terror she never thought she would be a part of. And because of that, it deserves five stars.' 5* Goodreads'This has got to be the most heartbreaking and emotionally demanding book I have ever read ... a heart wrenching and powerful read.' 5* Goodreads'As an avid reader of true crime books I had read a lot about Feed and Rose West. However with all of those books I had never considered their surviving children. This feels like such a raw, honest and real account of day to day life in 25 Cromwell Street. Good on you Mae for your strength to tell your story.' 5* Goodreads'A hauntingly tragic book. I couldn't put it down from start to finish.' 5* Goodreads
Love at First Bark
by Julie KlamIn her bestselling memoir You Had Me at Woof, Julie Klam shared the secrets of happiness she learned as an occasionally frazzled but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same enchanting humor and poignancy that won the hearts of readers across the country, she returns with real-life stories about how in rescuing troubled dogs we can end up saving ourselves. With wit and warmth, Julie Klam chronicles her adventures in finding a home for the world’s sweetest pit bull, fostering a photogenic special-needs terrier, and diving under a train to save an injured stray in New Orleans. Along the way, she finds that helping dogs in their fight to survive puts our own problems in perspective, and shows that caring for others, be they canine or human, can sometimes be the best way to care for ourselves. A hilarious and moving testament to the powerful bond between people and dogs, this is a book for anyone whose life has been changed—for the better—by an animal. .
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of the Doors
by Mick WallFrom one of rock's greatest writers, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre is the definitive biography of the Doors Spanning the entire history of the band, from the birth of its members to the deaths of those who have departed, this book will long remain the definitive history of a band that changed the history of popular music. The band that started out as the "American Rolling Stones," noted for their wildly unpredictable performances, their jazzy vibe, and the crazed monologues of their front man, ended as badly as did the '60s: abruptly, bloodily, cripplingly. Along with evoking the cultural milieu of Los Angeles in the era, bestselling writer Mick Wall captures the true spirit of that tarnished age. From the release of their classic first album, The Doors, to their last with Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman, this band biography is a brilliantly penetrating and contemporary investigation into the real story of the Doors.
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of The Doors
by Mick Wall'Explodes in to life from the opening paragraph' RECORD COLLECTORThink you know the story of Jim Morrison and The Doors? This revelatory and explosive biography from critically acclaimed rock journalist Mick Wall will make you think again.'The pick of the best guitar tomes: Wall's account pulls no punches, cataloguing each of the primal scenes - early performances, indecent exposure, Jim's sexuality, decline and death' GUITARISTIn 1971, Jim Morrison was found dead in a club toilet in Paris. He was 27 years old. Since then, The Doors have been the subject of a mystery fuelled by sensationalised rumours and empty conjecture.In this definitive account of Jim Morrison and The Doors, critically acclaimed rock writer Mick Wall unravels the myths surrounding the iconic band and its frontman, and captures the unique and unforgettable spirit of the sixties. A brilliantly penetrating and long-overdue biography, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre questions the idolisation of Jim Morrison and considers the story of The Doors in all of its uncomfortable truth.
Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre: A Biography of The Doors
by Mick Wall'Explodes in to life from the opening paragraph' RECORD COLLECTORThink you know the story of Jim Morrison and The Doors? This revelatory and explosive biography from critically acclaimed rock journalist Mick Wall will make you think again.'The pick of the best guitar tomes: Wall's account pulls no punches, cataloguing each of the primal scenes - early performances, indecent exposure, Jim's sexuality, decline and death' GUITARISTIn 1971, Jim Morrison was found dead in a club toilet in Paris. He was 27 years old. Since then, The Doors have been the subject of a mystery fuelled by sensationalised rumours and empty conjecture.In this definitive account of Jim Morrison and The Doors, critically acclaimed rock writer Mick Wall unravels the myths surrounding the iconic band and its frontman, and captures the unique and unforgettable spirit of the sixties. A brilliantly penetrating and long-overdue biography, Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre questions the idolisation of Jim Morrison and considers the story of The Doors in all of its uncomfortable truth.
Love Behind Bars: The True Story of an American Prisoner's Wife
by Jodie SinclairThe Powerful, Poignant Story of Love, Courage, and Redemption from Death Row, Where an Indomitable Woman Challenged Corruption in Order to Free her Husband When TV reporter Jodie Sinclair went to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as the Death House at Angola, in 1981, she expected to report about the death penalty and leave. She never expected to fall in love. Billy Sinclair was an inmate at Angola, sent there for an accidental murder during a robbery gone wrong. After facing a trial which was skewed against him and being sentenced to death, he saw first-hand the corruption and abuse rife in the criminal justice system, and he began an unrelenting crusade for reform. When the pair married by proxy a year after meeting, Jodie took up Billy&’s fight. From then on, she lived with one foot in the outside world and one in the complex and dehumanizing bureaucracy of the prison world. This incredible memoir tracks her heroic twenty-five-year fight to save her husband from dying in prison, the professional setbacks she suffered for marrying a prisoner, and a pardons scandal in which she wore a wire for the FBI to help her husband expose corruption in the criminal justice system leading all the way to the governor's office, which put a target on Billy's back. It is the uplifting true story of a woman who stood by her man, and in doing so, exposed the horrors of our criminal justice system and became a voice for all those who have loved ones behind bars.
Love Brought Me Back: A Journey of Loss and Gain
by Natalie Cole David RitzIN THIS LUMINOUS MEMOIR, LEGENDARY SINGER AND ACTRESS NATALIE COLE TELLS A REMARKABLE STORY OF LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS AND RECOVERY, AND THE STORY OF A DEATH THAT BROUGHT NEW LIFE. In 2009 Natalie Cole was on dialysis, her kidneys failing. Without a kidney transplant, her future was uncertain. Throughout Natalie's illness one of her biggest supporters was her beloved sister Cooke. But then Cooke herself became ill, with cancer. Astonishingly, as Cooke lay dying in a hospital, Natalie received a call that a kidney was available, but the surgery had to be performed immediately. Natalie couldn't leave her sister's side--but neither could she refuse the kidney that would save her own life. This is a story of sisters, Natalie and Cooke, but also of the sisters who made the transplant possible, Patty and Jessica. It was Jessica's death that gave new life to Natalie, even as Natalie experienced the devastating loss of Cooke. Patty, too, suffered her own terrible loss, but when she met Natalie, she found that her sister's spirit still lived. Through the gift of life, Natalie and Patty became sisters in spirit. Love Brought Me Back is a story of loss and recovery, sorrow and joy, success and despair--and, finally, success again. It will touch you as few memoirs ever have.
Love Child
by Sue ElliottAdoption is one of the great, untold stories of our recent past. It is a truly epic tale of loss, guilt, identity, family feuds, reunion and redemption. It is a subject, until very recently, surrounded by secrecy and taboos. This is the heart-warming true story of a little girl's adoption in the 1950s and her search, nearly forty years later, for her birth mother. When mother and daughter meet, Sue thinks she has finally reached the end of her journey. Then Sue discovers she wasn't the only baby her mother gave away ...Weaved throughout is the vivid, emotional history of adoption in the UK. Drawing on a wide range of intimate personal experiences, it outlines the forces that shaped 20th century adoption practice, from baby-farming, the stigma of illegitimacy, incest and the bastardy laws, to children taken by force, the Magdalene laundries, mass emigration schemes without parental consent, to modern day adoption practices, buying babies from abroad, sperm donor fathers and tearful reunions on Trisha.
Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found
by Allegra HustonWhen Allegra Huston was four years old, her mother was killed in a car crash. Soon afterward, she was introduced to an intimidating man wreathed in cigar smoke -- the legendary film director John Huston -- with the words, "This is your father." So began an extraordinary odyssey: from the magical Huston estate in Ireland to the Long Island suburbs to a hidden paradise in Mexico -- and, at the side of her older sister, Anjelica, into the hilltop retreats of Jack Nicholson, Ryan O'Neal, and Marlon Brando. Allegra's is the penetrating gaze of an outsider never quite sure if she belongs in this rarefied world and of a motherless child trying to make sense of her famous, fragmented family.
Love & Courage: My Story of Family, Resilience, and Overcoming the Unexpected
by Jagmeet SinghFrom the leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party—Jagmeet Singh—comes a personal and heartfelt story about family and overcoming adversity.In October 2017, Jagmeet Singh was elected as the first visible minority to lead a major federal political party in Canada. The historic milestone was celebrated across the nation. About a month earlier, in the lead up to his election, Jagmeet held community meet-and-greets across Canada. At one such event, a disruptive heckler in the crowd hurled accusations at him. Jagmeet responded by calmly calling for all Canadians to act with “love and courage” in the face of hate. That response immediately went viral, and people across the country began asking, “Who is Jagmeet Singh? And why ‘love and courage’?” This personal and heartfelt memoir is Jagmeet’s answer to that question. In it, we are invited to walk with him through childhood to adulthood as he learns powerful, moving, and sometimes traumatic lessons about hardship, addiction, and the impact of not belonging. We meet his strong family, including his mother, who teaches him that “we are all one; we are all connected,” a valuable lesson that has shaped who he is today. This story is not a political memoir. This is a story of family, love, and courage, and how strengthening the connection between us all is the way to building a better world.
Love, Dad: Confessions of an Anxious Father
by Laurie SteedA must-read for all new parents, Love, Dad explores what it means to be a father in the twenty-first century.The father of two young boys, Laurie reflects on how his own experiences have defined the kind of man he is and the kind of parent he would like to become.His stories — triumphant, funny and sad — draw on Laurie' s own childhood experiences and important relationships with family and mates, alongside the challenges of trauma and mental health shared by many men.This memoir openly shares how Laurie strives to overcome challenges – from breaking generational cycles to maintaining joy in work and parenthood – and how others fresh to parenting can learn from this authentic story of a new dad and his family.
Love, Daddy: Letters from My Father
by David Rae Morris Willie MorrisWinner of the 2023 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letter Award for PhotographyLove, Daddy: Letters from My Father examines the complexities of father-and-son relationships through letters and photographs. Willie Morris wrote scores of letters to his only son, David Rae Morris, from the mid-1970s until Willie’s death in 1999. From David Rae’s perspective, his father was often emotionally disconnected and lived a peculiar lifestyle, often staying out carousing well into the night. But Willie was an eloquent and accomplished writer and began to write his son long, loving, and supportive letters when David Rae was still in high school. An aspiring photographer, David Rae was confused and befuddled by his father’s warring personalities and began photographing Willie using the camera as a buffer to protect him and his emotions. The collection begins in early 1976 and continues for more than twenty years as David Rae moved about the country, living in New York, Massachusetts, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Minnesota, before finally settling in Louisiana. “All the while my father was writing to me I somehow managed to save his letters,” David Rae writes. “I left them in storage and in boxes and in piles of clutter on desks and in basements. They were kind, offering a love that he found difficult to express openly and directly. He simply was more comfortable communicating through letters.” The letters cover topics ranging from writing, the weather, Willie’s return to Mississippi in 1980, the Ole Miss football season, and local town gossip to the fleas on the dog to just life and how it’s lived. Likewise, the photographs are portraits, documentary images of daily life, dinners, outings, and private moments. Together they narrate and illuminate the complexities of one family relationship, and how, for better or worse, that love endures the passage of time.
Love & Death
by Ian Halperin Max WallaceA stunning and groundbreaking investigation into the death of one of the great rock icons of our times -- revealing new evidence that points to a terrible conclusion. On Friday, April 8, 1994, a body was discovered in a room above a garage in Seattle. For the attending authorities, it was an open-and-shut case of suicide. What no one knew then, however, and which is only being revealed here for the very first time, is that the person found dead that day -- Kurt Cobain, the superstar frontman of Nirvana -- was murdered. In early April 1994, Cobain went missing for days, or so it seemed; in fact, some people knew where he was, and one of them was Courtney Love. Now a star in Hollywood and rock music, in early 1994 she was preparing to release her major label debut with her band, Hole, and what she knew then, though few others did, was that Cobain was planning to divorce her. Love & Death paints a critical portrait of Courtney Love; it also reveals for the first time the case tapes made by Love's own P.I., Tom Grant, a man on a mission to find the truth about Kurt Cobain's demise; and introduces us to a number of characters who feature in various theories about plots to kill Cobain. In addition, Cobain's grandfather goes public, charging that his grandson was murdered. Drawing on new forensic evidence and police reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the book explodes the myths that have long convinced the world that Cobain took his own life, and reveals that the official scenario was scientifically impossible. Against a background of at least sixty-eight copycat suicides since 1994, award-winning investigative journalists Max Wallace and Ian Halperin have conducted a ten-year crusade for the truth, and in Love & Death they are finally able to present a chilling and convincing case that each and every one of these suicides was preventable -- and in doing so, they call for this case to be reopened and properly investigated.
Love, Death & Rare Books
by Robert HellengaAs times change for the book business, a rare book dealer lives through appraisals, auctions, danger, drama, love, and loss, in this thoughtful novel. Chas. Johnson & Sons, a rare bookstore in Chicago&’s Hyde Park, has been in Gabe Johnson&’s family for generations. It&’s where he learned to love Romantic poetry, and where he found a romance of his own with Olivia. Geared toward a colorful community of serious collectors, the shop has survived competition from big chains, and even a violent attack for stocking The Satanic Verses. But by the time Gabe takes over, Olivia is gone, and the world of books has changed. Internet sellers and gentrifying rents force him to close. Down but not out, Gabe decides to reopen on the shores of Lake Michigan. Secretly, he hopes this new beginning will also be a return into Olivia&’s arms. But just as he finds her again, Gabe faces yet another threat to the store—and everything else he holds most dear.
Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey
by Betty DeGeneres"Mom, I'm gay." With three little words, gay children can change their parents' lives forever. Yet at the same times it's a chance for those parents to realize nothing, really, has changed at all; same kid, same life, same bond of enduring love.Twenty years ago, during a walk on a Mississippi beach, Ellen DeGeneres spoke those simple, powerful words to her mother. That emotional moment eventually brought mother and daughter closer than ever, but not without a struggle. Coming from a republican family with conservative values, Betty needed time and education to understand her daughter's homosexuality -- but her ultimate acceptance would set the stage for a far more public coming out, one that would change history.In Love, Ellen, Betty DeGeneres tells her story; the complicated path to acceptance and the deepening of her friendship with her daughter; the media's scrutiny of their family life; the painful and often inspiring stories she's heard on the road as the first non-gay spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaigns National Coming Out Project.With a mother's love, clear minded common sense, and hard won wisdom, Betty DeGeneres offers up her own very personal memoir to help parents understand their gay children, and to help sons and daughters who have been rejected by their families feel less alone.
Love, Fiercely: A Gilded Age Romance
by Jean ZimmermanThe true story of the New York society couple portrayed in the John Singer Sargent painting—an architect and an heiress who became passionate reformers. Contemporaries of the Astors and Vanderbilts, they grew up together along the shores of bucolic Staten Island, linked by privilege—her grandparents built the world&’s fastest clipper ship, while his family owned most of Murray Hill. Theirs was a world filled with mansions, balls, summer homes, and extended European vacations. This fascinating biography re-creates the glittering world of Edith Minturn and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes—and reveals how their love for each other was matched by their dedication to others. Newton became a passionate preserver of New York history and published the finest collection of Manhattan maps and views in a six-volume series. Edith became the face of the age when Daniel Chester French sculpted her for Chicago&’s Columbian Exposition, a colossus intended to match the Statue of Liberty&’s grandeur. But beyond their life of prominence and prestige, Edith and Newton battled together on behalf of New York&’s poor and powerless—and through it all, sustained a strong-rooted marriage. From the splendid cottages of the Berkshires to the salons of 1890s Paris, Love, Fiercely tells the real-life story behind Mr. and Mrs. I .N. Phelps Stokes—one of the Gilded Age&’s most famous works of art. &“With an impressive amount of research behind every page, Zimmerman manages to capture the sweeping drama of the turn of the century as well as the compelling story of a couple who knew how to love, fiercely. Her superb pacing and gripping narrative will appeal to all who enjoy history, biography, and real-life romance.&” —Library Journal
Love for a Deaf Rebel: Schizophrenia On Bowen Island
by Derrick KingLove for a Deaf Rebel is the true story of a tumultuous romance. <P><P> With pathos and nostalgia, the author recounts his roller-coaster ride with Pearl, a vivacious deaf maverick, who, unknown to him, had paranoid schizophrenia. <P><P> We follow their encounters through actual notes written before Derrick learns sign language; we go on their motorcycle ride to Mexico and Guatemala; we watch as the happy couple moves to Bowen Island, a British Columbia community with just three paved roads. <P><P> Pearl and the author marry and build their dream home and hobby farm. They encounter one obstacle after another while building their life together as Pearl's perception of reality-and, crucially, their perception of each other-begins to change. <P><P> The author learns what it means to be deaf, what it means to struggle with mental health, and what it means to love such a woman unconditionally-the ecstasy and the agony. <P><P> A love story and memoir that touches on deafness, schizophrenia, and roughing it in isolated British Columbia.
Love from Boy: Roald Dahl's Letters to His Mother
by Donald SturrockFrom the author of The BFG--soon to be a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Bill Hader, and Adam Godley--a whimsical, witty, and revealing collection of the legendary children's author and writer Roald Dahl's letters written to his mother, from early childhood through Dahl's travels to Africa, his career in the Royal Air Force, his work in post-war Washington, D.C., and Hollywood, and the books that made him a literary star. Roald Dahl penned his first letter to his mother, Sofie Magdalene, when he was just nine years old. The origins of a brilliantly funny, subversive, creative mind were evident in boarding school, and as he entered adulthood, his penchant for storytelling emerged in his missives home from Africa, where he was stationed by Shell Oil, and then the desert camps of the Royal Air Force. His skills were sharpened after a plane crash in Egypt landed him in Washington, D.C., where his cheery letters home were cover for his work in the British Secret Service, along with gossipy updates on his spontaneous rise in Hollywood and his budding New York literary career. His mother was, in many ways, Dahl's first reader, and without her correspondence he might never have become a writer. Sofie Magdalene kept every letter her son wrote to her (sadly, her own side of the correspondence did not survive). It was she who encouraged him to tell stories and nourished his desire to fabricate, exaggerate, and entertain. In these letters, Dahl began practicing his craft, developing the dark sense of humor and fantastical imagination that would later produce his timeless tales. The author of James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The BFG, Dahl is known by millions the world over today. But, writing candidly to the person who knew him best, Dahl was as singular a character as any he created on paper. Assembled by Dahl's authorized biographer Donald Sturrock, Love from Boy is a remarkable collection of never-before-published writing that spans four decades and chronicles the remarkable, unpredictable life of its author. While Dahl's books remain bestselling favorites for all ages, Love from Boy provides an unprecedented glimpse of the author through his own eyes--a life punctuated by tragedy, creative stagnation, unexpected fame, and fantastic adventure.From the Hardcover edition.