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Theft by Finding (1977-2002): Diaries (1977-2002)
by David Sedaris<p>David Sedaris tells all in a book that is, literally, a lifetime in the making <p>For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences. <p>Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet. <p>Written with a sharp eye and ear for the bizarre, the beautiful, and the uncomfortable, and with a generosity of spirit that even a misanthropic sense of humor can't fully disguise, Theft By Finding proves that Sedaris is one of our great modern observers. It's a potent reminder that when you're as perceptive and curious as Sedaris, there's no such thing as a boring day. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Theft by Finding: Diaries: Volume One
by David SedarisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'He's like an American Alan Bennett, in that his own fastidiousness becomes the joke, as per the taxi encounter, or his diary entry about waiting interminably in a coffee-bar queue' Guardian review of An Evening with David Sedaris The point is to find out who you are and to be true to that person. Because so often you can't. Won't people turn away if they know the real me? you wonder. The me that hates my own child, that put my perfectly healthy dog to sleep? The me who thinks, deep down, that maybe The Wire was overrated?For nearly four decades, David Sedaris has faithfully kept a diary in which he records his thoughts and observations on the odd and funny events he witnesses. Anyone who has attended a live Sedaris event knows that his diary readings are often among the most joyful parts of the evening. In Theft by Finding, Sedaris brings us his favourite entries. From the family home in Raleigh, North Carolina, we follow Sedaris as he sets out to make his way in the world. As an art student and then teacher in Chicago he works at a succession of very odd jobs, meeting even odder people, before moving to New York to pursue a career as a writer - where instead he very quickly lands a job in Macy's department store as an elf in Santaland . . . Tender, hilarious, illuminating, and endlessly captivating, Theft by Finding offers a rare look into the mind of one of our generation's greatest comic geniuses.
Theft by Finding: Diaries: Volume One
by David SedarisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'He's like an American Alan Bennett, in that his own fastidiousness becomes the joke, as per the taxi encounter, or his diary entry about waiting interminably in a coffee-bar queue' Guardian review of An Evening with David SedarisThe point is to find out who you are and to be true to that person. Because so often you can't. Won't people turn away if they know the real me? you wonder. The me that hates my own child, that put my perfectly healthy dog to sleep? The me who thinks, deep down, that maybe The Wire was overrated?For nearly four decades, David Sedaris has faithfully kept a diary in which he records his thoughts and observations on the odd and funny events he witnesses. Anyone who has attended a live Sedaris event knows that his diary readings are often among the most joyful parts of the evening. But never before have they been available in print. Now, in Theft by Finding, Sedaris brings us his favorite entries. From the family home in Ralegh, North Carolina, we follow Sedaris as he sets out to make his way in the world. As an art student and then teacher in Chicago he works at a succession of very odd jobs, meeting even odder people, before moving to New York to pursue a career as a writer - where instead he very quickly lands a job in Macy's department store as an elf in Santaland... Tender, hilarious, illuminating, and endlessly captivating, Theft by Finding offers a rare look into the mind of one of our generation's greatest comic geniuses.
Their Accomplices Wore Robes: How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System
by Brando Simeo StarkeyA magisterial new history of the role of the Supreme Court as an ally in implementing and preserving a racial caste system in AmericaTheir Accomplices Wore Robes takes readers from the Civil War era to the present and describes how the Supreme Court—even more than the presidency or Congress—aligned with the enemies of Black progress to undermine the promise of the Constitution&’s Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The Reconstruction Amendments—which sought to abolish slavery, establish equal protection under the law, and protect voting rights—converted the Constitution into a potent anti-caste document. But in the years since, the Supreme Court has refused to allow the amendments to fulfill that promise. Time and again, when petitioned to make the nation&’s founding conceit—that all men are created equal—real for Black Americans, the nine black robes have chosen white supremacy over racial fairness.Their Accomplices Wore Robes brings to life dozens of cases and their rich casts of characters—petitioners, attorneys, justices—to explain how America arrived at this point and how society might arrive somewhere better, even as today&’s federal courts lurch rightward. In this groundbreaking grand history, Brando Simeo Starkey reveals a troubling and dark aspect of American history.
Their Blood Cries Out: The Untold Story of Persecution Against Christians in the Modern World
by Lela Gilbert Paul MarshallToday more than 200 million Christians around the world suffer imprisonment, abuse and even death because of their faith. Yet most Americans never hear their stories. In Their Blood Cries Out, Paul Marshall reveals the reality of this present-day persecution, revealing what we can do to help these brothers and sisters in Christ.
Their Eyes on the Stars: Four Black Writers
by Margaret Goff ClarkTraces the lives of four black writers who wrote of the Negro experience in eighteenth-and nineteenth-century America: Jupiter Hammon, George Moses Horton, William Wells Brown, and Charles Waddell Chesnutt.
Their Finest Hour (Winston S. Churchill The Second World Wa #2)
by Winston S. ChurchillThe second volume in the WWII history &“written with simplicity, lucidity, and gusto&” by the legendary leader and Nobel Prize winner (The New York Times). In Their Finest Hour, Winston Churchill describes the invasion of France and a growing sense of dismay in Britain. Should Britain meet France&’s desperate pleas for reinforcements or conserve their resources in preparation for the inevitable German assault? In the book&’s second half, entitled simply &“Alone,&” Churchill discusses Great Britain&’s position as the last stronghold against German conquest: the battle for control of the skies over Britain, diplomatic efforts to draw the United States into the war, and the spreading global conflict. Their Finest Hour is part of the epic six-volume account of World War II told from the viewpoint of a man who led in the fight against tyranny, and enriched with extensive primary sources including memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. Throughout these volumes, we listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler&’s conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia, in a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Their Finest Hour: 30 Biblical Figures Who Pleased God at Great Cost
by R.T. KendallA powerful collection of 30 Bible stories about people whose faith in God brought them their finest hour.In today's world, it's easy to fall prey to the approval addiction--seeking the praise of others instead of focusing on pleasing God. In Their Finest Hour, best-selling author R.T. Kendall highlights 30 Bible characters who put their trust in God despite their moments of self-effacing vulnerability. Through these stories, we can learn valuable lessons about faith and trusting God even when it isn't popular or easy to do so.You'll learn the importance of sticking to your convictions, letting God be in control, and trusting His plan for your life through stories of biblical figures, including:Leah, who experienced delayed significance.Rahab, who saw a better future with God's people.Habakkuk, who was willing to wait on the Lord.Their Finest Hour is for ordinary Christians looking to deepen their faith, their understanding of the Bible, and their relationship with God. Relatable stories and personal anecdotes make this book an invaluable resource for pastors, teachers, small groups, and believers seeking inspiration and guidance in their spiritual journey.An enlightening and engaging exploration of moments when ordinary people achieved greatness in the eyes of God, Their Finest Hour will inspire you to seek the true honor that comes from God alone.
Their Other Side: Six American Women and the Lure of Italy
by Helen Barolini“Our lives are Swiss,” Emily Dickinson wrote in 1859, “So still—so cool.” But over the Alps, “Italy stands the other side.” For Dickinson, as for many other writers and artists, Italy has been the land of light, a seductive source of invention, enchantment, and freedom.So it was for Helen Barolini, who, as a student in Rome after World War II, wrote her first poetry and gave birth to her own creative life, reinvigorating her mother tongue. In this book, Barolini celebrates the lives of other women whose imaginations succumbed to the lure of Italy.Here Barolini profiles six gifted women transformed by Italy’s mythic appeal. Unlike Barolini herself, they were not daughters of the great Italian diaspora. Rather, they were drawn to an idea of “Italy” and its gifts—in whose welcome a new self could be created. Or discovered.Emily Dickinson traveled to Italy only in the imaginative genius of her verse. Margaret Fuller struggled alongside her Italian lover in the political revolutions that gave birth to the Italian Republic, while the novelist and short-story writer Constance Fennimore Woolson found her home in Venice and Florence. Here, too, is the flamboyant artist Mabel Dodge Luhan, entertaining at her villa near Florence; and Marguerite Chapin of Connecticut, who married an Italian prince and in Rome founded the premier literary review of the mid-century, Botteghe Oscure. Finally, here is Iris Cutting Origo, the Anglo-American heiress who, with her Italian nobleman husband, built a Tuscan estate, where she wrote acclaimed biographies—and created a refuge from Mussolini’s fascism.Linking these lives, Barolini shows, is the transforming catalyst of change in a new land. Their Other Side is a wise, warm, and deeply felt literary journey that brilliantly captures the enduring effects of Italy as a place, a culture, and an experience.
Their Promised Land: My Grandparents in Love and War
by Ian BurumaA family history of surpassing beauty and power: Ian Buruma’s account of his grandparents’ enduring love through the terror and separation of two world warsDuring the almost six years England was at war with Nazi Germany, Winifred and Bernard Schlesinger, Ian Buruma’s grandparents, and the film director John Schlesinger's parents, were, like so many others, thoroughly sundered from each other. Their only recourse was to write letters back and forth. And write they did, often every day. In a way they were just picking up where they left off in 1918, at the end of their first long separation because of the Great War that swept Bernard away to some of Europe’s bloodiest battlefields. The thousands of letters between them were part of an inheritance that ultimately came into the hands of their grandson, Ian Buruma. Now, in a labor of love that is also a powerful act of artistic creation, Ian Buruma has woven his own voice in with theirs to provide the context and counterpoint necessary to bring to life, not just a remarkable marriage, but a class, and an age. Winifred and Bernard inherited the high European cultural ideals and attitudes that came of being born into prosperous German-Jewish émigré families. To young Ian, who would visit from Holland every Christmas, they seemed the very essence of England, their spacious Berkshire estate the model of genteel English country life at its most pleasant and refined. It wasn’t until years later that he discovered how much more there was to the story. At its heart, Their Promised Land is the story of cultural assimilation. The Schlesingers were very British in the way their relatives in Germany were very German, until Hitler destroyed that option. The problems of being Jewish and facing anti-Semitism even in the country they loved were met with a kind of stoic discretion. But they showed solidarity when it mattered most. As the shadows of war lengthened again, the Schlesingers mounted a remarkable effort, which Ian Buruma describes movingly, to rescue twelve Jewish children from the Nazis and see to their upkeep in England. Many are the books that do bad marriages justice; precious few books take readers inside a good marriage. In Their Promised Land, Buruma has done just that; introducing us to a couple whose love was sustaining through the darkest hours of the century.From the Hardcover edition.
Thelema: An Introduction to the Life, Work & Philosophy of Aleister Crowley
by Colin D. CampbellThe Life and Legacy of One of History's Most Fascinating MagiciansThelema is one of the most powerful and influential systems of magick the world has ever known. But to truly understand the philosophy and practice of Thelema, you need to understand its charismatic founder, Aleister Crowley. Thelema reveals this enigmatic figure in all of his provocative and brilliant glory, providing a biography of Crowley and showing how his work evolved to become a paradigm-shifting system of magick. This book also explores the texts and writings that form the basis of Thelema, and it provides step-by-step instructions for practicing the basic rites and rituals of this often-misunderstood tradition.Thelema provides a multifaceted method for spiritual attainment that focuses on manifesting your true will. Discover how Crowley developed his remarkable techniques, and learn how to begin or deepen your own magical practice with elements of Qabalah, Gnosticism, Eastern philosophy, Egyptian spirituality, tarot, and more. Along the way, you'll learn about Crowley's involvement in the Golden Dawn and the O.T.O., his clandestine activities during both world wars, and the nature and influence of his personal relationships.Includes photosForeword by Lon Milo DuQuettePraise:"Colin Campbell's earlier works have shown him to be one of the most thorough and thoughtful Thelemic authors of our era. In Thelema, Campbell brings this same acumen and clarity of expression to the life and work of Aleister Crowley. The book covers a wide range of territory—historical, theoretical, and practical—and will be a useful resource for beginners and more advanced students alike."—David Shoemaker, author of Living Thelema
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
by Robin KelleyThe first full biography of legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk, written by a brilliant historian, with full access to the family's archives and with dozens of interviews.Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, gripping saga of an artist's struggle to "make it" without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the twentieth century. To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of "bebop" and establishing Monk as one of America's greatest composers. Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz's most original composer.
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
by Robin KelleyThe first full biography of legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk, written by a brilliant historian, with full access to the family's archives and with dozens of interviews.Thelonious Monk is the critically acclaimed, gripping saga of an artist’s struggle to “make it” without compromising his musical vision. It is a story that, like its subject, reflects the tidal ebbs and flows of American history in the twentieth century. To his fans, he was the ultimate hipster; to his detractors, he was temperamental, eccentric, taciturn, or childlike. His angular melodies and dissonant harmonies shook the jazz world to its foundations, ushering in the birth of “bebop” and establishing Monk as one of America’s greatest composers. Elegantly written and rich with humor and pathos, Thelonious Monk is the definitive work on modern jazz’s most original composer.
Them
by Francine du Plessix GrayTatiana du Plessix, the wife of a French diplomat, was a beautiful, sophisticated "white Russian" who had been the muse of the famous Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. Alexander Liberman, the ambitious son of a prominent Russian Jew, was a gifted magazine editor and aspiring artist. As part of the progressive artistic Russian émigré community living in Paris in the 1930s, the two were destined to meet. They began a passionate affair, and the year after Paris was occupied in World War II they fled to New York with Tatiana's young daughter, Francine. There they determinedly rose to the top of high society, holding court to a Who's Who list of the midcentury's intellectuals and entertainers. Flamboyant and outrageous, bold and brilliant, they were irresistible to friends like Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dalí, and the publishing tycoon Condé Nast. But to those who knew them well they were also highly neurotic, narcissistic, and glacially self-promoting, prone to cut out of their lives, with surgical precision, close friends who were no longer of use to them. Tatiana became an icon of New York fashion, and the hats she designed for Saks Fifth Avenue were de rigueur for stylish women everywhere. Alexander Liberman, who devotedly raised Francine as his own child from the time she was nine, eventually came to preside over the entire Condé Nast empire. The glamorous life they shared was both creative and destructive and was marked by an exceptional bond forged out of their highly charged love and raging self-centeredness. Their obsessive adulation of success and elegance was elevated to a kind of worship, and the high drama that characterized their lives followed them to their deaths. Tatiana, increasingly consumed with nostalgia for a long-lost Russia, spent her last years addicted to painkillers. Shortly after her death, Alexander, then age eighty, shocked all who knew him by marrying her nurse. Them: A Portrait of Parents is a beautifully written homage to the extraordinary lives of two fascinating, irrepressible people who were larger than life emblems of a bygone age. Written with honesty and grace by the person who knew them best, this generational saga is a survivor's story. Tatiana and Alexander survived the Russian Revolution, the fall of France, and New York's factory of fame. Their daughter, Francine, survived them. .
Themes for Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds
by Graeme Thomson'Nobody owes us anything, but the Simple Minds story has been too condensed. After Live Aid and 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' there hasn't been quite the credit for those first few records. I think they contain some really special music. I can hear the flaws but there's something about the spirit and imagination in them that feels good. They draw from such a wide range of influences ... but the spirit of it was always Simple Minds.' Jim Kerr, to the authorAn illuminating new biography of one of Britain's biggest and most influential bands, written with the full input and cooperation of Simple Minds, shedding new light on their dazzling art-rock legacy.Themes for Great Cities features in-depth new interviews with original band members Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill, Mick MacNeil and Derek Forbes, alongside key figures from within their creative community and high-profile fans such as Bobby Gillespie, James Dean Bradfield and Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite. The book reclaims and revivifies the magnificence of Simple Minds' pioneering early albums, from the glitchy Euro-ambience of Real to Real Cacophony and Empires and Dance to the pulsing, agitated romance of Sons and Fascination, New Gold Dream and beyond.Emerging in 1978 from Glasgow's post-punk scene, Simple Minds transitioned from restless art-rock to electro futurism, mutated into passionate pop contenders and, finally, a global rock behemoth. They have sold in the region of 60 million records and remain a worldwide phenomenon. The drama of their tale lies in these transformations and triumphs, conflicts and contradictions.Themes for Great Cities tells the inside story of a band becoming a band. Inspiring, insightful and enlightening, it celebrates the trailblazing music of one of Britain's greatest groups.
Themistocles: The Powerbroker of Athens
by Jeffrey A. SmithA biography of the architect of victory in the Persian Wars of 490 and 480/479 BC: &“A valuable read for anyone with an interest in the &‘Golden Age&’ of Greece.&” —The NYMAS Review This is an exciting new biography of Themistocles of Athens, architect of the Greek victory over the Persian invasions of 490 BC and 480 to 479 BC. While his role in the Persian wars is naturally a major theme, Themistocles&’ career before and after those conflicts is also considered in detail. Themistocles was a leading exponent of a new kind of populist politics in the young democracy of Athens, manipulating the practice of ostracism (exile) to get rid of his political rivals. Jeffrey Smith explains Themistocles&’ rise to a position of virtual hegemony which allowed him to institute his far-sighted policy of preparation against the growing Persian threat. In particular he strengthened Athens&’ fleet and thereby secured the support of the poor thetes, who found employment as rowers. During the first invasion, Themistocles fought, and possibly held joint command, at the decisive battle of Marathon. When the Persians struck again in 480, he commanded the fleet at Artemisium and Salamis. The latter battle he won by subterfuge, securing Athens&’ liberation and survival. Ironically he was himself eventually ostracized by his fellow citizens—and ultimately entered Persian service, ending his days as governor of Magnesia in Asia Minor.
Themistocles: The Powerbroker of Athens
by Jeffrey A. SmithA biography of the architect of victory in the Persian Wars of 490 and 480/479 BC: &“A valuable read for anyone with an interest in the &‘Golden Age&’ of Greece.&” —The NYMAS Review This is an exciting new biography of Themistocles of Athens, architect of the Greek victory over the Persian invasions of 490 BC and 480 to 479 BC. While his role in the Persian wars is naturally a major theme, Themistocles&’ career before and after those conflicts is also considered in detail. Themistocles was a leading exponent of a new kind of populist politics in the young democracy of Athens, manipulating the practice of ostracism (exile) to get rid of his political rivals. Jeffrey Smith explains Themistocles&’ rise to a position of virtual hegemony which allowed him to institute his far-sighted policy of preparation against the growing Persian threat. In particular he strengthened Athens&’ fleet and thereby secured the support of the poor thetes, who found employment as rowers. During the first invasion, Themistocles fought, and possibly held joint command, at the decisive battle of Marathon. When the Persians struck again in 480, he commanded the fleet at Artemisium and Salamis. The latter battle he won by subterfuge, securing Athens&’ liberation and survival. Ironically he was himself eventually ostracized by his fellow citizens—and ultimately entered Persian service, ending his days as governor of Magnesia in Asia Minor.
Then & Now: A Memoir
by Tom Santopietro Barbara CookOne of the greatest American singers and actresses of her generation looks back on a magical and turbulent life spanning a half century of theatrical history from the golden age of the Broadway musical to the present day.A legend of the American theater, Barbara Cook burst upon the scene to become Broadway’s leading ingénue in roles such as Cunégonde in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, Amalia Balash in Jerry Bock’s She Loves Me, and her career-defining, Tony-winning role as the original Marian the librarian in Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. But in the late 1960s, Barbara’s extraordinary talent onstage was threatened by debilitating depression and alcoholism that forced her to step away from the limelight and out of the public life. Emerging from the shadows in the early 1970s, Barbara reinvented herself as the country’s leading concert and cabaret artist, performing the songs of Stephen Sondheim and other masters, while establishing a reputation as one of the greatest and most acclaimed interpreters of the American songbook.Taking us deep into her life and career, from her childhood in the South to the Great White Way, Then and Now candidly and poignantly describes both her personal difficulties and the legendary triumphs, detailing the extraordinary working relationships she shared with many of the key composers, musicians, actors and performers of the late twentieth century, among them Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Elaine Stritch, and Robert Preston.Hailed by the Financial Times of London as "the greatest singer in the world", but preferring to think of herself as "a work in progress", Barbara Cook here delivers a powerful, personal tale of pain and triumph, as straight forward, unflinchingly honest, and open hearted as her singing.
Then Again
by Diane Keaton"Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she'd collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled THINK on her bedside table. Mom liked to THINK." So begins Diane Keaton's unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals--literally thousands of pages--in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane's grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother--a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents--as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years. More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.
Then Came Life
by Geralyn LucasThe author of Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy dares all women who have had a stumble in life to harness their fighting spirit and stand back up with courage and optimism. One mastectomy, two C-sections, three pant's sizes, and lots of red lipstick later, Geralyn Lucas is dealing with the same issues as other women her age. Her miracle babies have grown into a typical tween with a fierce eye-roll for her mom's failings and a tornado of a little boy who won't play by his preschool's rules. Her storybook romance with her husband has spiraled into couples therapy and her perfect-if-demanding corporate job as a TV producer has abandoned her for L.A. When she looks in the mirror at her hard-won wrinkles, all she wants is . . . Botox. Celebrating her sweet sixteen cancerversary she's thankful for her second chance and ready to be daring--but can she survive life's new ups and downs with the same courage she's always had? With an infectiously hilarious voice and a true sense of empowerment, Geralyn harnesses her fighting spirit to live life loudly and lustily, and to grab on to all the moments that might never have happened. Knowing she can only pedal forward, she mines every day for boldness, joy, and gratitude, and eventually falls in love with life again. Then Came Life is not just for cancer survivors; it's for life survivors--a call to rediscover the resilience and optimism it takes to reinvent yourself at any age.
Then There Was Her
by Sophie CachiaSocial media and business entrepreneur Sophie Cachia reveals never-before-shared details of her marriage breakdown, and how delving into her feminine intuition and falling in love with a woman turned her whole world upside down. I was running late, again. The sweat from under my milk-filled udders ran down my stomach and onto the post-natal recovery shorts I&’d squeezed on under my leather skirt. Only eight weeks earlier, I&’d birthed my second baby, and this was one of my first work appearances. I raced into the hotel, took the lift to the wrong floor, fumbled my bag and finally landed at the entrance. I went around the circle of unfamiliar faces, smiling, shaking hands, introducing myself… Then there was her. As our hands touched, time froze. My whole world changed forever… Sophie Cachia had her white picket fence life. By the age of 25, she was a mother and happily married, and had also built a very successful business by documenting her every move online. But Sophie and her comfortable existence were thrown a curveball when she met a woman who prompted her to ask herself the questions: What more can I do? What more can I learn? What more can I be? In Then There Was Her, Sophie describes how challenging the set social narrative for a young woman led her down a path of awareness, empowerment and acceptance as she navigated identity, sensuality and the true meaning of authenticity as a mother and a woman. A deeply honest and inspirational memoir of a strong female who made peace with her decisions all in the unrelenting glare of the public eye, Then There Was Her encourages readers to stop fearing the unknown in life and to instead be excited about what may just come your way.
Then They Came For Me: A Story of Injustice and Survival in Iran's Most Notorious Prison
by Maziar BahariMaziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran's contested presidential elections for Newsweek magazine. He thought he'd be returning in just a few days to Paola, his pregnant fiancée. Instead, he was incarcerated under false charges of espionage in Iran's most notorious prison. His release came four months later, only after a global campaign supported by Hillary Clinton. While suffering regular beatings, forced confessions, and threats of execution, Bahari draws strength from the experiences of his family in the past: his father was imprisoned by the shah in the 1950s, and his sister by Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. Exposing the contradictions at the heart of Ahmadinejad's paranoid regime, this inspiring and often witty story of one family's courage in the face of repression is also a beautifully written portrait of modern Iran.
Then They Came for Me
by Aimee Molloy Maziar BahariWhen Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran's presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiancée, Paola, that he'd be back in just a few days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran's most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew only by his smell: Rosewater. For the Bahari family, wars, coups, and revolutions are not distant concepts but intimate realities they have suffered for generations: Maziar's father was imprisoned by the shah in the 1950s, and his sister by Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. Alone in his cell at Evin Prison, fearing the worst, Maziar draws strength from his memories of the courage of his father and sister in the face of torture, and hears their voices speaking to him across the years. He dreams of being with Paola in London, and imagines all that she and his rambunctious, resilient eighty-four-year-old mother must be doing to campaign for his release. During the worst of his encounters with Rosewater, he silently repeats the names of his loved ones, calling on their strength and love to protect him and praying he will be released in time for the birth of his first child. A riveting, heart-wrenching memoir, Then They Came for Me offers insight into the past fifty years of regime change in Iran, as well as the future of a country where the democratic impulses of the youth continually clash with a government that becomes more totalitarian with each passing day. An intimate and fascinating account of contemporary Iran, it is also the moving and wonderfully written story of one family's extraordinary courage in the face of repression.From the Hardcover edition.
Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis
by Matthew D Hockenos"First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out-Because I was not a Communist..." Few today recognize the name Martin Niemöller, though many know his famous confession. In Then They Came for Me, Matthew Hockenos traces Niemöller's evolution from a Nazi supporter to a determined opponent of Hitler, revealing him to be a more complicated figure than previously understood. Born into a traditionalist Prussian family, Niemöller welcomed Hitler's rise to power as an opportunity for national rebirth. Yet when the regime attempted to seize control of the Protestant Church, he helped lead the opposition and was soon arrested. After spending the war in concentration camps, Niemöller emerged a controversial figure: to his supporters he was a modern Luther, while his critics, including President Harry Truman, saw him as an unrepentant nationalist. A nuanced portrait of courage in the face of evil, Then They Came for Me puts the question to us today: What would I have done?
Then We Were One
by Fred A. ReedSouthern California in the late 1950s has the look and feel of a midsummer morning-bright and still. For two young brothers, the wide world is full of promise. Together they set out to explore it as one, ever alert to the sound of their mother's whistle calling them home. But by late afternoon, dark clouds gather on the horizon and the storm soon breaks.That storm is the war in Vietnam, and its fury sweeps away all the noble lies of the social conservatism their parents endorsed.Then, in a bookstore on Hollywood Boulevard, the eldest son happens upon a novel by Kazantzakis that entices him to Greece. There, he learns the language, and in that ancient land that has seen it all, heard it all, and done it all, he encounters militant Cretan students and the woman who will become his life partner in exile.But for the younger brother there will be no escape. Trapped by failed marriages, smothered by parental guidance and an education system exposed as the state's recruiting agent, he is dispatched to Vietnam. Fifteen years later he lies buried on a lonely hillside in New Zealand, dead of the wounds he sustained in that war.Shocked by the death of his younger brother, Fred Reed sets out on a series of journeys of discovery and understanding. By way of Iran in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution; the Anatolian highlands of the mystic Bediuzzaman Said Nursi; in pursuit of ancient and modern iconoclasts in Syria and Lebanon; he comes under the spell of Islam. In its embrace he finds a renewed brotherhood; in its discipline, liberation.Then We Were One challenges us with its conclusion that indictment, absolution and redemption, though we must seek them, are not ours to ultimately possess.