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Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man
by Ja RuleJa Rule, actor, singer, songwriter, and one of the most multi-dimensional rap artists of his time, tells his compelling story—from his youth to his rise to international fame to his transformative two years in Federal prison—and reveals the man beneath the legend.Unruly is two stories that offer one complete picture of a man and his world: the angry, fatherless rapper, Ja Rule who was “raised by the streets”; and Jeffrey Atkins, the insightful, reflective father and loyal husband who learned the hard way how to be a good man.Filled with never-before-revealed anecdotes and sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, Unruly shows the determination that it takes to become a man in today’s society. Ja Rule considers the lack of role models for many young black men today—a void that leads to bad choices and the wrong paths. Recalling his youth, he illuminates the seductive pull of the streets and the drug dealers who were his earliest role models.Jeffrey Atkins offers practical wisdom—reflection, growth and hope learned first-hand as an inmate, father, husband, and community role model. He speaks fondly of men who inspired Unruly—the inmates he met in prison whose misguided ideas of masculinity landed them behind bars—and Louis Farrakhan who mediated the televised encounter with Ja Rule’s adversary, 50 Cent.Unruly is a compelling, personal look at the duality and conflicts that arise in the African-American male psyche from a man who has enjoyed breathtaking fame and suffered heartbreaking misfortune.
Unruly Bodies
by Susannah B. MintzThe first critical study of personal narrative by women with disabilities, Unruly Bodies examines how contemporary writers use life writing to challenge cultural stereotypes about disability, gender, embodiment, and identity. Combining the analyses of disability and feminist theories, Susannah Mintz discusses the work of eight American autobiographers: Nancy Mairs, Lucy Grealy, Georgina Kleege, Connie Panzarino, Eli Clare, Anne Finger, Denise Sherer Jacobson, and May Sarton. Mintz shows that by refusing inspirational rhetoric or triumph-over-adversity narrative patterns, these authors insist on their disabilities as a core--but not diminishing--aspect of identity. They offer candid portrayals of shame and painful medical procedures, struggles for the right to work or to parent, the inventive joys of disabled sex, the support and the hostility of family, and the losses and rewards of aging. Mintz demonstrates how these unconventional stories challenge feminist idealizations of independence and self-control and expand the parameters of what counts as a life worthy of both narration and political activism. Unruly Bodies also suggests that atypical life stories can redefine the relation between embodiment and identity generally.
Unruly Bodies
by Susannah B. MintzA collection of essays and narratives penned by women with disabilities themselves. It appeals to students interested in women's studies, disability studies and feminist autobiography studies.
Unruly Figures: Twenty Tales of Rebels, Rulebreakers, and Revolutionaries You've (Probably) Never Heard Of
by Valorie C. ClarkA fascinating look at the lives of twenty rebels and rule-breakers throughout history and what made their contributions to society—in science, politics, art, and more—transformative. By the author and host of the popular Unruly Figures Substack newsletter and podcast.Unruly Figures gives you access to the lives and often untold stories of twenty of history's most fascinating individuals. Of all the rebels and revolutionaries who have acted around the world, these are often overlooked. Whether they are a bit familiar or entirely new to you, each of these historical figures provides a vivid example of what it means to live life on one's own terms and have a lasting influence on society.In the first collection of its kind, spotlighting a young historian's fresh view on unheralded rebels, these characters' true stories are brought to life through enthralling narratives of their feats and an original illustration of each. Even those whose names are recognizable—like Jonas Salk—have moments of rebellion that are largely left out of their histories. The diverse cast of unruly figures profiled includes:Kandake Amanirenas, queen of the Kingdom of Kush (modern-day Sudan), who led an army against the invading RomansManuela Sáenz, revolutionary from Ecuador and collaborator and lover of Simón BolívarHenry Dunant, Swiss humanitarian and founder of the Red CrossElaine Sturtevant, known as Sturtevant, a misunderstood American artist who took appropriation and pop art to new heights Dive into this collection of hidden history tales—those of scientists, artists, revolutionaries, activists, heirs to thrones, and so many more—and you are guaranteed to be inspired by how they lived on their own unconventional terms.
The Unruly Life of Woody Allen: A Biography
by Marion Meade&“A psychologically nuanced, tough-minded portrait&” of the New York filmmaker and his relationships with Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi Previn (Publishers Weekly). Writer, director, actor, humorist. Woody Allen stands as one of our era&’s most celebrated artists. Starting in the 1950s, Allen began crafting a larger‑than‑life neurotic persona that has since entertained and enlightened millions. In his films, widely thought to be autobiographical explorations of his own comic fears and fixations, Allen carefully controlled the public&’s view of him as a lovable scamp. But that all came crashing down the day Mia Farrow found a Polaroid on her mantle. What followed was a flurry of sensational headlines and legal battles. His relationship with Soon‑Yi Previn, thirty-four years his junior and the step‑daughter of his longtime girlfriend, caused shockwaves in the public&’s perception of the director, yet few biographers and journalists have explored what happened and why. In this, the first deep investigation of Allen&’s life and the events surrounding his split with Farrow, biographer Marion Meade tracks down dozens of friends, actors, neighbors, and film historians. They open up with insights and details rare in the world of wealth and celebrity. What results is a fascinating portrait of a flawed genius, as adept at constructing his own image as he is at crafting films. Rereleased and updated, this is an unauthorized biography that neither Woody Allen&’s fans nor his detractors will be able to put down. The revised and updated edition was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal in 2013 by Carl Rollyson, in a roundup of the five best Hollywood biographies.
Unruly Times: Wordsworth and Coleridge in Their Time
by A S ByattUnruly Times is a superlative portrait of the relationship between Wordsworth and Coleridge, and a fascinating exploration of the Romantic Movement and the dramatic events that shaped it. With a novelist's insight and eye for detail, A. S. Byatt brings alive this tumultuous period and shows a deep understanding of the effects upon the minds of Wordsworth, Coleridge and their contemporaries - de Quincey, Lamb, Hazlitt, Byron and Keats.
The Unsayable: The Hidden Language Of Trauma
by Annie G. RogersIn her twenty years as a clinical psychologist, Annie Rogers has learned to understand the silent language of girls who will not–who cannot–speak about devastating sexual trauma. Abuse too painful to put into words does have a language, though, a language of coded signs and symptoms that conventional therapy fails to understand. In this luminous, deeply moving book, Rogers reveals how she has helped many girls find expression and healing for the sexual trauma that has shattered their childhoods. Rogers opens with a harrowing account of her own emotional collapse in childhood and goes on to illustrate its significance to how she hears and understands trauma in her clinical work. Years after her breakdown, when she discovered the brilliant work of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, Rogers at last had the key she needed to unlock the secrets of the unsayable. With Lacan’s theory of language and its layered associations as her guide, Rogers was able to make startling connections with seemingly unreachable girls who had lost years of childhood, who had endured the unspeakable in silence. At the heart of the book is the searing portrait of the girl Rogers calls Ellen, brutally abused for three years by her teenage male babysitter. Over the course of seven years of therapy, Rogers helped Ellen find words for the terrible things that had happened to her, face up to the unconscious patterns through which she replayed the trauma, and learn to live beyond the shadows of the past. Through Ellen’s story, Rogers illuminates the complex, intimate unraveling of trauma between therapist and child, as painful truths and their consequences come to light in unexpected ways. Like Judith Herman’s Trauma and Recovery and Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind,The Unsayable is a book with the power to change the way we think about suffering and self-expression. For those who have experienced psychological trauma, and for those who yearn to help, this brave, compelling book will be a touchstone of lucid understanding and true healing.
Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments that Make Life Extraordinary
by Ernie Johnson John SmoltzErnie Johnson Jr. has been in the game a long time. With one of the most recognized voices in sports broadcasting, he is a tireless perfectionist when it comes to preparing and delivering his commentary. Yet he knows that some of sports' greatest triumphs--and life's greatest rewards--come from those unscripted moments you never anticipated. In this heartfelt, gripping autobiography, the three-time Sports Emmy Award-winner and popular host of TNT's Inside the NBA provides a remarkably candid look at his life both on and off the screen. From his relationship with his sportscaster father to his own rise to the top of sports broadcasting, from battling cancer to raising six children with his wife, Cheryl, including a special needs child adopted from Romania, Ernie has taken the important lessons he learned from his father and passed them on to his own children. This is the untold story, the one Ernie has lived after the lights are turned off and the cameras stop rolling. Sports fans, cancer survivors, fathers and sons, adoptive parents, those whose lives have been touched by a person with special needs, anyone who loves stories about handling life's surprises with grace--Unscripted is for all of these.
Unscripted
by Ken Leiker Mark VancilThe fans in their seats are barely able to contain themselves. The buzz of the crowd rises higher and higher until that first Superstar walks onto the stage and into the ring. It doesn't matter where you are in the arena-ringside or high above the floor you know that it's going to be an exciting night. There are signs everywhere, the people in their seats chant for their favorite wrestler. You get caught up in the wave of excitement filling the place. Maybe tonight a title changes hands. This is the WWE anything can happen. You begin to wonder just what is it like to be a WWE Superstar. What do you have to do everyday to make it? What is it like to spend your life with countless numbers of people cheering or even booing you? You look into the ring and wonder. What if you could go behind the stage? What if you could travel with one of the wrestlers? What would it be like to visit a Superstar in their home? Unscripted is an unvarnished, all access look inside the lives of World Wrestling Entertainment's Superstars. From life on the road traveling more than two hundred days a year, to performing in front of hundreds of thousands, the WWE's Superstar's share their incredible story in their own words offering readers an unprecedented glimpse behind the scenes. The Undertaker tells you why he didn't become a professional basketball player. Goldberg tells you why he joined the WWE. The Rock reveals how his own father tried to sabotage his career. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon speak openly and frankly about their relationship. Chris Jericho describes how he keeps it all in perspective. Sean Michaels talks about his revitalized career and how important his family and his faith are. Kurt Angle explains how you can wrestle with a broken neck. Unscripted lifts the curtain on the backstage areas of the shows, the homes and the everyday lives and ordinary events of these extraordinary people. It is a lavishly illustrated tribute to the men and women who climb over the rope day-after-day for the roar of the crowd.
Unscripted
by Ken Leiker Mark VancilThe fans in their seats are barely able to contain themselves. The buzz of the crowd rises higher and higher until that first Superstar walks onto the stage and into the ring. It doesn't matter where you are in the arena-ringside or high above the floor you know that it's going to be an exciting night. There are signs everywhere, the people in their seats chant for their favorite wrestler. You get caught up in the wave of excitement filling the place. Maybe tonight a title changes hands. This is the WWE anything can happen.You begin to wonder just what is it like to be a WWE Superstar. What do you have to do everyday to make it? What is it like to spend your life with countless numbers of people cheering or even booing you? You look into the ring and wonder. What if you could go behind the stage? What if you could travel with one of the wrestlers? What would it be like to visit a Superstar in their home? Unscripted is an unvarnished, all access look inside the lives of World Wrestling Entertainment's Superstars. From life on the road traveling more than two hundred days a year, to performing in front of hundreds of thousands, the WWE's Superstar's share their incredible story in their own words offering readers an unprecedented glimpse behind the scenes.The Undertaker tells you why he didn't become a professional basketball player. Goldberg tells you why he joined the WWE. The Rock reveals how his own father tried to sabotage his career. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon speak openly and frankly about their relationship. Chris Jericho describes how he keeps it all in perspective. Sean Michaels talks about his revitalized career and how important his family and his faith are. Kurt Angle explains how you can wrestle with a broken neck.Unscripted lifts the curtain on the backstage areas of the shows, the homes and the everyday lives and ordinary events of these extraordinary people. It is a lavishly illustrated tribute to the men and women who climb over the rope day-after-day for the roar of the crowd.
Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy
by James B Stewart Rachel AbramsThe instant New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book • Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist • Nominated for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award"Addicted to Succession? Well, here's the real thing." - The Hollywood Reporter&“Jaw-dropping . . . an epic tale of toxic wealth and greed populated by connivers and manipulators.&” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors&’ ChoiceThe shocking inside story of the struggle for power and control at Paramount Global, the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire controlled by the Redstone family, and the dysfunction, misconduct, and deceit that threatened the future of the company, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists who first broke the newsIn 2016, the fate of Paramount Global&’s entertainment empire hung precariously in the balance. Its founder and head, ninety-three-year-old Sumner M. Redstone, was facing a very public lawsuit brought by a former romantic companion, Manuela Herzer, which placed Sumner&’s deteriorating health and questionable judgment under a harsh light.As an all-powerful media mogul, Sumner had been a demanding boss, and an even more demanding father. When his daughter, Shari, took control of the business, she faced the hostility of boards who for years had heard Sumner disparage her. Les Moonves, the CEO of CBS, schemed with his allies on the board to strip Shari of power. But while he publicly battled Shari, news began to leak of Moonves&’s involvement in multiple instances of sexual misconduct, and he began working behind the scenes to try to make the stories disappear.Unscripted is an explosive and unvarnished look at the usually secret inner workings of two public companies, their boards of directors, and a wealthy, dysfunctional family in the throes of seismic changes. From the Pulitzer Prize– winning journalists James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams, Unscripted lays bare the battle for power at any price—and the carnage that ensued.
An Unseemly Man: My Life as Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast
by Larry FlyntControversial and outspoken, hated and adored, the infamous life of Larry Flynt needs no exaggeration to make it one of the most interesting stories of our time. The real events of Flynt's life are captured here—from his roots in Appalachia to the founding of Hustler magazine, from the shooting that left him confined to a wheelchair to his legal battles and First Amendment advocacy.
Unseen: The secret world of chronic illness
by Jacinta ParsonsJacinta Parsons was in her twenties when she first began to feel unwell – the kind of unwell that didn’t go away. Doctors couldn’t explain why, and Jacinta wondered if it might be in her head. But she could barely function, was frequently unable to eat or getout of bed for days, and gradually turned into a shadow of herself. Eventually she got a diagnosis, but knowing she had Crohn’s disease wouldn’t stop her life from spiralling into a big mess of doctors, hospitals and medical disasters. With chronic illness her constant companion, she had to learn how to function in a world set up for the well.What’s most extraordinary about Jacinta’s story is how common it is. Nearly half of Australians live with a chronic illness, but most of these conditions are not obvious, often endured in secrecy and little understood. They are unseen.With compelling candour, Jacinta trains a microscope on the unique challenges of living with an invisible condition. She lays bare the struggles with shame, loss of identity, the threat of mortality, and the profoundly complex relationships between the chronically ill and their own bodies, as well as with those around them. It’s a story of trying to fix an unfixable illness, getting beaten down then clawing back up, and how that experience can shape a life.
Unseen: The secret world of chronic illness
by Jacinta ParsonsJacinta Parsons was in her twenties when she first began to feel unwell - the kind of unwell that didn't go away. Doctors couldn't explain why, and Jacinta wondered if it might be in her head. But she could barely function, was frequently unable to eat or get out of bed for days, and gradually turned into a shadow of herself. Eventually she got a diagnosis, but knowing she had Crohn's disease wouldn't stop her life from spiralling into a big mess of doctors, hospitals and medical disasters. With chronic illness her constant companion, she had to learn how to function in a world set up for the well. What's most extraordinary about Jacinta's story is how common it is. Nearly half of Australians live with a chronic illness, but most of these conditions are not obvious, often endured in secrecy and little understood. They are unseen. With compelling candour, Jacinta trains a microscope on the unique challenges of living with an invisible condition. She lays bare the struggles with shame, loss of identity, the threat of mortality, and the profoundly complex relationships between the chronically ill and their own bodies, as well as with those around them. It's a story of trying to fix an unfixable illness, getting beaten down then clawing back up, and how that experience can shape a life.
Unseen: My Journey
by Reggie YatesFrom Grange Hill to Top of the Pops, Reggie Yates has been on camera nearly all of his life, but it’s as a documentary filmmaker – and a pretty fearless one at that – where he has truly been making his mark, investigating everything from gun crime in Chicago, to life as a refugee in Iraq.In his first book, Unseen, Reggie takes us behind the scenes on his journey from TV host to documentary storyteller. Using some of the key moments and extreme circumstances he has found himself in, Reggie examines what he has learned about the world, and himself as a person.Beginning as a brief exploration of Reggie’s relationship with the camera and life growing up on screen, Unseen explores the journey Reggie has taken in the documentary world. Initially resistant to documentary making, Reggie was convinced his point of view as a young black working class man with a history in music, children’s TV and entertainment would not make his films remotely credible. Through conflict and challenges on screen, the understanding gained from the very thing once seen as a weakness would become his strength on camera, as the eye of the everyman and voice of the audience. Unseen unpicks the stories behind the fascinating characters and situations Reggie encounters across a series of films, as well as chronicling the personal growth through each testing shoot for Yates himself.
The Unseen Body: A Doctor's Journey Through the Hidden Wonders of Human Anatomy
by Jonathan Reisman"A fascinating, lyrical book... Reisman's experiences in other cultures bring a richness and depth to The Unseen Body. The way he thinks about the body and medicine—the rivers and tributaries, the flowing and unclogging, the top-down organization of the brain—is extraordinary!"—Mary RoachIn this fascinating journey through the human body and across the globe, Dr. Reisman weaves together stories about our insides with a unique perspective on life, culture, and the natural world.Jonathan Reisman, M.D.—a physician, adventure traveler and naturalist—brings readers on an odyssey navigating our insides like an explorer discovering a new world with The Unseen Body. With unique insight, Reisman shows us how understanding mountain watersheds helps to diagnose heart attacks, how the body is made mostly of mucus, not water, and how urine carries within it a tale of humanity’s origins.Through his offbeat adventures in healthcare and travel, Reisman discovers new perspectives on the body: a trip to the Alaskan Arctic reveals that fat is not the enemy, but the hero; a stint in the Himalayas uncovers the boundary where the brain ends and the mind begins; and eating a sheep’s head in Iceland offers a lesson in empathy. By relating rich experiences in far-flung lands and among unique cultures back to the body’s inner workings, he shows how our organs live inextricably intertwined lives—an internal ecosystem reflecting the natural world around us.Reisman offers a new and deeply moving perspective, and helps us make sense of our bodies and how they work in a way readers have never before imagined.
Unseen City: The Majesty of Pigeons, the Discreet Charm of Snails & Other Wonders of the Urba n Wilderness
by Nathanael JohnsonIt all started with Nathanael Johnson’s decision to teach his daughter the name of every tree they passed on their walk to day care in San Francisco. This project turned into a quest to discover the secrets of the neighborhood’s flora and fauna, and yielded more than names and trivia: Johnson developed a relationship with his nonhuman neighbors.Johnson argues that learning to see the world afresh, like a child, shifts the way we think about nature: Instead of something distant and abstract, nature becomes real—all at once comical, annoying, and beautiful. This shift can add tremendous value to our lives, and it might just be the first step in saving the world.No matter where we live—city, country, oceanside, or mountains—there are wonders that we walk past every day. Unseen City widens the pinhole of our perspective by allowing us to view the world from the high-altitude eyes of a turkey vulture and the distinctly low-altitude eyes of a snail. The narrative allows us to eavesdrop on the comically frenetic life of a squirrel and peer deep into the past with a ginkgo biloba tree. Each of these organisms has something unique to tell us about our neighborhoods and, chapter by chapter, Unseen City takes us on a journey that is part nature lesson and part love letter to the world’s urban jungles. With the right perspective, a walk to the subway can be every bit as entrancing as a walk through a national park.
The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today's America
by Mark SundeenThe radical search for the simple life in today’s America. On a frigid April night, a classically trained opera singer, five months pregnant, and her husband, a former marine biologist, disembark an Amtrak train in La Plata, Missouri, assemble two bikes, and pedal off into the night, bound for a homestead they've purchased, sight unseen. Meanwhile, a horticulturist, heir to the Great Migration that brought masses of African Americans to Detroit, and her husband, a product of the white flight from it, have turned to urban farming to revitalize the blighted city they both love. And near Missoula, Montana, a couple who have been at the forefront of organic farming for decades navigate what it means to live and raise a family ethically. A work of immersive journalism steeped in a distinctively American social history and sparked by a personal quest, The Unsettlers traces the search for the simple life through the stories of these new pioneers and what inspired each of them to look for -- or create -- a better existence. Captivating and clear-eyed, it dares us to imagine what a sustainable, ethical, authentic future might actually look like.From the Hardcover edition.
Unsexed: Memoirs of a Prostitute's Daughter
by Marina DelVecchioUnsexed examines the role that sex plays in the life of one woman with two mothers who introduce her to polarized frameworks of female sexuality.Born in Greece to a violent prostitute and then adopted by a cold and unloving virgin from New York, Marina inherits a sexual identity steeped in fear and shame—one that, as she grows older and becomes a wife and mother, trickles into her marriage and the parenting of her children. Without the tools needed to understand her complex mothers or to unpack the lessons they taught her, Marina relies on self-erasure to survive relationships that silence and define her—until she finally becomes fed up with those old patterns and begins to stand in her own power.A memoir that unearths the layered emotional and sexual lives of women and exemplifies the satisfaction that comes when they assert their voices and power, Unsexed speaks to millions of women who have different narratives but face similar struggles in reclaiming their voices, bodies, and sexuality.
Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia
by Kate ManneNATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • The definitive takedown of fatphobia, drawing on personal experience as well as rigorous research to expose how size discrimination harms everyone, and how to combat it—from the acclaimed author of Down Girl and Entitled&“An elegant, fierce, and profound argument for fighting fat oppression in ourselves, our communities, and our culture.&”—Roxane Gay, author of HungerFor as long as she can remember, Kate Manne has wanted to be smaller. She can tell you what she weighed on any significant occasion: her wedding day, the day she became a professor, the day her daughter was born. She&’s been bullied and belittled for her size, leading to extreme dieting. As a feminist philosopher, she wanted to believe that she was exempt from the cultural gaslighting that compels so many of us to ignore our hunger. But she was not.Blending intimate stories with the trenchant analysis that has become her signature, Manne shows why fatphobia has become a vital social justice issue. Over the last several decades, implicit bias has waned in every category, from race to sexual orientation, except one: body size. Manne examines how anti-fatness operates—how it leads us to make devastating assumptions about a person&’s attractiveness, fortitude, and intellect, and how it intersects with other systems of oppression. Fatphobia is responsible for wage gaps, medical neglect, and poor educational outcomes; it is a straitjacket, restricting our freedom, our movement, our potential.In this urgent call to action, Manne proposes a new politics of &“body reflexivity&”—a radical reevaluation of who our bodies exist in the world for: ourselves and no one else. When it comes to fatphobia, the solution is not to love our bodies more. Instead, we must dismantle the forces that control and constrain us, and remake the world to accommodate people of every size.
Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance
by Laura Delano&“A must read for anyone probing the dark side of mental health treatment.&” —Anna Lembke, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Dopamine Nation &“A really moving and heart-rending story. Unshrunk will help and empower so many people.&” —Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Stolen FocusThe powerful memoir of one woman&’s experience with psychiatric diagnoses and medications, and her journey to discover herself outside the mental health industryAt age fourteen, Laura Delano saw her first psychiatrist, who immediately diagnosed her with bipolar disorder and started her on a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant. At school, Delano was elected the class president and earned straight-As and a national squash ranking; at home, she unleashed all the rage and despair she felt, lashing out at her family and locking herself in her bedroom, obsessing over death.Delano&’s initial diagnosis marked the beginning of a life-altering saga. For the next thirteen years, she sought help from the best psychiatrists and hospitals in the country, accumulating a long list of diagnoses and a prescription cascade of nineteen drugs. After some resistance, Delano accepted her diagnosis and embraced the pharmaceutical regimen that she&’d been told was necessary to manage her incurable, lifelong disease. But her symptoms only worsened. Eventually doctors declared her condition so severe as to be &“treatment resistant.&” A disturbing series of events left her demoralized, but sparked a last glimmer of possibility. . . . What if her life was falling apart not in spite of her treatment, but because of it? After years of faithful psychiatric patienthood, Delano realized there was one thing she hadn&’t tried—leaving behind the drugs and diagnoses. This decision would mean unlearning everything the experts had told her about herself and forging into the terrifying unknown of an unmedicated life.Weaving Delano&’s medical records and doctors&’ notes with an investigation of modern psychiatry and illuminating research on the drugs she was prescribed, Unshrunk questions the dominant, rarely critiqued role that the American mental health industry, and the pharmaceutical industry in particular, plays in shaping what it means to be human.
Unshrunk: How The Mental Health Industry Took Over My Life - And My Fight to Get it Back
by Laura DelanoOne of Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025A really moving and heart-rending story. Unshrunk will help and empower so many people.JOHANN HARI, author of Stolen Focus and Lost ConnectionsUnshrunk is the story of a young woman who dared to be herself, and a potent reminder of why human suffering can never be reduced to a diagnostic manual. A must read for anyone probing the dark side of mental health treatment. ANNA LEMBKE, author of Dopamine Nation'A wonderful, incisive and deeply moving book... provides a rare glimpse behind the curtain of a profession in peril.'DR JAMES DAVIES, AUTHOR OF CRACKED AND SEDATES'Inspiring... A wake-up call about a deeply flawed system'PROFESSOR JOANNA MONCRIEFFIn this gripping, essential memoir, Laura Delano takes readers through the labyrinth of the American mental health system, where 'the best available care' left her sicker, more desperate, and more lost than ever before. This beautiful, rageful, joyful book is a beacon for all seeking a life beyond labels, beyond medication, beyond disorder.JESSICA NORDELL, AUTHOR OF THE END OF BIAS: A BEGINNING***I began to think about the forces at play, not just within me, but beyond me. What if my life hadn't fallen apart in the way that it had because of 'treatment-resistant mental illness', as I'd been led to believe, but because of the treatment itself?At age fourteen, Laura Delano's parents took her to her first psychiatrist. At school, she was the model student, but at home Laura felt an uncontrollable rage that she unleashed on family, friends and herself. She was promptly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and started on a course of mood stabilizers and antidepressants. It was to mark the beginning of a painful and relentless journey. For the next thirteen years, Laura sought help from the best psychiatrists and hospitals, accumulating an ever-expanding list of diagnoses and prescriptions for nineteen different drugs. She accepted her diagnoses and embraced the pharmaceutical regime she'd been told was necessary to manage her incurable, lifelong disease. But as her symptoms only got more severe and eventually she was deemed 'treatment resistant', Laura began to wonder if the drugs and diagnoses were the cure - or had they become the problem?Weaving together Laura's medical records and doctors' notes with illuminating research on the drugs she was prescribed, Unshrunk is the powerful memoir of one woman's battle against the commercial psychiatric industry and the role it plays in shaping what it means to be human.
Unshrunk: How The Mental Health Industry Took Over My Life - And My Fight to Get it Back
by Laura DelanoOne of Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025A really moving and heart-rending story. Unshrunk will help and empower so many people.JOHANN HARI, author of Stolen Focus and Lost ConnectionsUnshrunk is the story of a young woman who dared to be herself, and a potent reminder of why human suffering can never be reduced to a diagnostic manual. A must read for anyone probing the dark side of mental health treatment. ANNA LEMBKE, author of Dopamine Nation'A wonderful, incisive and deeply moving book... provides a rare glimpse behind the curtain of a profession in peril.'DR JAMES DAVIES, AUTHOR OF CRACKED AND SEDATES'Inspiring... A wake-up call about a deeply flawed system'PROFESSOR JOANNA MONCRIEFFIn this gripping, essential memoir, Laura Delano takes readers through the labyrinth of the American mental health system, where 'the best available care' left her sicker, more desperate, and more lost than ever before. This beautiful, rageful, joyful book is a beacon for all seeking a life beyond labels, beyond medication, beyond disorder.JESSICA NORDELL, AUTHOR OF THE END OF BIAS: A BEGINNING***I began to think about the forces at play, not just within me, but beyond me. What if my life hadn't fallen apart in the way that it had because of 'treatment-resistant mental illness', as I'd been led to believe, but because of the treatment itself?At age fourteen, Laura Delano's parents took her to her first psychiatrist. At school, she was the model student, but at home Laura felt an uncontrollable rage that she unleashed on family, friends and herself. She was promptly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and started on a course of mood stabilizers and antidepressants. It was to mark the beginning of a painful and relentless journey. For the next thirteen years, Laura sought help from the best psychiatrists and hospitals, accumulating an ever-expanding list of diagnoses and prescriptions for nineteen different drugs. She accepted her diagnoses and embraced the pharmaceutical regime she'd been told was necessary to manage her incurable, lifelong disease. But as her symptoms only got more severe and eventually she was deemed 'treatment resistant', Laura began to wonder if the drugs and diagnoses were the cure - or had they become the problem?Weaving together Laura's medical records and doctors' notes with illuminating research on the drugs she was prescribed, Unshrunk is the powerful memoir of one woman's battle against the commercial psychiatric industry and the role it plays in shaping what it means to be human.
Unsinkable: From Russian Orphan to Paralympic Swimming World Champion
by Jessica LongThe top Paralympic swimmer in the world, Jessica Long delivers an inspirational photographic memoir. Born in Siberia with fibular hemimelia, Jessica Long was adopted from a Russian orphanage at thirteen months old and has since become the second most decorated U.S. Paralympic athlete of all time. Now, Jessica shares all the moments in her life—big and small, heartbreaking and uplifting—that led to her domination in the Paralympic swimming world. This photographic memoir, filled with photographs, sidebars, quotes, and more, will thrill her fans and inspire those who are hearing her story for the first time.
Unsinkable: A Memoir
by Debbie Reynolds Dorian HannawayUnsinkable is the definitive memoir by film legend and Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds.In Unsinkable, the late great actress, comedienne, singer, and dancer Debbie Reynolds shares the highs and lows of her life as an actress during Hollywood’s Golden Age, anecdotes about her lifelong friendship with Elizabeth Taylor, her experiences as the foremost collector of Hollywood memorabilia, and intimate details of her marriages and family life with her children, Carrie and Todd Fisher.A story of heartbreak, hope, and survival, “America’s Sweetheart” Debbie Reynolds picks up where she left off in her first memoir, Debbie: My Life, and is illustrated with previously unpublished photos from Reynolds’s personal collection.Debbie Reynolds died on December 28, 2016, at the age of 84, just one day after the death of her daughter, actress and author Carrie Fisher.