Special Collections

You're Not Crazy - It's Your Mother

Do you find yourself feeling emotionally bruised, upset and confused after being in contact with your mother?

Are you left doubting yourself - feeling crazy - as she remembers some incidents totally differently to how you remember them, and denies other events even happened at all?

Do you somehow feel like you're not a real person in her company? Does it seem that she gets cross, angry or upset when good things happen in your life?

And does she seem happy and energised if you have a trauma or crisis?

But maybe that's your imagination, you tell yourself, because of course your own mother isn't going to be glad when you suffer, right?

And round and round go your feelings and emotions and half-formed thoughts, till you think you must truly be crazy. And still you end up emotionally bruised and confused and hurt. If this resonates with you, it is possible that your mother has Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

You're Not Crazy - It's Your Mother explains what that it is, and what it means to you in your life. It will help you to undertake a journey of recognition and recovery: of moving on, healing, and claiming your own self as the wonderful, vibrant woman you really are.

Date Added: 04/03/2020

You Don't Own Me

1963 tail fins were in, sock hops were hot, and a fairytale white knight was president. That summer, sixteen year-old singer Lesley Gore released her debut single, "It's My Party," propelling her to Number One on the charts. For the next several years, the crowned Princess of Pop dominated the radio with a string of hits including "Judy's Turn to Cry," "She's A Fool," "Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows," and the rousing anthem for independence, "You Don't Own Me," making her the most successful and influential solo female artist of the 60s. But beneath the bubblegum facade was a girl squirming against social and professional pressures to simply be herself and to forge a future where she could write and perform music beyond the trappings of teenage angst and love triangles. Assembled over five years of research and interviews, this is the first and long overdue biography of Lesley Gore, one of pop music's pioneering Mothers, which chronicles her meteoric rise to fame, her devastating fall from popularity and struggle for relevance in the 1970s, and her reemergence as a powerful songwriter, political activist, and camp icon. The biography includes behind-the-scenes stories about the making of her hit records, debunks or clarifies popular myths about her career, and places her remarkable life and times within a historical context to reveal how her music was both impacted by, and contributed to, each decade of her astounding fifty-year career.

Date Added: 03/22/2021

Wings Of Morning

On April 21, 1945, the twelve-member crew of the Black Cat set off on one of the last air missions in the European theater of World War II. Ten never came back. This is the story of that crew—where they came from, how they trained, what it was like to fly a B-24 through enemy flak, and who was waiting for them to come home.

Historian Thomas Childers, nephew of the Black Cat's radio operator, has reconstructed the lives and tragic deaths of these men through their letters home and through in-depth interviews, both with their families and with German villagers who lived near the crash site. In so doing he unearths confusion about the exact number of crash survivors and ugly rumors of their fate at the hands of the German villagers. His search to determine what really happened leads him to the crash site outside of Regensburg to lay the mystery to rest.In the tradition of Young Men and Fire, Wings of Morning is history as commemoration-an evocation of people and events that brings to life a story of love, loss, and a family's quest for truth.

Date Added: 05/28/2020

Wind River Protector

Ex-Air Force pilot Andy Whitcomb loves nothing more than the wide blue skies, but when a helicopter crash fighting forest fires in California leaves her injured and shaken, she's ready to return home to the peace of Wind River Ranch. The good news is, there's a chance for her to fly helos for the county sheriff's department. The bad news? The person in charge is none other than Dev Mitchell, an ex-Army Black Hawk pilot--and the rugged, sharp-eyed man Andy has never forgotten after five days together running from the Taliban after a nerve-wracking near-miss in Afghanistan.

Dev can't believe his eyes when Andy walks into the interview. She's as strong and sexy as he remembers, and every bit qualified for the job, which she clearly wants. Unfortunately, if he's going to be her boss, their relationship has to remain strictly professional--a regret Dev fights to keep hidden as they begin to work together. But when a chance encounter with violent drug traffickers forces them into survival mode, both of them will fight to hold on to the connection they can't ignore--and the chance of a future together.

Date Added: 04/08/2020

Why Pro-life?

"Why Pro-Life?" offers factual answers to the central issues of the abortion debate in a concise, non-abrasive way. Infused with grace and compassion, and grounded in medical science and psychological studies, Randy Alcorn presents a solid case for defending both unborn children and their mothers. Chapters such as, "What Makes a Human Life 'Meaningful, '" "Is Abortion Really a Women's Rights Issue," and "How Can I Help Unborn Babies and Their Mothers" help readers to look at the many sides of this polarizing issue. For those on the fence in the midst of the abortion debate, this book will be a great resource as it clearly and thoroughly examines the pro-life position. For those who are pro-life already, this book is an encouragement to be intelligently and graciously informed.

Date Added: 04/08/2020

Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race

In 2014, award-winning journalist Reni Eddo-Lodge wrote about her frustration with the way that discussions of race and racism in Britain were being led by those who weren’t affected by it. She posted a piece on her blog, entitled: "Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race."

Her words hit a nerve. The post went viral and comments flooded in from others desperate to speak up about their own experiences. Galvanized by this clear hunger for open discussion, she decided to dig into the source of these feelings. Exploring issues from eradicated black history to the political purpose of white dominance, whitewashed feminism to the inextricable link between class and race, Reni Eddo-Lodge offers a timely and essential new framework for how to see, acknowledge and counter racism. It is a searing, illuminating, absolutely necessary exploration of what it is to be a person of color in Britain today.

Date Added: 04/03/2020

Why Does Patriarchy Persist?

The election of an unabashedly patriarchal man as US President was a shock for many—despite decades of activism on gender inequalities and equal rights, how could it come to this? What is it about patriarchy that seems to make it so resilient and resistant to change? Undoubtedly it endures in part because some people benefit from the unequal advantages it confers. But is that enough to explain its stubborn persistence? In this highly original and persuasively argued book, Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider put forward a different view: they argue that patriarchy persists because it serves a psychological function. By requiring us to sacrifice love for the sake of hierarchy, patriarchy protects us from the vulnerability of loving and becomes a defense against loss. Uncovering the powerful psychological mechanisms that underpin patriarchy, the authors show how forces beyond our awareness may be driving a politics that otherwise seems inexplicable.

Date Added: 04/03/2020

Whispers In The Wind

After fleeing North Dakota and the now defunct Wild West Show, Cassie Lockwood and her companions have finally found the hidden valley in South Dakota where her father had dreamed of putting down roots. But to her dismay, she discovers a ranch already built on her land.

Cassie's arrival surprises Mavis Engstrom and forces her to reveal secrets she's kept hidden for years. Her son Ransom is suspicious of Cassie and questions the validity of her claim to the valley. But Lucas Engstrom decides from the start that he is in love with her and wants to marry her.

Will Cassie be able to build a home on the Bar E Ranch and fulfill her father's dream of raising horses, or will she be forced to return to the itinerant life of her past?

Date Added: 12/09/2020

Where the Forest Meets the Stars

In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again.

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child's home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay--just until she learns more about Ursa's past.

Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren't Jo and Gabe checking the missing children's website anymore?

Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.

Date Added: 03/22/2021

When You Feel It

From slave and master, to dominant and submissive, Kelanie Black’s debut erotica compilation will take you to new depths. Delve into the world of BDSM, with a twist – each story focuses more on the emotions involved than power and control. Each story is no more than 1,000 words, making it a great addition to your lunch break. But be warned, this is not something you want your boss to read!

Date Added: 04/03/2020

When The Drummers Were Women

For millennia, the sacred drummers of pre-Christian Mediterranean and western Asia were women. In this inspiring book, Layne Redmond, herself a renowned drummer, tells their history.

Artistic representations reveal that female frame drummers carried the spiritual traditions of many of the earliest recorded civilizations. During those ancient times, the drummer-priestesses held the keys to experience of the divine through rhythm. They were at the center of the goddess worship of matriarchal societies until the ascendance of patriarchal cultures and the loss of drumming as a spiritual technology. With wisdom and passion, Redmond chronicles our species' deep connection to the drum, our rich heritage of inseparable spirituality and music, and the modern-day women reclaiming it.

This book encourages readers--both women and men--to reestablish rhythmic links with themselves, nature, and other people through the power of drumming. Redmond illustrates her message with an extensive collection of images gathered during ten years of research and travel. Woven throughout the book are strands of ancient ritual and mythology, personal stories, and scientific evidence of the benefits of drumming. It is at once a history, a memoir, and a resounding call for spiritual and social renewal.

Date Added: 06/02/2020

What The Wind Knows

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather's stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time. The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar. Mistaken for the boy's long-missing mother, Anne adopts her identity, convinced the woman's disappearance is connected to her own. As tensions rise, Thomas joins the struggle for Ireland's independence and Anne is drawn into the conflict beside him. Caught between history and her heart, she must decide whether she's willing to let go of the life she knew for a love she never thought she'd find. But in the end, is the choice actually hers to make?

Date Added: 04/14/2020

What Rose Forgot

WHAT SHE FORGOT IS FRIGHTENING. Rose Dennis wakes up in a hospital gown, her brain in a fog. With no memory of how she ended up at this unknown medical facility, Rose is sure that something is very wrong. When she overhears one of the administrators saying about her that she's "not making it through the week," Rose is convinced that if she's to survive, she has to stop taking her medication. Becoming more and more lucid, she devises a plan of escape. WHAT SHE REMEMBERS IS DEADLY. The only problem for Rose now is: how does she convince anyone that what she’s experienced is true? With her memory shaky, how can she even trust herself? Enlisting the help of her computer-hacker sister and her teenage granddaughter, Rose begins to piece together fragments of her life. But any lingering doubt that she’s in real danger is erased when a stranger starts showing up at her now-abandoned house, determined to get rid of Rose once and for all.

Date Added: 12/09/2020

Wedding Bells, Magic Spells

Name: Raine Benares

Race: Elf

Job: Seeker, bride, peace talks referee

Problem: Back-stabbing diplomats, bride-hating mother-in-law

I've successfully destroyed the Saghred (AKA, a legendary soul-sucking rock). I've sent an evil goblin demigod to the Lower Hells. I'm coming to terms with my burgeoning new powers. I'm marrying super sexy paladin Mychael Eiliesor. You'd think I could handle a wedding and meeting my soon-to-be mother-in-law without another calamity brewing.

You'd be wrong!

The new, thankfully non-psychotic, Goblin King is willing to come to the table to discuss a peace treaty. The Isle of Mid is the site of these delicate negotiations, meaning all hands on deck for Mychael and his Conclave Guardians. When the head of elven intelligence (and my wedding guest) Duke Markus Sevelien is nearly assassinated upon his arrival, I suspect my mother-in-law will be the least of my concerns. Sabotaging the peace talks is the first salvo in a treacherous and deadly new apocalyptic plot.

Mychael and I might not make it to the altar after all!

Date Added: 04/08/2020

Unplanned

Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in an actual abortion procedure for the first time, walked down the street to join the Coalition for Life.

Unplanned is a heart-stopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters, a courtroom battle, and spiritual transformation that speaks hope and compassion into the political controversy that surrounds this issue. Telling Abby's story from both sides of the abortion clinic property line, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the life versus rights debate and helping women who face crisis pregnancies. Now updated with a new chapter covering the latest events in Abby's journey, in the news, and in changing legislation . . . and revealing the impact Abby's story has had in the most surprising places.

Date Added: 04/08/2020

Under A Firefly Moon

Blue Hollow Falls may be a small Blue Ridge Mountain town, but it's big on love--and second chances . . .

When former barrel racer Cheyenne McCafferty left the circuit, she left her past behind too. Now, as part owner of Lavender Blue farm, she's content rescuing and rehabbing horses, and growing a new business. She's only got one regret: letting go of Wyatt Reed. When he professed his love, she was too young and foolish to know her heart. After that he disappeared. But when his beloved horse turns up on the auction block, Chey makes a bid and wins more than she bargained for . . .

Chey believed she was ready to face Wyatt again, to explain herself. But seeing the man he's become, she's unsure. Gone is the quiet, gentle boy she knew. In his place is a rugged, confident adventurer who's seen the world. Yet the longer Wyatt sticks around, the clearer it is that the feelings of their youth aren't so easily dismissed now that they're adults. In fact, the timing may be just right to make the dreams they've shared under a firefly moon come true . . .

Date Added: 03/22/2021

Uncompromising Honor

Uncompromising Courage. Uncompromising Vengeance. Uncompromising Honor. The Solarian League—for hundreds of years they have borne the banner of human civilization. But the bureaucratic Mandarins who rule today’s League are corrupt and looking for scapegoats. They’ve decided the upstart Star Kingdom of Manticore must be annihilated. Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom’s uniform for half a century. So far, hers has been a voice of caution. But now the Mandarins have committed atrocities such as the galaxy has not known in a thousand years. They have finally killed too many of the people Honor Harrington loves. Now Honor Harrington is coming for the Solarian League. And Hell is riding in her wake.

Date Added: 04/03/2020

The Twist

The Twist : The Story of the Song That Changed the World

Date Added: 03/22/2021

Treason and Betrayal

This book not only takes an in-depth look at both Trump’s entire history from his childhood to the present, but also provides a detailed analysis as to how and why Trump is now a co-opted agent for Russia who presents a clear and present danger to the U.S. as long as he is permitted to occupy the White House.

The author is also in a relatively unique position to explain and comment on the current Trump/Russia investigation by Special Counsel Mueller’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) since he is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Special Assistant Attorney General whose civil RICO lawsuit against Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and other close associates of Trump provided some of the early evidence of money laundering and contacts with Russia agents and oligarchs that helped jump-start certain aspects of the federal probe into the Trump Campaign and its close ties to Russia. The book also presents a strong case that Trump’s pro-Russian policies and obstruction of justice regarding the FBI’s and Mueller’s investigation of his collusion with the Russians amounts to Treason under the U.S. Constitution and federal criminal law, and presents the country for the first time in its history with the stark reality that we have a Traitor in the White House.

Date Added: 12/09/2020

Trails of Death: The True Story of National Forest Serial Killer Gary Hilton

Overview: Trails of Death is the explosive chronicle of America's only known national parks serial killer, Gary Michael Hilton. Hilton struck in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina before he was finally caught. The author explores the crimes in detail with full cooperation from the victims families and brings readers into what makes a late life serial killer through interviews with those who know him. Readers will also hear from the lead investigator who finally tracked Hilton.

Date Added: 04/14/2020

Traces Of Guilt

Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police detective . . . mostly. She's very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job. Gabriel Thane is a lifetime resident of Carin County and now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he's sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have. When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it's to help launch a new task force dedicated to reexamining unsolved crimes across the state. Spearheading this trial run, Evie will work with the sheriff's department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she reexamines old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths a surprising connection . . . possibly to a third cold case. Evie's determined to solve the cases before she leaves Carin County, and Sheriff Thane, along with his family, will be key to those answers.

Date Added: 04/14/2020

Top Secret Alien Abduction Files

For decades, people have reported close encounters with extraterrestrial entities. Witnesses describe being kidnapped by large-headed, black-eyed creatures from other worlds. Those same creatures have become popularly known as “the Grays.” There is, however, another aspect to the alien abduction controversy.

Abductees very often report being followed and spied upon by military and government personnel. It is typical for abductees to see black helicopters hovering directly over their homes in an intimidating manner. Phone calls are monitored. Emails are hacked into. Strange men dressed in black suits are seen photographing the homes of the abductees. All of this brings us to the matter of what have become known in the domain of alien abduction research as “Military Abductions,” or “MILABS.”

According to numerous abductees, after being kidnapped by aliens they are kidnapped again . . . by the government. These follow-up events are the work of a powerful group hidden deep within the military and the intelligence community. It is the secret agenda of this highly classified organization to figure out what the so-called Grays are really up to. And, the best way for the government to get the answers is to interrogate those who have come face-to-face with the UFO phenomenon: the abductees. Why is the government secretly compiling files on alien abductees? Is the alien abduction issue so sinister that it has become a matter of national security proportions?

Date Added: 04/27/2020

Tomorrow's Tomorrow

Tomorrow's Tomorrowis a pioneering sociological study of black girls growing up in the city. The author, in a substantial new introduction, considers what has changed and what has remained constant for them since the book was first published in 1971. Joyce A. Ladner spent four years interviewing, observing, and socializing with more than a hundred girls living in the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis. She was challenged by preconceived academic ideas and labels and by her own past as a black child in rural Mississippi. Rejecting the white middle-class perspective of "deviant" behavior, she examined the expectations and aspirations of these representative black girls and their feelings about parents and boyfriends, marriage, pregnancy, and child-rearing. Ladner asked what life was like in the urban black community for the "average" girl, how she defined her roles and behaviors, and where she found her role models. She was interested in any significant disparity between aspirations and the resources to achieve them. To what extent did the black teenager share the world of her white peers? If the questions were searching, the conclusions were provocative. According to Ladner, "The total misrepresentation of the Black community and the various myths which surround it can be seen in microcosm in the Black female adolescent."

Date Added: 03/22/2021

This Book is Anti-Racist

Gain a deeper understanding of your anti-racist self as you progress through 20 chapters that spark introspection, reveal the origins of racism that we are still experiencing and give you the courage and power to undo it. Each chapter builds on the previous one as you learn more about yourself and racial oppression. 20 activities get you thinking and help you grow with the knowledge. All you need is a pen and paper. Author Tiffany Jewell, an anti-bias, anti-racist educator and activist, builds solidarity beginning with the language she chooses – using gender neutral words to honour everyone who reads the book. Illustrator Aurélia Durand brings the stories and characters to life with kaleidoscopic vibrancy. After examining the concepts of social identity, race, ethnicity and racism, learn about some of the ways people of different races have been oppressed, from indigenous Americans and Australians being sent to boarding school to be 'civilized' to a generation of Caribbean immigrants once welcomed to the UK being threatened with deportation by strict immigration laws. Find hope in stories of strength, love, joy and revolution that are part of our history, too, with such figures as the former slave Toussaint Louverture, who led a rebellion against white planters that eventually led to Haiti’s independence, and Yuri Kochiyama, who, after spending time in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during WWII, dedicated her life to supporting political prisoners and advocating reparations for those wrongfully interned. Learn language and phrases to interrupt and disrupt racism. So, when you hear a microaggression or racial slur, you'll know how to act next time. This book is written for EVERYONE who lives in this racialised society—including the young person who doesn’t know how to speak up to the racist adults in their life, the kid who has lost themself at times trying to fit into the dominant culture, the children who have been harmed (physically and emotionally) because no one stood up for them or they couldn’t stand up for themselves and also for their families, teachers and administrators. With this book, be empowered to actively defy racism and xenophobia to create a community (large and small) that truly honours everyone.

Date Added: 09/22/2020

There's No Crying In Newsrooms

There’s No Crying in Newsrooms tells the stories of remarkable women who broke through barrier after barrier at media organizations around the country over the past four decades. They started out as editorial assistants, fact checkers and news secretaries and ended up running multi-million-dollar news operations that determine a large part of what Americans read, view and think about the world. These women, who were calling in news stories while in labor and parking babies under their desks, never imagined that 40 years later young women entering the news business would face many of the same battles they did – only with far less willingness to put up and shut up. The female pioneers in “There’s No Crying in Newsrooms” have many lessons to teach about what it takes to succeed in media or any other male-dominated organization, and their message is more important now than ever before. « Less

Date Added: 04/15/2020