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A Legacy of Madness
By Tom Davis. 2011
The story of a loving family coming to grips with its own fragilities, A Legacy of Madness relays the author's…
journey to uncover, and ultimately understand, the history of mental illness that led generations of his suburban American family to their demise.Dede Davis had worried, fussed, and obsessed for the last time: Her heart stopped beating in a fit of anxiety. In the wake of his mother's death, Tom Davis knew one thing: Helplessly self-absorbed and severely obsessive compulsive, Dede led a tormented life. She spent years bouncing around mental health facilities, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities, but what really caused her death? A Legacy of Madness portrays Tom Davis's captivating discoveries of mental illness throughout generations of his family. Investigating his mother's history led to that of Davis's grandfather, a top administrator at one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the country; his great-grandfather who died of self-inflicted gas asphyxiation during the Depression; and his great-great grandmother who, with her eldest son, completed suicide one tragic day. Ultimately, four generations of family members showed clear signs of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and alcoholism--often mistreated illnesses that test one's ability to cope. Through this intimate memoir, we join Davis on a personal odyssey to ensure that he and his siblings, the fifth generation,--recover their family legacy by not only surviving their own mental health disorders but by getting the help they need to lead healthy, balanced lives. In the end, we witness Davis's powerful transition as he makes peace with the past and heals through forgiveness and compassion for his family--and himself. About the author Tom Davis is the Jersey Shore regional editor for Patch.com and an adjunct professor of journalism at Rutgers University. This is his first book. He lives in Metuchen, New Jersey.The Bad Touch: The True Story of Harish Iyer and other Thrivers of Child Sex Abuse
By Payal Shah Karwa. 2014
Real-life stories of victims of child sex abuse who emerged victorious! Harish Iyer is a survivor…nay… he is a thriver…
of child sex abuse. He is an award winning social activist who first shared his disturbing story of his sexual abuse on the television show Satyamev Jayate and who gave voice to the issue when most would be silent. Harish’s story will tear the reader apart. He suffers abuse at the hands of his uncle Satheesh, from the time he was seven. Harish was threatened that his parents would be killed if he did not submit to his uncle’s, and sometimes his friends’ barbarism. Until one fine day when Harish musters up the courage and says ‘No!’ He takes his mother into confidence who supports him, but Harish’s woes do not end there. He is castigated by society, his own father believes Harish to be at fault, and so begins Harish’s solo battle to help other sufferers like himself. There are others: noted film director Anurag Khashyap, a victim of incest and sexual abuse, not once but many times over; Jai, living in a Mumbai high-rise suffers abuse and a now 34-year-old mother who suffered sexual abuse as a 12-year-old. The stories in The Bad Touch will shock, horrify, sadden, repulse and numb the reader. But underlying them is the small ray of hope that if the immediate family is sensitive enough to the signals a child may send out, he or she may be rescued from being victimized. This book is a mission: to help ebb the trauma of survivors and inspire them with stories like Harish’s, and to create awareness of the issue of child sex abuse amongst parents/guardians.Losing Amma, Finding Home: A Memoir about Love, Loss and Life's Detours
By Uma Girish. 2014
Uma Girish s Losing Amma Finding Home is a heart-rending narrative of losing a parent living…
through the pain and transforming it to discover one true-calling and life s purpose This is a breathtaking inspirational and personal memoir that will ring true with every reader When Uma arrives to start life in a Chicago suburb with her husband 14-year-old daughter and her dreams in the spring of 2008 she has no clue of the cosmic wheels in motion Barely four weeks later her 68-year-old mother in India is diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer Eight months later she passes away Losing her mother plunges Uma into the deepest despair but more importantly awakens a sudden clarity and knowing that there has to be more to life than this As she begins to navigate a new country and culture she is also called on to navigate the lonely terrain of grief Life begins to open doors and Uma finds comfort connection and purpose in working with seniors at a retirement community Every relationship that she forms with the seniors opens her heart a little wider as she seeks answers to the only questions that matter Who am I Why am I here What am I meant to do with this life Interweaving two cultures through a textured narrative Uma uncovers the truths of her inner journey as she transforms one event one person at a timePretty Is What Changes: Impossible Choices, The Breast Cancer Gene, and How I Defied My Destiny
By Jessica Queller. 2008
A timely, affecting memoir from the front lines of medical science: When genetics can predict how we may die, how…
then do we decide how to live? Eleven months after her mother succumbs to cancer, Jessica Queller has herself tested for the BRCA “breast cancer” gene mutation. The results come back positive, putting her at a terrifyingly elevated risk of developing breast cancer before the age of fifty and ovarian cancer in her lifetime. Thirty-four, unattached, and yearning for marriage and a family of her own, Queller faces an agonizing choice: a lifetime of vigilant screenings and a commitment to fight the disease when caught, or its radical alternative—a prophylactic double mastectomy that would effectively restore life to her, even as it would challenge her most closely held beliefs about body image, identity, and sexuality. Superbly informed and armed with surprising wit and style, Queller takes us on an odyssey from the frontiers of science to the private interiors of a woman’s life. Pretty Is What Changesis an absorbing account of how she reaches her courageous decision and its physical, emotional, and philosophical consequences. It is also an incredibly moving story of what we inherit from our parents and how we fashion it into the stuff of our own lives, of mothers and daughters and sisters, and of the sisterhood that forms when women are united in battle against a common enemy. Without flinching, Jessica Queller answers a question we may one day face for ourselves: If genes can map our fates and their dark knowledge is offered to us, will we willingly trade innocence for the information that could save our lives?A World Within: A Remarkable Story of Coping with a Parent's Dementia
By Minaksh Chaudhry. 2014
This story is an unfinished one The story of a man dying in slow motion …
He clings to flashes of memory and grapples with his reality As he chases the mirage of his memory his world disappears fragment by fragment It is not just his being his self that disintegrates every moment it is the universe as he knew it that fades into oblivion This is a tale of a man building bridges to nowhere Everything around you changes when you take care of a parent with dementia This person who had been bedrock of your strength to whom you looked up to and who was always there for you is now nothing close to his former self His enquiring glances puzzlement doubts and demand for answers signal a total shift in relationship The despair also reveals the person you are temperamental and escapist But this journey has life lessons too When drama of life ends you will have nothing today is all you have so enjoy life With tears there is laughter and amidst confusion there is clarity that life goes on and we must flow with it Here is A World WithinNever Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story
By Jewel. 2015
New York Times bestselling poet and multi-platinum singer-songwriter Jewel explores her unconventional upbringing and extraordinary life in an inspirational memoir…
that covers her childhood to fame, marriage, and motherhood.When Jewel's first album, Pieces of You, topped the charts in 1995, her emotional voice and vulnerable performance were groundbreaking. Drawing comparisons to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, a singer-songwriter of her kind had not emerged in decades. Now, with more than thirty million albums sold worldwide, Jewel tells the story of her life, and the lessons learned from her experience and her music. Living on a homestead in Alaska, Jewel learned to yodel at age five, and joined her parents' entertainment act, working in hotels, honky-tonks, and biker bars. Behind a strong-willed family life with an emphasis on music and artistic talent, however, there was also instability, abuse, and trauma. At age fifteen, she moved out and tasked herself with a mission: to see if she could avoid being the kind of statistic that her past indicated for her future. Soon after, she was accepted to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and there she began writing her own songs as a means of expressing herself and documenting her journey to find happiness. Jewel was eighteen and homeless in San Diego when a radio DJ aired a bootleg version of one of her songs and it was requested into the top-ten countdown, something unheard-of for an unsigned artist. By the time she was twenty-one, her debut had gone multiplatinum. There is much more to Jewel's story, though, one complicated by family legacies, by crippling fear and insecurity, and by the extraordinary circumstances in which she managed to flourish and find happiness despite these obstacles. Along her road of self-discovery, learning to redirect her fate, Jewel has become an iconic singer and songwriter. In Never Broken she reflects on how she survived, and how writing songs, poetry, and prose has saved her life many times over. She writes lyrically about the natural wonders of Alaska, about pain and loss, about the healing power of motherhood, and about discovering her own identity years after the entire world had discovered the beauty of her songs.From the Hardcover edition.In this fascinating and informative new book, Professor David Wilson tells the stories of Britain's serial killers from Jack the…
Ripper to the extraordinary Suffolk Murders case. David Wilson has worked as a Prison Governor and as a profiler, and has been described as the UK's leading expert on serial killers. His work has led him to meet several of the UK's deadliest killers, and build up fascinating insights into what makes a serial killer - and who they are most likely to target. A vivid narrative history and a timely call for prison and social reform, Professor Wilson's new book is a powerful and gripping investigation of Britain's serial murderers.Painkiller Addict: From wreckage to redemption - my true story
By Cathryn Kemp. 2017
What if the drugs that were meant to cure you slowly started to kill you?After falling dangerously ill with acute-on-chronic…
pancreatitis, Cathryn Kemp left hospital with a repeat prescription for fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than heroin.Within two years she was taking almost ten times the NHS maximum daily dose - all on prescription - and her life began to spiral out of control. Cathryn discovered she had just three months to live, unless she gave up the drug she clung to so desperately.After selling everything she owned and checking into rehab, Cathryn was told by the doctors that recovery was highly unlikely. Yet to everyone's amazement, she proved them wrong.Coming Clean is a poignant, vivid and honest memoir of a woman's struggle with, and subsequent victory over, her demons. It is a love story, a horror story, a survival story, and one that shows the very real dangers of the over-prescription of painkillers.No, Daddy, Don't!: A Father's Murderous Act of Revenge
By Irene Pence. 2003
Hi, Mom. Give us a call, okay?Even in the bitterest divorce cases, angry ex-spouses usually agree on one thing--the welfare…
of their children. Mary Jean Pearle, a Dallas antiques dealer, never dreamed that her precious daughters, Faith and Liberty, would be anything but safe when she dropped them off with their father. John Battaglia, a successful accountant and ex-Marine, had at times been vicious to her--but always gentle with the girls. Listening helplessly through the phone, Mary Jean heard Faith plead for her life. . .and then the heart-rending sound of gunshots. Updating her classic account of this unthinkable crime with the latest stunning developments from Death Row, veteran crime writer Irene Pence recounts an unforgettable saga of violence, betrayal, and tears. Case seen on 20/20Includes Sixteen Pages Of Dramatic PhotosUnthinkable SacrificeGame Over: My Love For Hip Hop
By Ramos Winter. 2013
Winter Ramos, one of the new faces on VH1's hit reality television show, Love and Hip Hop New York Season…
3 delivers a brazen and unabashed memoir of her life in the world of hip hop. In Game Over, Winter puts all of her emotions on the page leaving no experience, emotional abuse, or former lover uncovered. From her days as assistant to rapper, Fabolous and friend to, Jada Kiss, to appearing on Love and Hip Hop and being Creative Costume Designer for Flavor unit Films, Winter delivers a tell-all book on her famous ex-lovers and experiences in the music industry. As the chick that was always in the mix and cool with everyone, Winter was privy to the cray beyond the videos, private flights, and limos that the cameras caught for us. Her reality and theirs was no game. Game Over is Winter's cautionary tale for the next generation of young women who believe that the fabulous lives of celebrities unveiled in blogs and on reality television shows are all FIRE! Stay tuned, because this GAME is about to get real.The Chocolate Log
By Cheryl Kumar Templeton. 2013
The Chocolate Log has been a comfort and joy to come to over the years The love Cheryl puts…
into her food and the joy and laughter served in many forms warms the heart in the cold hills The taste of home like it was in the good old days when a warm hearth meant something was baking Rocky Singh Anchor Award winning series Highway on My Plate NDTV Goodtimes The Chocolate Log is the story of Cheryl Kumar Templeton a schoolteacher and her husband Allan an Indian Air Force fighter pilot who gave up their secure comfortable careers to start a new life in Mcleodganj a suburb situated in the foothills of the Himalayas which Cheryl describes as a microcosm of the whole world It was here that a new dream unfolded and in its wake was born The Chocolate Log a patisserie and caf they have run for twenty-four years and continue to do so till today She writes with sympathy and affection of the local people the Himachalis the Tibetans the Gaddis of the people who slipped in and out of their lives some of whom returned again and again to their karmic mountain a destination for the soul others who have stayed on in their memories the idealists the visitors who became soul friends the eccentrics the loonies She generously shares with readers the recipes of a few of her many popular offerings brown bread chicken quiche chocolate cake lemon tarts apple pie and even the special train cake she made for her granddaughter s first birthday which have gained her mention in the New York Times Lonely Planet Frommer s The Rough Guide Footprints and other multi-language travel guides But this book is not only about recipes or running a caf She speaks of the years of slogging through eighteen-hour days months of no business and no income of arguments fights frustrations and fatigue Of heartbreak when her granddaughter was born of ups and downs but also of victories The Chocolate Log The Cheryton Cottage Guest House and Wine Oaks where wines are made according to her grandfather s recipes In Cheryl s words This is my story of imagination successes disappointments struggle pain criticism appreciation but most of all of magic At the end of the day and at the end of my story I can only say IT WAS WORTH IT ALLThe Scent of Eucalyptus: Precious Poems
By Sophie Chenoweth. 2016
This book is an ode to the fragrant, yet rough-hewn Australian bush. By delving into its pages, you will be…
transported to a parallel realm where flannel flowers sing, cockatoos choreograph and paperbark trees seduce. A memoir of sorts, this poignant and ethereal collection of poems celebrates the beauty, the harshness and the resilience of this ancient land and its unforgettable inhabitants. In addition, you'll be serenaded by harps and fairies, meander through time in a yellow dinghy and stand in quiet awe as a ballerina beguiles. Refreshingly honest, this waltz down memory lane is intensely emotional but has a lightness that will soothe even on the blusteriest of days. Illustrated with sensitively taken photographs, it is a keepsake you will cherish for many years to come.Teach Me to Love Myself: Memoir of a Pioneering Deaf Therapist
By Holly Elliott. 2008
Holly Elliott was probably the first professionally trained deaf counselor-therapist in the US. Her memoir focuses on accepting her deafness…
and her retraining that eventually led to a distinguished professional career.International White Collar Crime
By Bruce Zagaris. 2015
Contemporary transnational criminals take advantage of globalization, trade liberalization, and emerging new technologies to commit a diverse range of crimes,…
and to move money, goods, services, and people instantaneously for purposes of pure economic gain and/or political violence. This book captures the importance of transnational business crime and international relations by examining the rise of international economic crime and recent strategies in the United States and abroad to combat it. The book is organized into three main sections. The first part discusses substantive crimes, particularly tax, money laundering, and counter-terrorism financial enforcement; transnational corruption; transnational organized crime; and export control and economic sanctions. The second part discusses procedural aspects of international white collar crime, namely extraterritorial jurisdiction, evidence gathering, extradition, and international prisoner transfer. The third part discusses the role of international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank Group, Interpol, and economic integration groups.Origins of the Universe and What It All Means: A Memoir
By Carole Firstman. 2016
In her debut memoir, Carole Firstman traces her strained relationship with her eccentric and distant father, a gifted biology professor…
whose research on scorpions may have contributed to the evolutionary theories of Stephen Jay Gould. Through unexpected forms-from footnotes and diagrams to startling love letters and Saturday morning cartoons-Firstman struggles to reconnect with her estranged father and redefine herself as both a grown woman and a daughter.Part travel narrative, part cultural commentary, this genre-bending memoir contemplates the nature of parent-child relationships, the evolution of life on Earth, and origins both physical and metaphysical. Excerpts from this work have appeared as Notable Essays in several Best American Essays collections.Howard County Law Enforcement (Images of America)
By Tom Kelley, Jon Zeck. 2014
Since the 1880s, when a Howard County sheriff's deputy shot the mayor of Kokomo during the commission of a burglary,…
Howard County law enforcement officers have played an important role in the community's history. Police officers, deputies, and troopers cleared rowdies out of the junction neighborhood, walked downtown beats, rescued tornado survivors, quelled civil disturbances, cleaned up tragic accidents, and solved grisly murders. By the mid-1940s, a new generation of war veterans came home with a spirit of progress and experience in leadership. The foundation of compassion, perseverance, and integrity they established in Howard County law enforcement has defined their unswerving commitment to the safety of the community and to one another. Images of America: Howard County Law Enforcement tells their story.Wheelchair Warrior: Gangs, Disability, and Basketball
By Melvin Juette, Ronald Berger. 2008
What's that pig outdoors?
By Henry Kisor. 2010
Henry Kisor lost his hearing at age three to meningitis and encephalitis but went on to excel in the most…
verbal of professions as a literary journalist. This new and expanded edition of Kisor's engrossing memoir recounts his life as a deaf person in a hearing world and addresses heartening changes over the last two decades due to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and advancements in cochlear implants and modes of communication. _x000B_Kisor tells of his parents' drive to raise him as a member of the hearing and speaking world by teaching him effective lip-reading skills at a young age and encouraging him to communicate with his hearing peers. _x000B_Kisor updates the continuing disagreements between those who advocate sign language and those who practice speech and lip-reading, discusses the increased acceptance of deaf people's abilities and idiosyncrasies, and considers technological advancements that have enabled deaf people to communicate with the hearing world on its own terms.Dog Church
By Gail Gilmore. 2017
Does saving a life always mean preserving it, or does it sometimes mean letting go? When Gail Gilmore's beloved dog…
Chispa is diagnosed with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction, her first instinct is to do everything possible to bring the symptoms of this neurologically debilitating condition under control. But treatments fail, and Chispa's symptoms worsen. Faced with emotionally complicated questions and difficult ethical decisions, Gail repeatedly visits the one place where she believes she might find the spiritual guidance and wisdom needed to make the best choice for Chispa—a tiny, extraordinary church in St. Johnsbury, Vermont called the Dog Chapel. Within the chapel, its walls deeply layered with overlapping photographs and notes from thousands of previous visitors to dogs loved and lost, Gail finds both answers and peace in the wise words of the unknown people she comes to consider her tribe. A story of unconditional love and devotion, Dog Church is also a story of finding comfort in faith and the ways in which the emotional threads of love and grief can bind complete strangers together for brief moments in time in ways that are ultimately life-changing.Greetings From Afghanistan, Send More Ammo
By Benjamin Tupper. 2010
"Raw, direct, and powerful. . . This work is vitally important. " -Ken Stern, former CEO of National Public Radio…
Captain Benjamin Tupper spent a year in Afghanistan in an Embedded Training Team, tasked with training, leading in combat, and mentoring the Afghan Army to victory against the brutal Taliban. Writing and recording from a remote outpost, Tupper's dispatches were posted on the blog The Sandbox and broadcast on NPR, bringing vivid snapshots of America's longest ongoing war to a wide audience back home. Here, he takes us inside the intricacies of the war, opening up a unique and multifaceted view of both Afghan culture and the daily life of an American soldier. From the rush of gunfire to surreal, euphoric moments of cross-cultural understanding, this emotional and thought- provoking narrative is rich with humor, eloquence and contradiction. Deeply personal and darkly funny, Tupper illuminates the challenges of the war, vividly bringing to life both the mundane and the extraordinary and seeking a way forward.