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The girl with nine wigs: a memoir
By Sophie Van der Stap. 2015
Sophie is twenty-one when she is diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. A striking, fun-loving student, her world…
is reduced overnight to the sterile confines of a hospital. But within these walls Sophie discovers a whole new world of white coats, gossiping nurses, and sexy doctors; of shared rooms, hair loss, and eyebrow pencils. As wigs become a crucial part of Sophie's new life, she reclaims a sense of self-expression. Each of Sophie's nine wigs makes her feel stronger and gives her a distinct personality, and that is why each has its own name: Stella, Sue, Daisy, Blondie, Platina, Uma, Pam, Lydia, and Bebé. There's a bit of Sophie in all of them, and they reveal as much as they hide. Sophie is determined to be much more than a cancer patient. 2015.The giants of Irish literature: Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett (The modern scholar)
By George O'Brien. 2006
Georgetown University professor George O'Brien provides the biographical background of the four masters of Irish literature and an in-depth analysis…
of their greatest works. O'Brien discusses the very qualities that set these works apart and the "Irishness" that characterizes each of them. 2006.The great hill stations of Asia
By Barbara Crossette. 1998
In 1997 this New York Times journalist traveled across Asia, visiting the classic hill towns built by several colonial powers.…
She recalls her journeys to these remote locations, discusses their history, and describes how each has evolved since being inherited by an independent nation. 1998.The girl from Leam Lane: the life and writing of Catherine Cookson
By Piers Dudgeon. 1997
Catherine Cookson's first novel, "Kate Hannigan", was published in 1950. The novel represented the author's triumph over unhappiness - within…
its pages she was exorcising her own demons. Piers Dudgeon unlocks her complex character using her many books as a key and explores with Catherine herself the tortured drama of her personal life and its resolution. 1997.The genius and the goddess: Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe
By Jeffrey Meyers. 2009
Dual biographies of playwright Arthur Miller (1915-2005) and actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962). Traces the couple's disparate family backgrounds and 1956…
marriage. Describes Monroe's role as Miller's muse but posits that her psychological problems and feelings of inadequacy led to their divorce after five years. Some descriptions of sex. 2009.The Franz Boas enigma: Inuit, Arctic, and sciences
By Ludger Müller-Wille. 2014
Addressing the enigma of how Franz Boas came to be the central founder of anthropology and a driving force in…
the acceptance of science as part of societal life in North America, this exploration breaks through the linguistic and cultural barriers that have prevented scholars from grasping the importance of Boas’ personal background and academic activities as a German Jew. Müller-Wille argues that to fully appreciate Boas’ complete scientific and literary opus and deep emotional and intellectual attachment to the upbringing that shaped his life, it is crucial to become familiar with his publications on Inuit and the Arctic as related to environmental, geographical, and ethnological questions. 2014.The four walls of my freedom: Lessons I've Learned From A Life Of Caregiving
By Donna Thomson. 2014
Donna Thomson’s life was forever changed when her son Nicholas was born with cerebral palsy. A former actor, director, and…
teacher, Donna became his primary caregiver and embarked on a second career as a disability activist, author, and consultant. Thomson vividly describes her experience in treading delicately through daily care, emergencies, and medical bureaucracy as she and her family cope with her son’s condition while maintaining value and dignity (for Nicholas, too). She demonstrates the vital contribution that people with disabilities make to our society and addresses the ethics and economics of giving and receiving care. 2014.The follow: a true story
By Linda Spalding. 1998
The author recounts her expedition into the forests of Borneo in search of a reclusive primatologist, who has devoted her…
life to protecting orphaned orangutans. Describes the beauty of the island, the local society, and the despoilment of natural resources through poaching, deforestation, and misguided ecotourism. 1998.The film club: a true story of a father and son
By David Gilmour. 2007
The true story of author Gilmour's decision to let his 16-year-old son drop out of high school, on the condition…
that the boy agree to watch three films a week with him. Examines how those years changed both their lives. From French New Wave and Kurosawa to De Palma, film noir, and Billy Wilder, Gilmour describes key moments in each film, as he teaches his son about life and the vagaries of growing up through the power of the movies. Strong language and descriptions of sex. Canada Reads 2012. 2007.The flying carpet of small miracles: a woman's fight to save two orphans
By Hala Jaber. 2009
Jaber, a Lebanese-British foreign correspondent, describes covering the Gulf War and her personal engagement with an Iraqi family caught in…
the crossfire. Reporting on the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Jaber took up the cause of hospitalized children wounded in the bombing, and helped start a fund to provide them with better medical attention and supplies. In particular, she learned the extraordinary story of two orphans and decided to adopt them. Some descriptions of violence. 2009.The doctor will not see you now
By Jane Poulson. 2002
Autobiography of Dr. Jane Poulson, the first blind person in Canada to become a practising doctor. Poulson suffered from diabetes…
and because of the disease, lost her sight and then experienced severe heart problems. Nonetheless she was an extremely accomplished doctor, published widely in leading medical journals, and showed great courage and endurance to all who knew her. She wrote this book during the last two years of her life. 2002.The fellowship: the literary lives of the Inklings : J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams
By Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski. 2015
The far side of the street
By Bruce Hutchison. 1976
This is the 1970s autobiography of the journalist and historian whose life and writing influenced many Canadians. British Columbia-raised, his…
life spanned some formative years of the province's political history. As a journalist he met and wrote about many prime ministers, and became recognized as an influential thinker. 1976.The far-off hills
By Rita Anton. 1979
Following her husband's death in 1976, Anton spent several years in India as a volunteer Jesuit Lay Missionary. Having travelled…
extensively in India, she presents a realistic look at this nation in transition. 1979.The end of elsewhere: travels among the tourists
By Taras Grescoe. 2003
Taras Grescoe plunges into the ruts where the tourists are thickest, starting at the tip of Spain's Land's End and…
finishing, nine months later, on the soldier-patrolled beaches of China's End of the Earth. Along the way, he crosses the entire Eurasian landmass, experiencing all sorts of travel such as all-inclusive resorts, pilgrimages, and bus tours. Some descriptions of sex and violence, some strong language. 2003.The end of the river: dams, drought and déjà vu on the Rio São Francisco
By Brian J Harvey. 2008
A biologist searches for a solution that will save many fish species from life-threatening dams. His adventures take him from…
a fisheries patrol boat on the Fraser River to the great Tsukiji fish market in Japan, with stops in the Philippines, Thailand, and assorted South American countries. Portrays fishermen, fish farmers, and even fish cops in a new light, as well as scientists, shysters, and some very drunk, hairy Brazilian men in thongs. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some descriptions of violence. c2008.The fabulous flying machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont
By Victoria Griffith. 2012
The enthusiasms of Robertson Davies
By Robertson Davies, Judith Skelton Grant. 1979
The exquisite life of Oscar Wilde: An Exquisite Life
By Stephen Calloway, David Colvin. 1997
Oscar Wilde was a central figure of the fin de siecle, and, in his own words, "a man who stood…
in symbolic relation to his times." He rose to fame in the 1880s and had the world at his feet in the 1890s. It all went wrong when following his love-affair with Lord Alfred Douglas he was persecuted by Douglas' father and sentenced to two years in jail for homosexuality. He spent the last years of his life surrounded by a handful of loyal friends in France but shunned by those who had been his followers in his days of glory. 1997.The essential gesture: writing, politics and places
By Nadine Gordimer, Stephen Clingman. 1988
This personal history of 27 years, 1959 to 1986, of Afrikaner domination in South Africa charts the response of novelist…
Nadine Gordimer to the crisis of apartheid and the struggle of the blacks to free themselves. 1988.