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Troy Deeney: My Story
By Troy Deeney. 2021
TROY DEENEY is best known as Watford FC's captain and a thorn in Arsenal's side. But behind the successful and…
gritty football persona is a remarkable story of resilience.In this brutally honest and inspirational memoir, Troy shares what it was like to grow up on Europe's largest council estate, where his mum worked three jobs and his father, a notorious drug dealer, was frequently in and out of prison.He shares stories of self-sabotage, from simply not turning up to Aston Villa's football trials as a teenager, playing while drunk to being imprisoned for affray at the height of his career.But Troy never gave up, even when it meant playing professional football with an ankle tag. He went on to score 20+ goals in three successive seasons and became the Club Captain, an FA Cup finalist, promotion winner and Watford's record scorer. He also became an outspoken player advocate and - in an age of bland footballer interviews - is a sought after voice on football and footballers today.Engaging, endearing and insightful, this book is where Troy comes to terms with his turbulent past.(P)Octopus Publishing Group 2021Hooked: Addiction and the Long Road to Recovery
By Paul Merson. 2021
'brave ... visceral ... a brilliant, brilliant read ... I would recommend this book to everyone.' Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio…
5 Live'so honest ... everybody should read Hooked to understand what anybody in this situation has been through.' Susanna Reid, Good Morning Britain'a fantastic book ... a remarkable read.' Richard Madeley, Good Morning Britain'Brave, poignant and very moving. This book will change lives.' Jamie Redknapp'A courageous, emotional and vitally important book.' Jeff StellingPaul Merson's wonderfully moving and brutally honest memoir of battling addiction for three decades.For twenty-one years Paul Merson played professional football. He won two First Division titles with Arsenal and was one of the finest players of his generation.But for thirty years Paul Merson has also been an addict. Alcohol, drugs, gambling: a desperately unenviable cocktail of addictions and depression which has plagued his entire adult life and driven him to the verge of suicide. 'I've come to realise that I'm powerless over alcohol ... I'm an alcoholic. My drinking and gambling have left a lot of wreckage.' Until recently the drinking and gambling were still raging. 'I wanted to kill myself. I couldn't go on anymore. I just couldn't see a way out.' Then something clicked. 'One day, I was walking home from the pub late on a Sunday evening, and I thought to myself: I've had enough of feeling like this, every day of my life. I rang up Alcoholics Anonymous the next day, and since then I haven't had a drink.'Hooked is Merson's wonderfully moving and brutally honest memoir of battling addiction, searingly charting his journey over three decades. It is absolutely unflinching in detailing his emotional and psychological troughs and in raking over the painful embers of an adult life blighted by such debilitating issues. Hooked will kick-start a crucial national conversation about addiction, depression and the damage they wreak.'Addiction is the loneliest of places. You're a slave to insecurity and ego. But it has to be you that wants things to change. Never be afraid to talk: the more you talk about the addictions the more it takes the power out of them. You're never alone.'(P)2021 Headline Publishing Group LimitedCentre Stage
By Jamie Roberts, Ross Harries. 2021
In a nation of rugby heroes, Jamie Roberts has become a legend.Jamie Roberts is your quintessential hard man: a 6…
foot 4, 17 stone slab of rippling muscle, conditioned to run hard into other huge men in an arena where physical dominance is the prime currency. Yet away from rugby, he's a mild-mannered and thoughtful man - a qualified doctor with a thirst for knowledge and a curiosity about the world around him. It's an intriguing contradiction.In his first full season with the Cardiff Blues he was picked by new Wales coach Warren Gatland in the Grand Slam-winning side of 2008. He was still establishing his position in the national team when he toured with the 2009 Lions, emerging as Player of the Series. He went on to win 97 Test caps and play for clubs in Paris, London and Cape Town, yet his career has seldom been straightforward. A fractured skull was one of many injuries he had to overcome, and from the start he had to juggle the competing demands of university life and professional rugby. The joy of Six Nations success with Wales was balanced by heartbreak in the World Cup and disappointment against southern-hemisphere teams, while major trophies at club level proved frustratingly elusive.In this colourful and frank account of a sterling career, Jamie Roberts reveals all about life on tour, in boot camps and in dressing rooms filled with once-in-a-generation characters such as Mike Phillips, Andy Powell, Shaun Edwards, Martyn Williams, Brian O'Driscoll and Johnny Sexton. He also shares his views on concussion in rugby, the failings of the professional structure in Wales and the vital role of old-school team-bonding.(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedThe Uncomfortable Truth About Racism
By John Barnes. 2021
An eloquent and thought-provoking audiobook on racism and prejudice by the Liverpool and England football legend John Barnes.John Barnes spent…
the first dozen years of his life in Jamaica before moving to the UK with his family in 1975. Six years later he was a professional footballer, distinguishing himself for Watford, Liverpool and England, and in the process becoming this country's most prominent black player.Barnes is now an articulate and captivating social commentator on a broad range of issues, and in The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism he tackles head-on the issues surrounding prejudice with his trademark intelligence and authority.By vividly evoking his personal experiences, and holding a mirror to this country's past, present and future, Barnes provides a powerful and moving testimony. The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism will help to inform and advance the global conversation around society's ongoing battle with the awful stain of prejudice.(P) 2021 Headline Publishing Group LtdA Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times
By Mark T. Esper. 2022
Former Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper reveals the shocking details of his tumultuous tenure while serving in the Trump…
administration. From June of 2019 until his firing by President Trump after the November 2020 election, Secretary Mark T. Esper led the Department of Defense through an unprecedented time in history—a period marked by growing threats and conflict abroad, a global pandemic unseen in a century, the greatest domestic unrest in two generations, and a White House seemingly bent on breaking accepted norms and conventions for political advantage. A Sacred Oath is Secretary Esper’s unvarnished and candid memoir of those extraordinary and dangerous times, and includes events and moments never before told. New York Times BestsellerFierce Valor: The True Story of Ronald Speirs and his Band of Brothers
By Jared Frederick, Erik Dorr. 2022
Fans of Stephen E. Ambrose&’s Band of Brothers will be drawn to this complex portrait of the controversial Ronald Speirs,…
an iconic commander of Easy Company during World War II, whose ferocious courage in three foreign conflicts was matched by his devotion to duty and the bittersweet passions of wartime romance. His comrades called him &“Killer.&” Of the elite paratroopers who served in the venerated &“Band of Brothers&” during World War II, none were more enigmatic than Ronald Speirs. Rumored to have gunned down enemy prisoners and even one of his own disobedient sergeants, Speirs&’ became a foxhole legend amongst his troops. But who was the real Lieutenant Speirs? In Fierce Valor, historians Jared Frederick and Erik Dorr unveil the full story of Easy Company&’s longest-serving commander for the first time. Tested by trials of extreme training, military rivalry, and lost love, Speirs&’s international odyssey begins as an immigrant child in Prohibition-era Boston, continues through the bloody campaigns in France, Holland, and Germany, and sheds light on his lesser known exploits in Korea, the Cold War, and embattled Laos. Packed with groundbreaking research, Fierce Valor unveils a compelling portrait of an officer defined by boldness on the battlefield and a telling reminder that few soldiers escape the power of their own pasts.Team America: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and the World They Forged
By Robert L. O'Connell. 2022
From national bestselling author and acclaimed military historian Robert L. O’Connell, a dynamic history of four military leaders whose extraordinary…
leadership and strategy led the United States to success during World War I and beyond.By the first half of the twentieth century, technology had transformed warfare into a series of intense bloodbaths in which the line between soldiers and civilians was obliterated, resulting in the deaths of one hundred million people. During this period, four men exhibited unparalleled military leadership that led the United States victoriously through two World Wars: Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, George Marshall, and Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower; or, as bestselling author Robert O’Connell calls them, Team America.O’Connell captures these men’s unique charisma as he chronicles the path each forged—from their upbringings to their educational experiences to their storied military careers—experiences that shaped them into majestic leaders who would play major roles in saving the free world and preserving the security of the United States in times of unparalleled danger. O’Connell shows how the lives of these men—all born within the span of a decade—twisted around each other like a giant braid in time. Throughout their careers, they would use each other brilliantly in a series of symbiotic relationships that would hold increasingly greater consequences.At the end of their star-studded careers (twenty-four out of a possible twenty-five), O’Connell concludes that what set Team America apart was not their ability to wield the proverbial sword, but rather their ability to plot strategy, give orders, and inspire others. The key ingredients to their success was mental agility, a gravitas that masked their intensity, and an almost intuitive understanding of how armies in the millions actually functioned and fought. Without the leadership of these men, O’Connell makes clear, the world we know would be vastly different.Coming Up for Air
By Tom Daley. 2022
"An illuminating look at what it takes to be an Olympian… In this story, passion reigns supreme." —Cosmopolitan"An emotionally articulate memoir…[and] an…
intimate insight into the good-hearted and talented young man behind the medals." —AttitudeA deeply personal and inspiring memoir from the celebrated Olympic gold medal diver and LGBTQ+ advocateTom Daley is one of the most beloved athletes of our time, having competed as a diver in four Olympics, garnering medals and finally, in 2021 in Tokyo, winning gold. But few people know the realities of his life beyond the pool—his struggles, his secret triumphs and the mindset he needed to cultivate to become a champion.In this deeply personal book, Tom explores the experiences that have shaped him and the qualities that brought him success and joy—from the resilience he developed competing at a world-class level, to the courage he discovered while reclaiming the narrative around his sexuality, to the perspective that family life has brought him.Inspiring, candid and compulsively readable, Coming Up for Air offers an intimate window into the life and mindset of an athlete and advocate who has left an indelible imprint on sports.Swords of Lightning: Green Beret Horse Soldiers and America's Response to 9/11
By Jim DeFelice, Bob Pennington, Mark Nutsch. 2022
The first-person account of how a small band of Green Berets used horses and laser-guided missiles to overthrow the Taliban…
and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan after 9/11.They landed in a dust storm so thick the chopper pilot used dead reckoning and a guess to find the ground. They were met by a band of heavily armed militiamen who didn&’t understand a word they said. They climbed a mountain on horseback to meet the most ferocious warlord in Asia. They plotted a war of nineteenth-century maneuvers against a twenty-first-century foe. They saved babies and treated fevers, trekked through minefields, and waded through booby-trapped streams—sometimes past the mangled bodies of local tribesmen who&’d shared food with them hours before. They found their enemy hiding in thick concrete bunkers, dodged bullets from machine-gun-laden pickup trucks, and survived ambushes launched with Russian tanks. They fought back with everything they had, from smart bombs to AK-47s. They overthrew a government, mediated blood feuds between rival commanders, and argued with generals and politicians thousands of miles away. The men they helped called them gods. One of their commanders called them devils. Hollywood called them the Horse Soldiers. They called themselves Green Berets—Special Forces ODA 595.Phil Tufnell, cricket legend and national treasure, has populated his very own Cricket Hall of Fame with a deliciously eclectic…
collection of cricket legends and offbeat characters, with joyful results.From boyhood heroes, to legendary team-mates, to fearsome opponents, to idiosyncratic umpires and broadcasters, Tuffers has gathered together the most enchanting cast of cricketing figures every assembled.And it wouldn't be a Tuffers tome if there weren't a number of captivating appearances from some unexpected quarters, including some genuinely off-the-wall, non-cricketing inductees to keep life interesting in this very personal Hall of Fame.By turns eccentric and warm-hearted, Tuffers' Cricket Hall of Fame is a joy for all cricket fans.(P)2017 Headline Publishing Group LtdThe Tour According to G: My Journey to the Yellow Jersey
By Geraint Thomas. 2018
For years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice…
an Olympic gold medallist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his team-mates. In the summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion - from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees and, finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris. As a boy, G had run home from school on summer afternoons to watch the Tour on television. This July, across twenty-one stages and three weeks, and under constant attack from his rivals, he made the race his own.With insight from the key characters around Geraint, this is the inside story of one of the most thrilling and heart-warming tales in sport. Not only can nice guys come first - they can win the biggest prize of all.(P)2018 Quercus Editions LimitedAn Evening with Blowers
By Henry Blofeld. 2002
Henry Blofeld is one of the greatest characters in cricket. For nearly thirty years his distinctive rich, plummy voice and…
his famous expression 'My dear old thing!' have delighted the millions of listeners to BBC Radio's Test Match Special.In his entertaining one-man show An Evening with Blowers Henry takes his audience on a hilarious journey from his eccentric childhood in Norfolk to his schooldays as a prolific batsman at Eton and his successful career as an international cricket writer and broadcaster. He tells many colourful anecdotes about the game of cricket and his BBC colleagues including John Arlott and Brian Johnston and reveals what really happened when the Queen presented the TMS team with a special cake!(p) 2002 BarryMour ProductionsSven: My Story
By Sven-Göran Eriksson. 2013
Perhaps no football manager has ever had his personal life dissected as thoroughly as Sven-Goran Eriksson. Yet the man that…
monopolized the British press during five tumultuous years as England manager remains an enigma. Who, precisely, is Sven?Here, in his no-holds-barred autobiography, the secretive Swede takes us on one of the wildest rides in world football. Populated by fake sheikhs, Italian lawyers, Nottingham outlaws and, of course, many of the biggest names in the game, his is a 40-year-long career that coincides with the evolution of football into a global multibillion-pound industry.Most of all, this is a surprisingly tender, sometimes heartbreaking, but never bitter account of a simple man with a most complicated story. A man who has reached a crossroads in his life, who until now has never stopped to ask himself the question: was it worth it?'The thinking man's action hero' - The Times MagazineTrained Royal Marines Sniper, world record breaker and extreme TV adventurer, Aldo…
Kane is known for his ability to navigate and lead through challenging and pressured environments, whether it be abseiling into an erupting volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo, rowing the Atlantic, getting locked in a bunker for 10 days with zero daylight, leading Steve Backshall into the jungle or being held at gunpoint...In his debut audiobook, Lessons From The Edge, Aldo will inspire listeners with his jaw-dropping stories and show them how to survive and thrive through sheer strength of mind and sharp decision-making. It will reveal how this tough military man was able to cope with suddenly feeling worthless, how he overcame doors literally slamming in his face, how he came to realise that you can't wait for things to happen and instead how he rediscovered his identity and harnessed his emotions to his advantage to find determination, purpose, and a renewed sense of belonging. And how, to use his own words, he became the captain of his own ship.Aldo is a firm believer that with the right head game, however hard it feels, you can get through anything life throws at you. Lessons From The Edge will inspire listeners to find the spirit to do the things in life they've previously been too scared to tackle, build the courage to know that failure isn't the end, and the knowledge that the impossible can be made possible.(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedMaverick Commissioner
By Boria Majumdar. 2022
The Indian Premier League. Its mere mention forces cricket fans across the world to sit up and take notice. World…
cricket&’s most valued property has only grown stronger with time. Conceived and implemented by Lalit Modi in 2008, the IPL has forever revolutionised the way cricket is marketed and run globally. Modi had built and orchestrated the tournament by his own rules and after the stupendous success of the IPL, the same rules were questioned by the administration. Modi was subsequently banned for life.How and why did it happen? What went on behind the scenes? How did it all start to go wrong between Modi and the others? Are there secrets that will never come out? This book is all about everything you never got to know. Each fact corroborated by multiple sources who were in the thick of things, Maverick Commissioner is a riveting account of the IPL and the functioning of its founder, Lalit Kumar Modi. Did Modi have a long telephone conversation with a BCCI top brass the day he left India for good? What really was discussed? Is Lalit Modi the absent present for the IPL and Indian cricket?Soon to be made into a film by Vibri Motion Pictures, Maverick Commissioner documents things exactly as they happened. No holds barred and no questions left out. It doesn&’t judge Lalit Modi. All it does is narrate his story. Who is the real Lalit Modi? Let the readers decide.Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil
By Pat Joseph Melgares. 2020
Winner, Best Sports Book, International Latino Book Awards; Best Biography, Independent Book Publishers Association Dr. Joe I. Vigil—known simply as…
"Coach" to virtually everybody he has ever met—rose from poverty to become a towering figure in the running world. Coach has won 19 national championships and coached 425 All-Americans, 22 Olympians...and an army of "Vigilantes" who seek to emulate his unique blend of compassion, competitive spirit, and commitment to others. In this long-overdue biography about America's preeminent distance-running coach, author and Vigilante Pat Melgares shares Coach Vigil's tale not just through the consummate storyteller's own words but also through those of more than 50 family members, friends, former runners, and foes who have been shaped by his presence over a lifetime. Coach Vigil is driven by a persistent desire to learn, a deep faith in people, and an unwavering loyalty to his hometown of Alamosa, Colorado. His life is an American dream—a must-read for anyone who loves an underdog or seeks to understand the timeless qualities that forge a leader. "Chasing Excellence" has been Coach Vigil's mantra for decades, for himself and those he teaches. Now in his 90s, he's as relentless as ever in that quest. "If you are a teacher, a coach, an administrator . . . or anyone in a leadership role . . . read this book! If you are an athlete or anyone in pursuit of achieving excellence in your field . . . read this book! – Ryun G., verified purchaserA Walk Against The Stream: A Rhodesian National Service Officer's Story of the Bush War
By Tony Ballinger. 2015
The experiences of a young soldier on the frontlines of the Rhodesian Bush War are vividly recounted in this personal…
memoir.In A Walk Against the Stream, Tony Ballinger tells of his eighteen months of compulsory service as a young national service officer in the Rhodesian army. Stationed in Victoria Falls, Rhodesia, he faced down enemy territory just across the Zambezi river in Zambia.Initially allocated to 4th platoon, 4 Independent company Rhodesia Regiment (RR) as a subaltern and later on as a 1st Lieutenant in support company 2RR, the story starts with the author’s training and deployment. The events that unfold contain interesting military encounters, including battles against the Zambian army and revolutionary guerillas.But Ballinger also explores the human side of his time in the service: his love of a country falling apart, the relationship he forms with a local woman; and how their love, hope and dreams are snatched away by unfolding events. This is a riveting personal tale, interspersed with dozens of the author’s personal photographs.Over Fields of Fire: Flying the Sturmovik in Action on the Eastern Front 1942–45
By Anna Timofeeva-Egorova. 2010
During the 1930s the Soviet Union launched a major effort to create a modern Air Force. That process required training…
tens of thousands of pilots. Among those pilots were larger numbers of young women, training shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. A common training program of the day involved studying in 'flying clubs' during leisure hours, first using gliders and then training planes. Following this, the best graduates could enter military schools to become professional combat pilots or flight navigators. The author of this book passed through all of those stages and had become an experienced training pilot when the USSR entered the war. Volunteering for frontline duty, the author flew 130 combat missions piloting the U2 biplane in a liaison squadron. In the initial period of the war, the German Luftwaffe dominated the sky. Daily combat sorties demanded bravery and skill from the pilots of the liaison squadron operating obsolete, unarmed planes. Over the course of a year the author was shot down by German fighters three times but kept flying nevertheless. In late 1942 Anna Egorova became the first female pilot to fly the famous Sturmovik (ground attack) plane that played a major role in the ground battles of the Eastern Front. Earning the respect of her fellow male pilots, the author became not just a mature combat pilot, but a commanding officer. Over the course of two years the author advanced from ordinary pilot to the executive officer of the Squadron, and then was appointed Regimental navigator, in the process flying approximately 270 combat missions over the southern sector of the Eastern Front initially (Taman, the Crimea) before switching to the 1st Belorussian Front, and seeing action over White Russia and Poland. Flying on a mission over Poland in 1944 the author was shot down over a target by German flak. Severely burned, she was taken prisoner. After surviving in a German POW camp for 5 months, she was liberated by Soviet troops. After experiencing numerous humiliations as an 'ex-POW' in 1965 the author finally received a top military award, a long-delayed 'Golden Star' with the honorary title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union'. This is a quite unique story of courage, determination and bravery in the face of tremendous personal adversity. The many obstacles Anna had to cross before she could fly first the Po-2, then the Sturmovik, are recounted in detail, including her tough work helping to build the Moscow Metro before the outbreak of war. Above all, Over Fields of Fire is a very human story - sometimes sad, sometimes angry, filled with hope, at other times with near-despair, abundant in comradeship and professionalism – and never less than a large dose of determination!This Royal Descents supplement is an outgrowth of the author’s multi-volume family history of the “Presidential Branch” of the Washingtons.…
That work collects the descendants of the immigrant John Washington who settled in Westmoreland Co., Va., in 1657, married Anne Pope, and became the great-grandfather of President George Washington. The Royal Descents traces the ancestry of the early Virginia members of this “Presidential Branch” back in time to the aristocracy and nobility of England and continental Europe, including the Plantagenet dynasty, William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great, Charles Martel, and Charlemagne. ADVANCE PRAISE for The Washingtons: A Family History “I am convinced that your work will be of wide interest to historians and academics as well as members of the Washington family itself. Although the surname Washington is perhaps the best known in American history and much has been written about the Washington family for well over a century, it is surprising that no comprehensive family history has been published. Justin M. Glenn’s The Washingtons: A Family History finally fills this void for the branch to which General and President George Washington belonged, identifying some 63,000 descendants. This is truly a family history, not a mere tabulation of names and dates, providing biographical accounts of many of the descendants of John Washington who settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1657. . . . Each individual section is followed by extensive listings of published and manuscript sources supporting the information presented and errors of identification in previous publications are commented upon as appropriate.” John Frederick Dorman, editor of The Virginia Genealogist (1957-2006) and author of Adventurers of Purse and Person “Decades of reviewing Civil War books have left me surprised and delighted when someone applies exhaustive diligence to a topic not readily accessible. Dr. Glenn surely meets that standard with the meticulous research that unveils the Washington family in gratifying detail—many of them Confederates of interest and importance.” Robert K. Krick, author of The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy and Stonewall Jackson at Cedar MountainKimberly's Flight: The Story of Captain Kimberly Hampton, America’s First Woman Combat Pilot Killed in Battle
By Anna Simon, Ann Hampton. 2012
U.S. Army Captain Kimberly N. Hampton was living her dream: flying armed helicopters in combat and commanding D Troop, 1st…
Squadron, 17th Cavalry, the armed reconnaissance aviation squadron of the 82nd Airborne Division. An all-American girl from a small southern mill town, Kimberly was a top scholar, student body president, ROTC battalion commander, and highly ranked college tennis player. In 1998 she was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. Then, driven by determination and ambition, Kimberly rapidly rose through the ranks in the almost all-male bastion of military aviation to command a combat aviation troop. On January 2, 2004, Captain Hampton was flying an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter above Fallujah, Iraq, in support of a raid on an illicit weapons marketplace, searching for an illusive sniper on the rooftops of the city. A little past noon her helicopter was wracked by an explosion. A heat-seeking surface-to-air missile had gone into the exhaust and knocked off the helicopter’s tail boom. The helicopter crashed, killing Kimberly. Kimberly’s Flight is the story of Captain Hampton’s exemplary life. This story is told through nearly fifty interviews and her own e-mails to family and friends, and is entwined with Ann Hampton’s narrative of loving and losing a child. Retired award-winning journalist Anna Simon was been a reporter with The Greenville News in South Carolina for 21 years. She received the South Carolina Press Association’s first place award for Reporting in Depth for 2009, and is a past recipient of multiple awards in education reporting, the press association’s Judson Chapman Award for Community Service, and other news and feature writing awards. Kimberly’s mother, Ann Hampton, first met Anna Simon at the bleakest point in her life, immediately following her daughter’s death, when Ms. Simon wrote a series of stories for The Greenville News about Kimberly’s life and the reaction in the small Southern town of Easley, SC to her death. Ann has traveled twice to Iraq, in 2010, as a Gold Star Mom in a "Hugs for Healing" program sanctioned by the U.S. State Department, where American and Iraqi mothers grieving the deaths of their children worked side-by-side on humanitarian projects, and in 2011 on a humanitarian mission with “Friends of Kurdistan.”