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The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Ath lete
By Matt Long, Charlie Butler. 2010
A New York City firefighter's emotional and inspiring memoir of learning to run again after a debilitating accidentOn the morning…
of December 22, 2005, Matt Long was cycling to work in the early morning when he was struck by and sucked under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of his life. Miraculously, more than 40 operations and months later, Matt was able to start his recovery. In spite of the severity of his injuries, Matt found the psychological consequences of the accident nearly as hard to process. He would no longer be able to compete at the highest level.In the 18 months before the accident, he had competed in more than 20 events including several triathlons and marathons and had qualified for running's most prestigious race, the Boston Marathon. After the accident, his doctor told him he'd be lucky if he could even walk without a cane.The Long Run is an emotional and incredibly honest story about Matt's determination to fight through fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. The book chronicles Matt's road to recovery as he teaches himself to walk again and, a mere three years later, to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon—a gimpy seven-and-a-half hour journey through the five boroughs. "Running saved my life," Matt says, and his embrace of the running community and insistence on competing in the marathon has inspired many, turning him into a symbol of hope and recovery for untold numbers of others.The Hoarder in You: How to Live a Happier, Healthier, Uncluttered Life
By Robin Zasio. 2011
We all have treasured possessions—a favorite pair of shoes, a much-beloved chair, an ever-expanding record collection. But sometimes, this emotional…
attachment to our belongings can spiral out of control and culminate into a condition called compulsive hoarding. From hobbyists and collectors to pack rats and compulsive shoppers—it is close to impossible for hoarders to relinquish their precious objects, even if it means that stuff takes over their lives and their homes. According to psychologist Dr. Robin Zasio, our fascination with hoarding stems from the fact that most of us fall somewhere on the hoarding continuum. Even though it may not regularly interfere with our everyday lives, to some degree or another, many of us hoard. The Hoarder In You provides practical advice for decluttering and organizing, including how to tame the emotional pull of acquiring additional things, make order out of chaos by getting a handle on clutter, and create an organizational system that reduces stress and anxiety. Dr. Zasio also shares some of the most serious cases of hoarding that she's encountered, and explains how we can learn from these extreme examples—no matter where we are on the hoarding continuum.Rose: My Life In Service To Lady Astor
By Rosina Harrison. 1975
In 1928 Rosina Harrison arrived at the illustrious household of the Astor family to take up her new…
position as personal maid to the infamously temperamental Lady Nancy Astor who sat in Parliament entertained royalty and traveled the world She s not a lady as you would understand a lady was the butler s ominous warning But what no one expected was that the iron-willed Lady Astor was about to meet her match in the no-nonsense whip-smart girl from the country For 35 years from the parties thrown for royalty and trips across the globe to the air raids during WWII Rose was by Lady Astor s side and behind the scenes keeping everything running smoothly In charge of everything from the clothes and furs to the baggage to the priceless diamond sparklers Rose was closer to Lady Astor than anyone else In her decades of service she received one 5 raise but she traveled the world in style and retired with a lifetime s worth of stories Like Gosford Park and Downton Abbey ROSE is a captivating insight into the great wealth upstairs and the endless work downstairs but it is also the story of an unlikely decades-long friendship that grew between Her Ladyship and her spirited Yorkshire maidThe Light Within
By Lois M. Ramondetta, Deborah Sills. 2008
The luminous true story of a friendship that shed the boundaries of the doctor-patient relationship and became less a confrontation…
with death than a celebration of the joys of life When young gynecologic oncology fellow Lois Ramondetta was first summoned to the room of a new patient neither she nor the forty-nine-year-old professor of religion she encountered named Deborah Sills thought they had much in common They certainly had no idea that they were about to embark on a transcendent odyssey that would become a soul-deep friendship Now their heartfelt story The Light Within follows these two women through a decade of friendship and big lives --husbands children friends and careers--ultimately crossing the country and traveling to foreign lands where they spoke and wrote together about the intersection of doctors patients and spirituality Both women searched together and openly for answers with honesty and intimacy until Deborah passed away in the spring of 2006Confessions of a Carb Queen: A Memoir
By Caroline Bock, Susan Blech. 2008
When her doctor told her she could suffer a stroke just by walking across the street Susan Blech knew…
drastic action was called for She was only 38 years old and the scale registered a life-threatening 468 pounds Rejecting the idea of gastric bypass surgery Susan relocated to Durham North Carolina giving up all that was familiar and 70 000 of her life savings to devote herself to losing weight and getting healthy on the famed Rice Diet In Confessions of a Carb Queen Susan Blech speaks candidly about topics no obese person has dared to address fat sex eating binges the lies you tell others and the lies you tell yourself She explores the psychological component of overeating and the connection between her own binge eating and the aneurysm that left her mother brain-damaged and paralyzed when Susan was a toddler Her gripping story a blend of memoir advice and delicious health-conscious recipes is a testament to her personal strength and willpower and will be an inspiration to all who read itBedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single-Fatherhood
By Trey Ellis. 2008
How is a single dad supposed to navigate a new girlfriend into and out of his California king bed without…
his son or daughter noticing? For Trey Ellis, raising children while trying to find his way through the unfamiliar nuances of the contemporary dating scene as a single father has been a a sometimes nerve-racking challenge.A Don Juan with a heart of gold, Ellis tracks both his sexy life as a swinging single father—his dates have included a model, a French actress, and even an Italian contessa—and his nurturing and loving relationship with his two young children. The result is Bedtime Stories, a charmingly poignant and hilarious story that shows what happens when the glamorous life of an LA singleton collides with the life of a less than glamorous dad who eats frozen dinners and changes dirty diapers.Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence
By Matthew Sanford. 2008
Matthew Sanford's inspirational story about the car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down is a superbly written…
memoir of healing and journey—from near death to triumphant life.Matt Sanford's life and body were irrevocably changed at age 13 on a snowy Iowa road. On that day, his family's car skidded off an overpass, killing Matt's father and sister and left him paralyzed from the chest down, confining him to a wheelchair. His mother and brother escaped from the accident unharmed but were left to pick up the pieces of their decimated family.This pivotal event set Matt on a lifelong journey, from his intensive care experiences at the Mayo Clinic to becoming a paralyzed yoga teacher and founder of a nonprofit organization. Forced to explore what it truly means to live in a body, he emerges with an entirely new view of being a "whole" person. By turns agonizingly personal, philosophical, and heartbreakingly honest, this groundbreaking memoir takes you inside the body, heart, and mind of a boy whose world has been shattered. Follow Sanford's journey as he rebuilds from the ground up, searching for "healing stories" to help him reconnect his mind and his body. To do so, he must reject much of what traditional medicine tells him and instead turn to yoga as a centerpiece of his daily practice. He finds not only a better life but also meaning and purpose in the mysterious distance that we all experience between mind and body.In Waking, Sanford delivers a powerful message about the endurance of the human spirit and of the body that houses it.Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening
By Manal Al-Sharif. 2017
A ferociously intimate memoir by a devout woman from a modest family in Saudi Arabia who became the unexpected leader…
of a courageous movement to support women’s right to drive.Manal al-Sharif grew up in Mecca the second daughter of a taxi driver, born the year fundamentalism took hold. In her adolescence, she was a religious radical, melting her brother’s boy band cassettes in the oven because music was haram: forbidden by Islamic law. But what a difference an education can make. By her twenties she was a computer security engineer, one of few women working in a desert compound that resembled suburban America. That’s when the Saudi kingdom’s contradictions became too much to bear: she was labeled a slut for chatting with male colleagues, her teenage brother chaperoned her on a business trip, and while she kept a car in her garage, she was forbidden from driving down city streets behind the wheel. Daring to Drive is the fiercely intimate memoir of an accidental activist, a powerfully vivid story of a young Muslim woman who stood up to a kingdom of men—and won. Writing on the cusp of history, Manal offers a rare glimpse into the lives of women in Saudi Arabia today. Her memoir is a remarkable celebration of resilience in the face of tyranny, the extraordinary power of education and female solidarity, and the difficulties, absurdities, and joys of making your voice heard.Living with a Dead Language: My Romance with Latin
By Ann Patty. 2016
An entertaining exploration of the richness and relevance of the Latin language and literature, and an inspiring account of finding…
renewed purpose through learning something new and challenging After thirty-five years as a book editor in New York City, Ann Patty stopped working and moved to the country. Bored, aimless, and lost in the woods, she hoped to challenge her restless, word-loving brain by beginning a serious study of Latin at local colleges. As she begins to make sense of Latin grammar and syntax, her studies open unexpected windows into her own life. The louche poetry of Catullus calls up her early days in 1970s New York, Lucretius elucidates her intractable drivenness and her attraction to Buddhism, while Ovid's verse conjures a delightful dimension to the flora and fauna that surround her. Women in Roman history, and an ancient tomb inscription give her new understanding and empathy for her tragic, long deceased mother. Finally, Virgil reconciles her to her new life--no longer an urban exile, but a rustic scholar, writer and teacher. Along the way, she meets an impassioned cast of characters: professors, students and classicists outside of academia who keep Latin very much alive. Written with humor, heart, and an infectious enthusiasm for words, Patty's book is an object lesson in how learning and literature can transform the past and lead to an unexpected future.From the Hardcover edition.Hard Time & Nursery Rhymes: A Mother's Tales of Law and Disorder
By Claudia Trupp. 2009
What kind of woman leaves three young daughters at home every morning to spend her days representing convicted murderers and…
rapists That is the question criminal defense attorney Claudia Trupp confronts in this sharp and riveting memoir as she seeks answers for herself and mostly for her daughters Every working mother faces the challenges of balancing work and home but the nature of Trupp s work makes her juggling act all the more precarious and at times hilarious and bizarre Trupp s domestic anecdotes of life with her kids run parallel to narratives of her most memorable and often unsettling criminal cases each providing a platform to explore broader issues such as faith perspective and charm The navigation of radically different realms the criminal courts and maximum security prisons where clients serve hard time and the home front where children demand marshmallows for breakfast provides thought-provoking and entertaining reading While the working mother has been a popular subject of fiction and self-help guides this may be the only book offering a woman s deeply personal and unapologetic account of how embracing a challenging job while simultaneously guiding a family reaps unexpected benefits on both fronts In a memoir that will resonate powerfully with all women Trupp candidly conveys to the reader and to her daughters the struggles and rewards of the conflicting roles in her life the joy she has found in being a mother and the value of meaningful workStrides: Running Through History With an Unlikely Athlete
By Benjamin Cheever. 2007
Acclaimed novelist Benjamin Cheever--author of The Plagiarist Famous After Death and The Good Nanny--brings his buoyant literary style…
to this impassioned memoir about the sport that changed his life From Pheidippides who ran the first marathon in 490 BC--bringing news to Athens of the Greek victory on the plains of Marathon--to our own soldiers in Iraq today running is an integral part of human culture and legend In Strides heralded author Benjamin Cheever explores the role of running in human history while interspersing this account with revelations of his own decades-long devotion to the sport Cheever has traveled the world writing features for Runner s World magazine and he draws from this rich experience on every page His adventures have taken him to Kenya in search of the secrets of the world s fastest long-distance runners and to a 10-K race with American soldiers in Baghdad Cheever celebrates the quotidian personal satisfaction of a morning run and the more exotic pleasures of the Medoc Marathon in Bordeaux where fine wines are served at water stations and the first prize is the winner s weight in grand crus He shares vivid moments from the New York Marathon and waxes rhapsodic about the granddaddy of American distance events--the Boston Marathon But what truly distinguishes Strides as a memorable read is the unique lens through which this sparkling writer explores our deep bond to running an experience he likens to that of being able to flyThe Patron Saint of Used Cars and Second Chances: A Memoir
By Mark Millhone. 2009
In the course of one nine-month period filmmaker Mark Millhone s youngest son nearly died from birth complications …
his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer his mother had a heart attack and passed away a freak illness claimed the life of one of his friends and his career imploded As a result of his membership in what he calls the tragedy-of-the-monthclub his marriage also began to fray Millhone responded to the chaos as many men might Late one night he logged on to eBay and bid on a vintage BMW his fantasy car but not exactly what the doctor ordered when it came to his family s finances As if sharing the news that he d won the auction with his already-peeved wife weren t bad enough it turned out that he had to travel from New York to Texas to collect the car His estranged dad joined him and together they embarked upon a dysfunctional road trip a comedy of errors that would lend Millhone the perspective he needed to save his marriage and to understand what was really important in his life his family Acerbic and hilarious but with heart this memoir offers a male perspective on a troubled marriage raising children coping with loss and rejuvenating a relationship with a parentThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Other Writings: And Selections From His Other Writings (Word Cloud Classics)
By Benjamin Franklin, E. Boyd Smith, Frank Woodworth Pine. 2018
Explore the memoirs of one of the most inventive Americans in history A fascinating and unconventionally educated man Benjamin…
Franklin imparts in his own words wisdom and remarkable life lessons on the art of living with great personal integrity Taken from John Bigelow s carefully researched 1868 publication that was transcribed directly from the original manuscript this copy is sure to be a treasured part of any home library Franklin s autobiography and significant papers are still in great demand globally and describe the interesting varied and unusual life of one of the most amazing Founding Fathers of the United StatesFrom the Mouths of Dogs: What Our Pets Teach Us about Life, Death, and Being Human
By B. J. Hollars. 2015
What is it that dogs have done to earn the title of “man’s best friend”? And more broadly, how have…
all of our furry, feathered, and four-legged brethren managed to enrich our lives? Why do we love them? What can we learn from them? And why is it so difficult to say good-bye? Join B.J. Hollars as he attempts to find out—beginning with an ancient dog cemetery in Ashkelon, Israel, and moving to the present day. Hollars’s firsthand reports recount a range of stories: the arduous existence of a shelter officer, a woman’s relentless attempt to found a senior-dog adoption facility, a family’s struggle to create a one-of-a-kind orthotic for its bulldog, and the particular bond between a blind woman and her Seeing Eye dog. The book culminates with Hollars’s own cross-country journey to Hartsdale Pet Cemetery—the country’s largest and oldest pet cemetery—to begin the long-overdue process of laying his own childhood dog to rest. Through these stories, Hollars reveals much about our pets but even more about the humans who share their lives, providing a much-needed reminder that the world would be a better place if we took a few cues from man’s best friends.Uncommon Wisdom: True Tales of What Our Lives as Doctors Have Taught Us About Love, Faith and Hea ling
By John Castaldo, Lawrence Levitt. 2006
In light of the escalating costs of healthcare in the U S and the on-going debate about appropriate health…
insurance reform it s easy to forget about the human side of medicine and the importance of the doctor-patient relationship In Uncommon Wisdom neurologists John Castaldo and Lawrence Levitt share what they have learned in their many years as doctors not just from tests and labs but from years of listening and learning from their patients These 16 tales show doctors as human beings flawed and full of doubt wonder and reverence about what it means to be alive The stories remind us that the medical profession should be about treating people with the dignity they deserve and that medical miracles don t always involve medicine These doctors find cures solve mysteries and glean many lessons from listening deeply to their patientsFor the Love of Wine: My Odyssey through the World's Most Ancient Wine Culture
By Alice Feiring. 2016
In 2011 when Alice Feiring first arrived in Georgia she felt as if she d emerged from…
the magic wardrobe into a world filled with mythical characters making exotic and delicious wine with the low-tech methods of centuries past She was smitten and she wasn t alone This country on the Black Sea has an unusual effect on people the most passionate rip off their clothes and drink wines out of horns while the cold-hearted well up with tears and make emotional toasts Visiting winemakers fall under Georgia s spell and bring home qvevris clay fermentation vessels while rethinking their own techniques p p But as in any good fairy tale Feiring sensed that danger rode shotgun with the magic With acclaim and growing international interest come threats in the guise of new wine consultants aimed at making wines more commercial So Feiring fought back in the only way she knew how by celebrating Georgia and the men and women who make the wines she loves most those made naturally with organic viticulture minimal intervention and no additives From Tbilisi to Batumi Feiring meets winemakers bishops farmers artists and silk spinners She feasts toasts and collects recipes She encounters the thriving qvevri craftspeople of the countryside wild grape hunters and even Stalin s last winemaker while plumbing the depths of this tiny country s love for its wines p For the Love of Wine is Feiring s emotional tale of a remarkable country and people who have survived religious wars and Soviet occupation yet managed always to keep hold of their precious wine traditions Embedded in the narrative is the hope that Georgia has the temerity to confront its latest threat modernizationMarcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Girl about Love
By Justine van der Leun. 2010
Readers will delight in this tale of an urbanite who leaves her magazine job to move to Collelungo Italy…
population 200 There in the ancient city center of a historic Umbrian village she sets up house with the enticing local gardener she met on vacation only weeks earlier This impulsive decision launches an eye-opening series of misadventures when village life and romance turn out to be radically different from what she had imagined Love lost with the gardener is found instead with Marcus an abandoned English pointer that she rescues With Marcus by her side Justine discovers the bliss and hardship of living in the countryside herding sheep tending to wild horses picking olives with her adopted Italian family and trying her best to learn the regional dialect The result is a rich comic and unconventional portrait about learning to live and love in the most unexpected waysThe Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography
By Deborah Levy. 2018
Crystalline, witty and audacious, The Cost of Living addresses itself to the dual experiences of writing and of womanhood, examining…
what is essential in each. Following the acclaimed Things I Don't Want to Know, which reflected deeply on the nature of gender politics and a life in letters, The Cost of Living returns to the same subject and to the same life, to find a writer in radical flux. If a woman dismantles her life, expands it and puts it back together in a new shape, how might she describe this new composition? "Words have to open the mind. When words close the mind you can be sure that someone has been reduced to nothingness." In this elegiac second instalment of her "living autobiography", Deborah Levy considers what it means to live with value and meaning and pleasure. The Cost of Living is a vital and astonishing testimony, as distinctive, wide-ranging and original as Levy's acclaimed novels.Tragedy Plus Time: A Tragi-comic Memoir
By Adam Cayton-Holland. 2018
In the tradition of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Truth & Beauty—from one of Variety’s “10 Comics to…
Watch,” a poignant tragicomic memoir about the author’s beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking relationship with his younger sister and the depression that took her life.Adam Cayton-Holland went from a painfully sensitive kid growing up in Denver, Colorado, to a writer and performer with a burgeoning career in comedy. His father, a civil rights lawyer, and his mother, an investigative journalist, taught Adam and his two sisters to feel the pain of the world deeply and to combat it through any means necessary. Adam chose to meet life’s tough breaks and cruel realities with stand-up comedy; his older sister chose law; their youngest sister, Lydia, struggled with mental illness and ultimately took her own life. This devastating tragedy strikes the Cayton-Holland household at the same moment Adam’s career is finally getting off the ground. Both a moving tribute to a lost sibling and an inspiring guide to navigating grief and pain, Tragedy Plus Time is a heartbreaking, honest, and darkly funny memoir about trying your hardest to choose life in the wake of a terrible loss.The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis
By Elizabeth Letts. 2016
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the remarkable story of the heroic…
rescue of priceless horses in the closing days of World War II In the chaotic last days of the war, a small troop of battle-weary American soldiers captures a German spy and makes an astonishing find—his briefcase is empty but for photos of beautiful white horses that have been stolen and kept on a secret farm behind enemy lines. Hitler has stockpiled the world’s finest purebreds in order to breed the perfect military machine—an equine master race. But with the starving Russian army closing in, the animals are in imminent danger of being slaughtered for food. With only hours to spare, one of the U.S. Army’s last great cavalrymen, Colonel Hank Reed, makes a bold decision—with General George Patton’s blessing—to mount a covert rescue operation. Racing against time, Reed’s small but determined force of soldiers, aided by several turncoat Germans, steals across enemy lines in a last-ditch effort to save the horses. Pulling together this multistranded story, Elizabeth Letts introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters: Alois Podhajsky, director of the famed Spanish Riding School of Vienna, a former Olympic medalist who is forced to flee the bomb-ravaged Austrian capital with his entire stable in tow; Gustav Rau, Hitler’s imperious chief of horse breeding, a proponent of eugenics who dreams of genetically engineering the perfect warhorse for Germany; and Tom Stewart, a senator’s son who makes a daring moonlight ride on a white stallion to secure the farm’s surrender. A compelling account for animal lovers and World War II buffs alike, The Perfect Horse tells for the first time the full story of these events. Elizabeth Letts’s exhilarating tale of behind-enemy-lines adventure, courage, and sacrifice brings to life one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of human valor.Praise for The Perfect Horse “Winningly readable . . . Letts captures both the personalities and the stakes of this daring mission with such a sharp ear for drama that the whole second half of the book reads like a WWII thriller dreamed up by Alan Furst or Len Deighton. . . . The right director could make a Hollywood classic out of this fairy tale.”—The Christian Science Monitor “Letts, a lifelong equestrienne, eloquently brings together the many facets of this unlikely, poignant story underscoring the love and respect of man for horses.”—Kirkus Reviews “The Perfect Horse raises the narrative bar. Applying her skills as a researcher, storyteller and horsewoman, Letts provides context that makes this account spellbinding.”—Culturess “The Perfect Horse is an enthralling and moving story that I could not put down. This is a riveting and unique perspective on World War II.”—Molly Guptill Manning, author of When Books Went to War “Passionately told and dazzling in scope, The Perfect Horse charges headlong into an unforgettable tale of World War II, when good men were given a final mission—to save beloved horses—at an hour when no one wanted to die. In Elizabeth Letts, the saga of World War II’s white stallions has found its perfect guardian.”—Adam Makos, author of A Higher Call “Elizabeth Letts’s beautiful prose, woven together with meticulous research, takes you for a ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.”—Robin Hutton, author of Sgt. Reckless