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Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics, Loss, and Life
By Michael Frame. 2021
In this profound and hopeful book, a mathematician and celebrated teacher shows how mathematics may help all of us—even the…
math-averse—to understand and cope with grief. We all know the euphoria of intellectual epiphany—the thrill of sudden understanding. But coupled with that excitement is a sense of loss: a moment of epiphany can never be repeated. In Geometry of Grief, mathematician Michael Frame draws on a career’s worth of insight—including his work with pioneer of fractal geometry Benoit Mandelbrot—and a gift for rendering the complex accessible as he delves into this twinning of understanding and loss. Grief, Frame reveals, can be a moment of possibility. Frame investigates grief as a response to an irrevocable change in circumstance. This reframing allows us to see parallels between the loss of a loved one or a career and the loss of the elation of first understanding a tricky concept. From this foundation, Frame builds a geometric model of mental states. An object that is fractal, for example, has symmetry of magnification: magnify a picture of a mountain or a fern leaf—both fractal—and we see echoes of the original shape. Similarly, nested inside great loss are smaller losses. By manipulating this geometry, Frame shows us, we may be able to redirect our thinking in ways that help reduce our pain. Small‐scale losses, in essence, provide laboratories to learn how to meet large-scale losses. Interweaving original illustrations, clear introductions to advanced topics in geometry, and wisdom gleaned from his own experience with illness and others’ remarkable responses to devastating loss, Frame’s poetic book is a journey through the beautiful complexities of mathematics and life. With both human sympathy and geometrical elegance, it helps us to see how a geometry of grief can open a pathway for bold action.K2: Triumph And Tragedy
By Jim Curran. 1987
K2 is the second highest mountain in the world, at 8611 metres only a couple of hundred metres lower than…
Everest. It is one of the most unrelenting and testing of the worlds 8000-metre peaks. Jim Curran came to K2 as a climbing cameraman with an unsuccessful British expedition, but stayed on through the climbing season. This is his account of the dramatic events of that summer, a story of ambitions both achieved and thwarted on a mountain which all high-altitude climbers take the most pride in overcoming. In 1986 K2 took its toll of those ambitions. Curran vividly describes the moments that contribute to the exhilaration of climbing on the world's most demanding mountain, and he assesses the tragedy of that summer with compassion and impartiality.In the Blink of an Eye: An Inspiring And True Story Of Enduring Love
By Hasso and von Bredow. 2010
The heartbreaking true story of a love that transcended tragedy.On 1 May 2000 Hasso von Bredow's life was forever changed.…
The young and active father of three suffered a massive stroke at the base of his brainstem, leaving him totally paralysed and unable to speak. With his mind as cognitive and as active as it had always been, his body became his painful prison.IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE is Hasso's moving and life-affirming memoir. At 42 Hasso had to come to terms with a life 'locked in', being dependent on others for every breath, but worst of all, losing his most precious of possessions: his voice.The only way Hasso could communicate with the world was by blinking his eyes. And using coded blinking and state of the art technology, he wrote this incredibly moving memoir letter by letter, helped only by his wife and carer, Catherine.Where Does it Hurt?: What the Junior Doctor did next
By Max Pemberton. 2009
'Treats a grim subject with warmth and self-deprecating good humour ... equally enlightening sequel' Daily MailThe sequel to the bestselling…
Trust Me, I'm a (Junior) Doctor. The junior doctor is back, but working on the streets for the Phoenix Outreach Project. Unfortunately, his first year in a hospital hasn't quite prepared him for it ...He's into his second year of medicine, but this time Max is out of the wards and onto the streets, working for the Phoenix Outreach Project.Fuelled by tea and more enthusiasm than experience, he attempts to locate and treat a wide and colourful range of patients that somehow his first year on the wards didn't prepare him for . . . from Molly the 80-year-old drugs mule and God in a Tesco car park, to middle-class mums addicted to appearances and pain killers in equal measure.His friends don't approve of the turn his career is taking, his mother is worried and the public spit at him, but Max is determined to make a difference. Despite warnings that miracles are rare, and that not everyone's life can be turned around, Max is still surprised by those that can be saved.Funny, touching and uplifting, Max goes from innocence to experience via dustbin-shopping-trips without ever losing his humanity.How to Live: The groundbreaking lifestyle guide to keep you healthy, fit and free of illness
By Professor Robert Thomas. 2020
Did you know:· that drinking a glass of red wine after sunbathing can reduce lasting skin damage?· that your choice…
of deodorant can affect your long-term health?· that some houseplants are more effective in removing air toxins than others?In How to Live, Professor Robert Thomas, one of Britain's leading oncologists and an expert in integrating nutritional and lifestyle strategies into cancer treatment, gives us effective, scientifically proven advice about everything from diet and exercise to sleep and skincare.As Thomas explains, through achievable changes to our daily routine we can improve the expression of our genes - helping us beat the odds of cancer and chronic disease. We discover, for example, why drinking a glass of red wine after sunbathing can reduce lasting skin damage; and why some houseplants are more effective than others in removing air toxins.This is a health bible for life. Whether you are in your 20s or 70s, it will help you to empower your body against ageing and degenerative disease and live at maximum strength.Sabotage: How to Silence Your Inner Critic and Get Out of Your Own Way
By Emma Gannon. 2020
We all have a relationship with self-sabotage, a tendency to put barriers in the way of our progression and our…
happiness - at home and at work, both on and offline. Sabotage is a book about challenging these behaviours, digging a little deeper into why that unhelpful voice can creep up on us. Procrastination, jealousy, inner critic: how can we overcome these obstacles? How do we stop getting in our own way?Exploring real-life stories of success and setbacks from leading cultural voices, Emma Gannon searches for experiences, solutions and ways to look differently at what's really holding us back. This is the handbook you need to slay your own sabotage.Broke Vegan: Over 100 plant-based recipes that don't cost the earth
By Saskia Sidey. 2020
As seen on TV'There's something for everyone here... Brilliant recipes... A really clever book' - Georgina Hayden, Sunday Brunch We…
all want to help do our bit to save the planet by moving towards a plant-based diet, but let's face it: eating vegan can be expensive.With over 100 plant-based recipes using supermarket staples along with hints and tips for making your food go further, Broke Vegan will have you cooking meals time after time that save money and save the planet. From easy weeknight meals ready in 20 minutes to feeding a crowd on a budget or saving bags of time and money by batch cooking, Broke Vegan has got you covered.Whether you're taking part in Veganuary for the first time, making the move from veggie to vegan or just trying to make your money go further, Broke Vegan will bring variety and flavour to your meals without having to spend a fortune.BREAKFAST & BRUNCH including:Speedy sourdoughAny berry muffinsFrozen smoothie bowlBATCH COOKING including:Confit tomatoesChilli con veggieSticky sweet auberginesREADY IN 20 including:Kimchi pancakes with dipping sauceCauliflower nuggetsBack of the fridge frittersIMPRESS A CROWD including:Pizza 5 waysAny vegetable tartSOMETHING SWEET including: Chocolate mousse Lemon, coconut & cardamom cakeLeftover porridge flapjacks'One of the funniest books of the year' - GuardianA collection of hilarious personal essays, poems and even amusement park…
maps on the subjects of insecurity, fame, anxiety, and much more from the charming and wickedly funny creator of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. "It's nice to know someone as talented as Rachel is also pretty weird. If you're like me and love Rachel Bloom, this hilarious, personal book will make you love her even more." - Mindy Kaling "Rachel is one of the funniest, bravest people of our generation and this book blew me away." - Amy SchumerRachel Bloom has felt abnormal and out of place her whole life. In this exploration of what she thinks makes her 'different', she's come to realise that a lot of people also feel this way; even people who she otherwise thought were 'normal'.In a collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, all told in the unique voice (sometimes singing voice) that made her a star, Rachel writes about everything from her love of Disney, OCD and depression, weirdness, and female friendships to the story of how she didn't poop in the toilet until she was four years old. It's a hilarious, smart, and infinitely relatable collection (except for the pooping thing).Readers love I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are'I adore Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and this book was exactly what I needed it to be. Would highly recommend.' 5*'Rachel's voice is loud and clear from the first lines of the book. I've been missing it since Crazy Ex-Girlfriend . . . this time she's talking right to me, in my head, and it is like being part of this newfound Friendtopia.' 5*'Heartfelt. Honest. Genuine. And funny as hell . . . Rachel writes about the things that could have broken her, but didn't, in a very funny and raw way, and she doesn't hold back.' 5*'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a hilarious and honest show which does not hold back when confronting the truth of sex, love, mental illness and life. This same comedic and chaotic energy is channelled in Bloom's wonderful book which I would highly recommend, whether you are a previous fan of hers or not.' 5*The Windsor Diaries: A childhood with the Princesses
By Alathea Fitzalan Howard. 2020
**SPECTATOR BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020****TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020****SUNDAY EXPRESS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020**'A new perspective on…
"Lilibet" as she fell for her future husband' Sunday Express, Books of the Year'For a glimpse into the lives of the young princesses these diaries are riveting' Daily Mail'A must if you love The Crown' Good Housekeeping'A wonderful book' A. N. Wilson, Spectator, Books of the Year'Funny, astute, poignant and historically fascinating' The Times'A compelling and revealing insight into the teenage life of the then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret' Richard Kay, Daily Mail'I loved reading this, so reminiscent of my own childhood' Anne Glenconner, author of Lady in Waiting'Fascinating insight into Elizabeth as a teenager' OK! Magazine************************The Windsor Diaries are the never-before-seen diaries of Alathea Fitzalan Howard, who lived alongside the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at Windsor Castle during the Second World War. Alathea's home life was an unhappy one. Her parents had separated and so during the war she was sent to live with her grandfather, Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent, at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park. There Alathea found the affection and harmony she craved as she became a close friend of the two princesses, visiting them often at Windsor Castle, enjoying parties, balls, cinema evenings, picnics and celebrations with the Royal Family and other members of the Court.Alathea's diary became her constant companion during these years as day by day she recorded every intimate detail of life with the young Princesses, often with their governess Crawfie, or with the King and Queen. Written from the ages of sixteen to twenty-two, she captures the tight-knit, happy bonds between the Royal Family, as well as the aspirations and anxieties, sometimes extreme, of her own teenage mind. These unique diaries give us a bird's eye view of Royal wartime life with all of Alathea's honest, yet affectionate judgments and observations - as well as a candid and vivid portrait of the young Princess Elizabeth, known to Alathea as 'Lilibet', a warm, self-contained girl, already falling for her handsome prince Philip, and facing her ultimate destiny: the Crown.The Japanese Guide to Healthy Drinking: Advice from a Saké-loving Doctor on How Alcohol Can Be Good for You
By Kaori Haishi, Dr Shinichi Asabe. 2017
'People in Japan take their drink seriously. But alcohol is seriously bad for you. This book will tell you how…
to hold your drink - without dying from the consequences'HENRY GEE, Senior Editor, Nature, and author of The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution'Drinking can be one of life's great pleasures, but it can also be very harmful and dangerous. Here is a sensible, science-driven, and thought-provoking look at both the pluses and minuses of alcohol as well as tips on how to hopefully enjoy your favourite tipple in a safer way. Kanpai!'BRIAN ASHCRAFT, author of The Japanese Saké Bible and Japanese Whisky 'A refreshingly honest look at booze and how to get the best out of it. I can definitely drink to that.'HELEN McGINN, author of The Knackered Mother's Wine ClubALCOHOL CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU!In this uniquely Japanese mix of quirky fun and hard science, alcohol is revealed not as a poison, but as the best of all medicines . . . up to a point. If we drink healthily, drinkers need never give up what we love. Kaori Haishi is a journalist and the director of the Japan Saké Association; Dr Shinichi Asabe is a liver specialist who likes a drink. Kaori Haishi interviewed a line-up of twenty-five booze-loving physicians, including Japan's leading expert on throwing up, a sleep specialist on how nightcaps can cause depression and a professor on how drinking too much beer can prevent the secretion of testosterone. Now, with Dr Asabe's expert medical help, she has written this book. Universally relevant information about the effects of wines, beers and spirits on the human body is delivered with clarity and precision, backed up by plentiful footnotes citing the latest academic research. The unfailingly amusing Haishi has particularly empathetic advice for women, including the merits of saké as a miracle skin-care product. The book explores all sorts of issues, such as:Bitter Medicine - how beer can help to prevent dementia.Shakes on a Plane - is in-flight drinking dangerous?Mellow Yellow - checking the colour of your pee.Snack Attacks - secrets for avoiding weight gain.And that perennial mystery . . . how do the French get away with it?Twochubbycubs Fast and Filling: 100 Delicious Slimming Recipes
By Paul Anderson, James Anderson. 2020
*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*THIS IS 2CC'S MUST-HAVE SECOND SERVING OF DELICIOUS SLIMMING RECIPES - FULL OF FLAVOUR, FAST TO MAKE…
AND FILLING - ALL 500 CALORIES OR LESS! Fast and Filling, is the second cookbook from Sunday Times bestselling authors, the twochubbycubs - packed 100 more tasty slimming recipes, all under 500 calories, beautifully photographed and easy to make - these meals and snacks are designed to help with your weight loss and ensure you save precious time in the kitchen too - whether that's through meals cooked in minutes, or dinner ideas that can be scaled up and batch cooked for later. What to expect: - All recipes are calorie counted with clear indications of portions and prep and cook timings + flavour and cooking tips.- 2CC store cupboard essentials.- Recipe symbols throughout: easy to scale, quick to make, good for lunches, freeze well, dairy-free, gluten-free, veggie and vegan + smart swaps - ideas to make each recipe work for your dietary requirements. - Simple, affordable, family-friendly ingredients. - Chapters include: Bangin' Breakfasts, Minute Meals (for those in a hurry!), One Pan, Low & Slow, Tighten the Belt (for pre-pay day!), Fakeaways and Sweet Treats. - Miniblogs of signature silliness with each recipe - James and Paul will give you a newfound confidence to get cooking and have you laughing along the road to weight loss!The World According to Razor: My Closest Shaves
By Neil 'Razor' Ruddock. 2020
'If you were expecting to read Razor's views on politics then you're going to be disappointed. Anybody who wants to…
read that needs help! This is yours truly talking about some of the experiences that have helped to create the absolute legend that is moi. Some of the tales involve a bit of mischief and most involve a drink or two. Most importantly, though, they're all a bit of a laugh so I'd settle down and have yourself a nice little read'The two things Razor Ruddock can't resist in life are a pint and a dare. That and seventeen years as a professional footballer under his belt means he's got a story or two to tell. Chickening out of a fight with Eric Cantona, robbing Alan Shearer's minibar, cinema trips with Gazza, becoming mates with Ian Wright - Razor has seen and done it all.Packed full of hilarious anecdotes, Razor gives us his take on the beautiful game, sharing his tactics (good banter is a defender's duty), red mist (and red cards) on the pitch, run-ins with the FA and his theory as to why Ingerland never do as well as we'd like, as well as his best ever goal and the greatest night of his sporting life.Razor also lifts the lid on his bad reputation and reveals his regrets, his heroes, his greatest fears (notably upsetting the missus) and what it takes to make Britain's hardest footballer cry. Poignantly, he shares his views on the importance of family and his concerns over footballers' mental health. And the biggest surprise of all: that he was a shy and retiring young lad (and that his love of swearing comes from his mum).Cameo appearances include: Bobby Robson, Diego Maradona, Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Harry Redknapp, David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Gazza, Jimmy Case, Phil 'The Power' Taylor, Robbie Williams and Nelson Mandela ('Nelse').With his trademark sense of humour and foot-in-mouth disease, The World According to Razor is like having a pint down the pub with Razor himself.The Circling Sky: On Nature and Belonging in an Ancient Forest
By Neil Ansell. 2021
From a 2018 Wainwright Prize shortlisted author, THE CIRCLING SKY is part childhood memoir, blended with exquisite nature observation, and…
the story of one man's journey over a year to one of the UK's key natural habitats, the New Forest of HampshireIn the form of several journeys, beginning in January 2019, Neil Ansell returns for solitary walks to the New Forest in Hampshire, close to where he was born. With beautiful sightings and observations of birds, trees, butterflies, insects and landscape, this is also a reflective memoir on childhood, on the history of one of the most ancient and important natural habitats in the United Kingdom, and on the Gypsies who lived there for centuries - and were subsequently expelled to neighbouring cities. It is also part polemic on our collective and individual responsibility for the land and world in which we live, and how we care for it.As Neil Ansell concludes so eloquently, 'Evolution has no choice in what it does, but we do, as a species, if not always as individuals'.Chemical Warrior: Syria, Salisbury and Saving Lives at War
By Hamish de Bretton-Gordon. 2020
GRIPPING, MOVING AND INSPIRING: the remarkable life of a world-leading expert in chemical weapons defence."Unlike any account of warfare I've…
read" - Billy BillinghamFor thirty years, Hamish has served and volunteered in conflict zones around the world. As the army's foremost chemical weapons expert, he built a unique first-hand understanding of how to prevent attacks and train doctors on the frontline - saving countless lives in the process.After suffering near-death experiences time and again, Hamish discovered he had a ticking time bomb in his own chest: a heart condition called Sudden Death Syndrome that could kill him at any time. But with a new awareness for the fragility of life, he fought harder to make his count.Despite facing extraordinary personal danger, Hamish has unearthed evidence of multiple chemical attacks in Syria and continues to advise the government at the highest level, including after the 2018 Novichok poisoning in Salisbury. Lifting the lid on Hamish's unique world of battlefield expertise and humanitarian work, Chemical Warrior is a thrilling story of bravery and compassion.Inventing the Thrifty Gene: The Science of Settler Colonialism
By Travis Hay. 2021
Though First Nations communities in Canada have historically lacked access to clean water, affordable food, and equitable health care, they…
have never lacked access to well-funded scientists seeking to study them. Inventing the Thrifty Gene examines the relationship between science and settler colonialism through the lens of “Aboriginal diabetes” and the thrifty gene hypothesis, which posits that Indigenous peoples are genetically predisposed to type 2 diabetes and obesity due to their alleged hunter-gatherer genes. Hay’s study begins with Charles Darwin’s travels and his observations on the Indigenous peoples he encountered, setting the imperial context for Canadian histories of medicine and colonialism. It continues in the mid-twentieth century with a look at nutritional experimentation during the long career of Percy Moore, the medical director of Indian Affairs (1946–1965). Hay then turns to James Neel’s invention of the thrifty gene hypothesis in 1962 and Robert Hegele’s reinvention and application of the hypothesis to Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario in the 1990s. Finally, Hay demonstrates the way in which settler colonial science was responded to and resisted by Indigenous leadership in Sandy Lake First Nation, who used monies from the thrifty gene study to fund wellness programs in their community. Inventing the Thrifty Gene exposes the exploitative nature of settler science with Indigenous subjects, the flawed scientific theories stemming from faulty assumptions of Indigenous decline and disappearance, as well as the severe inequities in Canadian health care that persist even today.A Year of Mystical Thinking: Make Life Feel Magical Again
By Emma Howarth. 2021
A witty and life-affirming account of a spiritual seeker&’s year-long quest for enlightenment.'What if you could find inner peace right…
where you are? No one-way ticket to paradise required...'After a terrible year, feeling burned out and broken, Emma Howarth decided to go on a year-long mystical adventure - from the comfort of her own home.The result was a year that changed everything. A year that turned frantic chaos into life in the slow lane. A year of magic and moonlight and pink sky sunrises. A year fragranced with incense and burning herbs (that sometimes smelled suspiciously illegal).A Year of Mystical Thinking is Emma's witty and life-affirming account of the year that transformed her world. Each month she introduces a new spiritual practice, with practical, actionable tips - from how to create the perfect vision board to living by the phases of the moon. Join Emma on her journey as she connects with spirit guides in February, obsesses over astrology in August and learns about reiki in November.Unstitched: My Journey to Understand Opioid Addiction and How People and Communities Can Heal
By Brett Ann Stanciu. 2021
What if society looked at addiction without judgement? Unstitched shares the powerful story of one librarian&’s quest to understand the impact…
of addiction fed by stigma and inevitable secrecy.The opioid epidemic has hit people in communities large and small and across all socio-economic classes. What should each of us know about it, and do about it? Unstitched moves readers from feelings of helplessness and blame into empathy, ultimately helping friends, family, and community members separate the disease of addiction from the person underneath.A stranger, rumored to be a heroin addict, repeatedly breaks into the small-town library Brett Ann Stanciu runs. After she tries to get law enforcement to take meaningful action against him—elementary school children and young parents with babies frequent the place after all—he dies by suicide. When she realizes how little she knows about opioid misuse, she sets out on a mission, seeking insight from others, such as people in recovery, treatment providers, the town police chief, and Vermont's US attorney. Stanciu&’s journey leads to compassionate generosity, renewed faith, and ultimately a measure of personal redemption as she realizes she has a role to play in helping the people of her community stitch themselves back together.No. 91/92: A Diary of a Year on the Bus (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents)
By Lauren Elkin. 2021
A love letter to Paris and a meditation on how it has changed in two decades, evolving from the twentieth…
century into the twenty-first, from analog to digital.Your telephone is precious. It may be envied. We recommend vigilance when using it in public. --Paris bus public noticeIn fall 2014 Lauren Elkin began keeping a diary of her bus commutes in the Notes app on her iPhone 5c, writing down the interesting things and people she saw in a Perecquian homage to Bus Lines 91 and 92, which she took from her apartment in the 5th Arrondissement to her teaching job in the 7th. Reading the notice, she decided to be vigilant when using her phone: she would carry out a public transport vigil, using it to take in the world around her and notice all the things she would miss if she continued using it the way she had been, the way everyone does--to surf the web, check social media, maintain her daily sense of self through digital interaction. Her goal became to observe the world through the screen of her phone, rather than using her phone to distract from the world.During the course of that academic year, the Charlie Hebdo attacks occurred and Elkin had an ectopic pregnancy, requiring emergency surgery. At that point, her diary of dailiness became a study of the counterpoint between the everyday and the Event, mediated through early twenty-first century technology, and observed from the height of a bus seat. No. 91/92 is a love letter to Paris, and a meditation on how it has changed in the two decades the author has lived there, evolving from the twentieth century into the twenty-first, from analog to digital.Where Tomorrows Aren't Promised: A Memoir of Survival and Hope
By Carmelo Anthony. 2021
From iconic NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony comes a raw and inspirational memoir about growing up in the housing projects of…
Red Hook and Baltimore—a brutal world Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised. For a long time, Carmelo Anthony’s world wasn’t any larger than the view of the hoopers and hustlers he watched from the side window of his family’s first-floor project apartment in Red Hook, Brooklyn. He couldn’t dream any bigger than emulating his older brothers and cousin, much less going on to become a basketball champion on the world stage. He faced palpable dangers growing up in the housing projects in Red Hook and West Baltimore’s Murphy Homes (a.k.a. Murder Homes, subject of HBO’s The Wire). He navigated an education system that ignored, exploited, or ostracized him. He suffered the untimely deaths of his closely held loved ones. He struggled to survive physically and emotionally. But with the strength of family and the guidance of key mentors on the streets and on the court, he pushed past lethal odds to endure and thrive. By the time Carmelo found himself at the NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden in 2003 preparing to embark on his legendary career, he wondered: How did a kid who&’d had so many hopes, dreams, and expectations beaten out of him by a world of violence, poverty, and racism make it here at all? Carmelo’s story is one of perseverance and determination; of dribbling past players bigger and tougher than him, while also weaving around vial caps and needles strewn across the court; where dealers and junkies lined one side of the asphalt and kids playing jacks and Double Dutch lined the other; where rims had no nets, and you better not call a foul—a place Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised. A New York Times Best SellerEl Niño Sin Nombre: La lucha de un niño por sobrevivir
By Dave Pelzer. 1995
This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is…
the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it." Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.