Title search results
Showing 1 - 20 of 13690 items
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
One day, Richard LeMieux had a happy marriage, a palatial home, and took $40,000 Greek vacations. The next, he was…
living out of a van with only his dog, Willow, for company. This astonishingly frank memoir tells the story of one man's resilience in the face of economic disaster. Penniless, a failed suicide, estranged from his family, and living "the vehicular lifestyle" in Washington state, LeMieux chronicles his journey from the Salvation Army kitchens to his days with "C"-a philosopher in a homeless man's clothing-to his run-ins with Pastor Bob and other characters he meets on the streets. Along the way, he finds time to haunt public libraries and discover his desire to write.LeMieux's quiet determination and his almost pious willingness to live with his situation are only a part of this politically and socially charged memoir. The real story of an all-too-common American condition, this is a heartfelt and stirring read.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
A whimsical look at growing up in the Anthracite Coal Region: flattop haircuts, football fanaticism, block parties, balsa wood models, bleenies, beer...of course...and much, much, more.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Actors biography, LGBTQ+ biography, Journals and memoirs
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
In this evocative and gorgeously wrought memoir reminiscent of Rob Sheffield’s Love Is a Mixtape and George Hodgman’s Bettyville, Michael…
Ausiello—a respected TV columnist and founder and editor-in-chief of TVLine.com—remembers his late husband, and the lessons, love, and laughter that they shared throughout their fourteen years together.For the past decade, TV fans of all stripes have counted upon Michael Ausiello’s insider knowledge to get the scoop on their favorite shows and stars. From his time at Soaps in Depth to his influential stints at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly to his current role as founder and editor-in-chief of the wildly popular website TVLine.com, Michael has established himself as the go-to expert when it comes to our most popular form of entertainment. What many of his fans don’t know, however, is that while his professional life was in full swing, Michael had to endure the greatest of personal tragedies: his husband, Kit Cowan, was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of neuroendocrine cancer. Over the course of eleven months, Kit and Michael did their best to combat the deadly disease, but Kit succumbed to his illness in February 2015. In this heartbreaking and darkly hilarious memoir, Michael tells the story of his harrowing and challenging last year with Kit while revisiting the thirteen years that preceded it, and how the undeniably powerful bond between him and Kit carried them through all manner of difficulty—always with laughter front and center in their relationship. Instead of a tale of sadness and loss, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies is an unforgettable, inspiring, and beautiful testament to the resilience and strength of true love.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, Animals and wildlife
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
The moving, inspiring story of Al, the ungainly, unruly, irresistible Newfoundland puppy who grows up to become a daring rescue…
dog and super athlete—part of Italy's elite, highly specialized corps of water rescue dogs who swoop out of helicopters and save lives.Lynne Cox—acclaimed best-selling author of Swimming to Antarctica—is internationally famous for swimming the world&’s most difficult waterways without a wet suit, and able to endure water temperatures so cold that they would kill anyone else, recognizes and celebrates all forms of athleticism in others, human or otherwise. And when she saw a video of a Newfoundland dog leaping from an airborne helicopter into Italian waters to save someone from drowning, Cox was transfixed by the rescue, and captivated by the magnificence, physicality, and daring of the dog. Tales of Al is the moving, inspiring story of Cox&’s adventures on Italy&’s picturesque Lake Idroscalo, as witness to the rigorous training of one of these spectacular dogs at SICS, the famed school that has taught hundreds of dog owners how to train their dogs—Newfoundlands, German shepherds, and golden retrievers—for this rescue operation. Cox writes about coming to know the dog at the book&’s center, Al herself, from puppyhood, an adorable but untrainable chocolate Newfoundland—about the dreams, expectations, disappointments, and vision of her trainer and about realizing the dog&’s full potential; striving with all of her canine might to become an expertly trained, highly specialized water rescue dog.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, Politics and government biography, Politics and government
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
Among the Trump era&’s savviest insiders, one name stands especially tall: Kellyanne. As a highly respected pollster for corporate and…
Republican clients and a frequent television talk show guest, Kellyanne Conway had already established herself as one of the brightest lights on the national political scene when Donald Trump asked her to run his presidential campaign. She agreed, delivering him to the White House, becoming the first woman in American history to manage a winning presidential campaign, and changing the American landscape forever. Who she is, how she did it, and who tried to stop her is a fascinating story of personal triumph and political intrigue that has never been told…until now. In Here&’s The Deal, Kellyanne takes you on a journey all the way to the White House and beyond with her trademark sharp wit, raw honesty, and level eye. It&’s all here: what it&’s like to be dissected on national television. How to outsmart the media mob. How to outclass the crazy critics. How to survive and succeed male-dominated industries. What happens when the perils of social media really hit home. And what happens when the divisions across the country start playing out in one&’s own family. In this open and vulnerable account, Kellyanne turns the camera on herself. What she has to share—about our politics, about the media, about her time in the White House, and about her personal journey—is an astonishing glimpse of visibility and vulnerability, of professional and personal highs and lows, and ultimately, of triumph.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, United States history, True crime
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
This intimate exploration of race and inequality in America tells the story of a journalist&’s long-time relationship with his mentee,…
Jorell Cleveland, through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and investigates Jorell's tragic fatal shooting. In 2005, soon after Ben Westhoff moved to St. Louis, he joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and was paired with Jorell Cleveland. Ben was twenty-eight, a white college grad from an affluent family. Jorell was eight, one of nine children from a poor, African American family living in nearby Ferguson. But the two instantly connected. Ben and Jorell formed a bond stronger than nearly any other in their lives. When Ben met the woman who'd become his wife, she observed that Ben and Jorell were "a package deal." They were brothers.In the summer of 2016, Jorell was shot at point blank range in broad daylight in the middle of the street, yet no one was charged in his death. Ben grappled with mourning Jorell, but also with a feeling of responsibility. As Jorell&’s mentor, what could he have done differently? As a journalist, he had reported on gang life, interviewed crime kingpins, and even infiltrated drug labs in China. But now, he was investigating the life and death of someone he knew personally and examining what he did and did not know about his friend. Learning the truth about Jorell and the man who killed him required Ben to uncover a heartbreaking cycle of poverty, poor education, drug trafficking, and violence. Little Brother brilliantly combines a deeply personal history with a true-crime narrative that exposes the realities of life in communities like Ferguson all around the country.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, Politics and government
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
In Longshot, Andrew Yang&’s campaign manager takes you on a tour through the ups, the downs, and the math of…
Yang&’s 2020 campaign for president, and shares the playbook his team used to navigate the attention economy.Andrew Yang did not win the 2020 Democratic primary, let alone the presidency of the United States. But chances are you know who Andrew Yang is, and you may well be part of the 75 percent of Americans who now support Universal Basic Income—both facts that would have seemed beyond unlikely at the start of Yang&’s campaign. That campaign was helmed by Zach Graumann: entrepreneur, marketing expert, and, at the time, political nonentity. In fact, when Graumann joined Yang 2020, no one on the team was an expert in campaigning, but they all shared a fervent desire to change the future. Yet, despite that inexperience, by the time Yang dropped out of the race in early 2020, he&’d not only outlasted six senators, four governors, and three members of Congress, he&’d become one of the most recognizable, popular political figures in the country. Now, for the first time, Graumann tells the story of how Yang went from nobody to national presence, breathing life into the behind-the-scenes antics of the unusual campaign that started a movement. In the process, he demystifies the world of political campaigns and provides takeaways that will help not only the next generation of campaign managers, but anyone who wants to break into a new industry—or stand out in their current one. A book for everyone from members of the Yang Gang who want the inside story to businesspeople looking for self-improvement to anyone who has ever had a dream that felt bigger than they were, Longshot reminds you that sometimes, longshots aren&’t quite as long as you think.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Arts and entertainment, Fine arts biography, Religious biography, Journals and memoirs
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
A deeply personal memoir from one of Canada’s most celebrated architects.In this personal account of A.J. Diamond’s life and work,…
he shares how he came to be the founder of the leading architecture firm Diamond Schmitt, one of Canada’s most successful architecture companies. He also explains his principles of design, which at their core are about making a positive impact in the world, considering the needs of the content, client, and context. Diamond gives insight into his design principles in relation to some of his most notable projects, including the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, la Maison symphonique de Montréal, the Mariinsky II Theatre in Saint Petersburg, and the new city hall in Jerusalem. Diamond also chronicles his family ancestry, his childhood in South Africa, from his birth in his grandfather’s study in the small provincial town of Piet Retief on the borders of Eswatini (Swaziland) and Mozambique, to his university days at the University of Cape Town and Oxford — where he played rugby at the international level, scoring two winning tries for the Oxford Blues against Australia — and the University of Pennsylvania. His memoir traces his immigration to the U.S. and, eventually, Canada as well as his growing architectural practice in Toronto, where he focused on the issues facing his chosen city.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
LGBTQ+ biography, Journals and memoirs, Women biography
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
A powerful and redemptive story of how the dazzling world of roller derby helped one young woman transform her fear…
and self-doubt into gutsy, big-hearted, adventurous living &“A universal story of healing and triumph, made all the more beautiful, wild, and free by Gabe&’s fierce love for roller derby and her team, who become her family.&”—ABBY WAMBACH, Olympian, activist, and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller WolfpackGrowing up queer in a conservative Midwestern town, Gabe Montesanti never felt comfortable in her own skin. A competitive swimmer, she turned to perfectionism and self-control to create a sense of safety, only to develop an eating disorder and constantly second-guess her instincts. When she enters graduate school in St. Louis, she is determined to put the baggage of her childhood behind her. With no prior experience, she joins Arch Rival, one of the top-ranked roller derby leagues in the world. Gabe instantly falls in love with the sport&’s roughness, intensity, and open embrace of people who are literally and figuratively scarred. She soon finds community and a sense of belonging, reveling in the tattoos, glitter, and campiness. But when Gabe suffers a catastrophic injury, she can no longer ignore the parallels between the physicality of roller derby and the unresolved trauma of her upbringing. Rendered inactive, forced to be still, Gabe realizes she needs to heal her emotional wounds as much as her physical ones; she must confront her fear and self-diminishment in order to feel truly alive.Told with unflinching honesty and a giant dose of wonder, Brace for Impact is a tender, inspiring memoir about the everyday heroism of pursuing a life less ordinary, and the deeply human need to be at peace with who you are.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Economics, Medicine, Politics and government, Death and bereavement, General non-fiction
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
A New York Times BestsellerA Wall Street Journal BestsellerA New York Times Notable Book of 2020A New York Times Book…
Review Editors’ ChoiceShortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the YearA New Statesman Book to ReadFrom economist Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, a groundbreaking account of how the flaws in capitalism are fatal for America's working classDeaths of despair from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism are rising dramatically in the United States, claiming hundreds of thousands of American lives. Anne Case and Angus Deaton explain the overwhelming surge in these deaths and shed light on the social and economic forces that are making life harder for the working class. As the college educated become healthier and wealthier, adults without a degree are literally dying from pain and despair. Case and Deaton tie the crisis to the weakening position of labor, the growing power of corporations, and a rapacious health-care sector that redistributes working-class wages into the pockets of the wealthy. This critically important book paints a troubling portrait of the American dream in decline, and provides solutions that can rein in capitalism's excesses and make it work for everyone.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Family storiesDeath and bereavement, Parenting
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
A compelling and emotional novel, for fans of Jojo Moyes and Jenny Colgan.'With a style similar to David Nicholls, Gayle's…
writing is incisive, lyrical and very beautiful...It's impossible not to fall in love with the Hope family' Irish IndependentTom Hope is broken. Ever since his wife Laura died he hasn't been the same man, and definitely not the same father. Luckily for Tom his mother-in-law Linda is around to pick up the pieces and look after his two struggling daughters, Evie and Lola. But Tom getting arrested on the first anniversary of his wife's death is the last straw for Linda.In a last bid attempt to make Tom reconnect with his daughters she takes drastic action and leaves for Australia. With two fast-maturing daughters Tom has to learn how to accept his responsibilities and navigate the newly discovered world of single fatherhood - starting immediately. With only himself to rely on, will Tom fall back into grief or finally step up and be the father his girls need?Mike's new novel, The Man I Think I Know, is out now!
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Death and bereavement
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
When the Bough Breaks presents a breakthrough concept of mourning, documenting the process of evolution from initial grief to an…
altered outlook on life. Excerpts from interviews with 50 parents who lost a child from five to forty-five trace the road from utter devastation to a revised view of life, resulting in a work that is a tribute to resilience and the indomitable human spirit. Author Judith R. Bernstein, Ph.D., speaks from the dual perspectives of bereaved parent and psychologist. She weaves keen psychological insight with the voices of parents to achieve an intelligent volume that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming. The wisdom of her science and her heart combine to result in a book that teaches the psychology of bereavement with profound tenderness.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Biography, Food and drink, Death and bereavement
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
From the indie rockstar of Japanese Breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker essay that shares the…
title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. <P><P>In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. <P><P>As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her. <P><P>Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread. <P><P><b>A New York Times Best Seller</b>
DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip)
Actors biography, Journals and memoirs, Family and relationships, Self help
Synthetic audio
From the New York Times bestselling psychologist who taught us how to be happier, an intimate, keepsake collection of wisdoms…
he learned from a most unlikely source.Even a New York Times-bestselling happiness expert can need advice!In his trailblazing Harvard courses, internationally bestselling books, and lectures and videos, positive psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar has shared his essential, scientifically backed tools for finding fulfillment the world over. But even the happiness expert needs a boost from time to time! Tal found his not in a guru or fellow psychologist, but rather in his longtime neighborhood barber, Avi-a man with a gift for making his clients look and feel great with wisdom beyond his years.Tal's visits to Avi soon grew into a friendship deeper than most. Between snips, the two men talked about everything from family and starting a business to the meaning of life and the power of music. Two years of their revelatory barbershop talk have been distilled into these gems of inspiration-perfect to give, receive, and share, even between haircuts.'A charming read to remind you that wisdom about happiness is often right around the corner.' - Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals, and co-author of Option B with Sheryl Sandberg'When a happiness expert like Ben-Shahar turns to someone else for advice, you know the advice has got to be good. Short Cuts to Happiness offers accessible, universal wisdom that puts a life of meaning and fulfilment within reach and sets a very high bar for my next trip to the barber!' - Colin Beavan, author of No Impact Man and How to Be Alive(P)2018 Tantor Audio
DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip)
Journals and memoirs
Synthetic audio
To be alive is to be in perpetual change: growing, healing, learning, aging. In Shapeshifters, award-winning writer and doctor Gavin…
Francis considers the transformations in mind and body that continue across the arc of human life.Some of these changes we have little choice about. We can't avoid puberty, the menopause, or our hair turning grey. Others may be welcome milestones along our path - a much-wanted pregnancy, a cancer cured, or a long-awaited transition to another gender. We may find ourselves turning down dark paths, towards the cruel distortions of anorexia, or the shifting sands of memory loss. New technologies can upgrade us, and even without them our bodies can transform in rare, almost magical, ways - with gigantism, or the sun-sensitivity and facial hair that led porphyria sufferers, once upon a time, to be suspected as werewolves.Medicine now has unprecedented power to alter our lives, but that power has limitations. As he helps patients face transformations both temporary and sustained, Francis draws on history, art, literature, myth and magic to show how the very essence of being human is change.
DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip)
Music biography, Journals and memoirs, Music
Synthetic audio
Few bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as The Doors, and parsing fact from fiction…
has been a virtually impossible task. But now, after fifty years, The Doors' notoriously quiet guitarist is finally breaking his silence to set the record straight.Through a series of vignettes, Robby takes readers back to where it all happened: the pawn shop where he bought his first guitar; the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust; his parents' living room where his first songwriting sessions with Jim Morrison took place; and the many concert venues that erupted into historic riots.Robby also goes into heartbreaking detail about his life's most difficult struggles, ranging from drug addiction to cancer, but he balances out the sorrow with humorous anecdotes about run-ins with unstable fans, famous musicians, and one really angry monk. SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE is at once an insightful time capsule of 1960s counterculture and a moving reflection on what it means to find oneself as a musician. It's not only a must-read for Doors fans, but an essential volume of American pop culture history.
Braille (Contracted), Electronic braille (Contracted), DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip), DAISY text (Direct to player), DAISY text (Zip), Word (Zip), ePub (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, General non-fiction, Science and technology
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
This book is a call to action. It warns that unless we learn to accept and respect our social, cultural…
and political differences as town and country people, we are never going to solve the chronic problems in our food system and environment. As we stare down the barrel of climate change, only farmers - who manage two thirds of the UK's landscape - working together with conservation groups can create a healthier food system and bring back nature in diverse abundance. But this fledgling progress is hindered and hamstrung by simplistic debates that still stoke conflict between conservative rural communities and the liberal green movement.Each chapter, from Family and Politics to Animal Welfare and the Environment, explores a different aspect of the urban/rural disconnect, weaving case studies and research with Anna's personal stories of growing up on a small, upland farm. There is a simple theme and a strong message running throughout the book - a plea to respect our differences, recognise each other's strengths and work together to heal the land.
DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, Death and bereavement, Writing
Synthetic audio
Just days into motherhood, a woman begins dying. Fast and without warning. On return from near-death, Tanya Shadrick vows to…
stop sleepwalking through life. To take more risks, like the characters in the fairy tales she loved as a small girl, before loss and fear had her retreat into routine and daydreams. Around the care of young children, she starts to play with the shape and scale of her days: to stray from the path, get lost in the woods, make bargains with strangers. As she moves beyond her respectable roles as worker, wife and mother in a small town, Tanya learns what it takes - and costs - to break the spell of longing for love, approval, safety, rescue.
DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, True crime
Synthetic audio
The Boy They Tried to Hide is the startling, true account of how truth is sometimes stranger than fiction ...Shane…
Dunphy was working as a resource teacher in a rural town when he was approached by the mother of one of his pupils, seeking help. She is worried for her troubled young son, who has been found leaving the house late at night to go deep into the woods near their home. He has spoken of meetings with a friend, Thomas, but no one else has seen him or knows who he is. As Shane tries to discover what's going on, a sexual predator he helped bring to justice years before reappears. The man is looking to settle a score, and has picked someone close to Shane as his next victim.In The Boy They Tried to Hide, Shane Dunphy revisits cases he encountered during his time as a child protection worker and journalist and, in doing so, once again discovers that leaving the past behind is harder than it seems.
DAISY Audio (CD), DAISY Audio (Direct to Player), DAISY Audio (Zip)
Journals and memoirs, Sports biography, Sports and games
Synthetic audio
Today was his first climb to the top. He knew if he was there, watching, then she would never leave…
him. Her name was Bernadette and he climbed the shed every day. This is a not a football book, as such. Rather, it is a memoir by someone who happened to have superior ability at the sport during his formative years which led him on a remarkable journey. Paul Ferris became a professional footballer and at the age of 16 was the youngest ever to play in Newcastle United's first team. Coming from Northern Ireland and being a skilful winger with dancing feet, he was inevitably hailed as 'the new George Best'. But the story of his time in the game, particularly as a young player, is one of insecurity, injuries, uncertainty, fear and, ultimately, a failure to fulfil his hopes and dreams.The book opens in Lisburn, near Belfast. The Ferris family are Catholics in a predominantly Protestant town at the height of the 'Troubles'. Ferris re-lives his childhood and teens with brutal candour laced with black humour. The Boy on the Shed is a beautifully written account of a life, but it also lifts the lid on big personalities at Newcastle United.