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Sarah's Diary: An unflinchingly honest account of one family's struggle with depression
By Sarah Griffin. 2007
'I was fourteen when I found my Dad trying to commit suicide in the garage. Sounds shocking doesn't it? But…
that was part of me, part of living with my Dad'Sarah's Diary is the very personal diary of Sarah Griffin - an ordinary teenage girl learning to deal with the ups and downs of family life. On the outside hers was like any other family, but behind closed doors lay a sad and lonely secret. Sarah's Dad had depression -- a condition we've all heard of but seldom discuss. Beautifully written, brutally honest, Sarah's story is compelling reading.Reflections: The Sunday Times bestselling book of life lessons from superstar presenter Holly Willoughby
By Holly Willoughby. 2017
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'From the heart. It feels so authentic . . . Encompassing and inclusive . . . Reads…
beautifully and fluidly and feels like having a chat with your best friend' - Elizabeth Day on HOW TO FAIL'The book is a triumph...an accessible insight into the woman behind the brand' Grazia________________________Have you ever found yourself in that moment where you just wonder - what's next? I could carry on as I am but there's a yearning for something else. That's where this book started for me...Presenter. Fashion icon. Wife. Mother. Holly Willoughby lights up the nation's TV screens every day but, like all of us, she has struggled with moments of self-doubt, feelings of guilt, anger and detachment. Here she shares how she has learned to reconnect with herself in order to face her fears head on. With her trademark warmth, Holly shows how listening to her inner voice and celebrating life's little moments of beauty and joy - like looking up at the moon or finding the perfect red lipstick - helped her feel whole again. Reflections is an empathetic, encouraging book that will inspire you to live your most beautiful, authentic life.WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:-'I rarely read and read this book in two days! Much of what Holly wrote about resonated with me and I've taken so much practical advice away with me.'-'Like little snippets of therapy'-'This book is brilliant. Holly addresses many things that we all face in life and gives her best advice on how to overcome them. Fantastic for anyone but mostly anyone who suffers any kind of anxieties or self consciousness. -'Amazing . . . Holly is just fabulous and I can't put it down, so nice to know we aren't in this journey alone' -'So beautifully written and relatable in lots of ways. It will be a book that I am sure I will keep taking off of my book shelf to keep going back to read for a long time'The Positive Ageing Plan: The Expert Guide to Healthy, Beautiful Skin at Every Age
By Dr Vicky Dondos. 2021
'This book will make you rethink everything the world has erroneously told you about ageing' Farrah Storr, Editor of Elle…
*****When we look in the mirror we want to see a fresh-faced, radiant and confident version of ourselves and Dr Vicky Dondos has spent fifteen years helping her clients see just that. In The Positive Ageing Plan she shares her advice for how you can enjoy an effortless, confident glow, at every age.The aim isn't to look younger, but to look and feel good about yourself and your appearance throughout your life. In this empowering guide, Dr Vicky demystifies the ageing process, reveals the products that are worth investing in and shows you how to create your own personalized programme, so that you can care for your own health and appearance in a way that works for you, your schedule and your budget.The expert advice in this book will help you:- Better understand your own skin- Find the skincare approach that works for you- Learn radiance-boosting lifestyle tips- Get the lowdown on the cosmetic treatments available to you- Above all, appreciate your own natural beautyWhatever your reasons for picking up this book, it is a science-based, straight-talking, judgement-free guide to finding the best options for your skin and will help you grow the confidence that comes with looking great.*****'Tatler's finest ... one of the most rigorous, skilled, clever and charming specialists out there.' Francesca White, Tatler Beauty Editor 'A brilliant book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learned so much. I finished it feeling empowered and in control' Lily Boulle, Founder & Managing Director of Sleep SirenPop Art: A Colourful History
By Alastair Sooke. 2015
Pop Art by the BBC's Alastair Sooke - an essential but snappy new guide to our favourite art movementPop Art…
is the most important 20th-century art movement. It brought Modernism to the masses, making art sexy and fun with coke cans and comics. Today, in our age of selfies and social networking, we are still living in a world defined by Pop.Full of brand new interviews and research, Sooke describes the great works by Warhol, Lichtenstein and other key figures, but also re-examines the movement for the 21st century and asks if it is still art? He reveals a global story, tracing Pop's surprising origins in 19th-century Paris to uncovering the forgotten female artists of the 1960s."A clear and lively outline of the history of pop art ... a pleasure to read" - Sunday TimesThe wryly amusing and revealing story of one man’s journey into the swinger lifestyle that “transcends most of the usual…
boundaries of sexuality…and leaves the vanilla world behind” (The New York Times Book Review).An estimated fifteen million strong worldwide, swingers are everywhere—a huge community hiding in plain sight, whose erotic pastime remains a complete mystery to the rest of us. In Swingland, Daniel Stern outs himself and the secretive society he loves, recounting his ten-year transformation from a lonely guy who couldn’t get a date into a veteran sexual adventurer.With wit and infectious enthusiasm, Stern shares all the hard-earned wisdom he’s acquired in America’s swinging underground. He encounters plenty of bumps and bruises along the way, including countless rejections, missed opportunities, and one particular AARP orgy. But slowly and surely, through an impressive series of threesomes, foursomes, and moresomes, this “Vanilla” newbie becomes a much sought-after partner for couples looking to spice up their relationships. Travel with Stern on his exploits, learn a whole new lexicon (there aren’t many single women swingers, or “Unicorns,” but plenty of MFMs, FMFs, MMFMs, and MMMFMs), and gain free, invaluable advice should you decide to take the plunge (be honest, sensitive, and hygienic!).“Equal parts memoir and guide book” (New York Post), Swingland is much more than a “unique, voyeuristic exposé” (Kirkus Reviews). Lovingly written, with a keen sensibility regarding the sensitive and often misunderstood subject, Stern’s narrative is as improbably safe as it is fun—and impossible to put down.Gimme Shelter
By Mary Elizabeth Williams. 2009
"Of course I want a home," writes Mary Elizabeth Williams, "I'm American." Gimme Shelter is the first book to reveal…
how this primal desire, "encoded into our cultural DNA," drove our nation to extremes, from the heights of an unprecedented housing boom to the depths of an unparalleled crash. As a writer and parent in New York City, Williams is careful to ground her real-estate dreams in the reality of her middle-class bank account. Yet as a person who knows no other way to fall in love than at first sight, her relationship with the nation's most daunting housing market is a passionate one. Williams's house-hunting fantasy quickly morphs into a test of endurance, as her search for a place to live and a mortgage she can afford stretches into a three-year odyssey that takes her to the farthest reaches of the boroughs and the limits of her own patience. "Welcome to the tracks," she declares at the outset of yet another weekend tour of blindingly bad, wildly overpriced properties. "Let's go to the wrong side of them, shall we?" As her own quest unfolds, Williams simultaneously reports on the housing markets nationwide. Friends and family members grapple with real estate agents and lenders, neighborhood and quality-of-life issues, all the while voicing common concerns, as expressed by this Maryland working parent of three: "The market was so hot, there were no houses. We looked for years at places the owners wouldn't even clean, let alone fix up." How frustrating is the process? Williams likens it to hearing "the opening bars of a song you think is 'Super Freak.' And then it turns out to be 'U Can't Touch This.'" Told in an engaging blend of factfinding and memoir, Gimme Shelter charts the course of the real estate bubble as it floated ever upward, not with faceless numbers and documents but with the details of countless personal stories -- about the undeniable urge to put down roots and the lengths to which we'll go to find our way home.The Death Class: A True Story About Life
By Erika Hayasaki. 2014
The poignant, “powerful” (The Boston Globe) look at how to appreciate life from an extraordinary professor who teaches about death:…
“Poetic passages and assorted revelations you’ll likely not forget” (Chicago Tribune).Why does a college course on death have a three-year waiting list? When nurse Norma Bowe decided to teach a course on death at a college in New Jersey, she never expected it to be popular. But year after year students crowd into her classroom, and the reason is clear: Norma’s “death class” is really about how to make the most of what poet Mary Oliver famously called our “one wild and precious life.”Under the guise of discussions about last wills and last breaths and visits to cemeteries and crematoriums, Norma teaches her students to find grace in one another. In The Death Class, award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki followed Norma for more than four years, showing how she steers four extraordinary students from their tormented families and neighborhoods toward happiness: she rescues one young woman from her suicidal mother, helps a young man manage his schizophrenic brother, and inspires another to leave his gang life behind. Through this unorthodox class on death, Norma helps kids who are barely hanging on to understand not only the value of their own lives, but also the secret of fulfillment: to throw yourself into helping others. Hayasaki’s expert reporting and literary prose bring Norma’s wisdom out of the classroom, transforming it into an inspiring lesson for all. In the end, Norma’s very own life—and how she lives it—is the lecture that sticks. “Readers will come away struck by Bowe’s compassion—and by the unexpectedly life-affirming messages of courage that spring from her students’ harrowing experiences” (Entertainment Weekly).10 Minutes, 10 Years: Your Definitive Guide to a Beautiful and Youthful Appearance
By Frederic Brandt. 2007
If you find yourself lost and alone in the skin-care aisle; if you're thinking of going under the knife, but…
hoping you won't have to; if you need specific, detailed information about how to get rid of the bags under your eyes or those ever-deepening furrows in your brow; if you've gone to your girlfriends, women's magazines, cosmetics counters, facialists, and plastic surgeons and gotten lots of conflicting answers; then Dr. Fredric Brandt's simple, streamlined system is for you. With 10 Minutes/10 Years, one of the world's most famous cosmetic dermatologists offers a breakthrough skin-care program that will take you only ten minutes a day -- and will reverse your skin's aging process by ten years. There is a skin-care revolution taking place; the days of washing your face with soap and water and slapping on some cream are long gone. But this means that skin care isn't simple anymore. As new products appear, seemingly overnight, it becomes harder to know what's right for your skin. With warmth and humor, Dr. Brandt cuts through the information overload to provide concrete information and advice for women of all ages and of every skin type. He helps you determine who to go to and who not to go to as well as what to ask. 10 Minutes/10 Years is a uniquely formatted, problem/solution-driven guidebook that reveals many unknown threats to the skin which age it before its time, such as sugar and diet (Chapter 3). Need to know about the brown spots on your cheeks? Turn to Chapter 6. Sick of your drooping chin? Read Chapter 14. Driven to despair by your thinning hair? Look at Chapter 19. But before you decide what system you need, consult Chapter 4 for a comprehensive list of the best products, treatments, and procedures available. Dr. Brandt explains what they are and how they work -- from the least invasive, over-the-counter creams to the most cutting-edge injectibles. Once you understand the basics, you can move on to your specific area of concern in the book's final section, which offers precise information for every skin type. There is no one-shot solution -- we are constantly aging, and we have to keep maintaining ourselves. 10 Minutes/10 Years is Dr. Brandt's targeted approach to this maintenance. His system has already helped thousands of people look younger, and now readers will have their own one-way ticket back to a youthful appearance.Don't Make Me Pull Over!: An Informal History of the Family Road Trip
By Richard Ratay. 2018
&“A lighthearted, entertaining trip down Memory Lane&” (Kirkus Reviews), Don&’t Make Me Pull Over! offers a nostalgic look at the…
golden age of family road trips—before portable DVD players, smartphones, and Google Maps.The birth of America&’s first interstate highways in the 1950s hit the gas pedal on the road trip phenomenon and families were soon streaming—sans seatbelts!—to a range of sometimes stirring, sometimes wacky locations. In the days before cheap air travel, families didn&’t so much take vacations as survive them. Between home and destination lay thousands of miles and dozens of annoyances, and with his family Richard Ratay experienced all of them—from being crowded into the backseat with noogie-happy older brothers, to picking out a souvenir only to find that a better one might have been had at the next attraction, to dealing with a dad who didn&’t believe in bathroom breaks.Now, decades later, Ratay offers &“an amiable guide…fun and informative&” (New York Newsday) that &“goes down like a cold lemonade on a hot summer&’s day&” (TheWall Street Journal). In hundreds of amusing ways, he reminds us of what once made the Great American Family Road Trip so great, including twenty-foot &“land yachts,&” oasis-like Holiday Inn &“Holidomes,&” &“Smokey&”-spotting Fuzzbusters, twenty-eight glorious flavors of Howard Johnson&’s ice cream, and the thrill of finding a &“good buddy&” on the CB radio.An &“informative, often hilarious family narrative [that] perfectly captures the love-hate relationship many have with road trips&” (Publishers Weekly), Don&’t Make Me Pull Over! reveals how the family road trip came to be, how its evolution mirrored the country&’s, and why those magical journeys that once brought families together—for better and worse—have largely disappeared.Abroad in Japan: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller
By Chris Broad. 2023
THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER'Chris Broad explores Japan in all its quirky glory..Endlessly fascinating!'Will Ferguson, author of Hokkaido Highway Blues'Carves a…
unique path across Japan bringing him into contact with far too many cats, heartening renewal in Tohoku, and even pizza with Ken Watanabe.'Iain Maloney, author of The Only Gaijin in the Village'Fascinating, fact-packed and very funny..An excellent and enjoyable read for the Japan-curious. I loved it and learned a lot.'Sam Baldwin, author of For Fukui's Sake: Two years in rural JapanWhen Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history?Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that came with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most complex cultures.Spanning ten years and all forty-seven prefectures, Chris takes us from the lush rice fields of the countryside to the frenetic neon-lit streets of Tokyo. With blockbuster moments such as a terrifying North Korean missile incident, a mortifying experience at a love hotel and a week spent with Japan's biggest movie star, Abroad in Japan is an extraordinary and informative journey through the Land of the Rising Sun.Number one Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023Return to Beauty: Old-World Recipes for Great Radiant Skin
By Narine Nikogosian. 2009
Return to Beauty offers regimens made from fresh ingredients that can be found right in your kitchen. With recipes for…
winter, spring, summer, and fall, you can look beautiful throughout the year. Narine Nikogosian's natural and inexpensive products can be whipped up in less than ten minutes. Have a jar of honey in your pantry? Mix it with a few crushed walnuts to create a sensual, aromatic scrub for oily skin. Use dabs of cottage cheese to lighten undereye circles, or almond oil to rehydrate cracked lips. Narine also provides recipes based on astrological signs, such as for Scorpio, a Gracious Grapefruit Mask made of grapefruit, egg yolk, and soothing honey to rejuvenate your skin even after a late night. Narine is from a long line of Armenian women who have been harnessing the powers of nature to create everlasting beauty. For the first time, she reveals her secrets so that you can have star-worthy skin.Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America
By Ken Wells. 2004
Do beer yeast rustlers really exist? Who patented the Beer Goddess? How can you tell a Beer Geek from a…
Beer Nazi? Where exactly is Beervana? Does Big Beer hate Little Beer? Ken Wells, a novelist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and longtime Wall Street Journal writer, answers these questions and more by bringing a keen eye and prodigious reportage to the people and passions that have propelled beer into America's favorite alcoholic beverage and the beer industry into a $75 billion commercial juggernaut, not to mention a potent force in American culture. Travels with Barley is a lively, literate tour through the precincts of the beer makers, sellers, drinkers, and thinkers who collectively drive the mighty River of Beer onward. The heart of the book is a journey along the Mississippi River, from Minnesota to Louisiana, in a quixotic search for the Perfect Beer Joint -- a journey that turns out to be the perfect pretext for viewing America through the prism of a beer glass. Along the river, you'll visit the beer bar once owned by the brewer Al Capone, glide by The World's Largest Six Pack, and check into Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel to plumb the surprisingly controversial question of whether Elvis actually drank beer. But the trip also includes numerous detours up quirky tributaries, among them: a visit to an Extreme Beer maker in Delaware with ambitions to make 50-proof brew, a look at the murky world of beer yeast rustlers in California, and a journey to the portals of ultimate beer power at the Anheuser-Busch plant in St. Louis, where making the grade as a Clydesdale draft horse is harder than you might imagine. Entertaining, enlightening, and written with Wells's trademark verve, Travels with Barley is a perfect gift -- not just for America's 84 million beer enthusiasts, but for all discerning readers of flavorful nonfiction.Effortless Style
By June Ambrose, Richard Buskin. 2006
So you probably won't be attending your own movie premiere or collecting a Grammy Award this year. That doesn't mean…
you can't look like you're ready for the red carpet and fawning paparazzi. In Effortless Style, June Ambrose, the celebrity fashion stylist and designer who's shaped the looks of some of the biggest names in entertainment -- including Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Kelly Ripa, and Mariah Carey -- reveals the industry secrets that can help anyone exude genuine star power, regardless of body type or budget. The key to looking and feeling like a celebrity lies in defining your own unique style and adapting it to each situation. The result is a look as natural as a second skin. In clear step-by-step instructions, Ambrose shows how people can improve the way they present themselves to the world, whether it's for a first date or an important meeting, and in turn boost their overall mood and self-confidence. Using examples from her work molding celebrities' images, she teaches women (and their men) how to define and enhance their look, with chapters devoted to topics such as knowing what clothes work for each body type, how to accessorize like a star, the importance of tailoring clothes so that an off-the-rack suit fits like a custom-made Armani, and much more. She offers tricks of the trade -- from choosing the perfect lingerie to handling bad hair days -- and provides a welcome list of wardrobe essentials and perennial fashion don'ts. With this must-have style guide every woman, whether girl next door or top executive, will be able to unleash her inner VIP -- effortlessly.Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End
By Alua Arthur. 2024
A deeply transformative memoir that reframes how we think about death and how it can help us lead better, more…
fulfilling and authentic lives, from America’s most visible death doula."A truly unique, inspiring perspective on the time we have, what we do with it, and how we let go of this world.... There is no one I'd trust more to guide me through an understanding of death, and how it informs life." — Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey and The Book of Two Ways"Briefly Perfectly Human is a beautiful, raw, light-bringing experience. Alua's voice is shimmering, singular, and pulses with humor, vulnerability, insight, and refreshing candor.... Be prepared for it to grab you, hold you tight, and raise the roof on the power of human connection." — Tembi Locke, author of From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding HomeFor her clients and everyone who has been inspired by her humanity, Alua Arthur is a friend at the end of the world. As our country’s leading death doula, she’s spreading a transformative message: thinking about your death—whether imminent or not—will breathe wild, new potential into your life.Warm, generous, and funny AF, Alua supports and helps manage end-of-life care on many levels. The business matters, medical directives, memorial planning; but also honoring the quiet moments, when monitors are beeping and loved ones have stepped out to get some air—or maybe not shown up at all—and her clients become deeply contemplative and want to talk. Aching, unfinished business often emerges. Alua has been present for thousands of these sacred moments—when regrets, fears, secret joys, hidden affairs, and dim realities are finally said aloud. When this happens, Alua focuses her attention at the pulsing center of her clients’ anguish and creates space for them, and sometimes their loved ones, to find peace.This has had a profound effect on Alua, who was already no stranger to death’s periphery. Her family fled a murderous coup d’état in Ghana in the 1980s. She has suffered major, debilitating depressions. And her dear friend and brother-in-law died of lymphoma. Advocating for him in his final months is what led Alua to her life’s calling. She knows firsthand the power of bearing witness and telling the truth about life’s painful complexities, because they do not disappear when you look the other way. They wait for you.Briefly Perfectly Human is a life-changing, soul-gathering debut, by a writer whose empathy, tenderness, and wisdom shimmers on the page. Alua Arthur combines intimate storytelling with a passionate appeal for loving, courageous end-of-life care—what she calls “death embrace.” Hers is a powerful testament to getting in touch with something deeper in our lives, by embracing the fact of our own mortality. “Hold that truth in your mind,” Alua says, “and wondrous things will begin to grow around it.”Puzzles, comics, stories, crafts, animal facts and photos -- early-learning activities that make kids' first attempts at reading and writing…
a fun, confidence - building activity. The See and Do, Laugh and Learn MagazineBachelor Party Confidential: A Real-Life Peek Behind the Closed-Door Tradition
By David Boyer. 2007
First comes love; then comes marriage. . . . But in between there's the bachelor party.Lesbian strippers, dwarf tossing, boozy…
confessions, missing grooms -- modern bachelor party lore is enough to terrify any jittery bride. But what's real and what's testosterone-fueled legend? For the first time, Bachelor Party Confidential offers an uncensored and comprehensive look at what men do when women aren't invited. You may think you've heard the stories . . . but you have no idea. Filled with unforgettable firsthand accounts culled from totally anonymous interviews with more than a hundred men from around the globe, Bachelor Party Confidential journeys to the heart of one of man's last and most closely guarded secrets. To get the whole story, David Boyer talks to everyone from Vegas revelers mid-party, religious grooms, horny best men, and unconventional bachelors to reluctant wives, pricey strippers, bachelor party planners, and other behind-the-scenes players. The result is alternately hilarious, sexy, poignant, and truly eye-opening.The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks
By Robin Romm. 2009
When Robin Romm's The Mother Garden was published, The New York Times Book Review called her "a close-up magician," saying,…
"hers is the oldest kind [of magic] we know: the ordinary incantation of words and stories to help us navigate the darkness and finally to hold the end at bay." In her searing memoir The Mercy Papers, Romm uses this magic to expand the weeks before her mother's death into a story about a daughter in the moments before and after loss. With a striking mix of humor and honesty, Romm ushers us into a world where an obstinate hospice nurse tries to heal through pamphlets and a yelping grandfather squirrels away money in a shoe-shine kit. Untrained dogs scamper about as strangers and friends rally around death, offering sympathy as they clamor for attention. The pillbox turns quickly into a metaphor for order; questions about medication turn to musings about God. The mundane and spiritual melt together as Romm reveals the sharp truths that lurk around every corner and captures, with great passion, the awe, fear, and fury of a daughter losing her mother. The Mercy Papers was started in the midst of heartbreak, and not originally intended for an audience. The result is a raw, unsentimental book that reverberates with humanity. Robin Romm has created a tribute to family and an indelible portrait that will speak to anyone who has ever loved and lost.The Removers: A Memoir
By Andrew Meredith. 2014
“A darkly funny memoir about family reckonings” (O, The Oprah Magazine)—the story of a young man who, by handling the…
dead, makes peace with the living.Andrew Meredith’s father, a literature professor at La Salle University, was fired after unspecified allegations of sexual misconduct. It’s a transgression that resulted in such long-lasting familial despair that Andrew cannot forgive him. In the wake of the scandal, he frantically treads water, stuck in a kind of suspended adolescence—falling in and out of school, moving blindly from one half-hearted relationship to the next. When Andrew is forced to move back home to his childhood neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia and take a job alongside his father as a “remover,” the name for those unseen, unsung men whose charge it is to take away the dead from their last rooms, he begins to see his father not through the lens of a wronged and resentful child, but through that of a sympathetic, imperfect man.Called “artful” and “compelling” by Thomas Lynch in The Wall Street Journal, Meredith’s poetic voice is as unforgettable as his story, and “he tucks his bittersweet childhood memories between tales of removals as carefully as the death certificates he slips between the bodies he picks up and the stretcher-like contraption that transports each body to the waiting vehicle” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). “Potent” (Publishers Weekly), and “ultimately rewarding” (The Boston Globe), The Removers is a searing, coming-of-age memoir with “lyrical language and strong sense of place” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).