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Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms that Once Held Me
By Janet Sherlund. 2024
In Abandoned at Birth, Janet Sherlund explores the inherent need adopted children have for a sense of belonging and the…
pain and courage that is required to discover their true identity.Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act—a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the truth is that adopted children experience displacement and rupture from their mother and that trauma can impact an individual for a lifetime. Adoption can lead to feelings of loss and grief not just for the adoptee, but for the biological and adoptive parents as well. This startling fact comes vividly to life in Janet Sherlund&’s heartbreaking memoir, Abandoned at Birth. In her literary debut, Janet Sherlund explores the complex issues so many adoptees and their parents grapple with, including the complicated emotions of rejection, loss, grief, denial, and shame. Sherlund, who was given up for adoption within days of her birth, shares her journey to fulfill her lifetime longing for connection with her family of origin, her instinctive ache for connection with her birth mother, and what it was like to have a &“borrowed identity.&” In poignant detail, Sherlund describes her quest to find out who she is, where she came from, and why she was given away. And she reveals the pain and courage required to discover one&’s true identity. With 5 million adoptees in the U.S., many of whom are discovering their biological roots on DNA websites, Abandoned at Birth is the book for our time. The insight Sherlund derived from her journey will encourage and console others on the same path, while examining the inherent need of all of us to belong, and understand our origins, our culture, and our genetic roots.Love Is a Burning Thing: A Memoir
By Nina St. Pierre. 2024
A riveting memoir about a daughter&’s investigation into the wirings of her loving, unpredictable mother: a woman who lived her…
life in pursuit of the divine, and who started two big fires, decades apart. Ten years before Nina was born, her mother lit herself on fire in a dual suicide attempt. During her recovery in the burn-unit, a nurse initiated her into Transcendental Meditation. From that day on, her mother's pain became intertwined with the pursuit of enlightenment. Growing up, Nina longed for a normal life; instead, she and her brother were at the whims of their mother, who chased ascension up and down the state of California, swapping out spiritual practices as often as apartments. When they finally settled at the foot of a mountain—reputed to be cosmic—in Northern California, Nina hoped life would stabilize. But after another fire, and a tragic fallout, she was forced to confront the shadow side of her mother's mystical narratives. With obsessive dedication, Nina began to knit together the truth that would eventually release her. In Love Is a Burning Thing, Nina interrogates what happens to those undiagnosed and unseen. This is a transfixing, moving portrait of a mother-daughter relationship that also examines mental health, stigma, poverty, and gender—and the role that spirituality plays within each. Nina&’s writing skirts the mystical, untangles it, and ultimately illuminates it with brilliance.First Love: Essays on Friendship
By Lilly Dancyger. 2024
A bold, poignant essay collection that treats women&’s friendships as the love stories they truly are, from the critically acclaimed…
author of Negative Space&“Fiercely felt and finely etched.&”—Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy ExamsLilly Dancyger always thought of her closest friendships as great loves, complex and profound as any romance. When her beloved cousin was murdered just as both girls were entering adulthood, Dancyger&’s devotion to the women in her life took on a new urgency—a desire to hold her friends close while she still could. In First Love, this urgency runs through a striking exploration of the bonds between women, from the intensity of adolescent best friendship and fluid sexuality to mothering and chosen family.Each essay in this incisive collection is grounded in a close female friendship in Dancyger&’s life, reaching outward to dissect cultural assumptions about identity and desire, and the many ways women create space for each other in a world that wants us small. Seamlessly weaving personal experience with literature and pop culture—ranging from fairy tales to true crime, from Anaïs Nin and Sylvia Plath to Heavenly Creatures and the &“sad girls&” of Tumblr—Dancyger&’s essays form a kaleidoscopic story of a life told through friendships, and an expansive interrogation of what it means to love each other.Though friendship will never be enough to keep us safe from the dangers of the world, Dancyger reminds us that love is always worth the risk, and that when tragedy strikes, it&’s our friends who will help us survive. In First Love, these essential bonds get their due.Your stronger family connection starts here with just 5 minutes of conversation each day. The Daily Family Conversation Starter contains 365 easy…
and imaginative ways to check in with your kids, develop their growth mindset, and get both serious and silly—together! Every interactive activity and open-ended conversation prompt will help you build the family bond you've always dreamed of.Prompts like these will get your family talking—and you may find it hard to get them to stop!Who made you laugh today?What would you do if you had a tail?Why do you think it's important to try new things, even if it means you get knocked down?In addition to engaging conversation starters, you'll find inside:Easy activities for working togetherFill-in-the-blank questions that everyone can answerSpontaneous games that infuse whimsy into your family's daily routineMini essays to help your family discuss difficult topics or new concepts Whether commuting together, sitting at the dinner table, or preparing for bedtime, The Daily Family Conversation Starter invites you to share, discover, and laugh together as you create family memories that last a lifetime.Doing It All: The Social Power of Single Motherhood
By Ruby Russell. 2024
A feminist exploration of single motherhood and a passionate call to reclaim the power of mothering In the United States,…
one child in five is raised by a single mother. Yet the single mom is still cast as victim or welfare queen, sexually irresponsible or too independent for her own (or her children&’s) good. In Doing It All,journalist and single mother Ruby Russell tells a different story, of single mothering not defined by loss but whole and powerful in its own right. She finds narratives of liberation in Victorian brothels and postwar British slums, in Black feminist theory and the grassroots activism of women fighting for welfare rights. Doing It All is a personal quest for empowerment, a fierce critique of the systems that leave single moms marginalized and exhausted, and a call to reclaim mothering as the life force of sustainable, connected, and radically responsible communities.Fighting for Our Friendships: The Science and Art of Conflict and Connection in Women's Relationships
By Danielle Bayard Jackson. 2024
Why are women's friendships so deep yet so fragile? Friendship coach and educator Danielle Bayard Jackson unpacks the latest research…
about women's cooperation and communication, while sharing practical strategies to preserve and strengthen these relationships.Fighting for Our Friendships is one part textbook, one part handbook. Readers will not only learn what the latest research has to say about the mechanics of women's friendships, but they'll walk away with real-life solutions for the most common conflicts that arise in their platonic relationships. Using a combination of psychology, science, narrative, and a few of the author's signature scripts and out-of-the-box exercises, readers will learn: The three "affinities" that bring women together (and tear them apart) Scripts to navigate nine of the most challenging "friend types" (and how to know which one you are) The covert strategies women use to hurt each other (and how to avoid them) How to have a hard conversation with a friend (without losing the friendship) Surprising ways that women's people-pleasing delays platonic intimacy (and how to stop it) How to know if a friendship is worth saving (and what to do to recover) How to make (and deepen!) connections with other women In a time when we are often encouraged to opt out of friendships at any sign of friction, Danielle Bayard Jackson is showing us how to opt in.A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring It All Out
By Shenequa Golding. 2024
'Growing up in Queens, I didn't know being named Shenequa was considered "ghetto" or uncouth. It was only later in…
life that I realized I was being judged by a decision I had no control over... I will examine the double-standard Black girls with big names like Shenequa face, and the quick math we have to calculate when trying to de-escalate drama.'In A BLACK GIRL IN THE MIDDLE, a timely, compelling, and blazingly honest essay collection, Shenequa Golding holds up her magnifying glass to both her own experiences and those of young Black women everywhere. With her trademark wit and originality, Shenequa covers identity-searching themes of white supremacy, feminism, misogyny, love, sex and heartbreak. But this isn't just a book about Black women's trauma, it is also a book that embraces and celebrates the things that make Black women different. For readers of SLAY IN YOUR LANE, Candice Brathwaite and Issa Rae.A Black Girl in the Middle: Essays on (Allegedly) Figuring It All Out
By Shenequa Golding. 2024
'Growing up in Queens, I didn't know being named Shenequa was considered "ghetto" or uncouth. It was only later in…
life that I realized I was being judged by a decision I had no control over... I will examine the double-standard Black girls with big names like Shenequa face, and the quick math we have to calculate when trying to de-escalate drama.'In A BLACK GIRL IN THE MIDDLE, a timely, compelling, and blazingly honest essay collection, Shenequa Golding holds up her magnifying glass to both her own experiences and those of young Black women everywhere. With her trademark wit and originality, Shenequa covers identity-searching themes of white supremacy, feminism, misogyny, love, sex and heartbreak. But this isn't just a book about Black women's trauma, it is also a book that embraces and celebrates the things that make Black women different. For readers of SLAY IN YOUR LANE, Candice Brathwaite and Issa Rae.Monica Swanson helps you navigate your real-world concerns about school, culture, and what it takes to create an amazing homeschool…
experience that you and your kids will never regret!If you've ever wondered whether you have what it takes to homeschool your children, look no further. Parenting author, podcaster, and homeschool mom Monica Swanson is here to tell you: you can do it. In fact, it can be the most fun, family-unifying, character-building, life-equipping experience you and your children will ever have.Becoming Homeschoolers tackles your legitimate doubts and fears about homeschooling, as well as the questions you want answered before you commit--questions like where to start and how to choose a curriculum, build social skills, teach what you're not good at, and prepare for college. With humor and encouragement, Monica weaves her own story of homeschooling her four boys with step-by-step, practical advice on how to:Assess whether home education is right for you and your childrenEstablish a foundation of faith in your everyday homeschool routineFind socialization opportunities such as sports and extracurricular activitiesCare for yourself and your marriage even as you spend more time each day with your kidsTackle the practical side of homeschooling, including standardized tests, transcripts, college readiness, and navigating education requirements It's time to trade fear for empowerment and insecurity for confidence as you live out your own story of becoming homeschoolers.Queer Power Couples: On Love and Possibility
By Hannah Murphy Winter. 2024
This photographic celebration of queer love and excellence gathers fourteen LGBTQ+ power couples, offering a glimpse into the journeys that…
led to their meaningful relationships and thriving careers.From designer Debbie Millman’s ardent courtship of writer Roxane Gay to the romantic and creative relationship forged between Perfume Genius bandmates Mike Hadreas and Alan Wyffels on stage during their first world tour, this beautiful book offers a closer look into the lives of fourteen inspiring LGBTQ+ couples and the meet-cutes, success stories, and personal reflections that made them the role models they are today. These icons come from a range of backgrounds—they are trailblazers who lead research labs, kitchens, and news organizations; create life-giving art and music; and tell queer stories in award-winning books, films, and television shows.With in-depth original interviews by journalist Hannah Murphy Winter and intimate photography by their wife, Billie Winter, this diverse collection is a jubilant celebration of queer love and an empowering reminder to younger LGBTQ+ generations of their limitless possibilities.AMAZING PROFILES: This superlative collection features more than twenty-five queer leaders in film and TV, the music industry, journalism, academia, fine art, and nonprofits. Read about showrunner ND Stevenson and comic artist Molly Knox Ostertag, astrologer Chani Nicholas and nonprofit founder Sonya Passi, director Anthony Hemingway and actor Steven Norfleet, chefs Aisha Ibrahim and Samantha Beaird, and many more inspiring figures. BEAUTIFUL IMAGES: Intimate, joyful, and moving, the photography of Billie Winter captures a diverse group of queer icons in the worlds they have built for themselves. Her candid, organic images of the couples share intimate moments of laughter, conversation, and comfortable silence. And at the end of every photoshoot, she asked the couples to photograph each other — capturing the couples' love and connection with a vulnerability that only they could. This gorgeous book presents LGBTQ+ relationships in all their multiplicity.OWN VOICES: This is a book about queer power couples created by a queer couple. In-depth original interviews conducted by journalist Hannah Murphy Winter offer insightful context into the lives and careers of the LGBTQ+ changemakers, and photographs by her wife, Billie Winter, capture genuine, unscripted moments between the subjects. This is a meaningful gift for queer folks, allies who want to learn more about queer culture, and anyone who wants to uplift the stories of the LGBTQ+ community.Perfect for:Queer young people and adults and their loved onesAllies, advocates, and activistsFans of portrait anthologies and storytelling projects like Humans of New YorkFans of LGBTQ+ photography books like Loving: a Photographic History of Men In Love 1850s–1950s, We Are Everywhere, and Queer Love In ColorGift-giving for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, Pride Month, and other special occasionsLet's talk about race (and other hard things)
By Nancy A Dome. 2023
Fear. Avoidance. Division. The safest path can feel like the one without dialogue regarding conversations about equity and diversity. What…
if you offend the other person? What if they challenge your beliefs? What if you ruin a relationship? When it comes to hard topics, effective communication skills are an asset, vulnerability is necessary, and forgiveness is vital. In Let's Talk About Race (And Other Hard Things), communication expert and equity consultant Dr. Nancy A. Dome provides you with a framework to recognize feelings, interrupt flawed patterns, and repair relationships. Utilized in business, education, and communities throughout the country, Dr. Dome's process makes space for vulnerability and helps participants engage in empathetic dialogue. Conflict is normal and survivable, and you don't need special skills or experience to navigate it—you just need practice. Complete with extensive qualitative research and case studies, this step-by-step guide shows how to lean into difficult conversations, recognize the role emotions play when we are not in control of them, and create a solid foundation for change, progress, healing, and resolutionThe Love Bomb: And Other Musical Pieces
By James Fenton. 2003
Three Libretti—Ranging In Setting From Ancient Jerusalem To Pre-Apocalyptic London—From An Acclaimed PoetThis volume of libretti marks new work—and new…
terrain—for James Fenton. Commissioned by companies in New York and England, these musical pieces make the most of the poet's poignant, witty, and characteristically lyrical verse. Whether evoking modern-day London on the edge of apocalypse in The Love Bomb, a timeless land beyond the moon in this version of Salman Rushdie's children's novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories, or ancient Jerusalem in his stirring oratorio The Fall of Jerusalem, which was composed to mark the millennium, Fenton's lucid storytelling and stylish wordplay bring these pieces vividly to life—with equal power in performance or on the page.Haroun and the Sea of Stories was commissioned by the New York City Opera and had its premiere at Lincoln Center in September 2003."[James Fenton] writes as no one else dares to--with clarity, wit, and the simplest of rhymes."--Voice Literary SupplementThis Is How It Goes: A Play
By Neil LaBute. 2005
Belinda and Cody Phipps appear a typical Midwestern couple: teenage sweethearts, children, luxurious home. Typical except that Cody is black--"rich,…
black, and different," in the words of Belinda, who finds herself attracted to a former (white) classmate. As the battle for her affections is waged, Belinda and Cody frankly doubt the foundation of their initial attraction, opening the door wide to a swath of bigotry and betrayal. Staged on continually shifting moral ground that challenges our received notions about gender, ethnicity, and even love itself, This Is How It Goes unblinkingly explores the myriad ways in which the wild card of race is played by both black and white in America.Alice Invents a Little Game and Alice Always Wins: A Play
By Nick Flynn. 2008
In this first play from the award-winning memoirist and poet Nick Flynn, four strangers meet during a blackout on a…
New York City sidewalk. Gideon finds himself locked out of his apartment, stranded on the street with nothing but a television and the company of three individuals, each mysterious in their own way: the specter-like Alice, ringleader of the neighborhood; Esra, a fifteen-year-old girl whose mother is MIA—again; and Ivan, a stranded businessman trying to make his way home. As Gideon makes futile attempts to break into an apartment that may or may not be his, an unsettling connection between Ivan and Esra develops while Alice and Gideon look on helplessly. Unable to make sense of their predicament, let alone alter it, the four float aimlessly in and out of seeming reality only to find themselves more lost when the electricity finally comes back on. Once again exploring the tenuous membrane that separates comfortable, everyday existence from the desperate margins of society, Flynn portrays an urban dystopia disturbingly similar to our own world while poignantly tapping into the loneliness and peril of city life.Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating
By Moira Weigel. 2016
“Does anyone date anymore?” Today, the authorities tell us that courtship is in crisis. But when Moira Weigel dives into…
the history of sex and romance in modern America, she discovers that authorities have always said this. Ever since young men and women started to go out together, older generations have scolded them: That’s not the way to find true love. The first women who made dates with strangers were often arrested for prostitution; long before “hookup culture,” there were “petting parties”; before parents worried about cell phone apps, they fretted about joyrides and “parking.” Dating is always dying. But this does not mean that love is dead. It simply changes with the economy. Dating is, and always has been, tied to work. Lines like “I’ll pick you up at six” made sense at a time when people had jobs that started and ended at fixed hours. But in an age of contract work and flextime, many of us have become sexual freelancers, more likely to text a partner “u still up?” Weaving together over one hundred years of history with scenes from the contemporary landscape, Labor of Love offers a fresh feminist perspective on how we came to date the ways we do. This isn't a guide to “getting the guy.” There are no ridiculous “rules” to follow. Instead, Weigel helps us understand how looking for love shapes who we are—and hopefully leads us closer to the happy ending that dating promises.When Good People Have Affairs: Inside the Hearts & Minds of People in Two Relationships
By Mira Kirshenbaum. 2008
A world-renowned therapist, Mira Kirshenbaum has treated thousands of men and women caught in the powerful drama over what to…
do when an affair reaches into their emotional lives. Now, in When Good People Have Affairs, Kirshenbaum puts her unsurpassed experience into one clear, calming place. She gives readers everything they need to cut through the thickets of fear, hurt and confusion to find their ways to happier, more solid relationships with the person who's right for them. For example, Kirshenbaum identifies seventeen types of affairs, helping readers figure out which type they're in and what it means. Is it a:--"See-if" affair?--Ejector-seat affair?--Distraction affair?--Unmet-needs affair?--Panic affair?Kirshenbaum encourages honest answers to such questions as:--What am I missing in my marriage?--How do I decide between two people when it's like comparing an apple to an orange?--How do I decide to end my marriage, end my affair, or end them both?She leads readers through six easy-to-navigate steps that will take anyone from anxiety to clarity. When Good People Have Affairs will be a lifeline to any man or woman who feels caught between two lovers, and its insights are indispensable to anyone else touched by an affair.How We Met: Real-Life Tales of How Happily Married Couples Found Each Other
By Michelle Bowers, Melissa Steinfeld Galett. 2000
For everyone who loves a real-life happy ending, here are forty-five funny, romantic, and above all true tales of modern…
coupling. In their own words, men and women recount the surprising and serendipitous ways they came together, from jury duty encounters and sidewalk pickup lines to dramatic stories of dogged determination that paid off big in the end. For anyone who's carried a torch for a colleague or friend, looked for love on-line, or wondered if it's really true that love comes when you least expect it, How We Met offers insights into that mysterious process of finding The One. For those who've already said "I do," the book offers a rare peek into the lives of other married couples, and how they found each other.Bach at Leipzig: A Play
By Itamar Moses. 2005
Leipzig, Germany, 1722: Johann Kuhnau, revered organist of the Thomaskirche, suddenly dies, leaving his post vacant. In order to fill…
the position, the city council invites a small number of musicians to audition for the appointment, including Johann Sebastian Bach. This, however, is not his story. Based on actual events, Bach at Leipzig imagines with uncommon intelligence and wit how six little-known musicians resorted to bribery, blackmail, and betrayal in an attempt to secure the most coveted musical post in all of Europe.Where are all the good people to date? Why do I always end up with the wrong person? Why is…
love so hard to find?This upbeat and on-target book answers these questions and many more, providing today's singles with a blueprint for creating rewarding dating experiences.Home Is Burning: A Memoir
By Dan Marshall. 2015
An Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year, 2015For the Marshalls, laughter is the best medicine. Especially when combined with…
alcohol, pain pills, excessive cursing, sexual escapades, actual medicine, and more alcohol.Meet Dan Marshall. 25, good job, great girlfriend, and living the dream life in sunny Los Angeles without a care in the world. Until his mother calls. And he ignores it, as you usually do when Mom calls. Then she calls again. And again. Dan thought things were going great at home. But it turns out his mom's cancer, which she had battled throughout his childhood with tenacity and a mouth foul enough to make a sailor blush, is back. And to add insult to injury, his loving father has been diagnosed with ALS. Sayonara L.A., Dan is headed home to Salt Lake City, Utah.Never has there been a more reluctant family reunion: His older sister is resentful, having stayed closer to home to bear the brunt of their mother's illness. His younger brother comes to lend a hand, giving up a journalism career and evenings cruising Chicago gay bars. His next younger sister, a sullen teenager, is a rebel with a cause. And his baby sister - through it all - can only think about her beloved dance troop. Dan returns to shouting matches at the dinner table, old flames knocking at the door, and a speech device programmed to help his father communicate that is as crude as the rest of them. But they put their petty differences aside and form Team Terminal, battling their parents' illnesses as best they can, when not otherwise distracted by the chaos that follows them wherever they go. Not even the family cats escape unscathed.As Dan steps into his role as caregiver, wheelchair wrangler, and sibling referee, he watches pieces of his previous life slip away, and comes to realize that the further you stretch the ties that bind, the tighter they hold you together.