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Idols of K-Pop: Your Must-Have Guide to Who's Who
by Malcolm MackenzieWhether you’re new to K-Pop or a die-hard super stan, Idols of K-Pop is your essential guide to the current K-Pop scene. This unofficial guide features the biggest names in the Korean music genre, including BTS, Blackpink, Twice, Exo, and many more.This guide contains 64 full-color pages all about the world of K-Pop, with up-close photos of the idols, facts, personal info and gossip, candid commentary, and so much more!
Idols of Pop: Your Unofficial Guide to the Most Talked About Teen on the Planet (Idols of Pop)
by Amy WillsBook three in the Idols of Pop series, Idols of Pop: Billie Eilish, is an essential fan-focused guide to the latest and greatest icon in pop music: Billie Eilish!This 64-page book features full-color candid and professional photos with the singer front and center. Packed with personal takes on life, love, music and more, Idols of Pop: Billie Eilish is your guide to one of the hottest pop stars in the world right now
Idols of the Game: A Sporting History of the American Century
by Robert Lipsyte Peter Levine16 of America's major sports idols, both men and women, are studied in relationship to the politics and culture of their time. Although only 16 are named as chapter heads, each chapter includes many more sports heroes and their impact. Topics addressed include race, class, gender, sexual preference, ancestry, "fakelore", and others. Includes Notes and references for each chapter.
If A Bus Could Talk: The Story Of Rosa Parks
by Faith RinggoldIf a bus could talk, it would tell the story of a young African-American girl named Rosa who had to walk miles to her one-room schoolhouse in Alabama while white children rode to their school in a bus. It would tell how the adult Rosa rode to and from work on a segregated city bus and couldn't sit in the same row as a white person. It would tell of the fateful day when Rosa refused to give up her seat to a white man and how that act of courage inspired others around the world to stand up for freedom. In this book a bus does talk, and on her way to school a girl named Marcie learns why Rosa Parks is the mother of the Civil Rights movement. At the end of Marcie's magical ride, she meets Rosa Parks herself at a birthday party with several distinguished guests. Wait until she tells her class about this!
If All the Seas Were Ink: A Memoir
by Ilana Kurshan**WINNER of the 2018 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the 2018 Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish literature****2018 Natan Book Award Finalist** **Finalist for the 2017 National Jewish Book Award in Women's Studies **The Wall Street Journal: "There is humor and heartbreak in these pages...Ms. Kurshan immerses herself in the demands of daily Talmud study and allows the words of ancient scholars to transform the patterns of her own life."The Jewish Standard:“Brilliant, beautifully written, sensitive, original."The Jerusalem Post:"A beautiful and inspiring book. Both religious and secular readers will find themselves immensely moved by [Kurshan's] personal story.”American Jewish World: “So engrossing I hardly could put it down.”At the age of twenty-seven, alone in Jerusalem in the wake of a painful divorce,Ilana Kurshan joined the world’s largest book club, learning daf yomi, Hebrew for“daily page” of the Talmud, a book of rabbinic teachings spanning about six hundredyears. Her story is a tale of heartache and humor, of love and loss, of marriageand motherhood, and of learning to put one foot in front of the other by turningpage after page. Kurshan takes us on a deeply accessible and personal guided tourof the Talmud. For people of the book—both Jewish and non-Jewish—If All theSeas Were Ink is a celebration of learning, through literature, how to fall in loveonce again.
If At Birth You Don't Succeed: My Adventures With Disaster And Destiny
by Zach AnnerComedian Zach Anner opens his frank and devilishly funny book, If at Birth You Don't Succeed, with an admission: he botched his own birth. Two months early, underweight and under-prepared for life, he entered the world with cerebral palsy and an uncertain future. So how did this hairless mole-rat of a boy blossom into a viral internet sensation who's hosted two travel shows, impressed Oprah, driven the Mars Rover, and inspired a John Mayer song? (It wasn't "Your Body is a Wonderland.") <p><p> Zach lives by the mantra: when life gives you wheelchair, make lemonade. Whether recounting a valiant childhood attempt to woo Cindy Crawford, encounters with zealous faith healers, or the time he crapped his pants mere feet from Dr. Phil, Zach shares his fumbles with unflinching honesty and characteristic charm. By his thirtieth birthday, Zach had grown into an adult with a career in entertainment, millions of fans, a loving family, and friends who would literally carry him up mountains. <p> If at Birth You Don't Succeed is a hilariously irreverent and heartfelt memoir about finding your passion and your path even when it's paved with epic misadventure. This is the unlikely but not unlucky story of a man who couldn't safely open a bag of Skittles, but still became a fitness guru with fans around the world. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll fall in love with the Olive Garden all over again, and learn why cerebral palsy is, definitively, "the sexiest of the palsies."
If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
by Bruce CampbellIf Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor Here we are together in the digital universe. Somehow, you've clicked yourself to this page. If you came here of your own free will and desire, you and I are going to get along just fine. Life is full of choices. Right now, yours is whether or not to download the autobiography of a mid-grade, kind of hammy actor. Am I supposed to know this guy? you think to yourself.No-and that's exactly the point. You can download a terabyte of books about famous actors and their high-falootin' shenanigans. I don't want to be a spoilsport, but we've all been down that road before. Scroll down to that Judy Garland biography. You know plenty about her already-great voice, troubled life. Scroll down a little further to the Charlton Heston book. Same deal. You know his story too-great voice, troubled toupee. The truth is that though you might not have a clue who I am-unless you watch cable very late at night-there are countless working stiffs like me out there, grinding away every day at the wheel of fortune. If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor documents my time in blue-collar Hollywood, where movies are cheap, the hours are long, and the filmmaking process can be very personal. To keep up with the times, I've digitized Chins. It was originally published in hardcover/analog fifteen years ago, which is a vast amount of time in the evolution of books and technology, and it was time to get current. The advance of technology is great for a book like this, which is jammed full of pictures. When it came out originally, the photographs all had to be black and white and moderately sized on the page. Now, any photo that was originally taken in color can strut its stuff. Overall, the resolution of the images is off-the-charts better than the first go-around. This is one "sequel" that I'm happy to be a part of, since we could make so many technical improvements. The process was very similar to restoring an old movie.Since I knew that it was going to be reissued, I also had a look at the story being told and decided to condense, move, or clarify some chapters, all or in part. I also tried to add a hint of historical context, since it has been a decade and a half since Chins first came out.I hope you enjoy it. Regards,Bruce Campbell
If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation (Thorndike Basic Ser.)
by Janine LatusA heart-wrenching and beautifully crafted memoir about a woman who escaped years of domestic violence—and her sister, who did not.In April 2002, Janine Latus&’s youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved, it read, but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me... That same spring Janine Latus was struggling to leave her marriage—a marriage to a handsome and successful man. A marriage others emulated. A marriage in which she felt she could do nothing right and everything wrong. A marriage in which she felt afraid, controlled, inadequate, and trapped. Ten weeks later, Janine Latus had left her marriage. She was on a business trip to the East Coast, savoring her freedom, attending a work conference, when she received a call from her sister Jane asking if she'd heard from Amy. Immediately, Janine's blood ran cold. Amy was missing. Helicopters went up and search dogs went out. Coworkers and neighbors and family members plastered missing posters with Amy&’s picture across the county. It took more than two weeks to find Amy&’s body, wrapped in a tarpaulin and buried at a building site. It took nearly two years before her killer, her former boyfriend Ron Ball, was sentenced for her murder. Amy died in silent fear and pain. Haunted by this, Janine Latus turned her journalistic eye inward. How, she wondered, did two seemingly well-adjusted, successful women end up in strings of physically or emotionally abusive relationships with men? If I Am Missing or Dead is a heart-wrenching journey of discovery as Janine Latus traces the roots of her own -- and her sister's -- victimization with unflinching candor. This beautifully written memoir will move readers from the first to the last page. At once a confession, a call to break the cycle of abuse, and a deeply felt love letter to her baby sister, Amy Lynne Latus, If I Am Missing or Dead is an unforgettable read.
If I Am Not For Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew
by Mike MarquseeIf I Am Not For Myself is a passionate, thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be Jewish in the twenty-first century. It traces the author's upbringing in 1960s Jewish-American suburbia, his anti-war and pro-Palestinian activism on the British left, and life as a Jew among Muslims in Pakistan, Morocco, and Britain. Interwoven with this are the experiences of his grandfather's life in Jewish New York of the 1930s and 40s, his struggles with anti-Semitism and the twists and turns that led him from anti-fascism to militant Zionism. In the course of this deeply personal story, Marqusee refutes the claims of Israel and Zionism on Jewish loyalty and laments their impact on the Jewish diaspora. Rather, he argues for a richer, more multi-dimensional understanding of Jewish history and identity, and reclaims vital political and personal space for those castigated as "self-haters" by the Jewish establishment.
If I Betray These Words: Moral Injury in Medicine and Why It's So Hard for Clinicians to Put Patients First
by Wendy Dean Simon TalbotAn incredibly important and captivating book for patients, families, and clinicians detailing how we&’re all hurt by corporate medicine&“Wendy Dean diagnoses the dangerous state of our healthcare system, illustrating the thumbscrews applied to medical professionals by their corporate overlords… Required reading for all stakeholders in healthcare.&” — Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, author of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical ErrorOffering examples of how to make medicine better for the healers and those they serve, If I Betray These Words profiles clinicians across the country who are tough, resourceful, and resilient, but feel trapped between the patient-first values of their Hippocratic oath and the business imperatives of a broken healthcare system.Doctors face real risks when they stand up for their patients and their oath; they may lose their license, their livelihood, and for some, even their lives.There&’s a growing sense, referred to as moral injury, that doctors have their hands tied – they know what patients need but can&’t get it for them because of constraints imposed by healthcare systems run like big businesses.Workforce distress in healthcare—moral injury—was a crisis long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but COVID highlighted the vulnerabilities in our healthcare systems and made it impossible to ignore the distress, with 1 in 5 American healthcare workers leaving the profession since 2020, and up to 47% of U.S. healthcare workers now planning to leave their positions by 2025.If I Betray These Words confronts the threat and broken promises of moral injury – what it is; where it comes from; how it manifests; and who&’s fighting back against it. We need better healthcare—for patients and for the workforce. It&’s time to act.
If I Can Cook/You Know God Can: African American Food Memories, Meditations, and Recipes (Celebrating Black Women Writers #2)
by Ntozake ShangeAcclaimed artist Ntozake Shange offers this delightfully eclectic tribute to black cuisine as a food of life that reflects the spirit and history of a people. With recipes such as "Cousin Eddie's Shark with Breadfruit" and "Collard Greens to Bring You Money," Shange instructs us in the nuances of a cuisine born on the slave ships of the Middle Passage, spiced by the jazz of Duke Ellington, and shared by all members of the African Diaspora. Rich with personal memories and historical insight, If I Can Cook/You Know God Can is a vivid story of the migration of a people, and the cuisine that marks their living legacy and celebration of taste.
If I Can't Have You, No One Can
by Don LasseterLady KillerRichard Namey, 26, drug abuser and woman-beater, had already threatened a previous girlfriend with a gun, but she'd gotten away. Sarah Rodriquez, 21, wasn't so lucky. On April 16, 2002, in Orange County, California, she and her true love, Matt Corbett, 20, were forced off the road by Namey, who shot them both at point-blank range with a .357. Sarah was killed. Corbett was paralyzed for life.Real HeroAfter a 42-mile chase, Namey was finally cornered in a drainage tunnel by a police dog. He pleaded manslaughter, claiming he'd really meant to kill himself in front of Sarah. No deal. The man he faced was not your average deputy district attorney: Dennis Conway had pulled himself out of a wayward life torn by seemingly insurmountable tragedy and into law school. He knew all about guys like Namey--and exactly where to find the holes in his story. The verdict: first-degree murder, life sentence. Score one for the good guys.Includes 16 pages of shocking photos.
If I Could Hold You Again: A Daughter's Secret Torment from Bullying. A Mother's Journey from Devastating Loss to Forgiveness.
by Collette WolfeCollette Wolfe was on holidays in Lanzarote with her husband Anthony when they got the call that all parents most dread. Their beloved daughter Leanne had died, having taken her own life. On the morning of Leanne's funeral, her diaries were uncovered by her sister, and the family awakened to a nightmare within the nightmare: to witness in written form the devastation of years of unrelenting bullying by a group of Leanne's peers, and to have been powerless to prevent it. There began a journey that brought Collette to the very edge of existence, as she contemplated taking her own life to end months of unbearable pain and suffering. Then, at her darkest moment, everything changed, and a new beginning opened up where she never imagined it was possible, one in which she would confront her own demons as a survivor of child abuse and rape, and ultimately, through the love of God, find hope and joy beyond measure. Here, for the first time, she tells her story - interwoven with extracts from Leanne's diaries - to create an unforgettable book will be cherished by anyone who has known darkness, and seeks hope.
If I Could Hold You Again: A true story about the devastating consequences of bullying and how one mother's grief led her on a mission
by Collette WolfeA long-distance call while on holidays brought news of the most devastating kind for Collette Wolfe and her husband Anthony. Their daughter Leanne had died, having taken her own life. Soon, diaries were uncovered sharing her experience of horrific bullying in the years leading up to her death.In the months that followed, Collette battled crippling grief and guilt for not having know the extent of her daughter's suffering. Beset by hopelessness, as demons from her own childhood resurfaced, she faced her darkest hour. Then something remarkable happened.If I Could Hold You Again is a story of tragedy and redemption and of finding a way to face the future with courage, love, and a mission to help others.
If I Could Tell You Just One Thing . . .: Encounters with Remarkable People and Their Most Valuable Advice
by Richard Reed&“So many wonderful pearls of wisdom from remarkable game-changers,&” including Anthony Bourdain, Laila Ali, Olivia Colman, the Dalai Lama, and more (Richard Branson). If I Could Tell You Just One Thing . . . curates invaluable wisdom from fifty of today&’s most remarkable, diverse, and influential voices in an engaging collection of profiles. Paired with a specially commissioned pen-and-ink portrait, each essay and its illuminating nugget of life advice is gathered together and is sure to surprise, entertain, and encourage readers—and leave a lasting impression.&“The best advice from Bear Grylls to Laila Ali . . . the world&’s most extraordinary people.&” —Forbes&“Entertaining collection of pearls of wisdom . . . A fascinating new prism for understanding the powerful and the prominent.&” —The Times Literary Supplement&“Funny, entertaining and inspiring, Reed&’s book will surely motivate anyone who picks it up . . . Invaluable insights into life from an amazing collection of people.&” —The Sunday Post&“Ever wondered how the world&’s most successful people ended up doing so well in their lives? . . . If I Could Tell You Just One Thing contains a host of tips to help us lead more rewarding lives.&” —Daily Mirror&“This eclectic book is peppered with an insight into the lives of those who have contributed.&” —Daily Record
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
by The Goldman FamilyThe original manuscript from OJ Simpson, how he would have murdered his wife and her friend hypothetically, with comments from the Goldman family, Pablo F. Fenjves, and Dominick Dunne.
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
by The Goldman FamilyGet the full story in O.J. Simpson’s own words!On July 31, 2007 Federal Court Judge A. Jay Cristol awarded the Goldman family the rights to If I Did It. Thus began one of the strangest odysseys in publishing history.The book, called “one of the most chilling things I have ever read” by Barbara Walters, skyrocketed up bestseller lists across the country in fall 2007 as the national media relentlessly covered O.J. Simpson’s dramatic Las Vegas arrest for armed robbery and kidnapping.Originally written by O.J. Simpson, this edition includes essays by the Goldmans and a member of the Goldman family legal team that reveal the fascinating story behind the bankruptcy case, the book’s publication and the looming court proceedings, that would eventually lead to his conviction.In 1994, Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were brutally murdered at her home in Brentwood, California. O.J. Simpson was tried for the crime in a case that captured the attention of the American people, but was ultimately acquitted of criminal charges. The victims' families brought a civil case against Simpson, which found him liable for willfully and wrongfully causing the deaths of Ron and Nicole committing battery with malice and oppression. In 2006, HarperCollins announced the publication of a book in which O.J. Simpson told how he hypothetically would have committed the murders. In response to public outrage that Simpson stood to profit from these crimes, HarperCollins canceled the book.The Goldman family views the book as his confession, and has worked hard to ensure that the public will read this book and learn the truth. This is O.J. Simpson's original manuscript, approved by him, with up to 14,000 words of additional key commentary.
If I Die Before I Wake: A Memoir of Drinking and Recovery
by Barb RogersBarb Rogers’ book begins with the tragic death of her teenage son, Jon, and delves into the horror that was her life to that point. Due to a home life fraught with substance and emotional abuse, Barb found herself bottomed out more than once, and homeless along the way. “When asked in early recovery if I knew any prayers, the one I could think of was the child’s nighttime prayer, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep.’ As I thought of it, I recalled the long nights when I simply wanted to go to sleep and never wake up.” Barb learned most of her life lessons through pain, tragedy, and addiction. This is not a glamorous book, it is real and it is raw. It is not about survival of the fittest, but the weak, the hopeless, the helpless, the truly addicted, not only to substances, but to drama, anger, excuses, and justifications. She describes how she got to her lowest point, just what it was, and how and why she finally reached out to a 12-step program for help. She shows the reader what it’s really like to survive, to stay clean and sober, and find a way to the other side. Recovery was one of the most difficult things she ever did, but “worth every effort I put out.” Barb Rogers would be the first to tell you she’s not special--she’s led a hard life, and she tells her story well and with humor--readers--addicts or not, but especially addicts--are going to find the kind of gritty inspiration, that if Barb can do it so can they, that will inspire life changes.
If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home
by Tim O'BrienA classic from the New York Times bestselling author of The Things They Carried "One of the best, most disturbing, and most powerful books about the shame that was / is Vietnam."—Minneapolis Star and TribuneBefore writing his award-winning Going After Cacciato, Tim O'Brien gave us this intensely personal account of his year as a foot soldier in Vietnam. The author takes us with him to experience combat from behind an infantryman's rifle, to walk the minefields of My Lai, to crawl into the ghostly tunnels, and to explore the ambiguities of manhood and morality in a war gone terribly wrong. Beautifully written and searingly heartfelt, If I Die in a Combat Zone is a masterwork of its genre.Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader&’s guide and bonus content.
If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry: How Death, Debt, and Comedy Led to a Life of Faith, Farming, and Forgetting What I Came into This Room For
by Molly StillmanIn this laugh-out-loud and heartfelt memoir, writer, speaker, and podcaster Molly Stillman shares her unforgettable story of losing her mother, squandering an unexpected quarter-of-a-million-dollar inheritance in less than two years, attempting to launch a career in comedy but ending up on a farm instead, and finding faith, hope, and joy in the middle of it all. Molly Stillman has lived the type of life that when shared, people stop in their tracks and ask, "Wait, what happened?" Molly's mother, Lynda Van Devanter Buckley served as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War and wrote the bestselling memoir, Home Before Morning. When Molly was seventeen, Lynda passed away after an eight-year battle with an autoimmune disorder due to her exposure to Agent Orange. Four years later, Molly turned twenty-one and unexpectedly inherited a quarter of a million dollars from her mother's estranged family's estate. Through "retail therapy" and a long series of grossly irresponsible financial decisions, Molly found herself broke with over $36,000 in credit card debt less than two years later. Shame, guilt, and embarrassment set in.With aspirations of a career in comedy, Molly used humor to mask the pain and brokenness she felt, believing that if she looked joyful and put together on the outside, it would eventually be true on the inside. Instead, she spent the next few years depressed, lonely, and feeling alienated from those closest to her. But an unlikely call with a compassionate credit counselor, meeting the spreadsheet-loving man who eventually became her husband, and a surprising visit to a church started her on a path that changed everything.If I Don't Laugh, I'll Cry will bring readers into the tension of feeling both joy and grief and show them that every broken, messed up story has a purpose, and it's possible to gain everything if they're willing to surrender it all to Jesus.
If I Ever Get Back to Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet to the Ground
by Lewis GrizzardFunny, sad, outrageous, irresistible, and unforgettably true, here is Lewis Grizzard's one-way, non-stop climb to the top of the newspaper heap. Of course, along the way, he drove a train and was a preacher, but the one and only life for this self-proclaimed Promising Young Man from Georgia was that of the ink-stained, stop-the-presses, honest-to-gosh newspaperman. This is his story. Other books by Lewis Grizzard are available in this library.
If I Get to Five: What Children Can Teach Us About Courage and Character
by Fred Epstein Josh HorwitzA world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon shares the lessons of courage, compassion, and resilience that he's learned from his exceptional young patientsIf I Get to Five is a one-of-a-kind book by a one-of-a-kind human being. The medical world knows him as Fred Epstein, M.D., the neurosurgeon who pioneered life-saving procedures for previously inoperable tumors in children. His patients and their families know him simply as Dr. Fred, the "miracle man" who has extended them both a healing hand and an open heart. "I simply can't accept the idea of kids dying," is how Epstein explains his commitment to saving patients. As a child, he had to overcome severe learning disabilities to realize his dream of becoming a doctor. Later, as the world's leading pediatric neurosurgeon, he did whatever it took to rescue children that other doctors had given up on. Epstein credits his young patients as his most important teachers. "We tend to think of children as fragile, little people," he writes. "To me, they're giants." If I Get to Five relates the unforgettable experiences he's shared with children-lessons in courage, compassion, love, and hope-that we can all draw on to overcome adversity at any stage of life. In If I Get to Five, Epstein meditates on these lessons at a time when they parallel his own experiences, as he recovers from a near-fatal head injury.If I Get to Five is a riveting profile of courage and compassion. No one who reads this remarkable book will ever look at children-or adversity-in the same way.
If I Kiss You, Will I Get Diabetes?
by Quinn NystromQuinn's new book, "If I Kiss You, Will I Get Diabetes?" is now available! It's her personal story of living with type 1 diabetes. Nystrom's journey chronicles her real life experiences of figuring out how to live a "normal" life with a chronic disease. Quinn's wish with this book is, "I'm hoping this book will provide courage and faith for your journey as it has my own."
If I Knew Then
by Debbie Reynolds Bob ThomasIn If I Knew Then, which was first published in 1962, Debbie Reynolds makes her debut as an author, having already excelled in numerous other fields of expression—including appearing in motion pictures, on the stage, in vaudeville and on television, and selling more than a million copies of her record “Tammy,” from the movie Tammy and the Bachelor (1957).“I’m Debbie Reynolds.“Well, I’m not really Debbie; I’m Mary Frances. But if you like Debbie you can call me that. Or you can call me Sis, like my father, or Frannie, like my brother, or Mrs. Karl or—Whatever you want to call me, I’m pleased to meet you.“Now let’s get down to cases. Like the Case of Why Debbie Reynolds Is Writing a Book. That’s one that even Perry Mason would have trouble solving.“Me write a book?“I can imagine the hubbub this will arouse in certain quarters“People who know me well know I will not be swayed by flattery. I am going to write this book, anyway. First I’d better list what this book is not.“1. It is not an autobiography of Little Me. The life and times of this belle will have to be written a few decades hence.“2. It will not teach you how to play the piano in forty-five (45) days.“3. It will not cure nervous tension, negative thinking or excess acidity.“Then what is it?“It is a book about the things I have learned, often the hard way. It was prompted by the people who have written me for advice on a variety of subjects, mainly personal. Why me, I don’t know. But they write….”—Debbie Reynolds
If I Knew Then: Finding wisdom in failure and power in aging
by Jann ArdenJann Arden--bestselling author, recording artist and late-blooming TV star--is back with this funny, heartfelt and fierce memoir on becoming a woman of a certain age. The power, gravity and freedom she's found at fifty-seven are superpowers she believes all of us can unleash.Digging deep into her strengths, her failures and her losses, Jann Arden brings us an inspiring account of how she has surprised herself, in her fifties, by at last becoming completely her own person. Like many women, it took Jann a long time to realize that trying to be pleasing and likeable and beautiful in the eyes of others was a loser's game. Letting it rip, and damning the consequences, is not only liberating, it's a hell of a lot of fun: "Being the age I am--that so many women are--is just the best time of my life." Jann weaves her own story together with tales of her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, and the father she came close to hating, to show her younger self--and all of us--that fear and avoidance is no way to live. "What I'm thinking about now aren't all the ways I can try to hang on to my youth or all the seconds ticking by in some kind of morbid countdown to death," she writes, "but rather how I keep becoming someone I always hoped I could be. If I'm lucky one day a very old face will look back at me from the mirror, a face I once shied away from. I will love that old woman ferociously, because she has finally figured out how to live a life of purpose--not in spite of but because of all her mistakes and failures."