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This Road I Ride: Sometimes It Takes Losing Everything to Find Yourself
by Juliana BuhringThis Road I Ride is the remarkable story of one woman's solo journey around the world by bicycle. Juliana Buhring had been mired in a dark hole of depression after the death of a man she loved, and when an acquaintance suggested they honor his memory by biking across Canada, she thought, "Canada? Why not the world?" And why not alone. She had never seriously ridden a bicycle before. She had no athletic experience or corporate sponsorship, but with just eight months of preparation, Juliana Buhring departed from Naples, Italy, in July 2012 aiming to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. She set out believing she might not ever return, but that she had nothing to lose. Over 152 days, Juliana's ride spanned four continents and 18,060 miles. She traversed small-town and big-mountain America, Australian desert expanses, South Asian rainforests and villages, and Turkish plains. She suffered innumerable breakdowns, severe food poisoning, hostile pursuers, and the international longing for a good Italian espresso. When she crossed the finish line into Naples before the end of the year, she officially became the fastest woman to cycle the world (beating prior men's records, to boot). Accomplishing what she never thought she could, buoyed by the outpouring of support from friends and strangers, Juliana rediscovered herself. In the process she proved that there are no extraordinary people--there are only people who decide to do extraordinary things.
This Road I'm On: The Power of Hope in the Face of Adversity
by Bill Lee David LambertBill Lee has experienced success as a Tennessee cattle farmer and businessman, but he has also known his share of tragedy and adversity. This Road I’m On is his story of fostering resilience and developing a heart for helping others by responding to those bittersweet moments of with faith, hope, and perseverance.
This Side of Heaven: A Memoir
by Valerie StaggsJust a few days before Christmas 2009, Valerie Staggs received a call that would change her life forever. Her husband, Ken Staggs, had been found unconscious at the bottom of their pool. Four days later he would be declared dead leaving her a widow at 42 and her son, Ryan, fatherless at the age of seven. This Side of Heaven chronicles the lives of Valerie and Ryan as they struggle to survive the aftermath of Ken’s death in a world that neither they nor anyone around them really knows how to navigate. As they search for help from friends, family, school, church, grief groups, therapists and strangers, Valerie gives us a raw look into the unique experience of loss from the perspective of both woman the unique experience of loss from the perspective of both woman and child and shares the fallacies that we all hold of the grieving process. From the initial shock of sudden death and the harsh realities of a grieving child, to the sticky nuances of being a widowed woman, to the surprisingly humorous side of death, This Side of Heaven chronicles exactly how life goes on after loss.
This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl
by John Green Esther Earl Lori Earl Wayne EarlNew York Times Bestseller! "This moving read will have you reaching for the tissues and smiling with delight....Stunningly alive on the page, Esther shows that sometimes the true meaning of life--helping and loving others--can be found even when bravely facing death." -People Magazine, 4 stars In full color and illustrated with art and photographs, this is a collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Essays by family and friends help to tell Esther's story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her. Learn more about Esther at tswgobook.tumblr.com.
This Story Will Change: After the Happily Ever After
by Elizabeth CraneRachel Cusk meets Nora Ephron in this intimate and evolving portrait about the end of a marriage and how life can fall apart and be rebuilt in wonderful and surprising waysOne minute Elizabeth Crane and her husband of fifteen years are fixing up their old house in Upstate New York, finally setting down roots after stints in Chicago, Texas, and Brooklyn, when his unexpected admission—I&’m not happy—changes everything. Suddenly she finds herself separated and in couples therapy, living in an apartment in the city with an old friend and his kid. It&’s understood that the apartment and bonus family are temporary, but the situation brings unexpected comfort and much-needed healing for wounds even older than her marriage. Crafting the story as the very events chronicled are unfolding, Crane writes from a place of guarded possibility, capturing through vignettes and collected moments a semblance of the real-time practice of healing. At turns funny and dark, with moments of poignancy, This Story Will Change is an unexpected and moving portrait of a woman in transformation, a chronicle of how even the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are bound to change.
This Strange Visible Air: Essays on Aging and the Writing Life
by Sharon ButalaA collection of essays on women and aging from Canadian legend Sharon Butala "What I didn't have a clue about was that I was soon to be old, or what being old would mean to my dreams and desires. While dreading old age with every fibre, I was at the same time in full denial that it would ever happen to me, and so, was shocked down to the soles of my feet when it did." In this incisive collection, Sharon Butala reflects on the ways her life has changed as she's grown old. She knows that society fails the elderly massively, and so she tackles ageism and loneliness, friendship and companionship. She writes with pointed wit and acerbic humour about dinner parties and health challenges and forgetfulness and complicated family relationships and the pandemic -- and lettuce. And she tells her story with the tremendous skill and beauty of a writer who has masterfully honed her craft over the course of her storied four-decade career. Butala gives us a book to be cherished -- an elegant and expansive look at the complexities and desires of aging and the aged, standing in stark contrast to the stereotyped, simplistic portrayals of the elderly in our culture. This Strange Visible Air is a true gift.
This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon
by Nancy PlainBirds were “the objects of my greatest delight,” wrote John James Audubon (1785–1851), founder of modern ornithology and one of the world’s greatest bird painters. His masterpiece, The Birds of America depicts almost five hundred North American bird species, each image—lifelike and life size—rendered in vibrant color. Audubon was also an explorer, a woodsman, a hunter, an entertaining and prolific writer, and an energetic self-promoter. Through talent and dogged determination, he rose from backwoods obscurity to international fame. In This Strange Wilderness, award-winning author Nancy Plain brings together the amazing story of this American icon’s career and the beautiful images that are his legacy. Before Audubon, no one had seen, drawn, or written so much about the animals of this largely uncharted young country. Aware that the wilderness and its wildlife were changing even as he watched, Audubon remained committed almost to the end of his life “to search out the things which have been hidden since the creation of this wondrous world.” This Strange Wilderness details his art and writing, transporting the reader back to the frontiers of early nineteenth-century America.
This Stubborn Soil: A Frontier Boyhood
by William A. OwensWilliam Owens eloquently recounts his struggle to overcome the harshest of adversaries -- poverty and hunger -- to earn an education in the small town of Pin Hook, Texas. He recalls in vivid detail how his mother labored to feed her family and hold it together, and how he fought for knowledge in a land that was for the most part illiterate.
This Thing Called Life: Prince's Odyssey, On + Off the Record
by Neal KarlenA warm and surprisingly real-life biography, featuring never-before-seen photos, of one of rock’s greatest talents: Prince.Neal Karlen was the only journalist Prince granted in-depth press interviews to for over a dozen years, from before Purple Rain to when the artist changed his name to an unpronounceable glyph. Karlen interviewed Prince for three Rolling Stone cover stories, wrote “3 Chains o’ Gold,” Prince’s “rock video opera,” as well as the star’s last testament, which may be buried with Prince’s will underneath Prince’s vast and private compound, Paisley Park. According to Prince's former fiancée Susannah Melvoin, Karlen was “the only reporter who made Prince sound like what he really sounded like.” Karlen quit writing about Prince a quarter-century before the mega-star died, but he never quit Prince, and the two remained friends for the last thirty-one years of the superstar’s life. Well before they met as writer and subject, Prince and Karlen knew each other as two of the gang of kids who biked around Minneapolis’s mostly-segregated Northside. (They played basketball at the Dairy Queen next door to Karlen’s grandparents, two blocks from the budding musician.) He asserts that Prince can’t be understood without first understanding ‘70s Minneapolis, and that even Prince’s best friends knew only 15 percent of him: that was all he was willing and able to give, no matter how much he cared for them. Going back to Prince Rogers Nelson's roots, especially his contradictory, often tortured, and sometimes violent relationship with his father, This Thing Called Life profoundly changes what we know about Prince, and explains him as no biography has: a superstar who calls in the middle of the night to talk, who loved The Wire and could quote from every episode of The Office, who frequented libraries and jammed spontaneously for local crowds (and fed everyone pancakes afterward), who was lonely but craved being alone. Readers will drive around Minneapolis with Prince in a convertible, talk about movies and music and life, and watch as he tries not to curse, instead dishing a healthy dose of “mamma jammas.”
This Thing of Ours: How Faith Saved My Mafia Marriage
by Cammy FranzeseA handsome Italian film producer and a beautiful Mexican dancer. A match made on a movie set and a lavish Beverly Hills wedding. The beginning of Camille Franzese’s story takes on the shade of an exotic fairy tale. But a closer look at her marriage to mafia capo Michael Franzese exposes more than a decade of anguish endured in the shadows of her husband’s crimes. The fear of arrest, the prison sentences, the house raids from federal agents—Camille lived through it all, not knowing whether her family could remain unbroken amid the turmoil and uncertainty that accompanied her husband’s life of crime. Discover how Camille’s devotion to her marriage and her faith in God’s larger plan led to deliverance from devastation. Hers is a story of choices, consequences, and the prayers that hold us up when everything around us is falling down.
This Thread of Gold: A Celebration of Black Womanhood
by Catherine Joy White&“Beautiful… A gift to ourselves and to the world.&”— Mikki Kendall, New York Times bestselling author of Hood FeminismFrom gender adviser to the UN Catherine Joy White comes This Thread of Gold, a lyrical celebration of the history of Black women who challenged stereotypes through film, politics, activism, and beyond. This immersive and empowering read blends history, reporting, and personal stories to weave a gorgeous tapestry from the resilience of Black women. As White writes, &“Black women are not victims. Black women are alchemists, spinning gold from a life of hardship. . . . This book is dedicated solely to Black women surviving, thriving, and glowing.&” White&’s book features revolutionary women from across time and space, liberating them from reductive stereotypes like &“the strong Black woman,&” and allowing space for emotional nuance, individual motivation, and richness of expression. White offers fresh insights into the work of Beyoncé and Nina Simone, Shirley Chisholm and Meghan Markle, as well as the work of those who resisted in secret—in kitchens, in churches, and through trusted networks. By weaving these women together, White reveals new ways to understand Black womanhood and she is sure to inspire new generations of readers.
This Time I Dance
by Tama J. KievesIn This Time I Dance! you'll find the inspiring story of how one Harvard lawyer left her corporate job to follow her dreams. If you've ever wanted your own personal mentor, champion of your gifts, advocate for all you desire-your support system has arrived. Discover Tama J Kieves, who takes the life/work coach genre to a new level. Rather than just remind us why we need to follow our bliss, she goes the full distance to support us while we do it, coaching us along the way. As an accomplished alternative career coach and one who has walked the walk, Kieves now shares the dynamic wisdom she has taught for years in her popular workshops. With refreshing honesty and humor, she examines the fears that often arise in career transition. And through her personal stories of overcoming insecurities, Kieves helps you trust the power of your own unfolding expression. Consistently demonstrating the wonder of this journey, she recounts how she left behind life as a successful corporate lawyer to discover her buried creative self, focus on her writing, and develop the living and the life that filled her soul and paid the bills. Complete with solutions to the anxieties and roadblocks you may confront on your path, This Time I Dance! is for all who are unfulfilled in their current position and uncertain of the practical steps they can follow to achieve their dreams.
This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing
by Jacqueline WinspearThe New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs series offers a deeply personal memoir of her family’s resilience in the face of war and privation. <p><p> After sixteen novels, Jacqueline Winspear has taken the bold step of turning to memoir, revealing the hardships and joys of her family history. Both shockingly frank and deftly restrained, her story tackles the difficult, poignant, and fascinating family accounts of her paternal grandfather’s shellshock; her mother’s evacuation from London during the Blitz; her soft-spoken animal-loving father’s torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII; her parents’ years living with Romany Gypsies; and Winspear’s own childhood picking hops and fruit on farms in rural Kent, capturing her ties to the land and her dream of being a writer at its very inception. <p> An eye-opening and heartfelt portrayal of a post-War England we rarely see, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing chronicles a childhood in the English countryside, of working class indomitability and family secrets, of artistic inspiration and the price of memory.
This Time Next Year: The inspiring new memoir from the Only Fools and Horses star and national treasure
by David JasonDiscover the brand new, inspirational autobiography from the Only Fools and Horses star and national treasure.'This time next year, we'll be millionaires'So said Sir David’s iconic Only Fools character, Derek Trotter. But such a dream was almost unimaginable for David growing up in a working-class family in North Finchley in the rubble of the Blitz.Throughout his remarkable career, David's north star for navigating life's challenges has been his positive outlook and his resilience.From a trainee electrician to national treasure, David’s bumpy journey to success has overcome obstacle after obstacle.Candidly revealing the ups, the downs, and the roundabout turns, David’s latest volume of memoirs, This Time Next Year, is an uplifting, entertaining, and inspirational book offering an essential and unvarnished primer to leading a good life.Told with his characteristic warmth and humour, David reveals the hard-won wisdom of a life doggedly led getting through one day, looking to the next, and always chasing what's new on the horizon.
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection
by Carol BurnettThis touching and hilarious memoir is 100 percent Carol Burnett—funny, irreverent, and irresistible.Carol Burnett is one of the most beloved and revered actresses and performers in America. The Carol Burnett Show was seen each week by millions of adoring fans and won twenty-five Emmys in its remarkable eleven-year run. Now, in This Time Together, Carol really lets her hair down and tells one funny or touching or memorable story after another. In engaging anecdotes, Carol discusses her remarkable friendships with stars such as Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, and Julie Andrews; the background behind famous scenes, like the moment she swept down the stairs in her curtain-rod dress in the legendary &“Went with the Wind&” skit; and things that would happen only to Carol—the prank with Julie Andrews that went wrong in front of the First Lady; the famous Tarzan Yell that saved her during a mugging; and the time she faked a wooden leg to get served in a famous ice cream emporium. This poignant look back allows us to cry with the actress during her sorrows, rejoice in her successes, and finally, always, to laugh.
This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood
by Jack ValentiWith the nation at war in the 1940s, twenty-two-year-old Jack Valenti flew fifty-one combat missions as the pilot of a B-25 attack bomber with the 12th Air Force based in Italy. In the 1960s, with the nation reeling from the assassination of a beloved president and becoming embroiled in a far different kind of war in Vietnam, he was in that fateful Dallas motorcade in 1963, flew back to Washington with the new president, and for three years worked in the inner circle of the White House as special assistant to President Lyndon Johnson. Then, for the next thirty-eight years, with American society and popular culture undergoing a revolutionary transformation, Valenti was the public face of Hollywood in his capacity as head of the Motion Picture Association of America. Been there, done that, indeed. Texas-born and Harvard-educated, Valenti has led several lives, any one of which could have provided ample material for an unforgettable memoir. As it is, This Time, This Place is the gripping story of a man who saw the terrible face of war while fighting with skill and bravery for his country; who was in the room, listening, participating, and remembering, as political decisions were made that would benefit or devastate countless lives in this country and on the other side of the world; and who championed the interest of the vast and globally influential movie industry with tenacity and vision. The list of boldface names whom Valenti knew and with whom he worked is as varied as it is astonishing in number. Aside from LBJ, there were Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Robert McNamara, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Julia Roberts, Cary Grant, Lew Wasserman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Warren Beatty, and Bill Clinton, to begin a very long list. The life of a man who earned both the Distinguished Flying Cross and his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is inherently intriguing, but Valenti's warm, sometimes rueful, always engaging account gives this memoir a depth of humanity and a taste of life's unpredictability that will linger long after you turn the final page. From growing up poor but largely oblivious to that fact in a hardscrabble neighborhood of Greek and Italian immigrants in Houston to rising to the highest summits both of national government and Hollywood, This Time, This Place is a candid and clear-eyed reflection of the joys and sorrows, ambitions and disappointments, of a life fully recognizable in its extraordinary variety. It is also a sweeping and important historical record, written by a brilliantly successful man who helped to shape politics and entertainment in the second half of the twentieth century, and who always found himself in the center of the current storm. From the Hardcover edition.
This Trip Will Change Your Life: A Shaman's Story of Spirit Evolution
by Jennifer B. Monahan2016 USA Best Book Awards finalist in the Spirituality: Inspirational 1st Annual Body Mind Spirit Book Awards winner in Memoir and Shamanism categories Winner in the Body/Mind/Spirit category for the 2017 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in the Autobiography/Biography category for the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Honorable Mention in the Spiritual category for the 2017 Eric Hoffer Book Awards While Jennifer Monahan has always felt connected to the spirit world, she didn’t fully realize how it had been orchestrating her life until a spur-of-the-moment trip to Yucatan, Mexico and a chance meeting with a Mayan shaman changed her life forever. This is the true story of Monahan’s journey to finding and living her life purpose as a shaman. Filled with wisdom from her spirit guides and teachers that can benefit others looking for their life purpose, This Trip Will Change Your Life: Shaman's Story of Spirit Evolution shows how finding her true path made all the synchronistic “threads” in Monahan’s life come together into a beautifully woven tapestry and life purpose that she could have never imagined on her own.
This Truth Never Fails
by David RynickThis Truth Never Fails is a playful yet well-grounded narrative of a year in the life of an unusual Zen master. Far from the silent and detached stereotype of Zen teachers, Rynick writes with disarming humor, offering both the struggles and the joys of ordinary life as opportunities for insight. Anyone looking for inspiration to bring a simple spiritual awareness into their daily lives, and also those interested in finding ways to more deeply integrate faith (in any tradition) with practice will find this book reassuring and encouraging. This book appeals to the broad "mindfulness" and "general spirituality" audiences that transcend any one formal tradition. Leaning toward Anne Lamott's humor, universal spirituality, and Mary Oliver's love of the natural world, Rynick's writing bypasses Zen theory and doctrine. Simple, clear prose illustrates, vividly, an insightful and tender appreciation of ordinary life as the Way itself. Includes a brief "study guide for further inquiry" offering opportunities for personal reflection and exploration on themes touched on in the book.
This Very Tree: A Story of 9/11, Resilience, and Regrowth
by Sean RubinA deeply moving story about community and resilience, from the point-of-view of the Callery pear tree that survived the attacks on September 11, from Eisner Award-nominated author-illustrator Sean Rubin.* "A resonant, beautifully rendered testament to life and renewal." —Kirkus, starred reviewIn the 1970s, nestled between the newly completed Twin Towers in New York City, a Callery pear tree was planted. Over the years, the tree provided shade for people looking for a place to rest and a home for birds, along with the first blooms of spring. On September 11, 2001, everything changed. The tree’s home was destroyed, and it was buried under the rubble. But a month after tragedy struck, a shocking discovery was made at Ground Zero: the tree had survived. Dubbed the “Survivor Tree,” it was moved to the Bronx to recover. And in the thoughtful care of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Callery pear was nursed back to health. Almost a decade later, the Survivor Tree returned home and was planted in the 9/11 Memorial to provide beauty and comfort…and also hope. This is the story of that tree—and of a nation in recovery. Told from the tree’s perspective, This Very Tree is a touching tribute to first responders, the resilience of America, and the restorative power of community.
This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith, and Forgiveness
by Gary Brozek Gilbert TuhabonyeGilbert Tuhabonye is a survivor. More than ten years ago, he lay buried under a pile of burning bodies. The centuries-old battle between Hutu and Tutsi tribes had come to Gilbert's school. Fueled by hatred, the Hutus forced more than a hundred Tutsi children and teachers into a small room and used machetes to beat most of them to death. The unfortunate ones who survived the beating were doused with gasoline and set on fire. After hiding under burning bodies for over eight hours, Gilbert heard a voice inside saying, "You will be all right; you will survive." He knows it was God speaking to him. Gilbert was the lone survivor of the genocide, and thanks his enduring faith in God for his survival. Today, having forgiven his enemies and moved forward with his life, he is a world-class athlete, running coach and celebrity in his new hometown of Austin, Texas. The road to this point has been a tough one, but Gilbert uses his survival instincts to spur him on to the goal of qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. THIS VOICE IN MY HEART will portray not only the horrific event itself, but will be a catalyst for people to understand real forgiveness and the gift of faith in God.
This Was Burlesque
by Ann Corio Joseph DiMonaA rollicking, colorfully illustrated history of burlesque as seen through the eyes of its first lady, Ann Corio.
This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories (Turner Classic Movies)
by Carla ValderramaIn this one-of-a-kind Hollywood history, the creator of Instagram's celebrated @ThisWasHollywood reveals the forgotten past of the film world in a dazzling visual package modeled on the classic fan magazines of yesteryear.From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age.The shocking fate of the world's first movie star. Clark Gable's secret love child. The film that nearly ended Paul Newman's career. A former child star who, at ninety-three, reveals her #metoo story for the first time. Valderrama unfolds these stories, and many more, in a volume that is by turns riveting, maddening, hilarious, and shocking.Drawing on new interviews, archival research, and an exhaustive library of photographs, This Was Hollywood is a compelling and visually stunning catalogue of the lost history of the movies.
This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me
by Samuel Antek Lucy Antek Johnson“This unique, doubly moving memoir unites an outstanding musician with his invaluable impressions of the world-famous maestro.” —Sybil Steinberg, Contributing Editor and Former Book Review Editor for Publishers WeeklyArturo Toscanini is widely considered the greatest conductor of the modern age and remains a towering figure in the world of classical music. His explosive passions, dynamic music making, and legendary leadership continue to inspire and influence today’s musicians while still captivating new generations of enthusiastic fans as well. This Was Toscanini is an intimate, firsthand, behind-the-scenes musical portrait of the Maestro, told from the unique perspective of first violinist Samuel Antek, who was fortunate to play under Toscanini’s baton for seventeen years in the famed NBC Symphony Orchestra.In this expanded second edition of This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me, Samuel Antek’s reflections on playing with the Maestro gain sparkling new facets of insight from his daughter, Lucy Antek Johnson, as she enlightens readers with vivid recollections about her father and his most memorable musical partnership. With a foreword from acclaimed author and music historian Harvey Sachs and featuring Robert Hupka’s iconic photographs throughout, this shining new edition will bring back the wonder of Toscanini’s powerful style and his singular pursuit to make beautiful music.“After the recordings, this book will probably remain the most enduring and endearing monument to the art of Arturo Toscanini.” —The New York Times“This book will fascinate everyone interested not only in Toscanini but in symphonic music and music making in general.” —Harvey Sachs, author and music historian
This Way Up: Old Friends, New Love, and a Map for the Road Ahead
by Cathrin BradburyA funny, closely observed, and briskly honest guide the pleasures and perils of living life fully as a woman on the road to the far side of mid-life.At the age of sixty-eight, with children well-launched and husband long-exed and recently retired from a demanding career, Cathrin Bradbury realized she needed a map—several in fact, some physical, some of the mind and heart—to guide her through the coming milestones and all of the inevitable "comes with age" stuff.This book is her report from the road; a joyful, polished, often hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching exploration of the questions and (some) answers that arise when you hit the three-quarter mark of a busy life. How do you stop shaming yourself about an aging body? (Hint: listen to the kids!) What are you willing to give up to pursue the creative passion you long ago put aside—and what might you gain in return? How do you become someone who allows the day to unfold after decades of list-making and agenda-managing?And what might happen if one day, after nearly fifty years, you suddenly get a text from your first true love? Drawing on her own life and conversations with siblings, younger family members, friends, as well as authorities in social science, philosophy, and literature, Cathrin Bradbury carries us with her as she explores this territory that we all hope to reach, taking on new ideas and adventures with insight, soaring optimism, and a bracing dose of humor.
This Way to the Revolution: A Memoir
by Erin PizzeyFirst full biography of an international figure, recently in the news after her successful libel case against Andrew Marry, who described her as a terrorist in The Making of Modern Britain Internationally famous for starting one of the first women's refuges in the modern world, Erin Pizzey is a controversial but hugely-respected activist with enemies on the left and the right, a pioneering figure in the maelstrom of seventies politics, and a key witness of the era. Here, she tells her story in full for the first time. The daughter of a diplomat, Erin Pizzey was born in China in 1939. One of her formative experiences was seeing her parents and brother being put under house arrest by the Maoists in 1949. This instilled a hatred of totalitarian regimes and for a short time Pizzey even worked for MI6 in Hong Kong. Once relocated in the UK, Pizzey was soon swept up by sixties radicalism and the early days of the emerging Women's Liberation Movement. Opening a small community center for maltreated women in Chiswick in 1971 was to bring Pizzey to the front line of what was becoming a national issue in a time when feminists were still treated with hostility and derision by right-wing figures, but also when left-wing radicals scorned anyone, like Pizzey, who put humanity before ideology. By the mid-1970s, Pizzey found herself under bomb threat and picketed by feminists for allowing men to staff refuges: this led to a long exile from the UK where she kept up her activities and achieved international recognition, while also reinventing herself as a best-selling writer. Erin Pizzey's life and trials have been unique; her story is a compelling one, vital to any understanding of a more revolutionary age and burning issues that still resonate today.