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The Affair: A Novel
by Alicia Clifford“Shot through with the kind of longing that lasts a lifetime . . . The Affair manages to be both a quick thrill and a slow burn. A love story for grownups.” —Daisy Goodwin, New York Times–bestselling author“All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” —Leo TolstoyAs a writer, Celia Bayley's insights into the ways of the human heart made her famous. And why not? She had married a handsome war hero and produced three successful children. Yet, as her family gathers for her funeral, the diaries and notebooks and letters she left behind paint a very different picture, one that shocks those who loved her and will force them to confront the difficult conflicts in their own lives.A life torn by secrets is revealed. The husband she adored had deceived her early in their marriage and broken her heart, though they persevered as a family.Then, years later while on a trip with friends, she meets a man for whom she feels a passion she never believed possible. In one brief moment, her whole life is turned inside out.Utterly compelling and beautifully written, The Affair makes vividly real the agonizing choice one woman must make. Powerful and moving, the novel is about marriage, families, and the definition of happiness.“Clifford's voice sings from the page, like a haunting melody from another time.” —Beth Harbison, New York Times–bestselling author
The Affair: A Novel
by Danielle SteelIn this riveting novel, Danielle Steel explores a high-profile affair that reverberates throughout an entire family, from the wounded wife to her husband—torn between two women—to the wife’s close-knit sisters and their mother. <P><P>When Rose McCarthy’s staff at Mode magazine pitches a cover shoot with Hollywood’s hottest young actress, the actress’s sizzling affair with a bestselling French author is exposed. The author happens to be Rose’s son-in-law, which creates a painful dilemma for her. Her daughter Nadia, a talented interior designer, has been struggling to hold her marriage together, and conceal the truth from their young daughters, her family, and the world. But Nicolas, her straying husband, is blinded by passion for a younger woman—and not only that, she is pregnant with his child. Nadia’s three sisters close ranks around her, flying to Paris from Los Angeles and New York to lend support and offer their widely divergent advice. <P><P> Athena, a jovial celebrity chef with her own TV show in Los Angeles, is leery of marriage. Olivia, a stern conservative New York superior court judge, is haunted by a shocking secret of her own. Venetia, a zany fashion designer, happily married with three kids, has the gentlest, most realistic point of view. Despite their well-meaning advice, Nadia needs to figure out what she herself thinks, and what to do next. <P><P> The Affair is about the painful journey to discover who you are, what you want, and how much forgiveness and compromise you are capable of in order to be loved. It’s about finding yourself at the crossroads of life when everything is on the line. It’s about the hard lessons we are forced to learn about others and ourselves. Right up until its final twist, this gripping novel is full of powerful insights about who we love, how much—and even how much we love ourselves. <p><p>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
An Affair of the Mind: One Woman's Courageous Battle to Salvage Her Family from the Devastation of Pornography
by Laurie HallWhen You're Blinded by Lust, You See No Evil ... It began with a casual glance at a girlie magazine but turned into something far more insidious. "Innocent" fascination with softcore pornography eventually led to skin flicks, frequent visits to strip clubs, and encounters with prostitutes. Jack Hall's secret obsession was just that-a secret. And right before her eyes, Laurie watched her husband dissolve into a shadow of the man she loved. None of it made sense. Compelling and poignant, An Affair of the Mind tells the story of one woman's struggle to protect herself and her children from the devastating effects of pornography. With both candor and sensitivity, Laurie Hall relives the nightmare that nearly destroyed her family, warning others of porn's seductive, addictive nature. She opens her heart and bares her soul, imparting keen insights and comfort. And she shares the hard lessons God taught her-among them, the virtues of patience, trust, and perseverance.
Affair-Proof Your Marriage: Understanding, Preventing and Surviving an Affair
by Lana StaheliThis singular guide presents the straightforward facts on affairs, as well as advice to affairees and spouses on how to cope with them.Since 60% of marriages are affected by affairs, you should know the facts:Women under 30 are as likely as men to have an affair.Love affairs are different from sex affairs.Most affairs last between and three years, but the consequences can last a lifetime.Fewer than 10% of affairees divorce their spouses then marry their lover.Over 75% of those who do divorce and marry their lover divorce again.Nearly 80% of those who divorce during an affair are sorry later.Most marriages survive affairs. If you want to stay married, you can.Prevention works. You can -- and should -- affair-proof your marriage right now.
An Affair with My Mother: A Story of Adoption, Secrecy and Love
by Caitríona Palmer'Incredibly moving' --Anne Enright, winner of the Man Booker PrizeAn Affair with My Mother by Caitriona Palmer: a moving and gripping story of love, denial and a daughter's quest for the truth.Caitriona Palmer had a happy childhood in Dublin, raised by loving adoptive parents. But when she was in her late twenties, she realized that she had a strong need to know the woman who had given birth to her. She was able to locate her birth mother, Sarah, and they developed a strong attachment. But Sarah set one painful condition to this joyous new relationship: she wished to keep it - to keep Caitriona - secret from her family, from her friends, from everyone. Who was Sarah, and why did she want to preserve a decades-old secret? An Affair with My Mother tells the story of Caitriona's quest to answer these questions, and of the intense, furtive 'affair' she and her mother conducted in carefully chosen locations around Dublin. By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, An Affair with My Mother is a searing portrait of the social and familial forces that left Sarah - and so many other unwed Irish mothers of her generation - frightened, traumatized and bereft. It is also a beautifully written account of a remarkable relationship.'Caitriona Palmer has called out the false shame of her origins, with a kind of anguished courage that is incredibly moving. An Affair With My Mother is a forensic account of how it feels to be - in the interests of Catholic "respectability" - excluded from the facts of your own life. In its commitment to family love, to joy and truth, it is a gift.' Anne Enright, winner of the Man Booker Prize
The Affairs of the Falcóns: A Novel
by Melissa Rivero“An unsparing look at the world of the undocumented through the life of Peruvian immigrant Ana Falcón and her family.” —Cristina García, New York Times–bestselling authorWinner of the 2019 New American Voices AwardA Recommended Book of 2019 from:Southern Living * Buzzfeed * The Huffington Post * Bustle * Fierce * Hip Latina * Ms. Magazine * Alma * Library Journal * The Rumpus * The Millions * Refinery29 * Electric LiteratureAna Falcón, along with her husband Lucho and their two young children, has fled the economic and political strife of Peru for a chance at a new life in New York City in the 1990s. Being undocumented, however, has significantly curtailed the family’s opportunities: Ana is indebted to a loan shark who calls herself Mama, and is stretched thin by unceasing shifts at her factory job. To make matters worse, Ana must also battle both criticism from Lucho’s cousin—who has made it obvious the family is not welcome to stay in her spare room for much longer—and escalating and unwanted attention from Mama’s husband.As the pressure builds, Ana becomes increasingly desperate. While Lucho dreams of returning to Peru, Ana is deeply haunted by the demons she left behind and determined to persevere in this new country. But how many sacrifices is she willing to make before admitting defeat and returning to Peru? And what lines is she willing to cross in order to protect her family?The Affairs of the Falcóns is a beautiful, deeply urgent novel about the lengths one woman is willing to go to build a new life, and a vivid rendering of the American immigrant experience.
Affinographs: A Dynamic Method for Assessment of Individuals, Couples, Families, and Households
by Davor JedlickaThe need for a new method for assessment and imaging of families, couples, and individuals has emerged in response to changes in family forms during the twentieth century. In the twentieth century divorce, remarriage, out-of wedlock child bearing, and alternate life styles have replaced monogamy as predominant form of marriage and the family. The methods of representation and assessment on the other hand remain based on the nineteenth century eugenics models embedded in the modern day genograms. This book is based on the premise that changes in family structure require changes in methods of representation, assessment, research, and teaching. This book introduces such a method in the form of a model named the affinograph. The affinograph provides a method which allows a greater respect for individuals, especially if their relationships contradict the preconceived institutional notions of marriage and the family. Improvement in visualizing families of various types and complexities can make affinographs an important new method that can bring together the theory, research, and application across varied disciplines that comprise family sciences.
The Affirmation Crisis: Healing the Wounds of a Fatherless Generation
by Randy HixThere is an Affirmation Crisis. It is the result of fatherlessness. Generations have grown up without a father. Whether physically or emotionally absent, it leaves in the child a wound of absence. Fatherlessness has become a major social problem in America, even an epidemic, with approximately 50% of children under the age of 18 not living in the same home as their biological father. It has been documented in many ways and, yet it is a secret hidden in plain view. Over the last fifty years the family has been under attack. Concepts and opinions concerning the family have changed and a new perception of family has emerged. Much of the destruction of the family has been popularized and normalized through the media and arts and entertainment. The large percentage of marriages that end in divorce and the increasing trend of out of wedlock births, seems to have contributed to a widespread belief that being a single parent is somehow a noble venture, and that the father is unimportant to raising children. There are indeed many exceptional single parents. But these are the exceptions to the rule as statistics prove.It is as if there were a systematic scheme in the works to destroy our society by using progressive cultural engineering. The influence of popular approaches to the family in the media, that rejects traditional and biblical norms of family construction, is creating a confused, depressed, and fractured population. Men and women with a confused self-identity and self-confidence are the product of this fatherlessness epidemic and this affirmation crisis.Today, after over a hundred years of cultural fatherlessness, we have seen multiple generations who have grown up without the father’s emotional and often physical influence and support. Combine that with two world wars, economic challenges, media influence, rising divorce rates, sexual identity conflict, and you are left with a generation of wandering fatherless children. Many of these fatherless children are wounded adults who continue to live their lives not knowing that they are suffering from the wound of absence referred to as the “father wound.”The “father wound” in short is the absence of the emotional blessing that only the father can provide to the child. One of the major responsibilities of the father is the modeling and impartation of true fatherhood. A father is the God given instrument that identifies the child as well as gives the child a sense of self and self-confidence. This is true for both men and women. Every young man is waiting for his father to tell him he has what it takes. Every young woman is waiting for a father to show her that she is beautiful and worthy to be pursued and protected. Every young man looks to his father for affirmation and identity. Every young girl is looking to the father for her identity and affirmation as a woman.The father identifies the child. The father calls forth the masculine in the son and the femininity of the daughter. Without this essential input from Dad, the boy struggles to see himself as a man and the girl struggles to identify as a woman. Their spirit cries out for a father to save them.Our fathers have a special role to play in our discovery of who we are in life. This is why a father telling his child a statement like "You'll never amount to anything" has such a devastating effect. On the other hand, a father who lovingly affirms his child is giving him a solid foundation towards developing into a healthy, well-adjusted adult.In ‘The Affirmation Crisis’ Pastor, Teacher and Missionary, Randy Hix details the serious impact this fatherlessness epidemic is having on our society and individuals. Randy explains our Heavenly Father’s original plan for the family and how to receive the needed affirmation and healing needed to mend the wounded heart
Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad
by Laura HallIn 1937, at the age of nineteen, Ralph Hall, suicidal, revealed his sexual orientation to his grandmother, knowing she would comfort him. He was out for three years afterwards, until an indiscretion sent him back into the closet. At twenty-four, while in the army, he met and married Irene. The couple made their home on the San Francisco Peninsula and had four children. Ralph was an attentive husband and father—albeit with an intense interest in interior design, flower arranging, and fine objects—and a diligent worker who rose to payroll accountant at Standard Oil. It wasn't until 1975 that Ralph came out to his middle daughter, Laura, telling her that he had once considered his sexuality an aberration, an affliction. She was shocked, as the possibility her father might be gay had never crossed her mind. Irene had known Ralph’s secret for eighteen years, but the two remained married until she died. It was only then that this charismatic man and devoted father, by now in his eighties, could freely express his authentic, gay self.Here, Laura paints a vivid and honest portrait of her beloved father and the effect his secret had on her own life.
Afloat
by Kirli SaundersA powerful picture book story for our time of climate crisis interwoven with Indigenous wisdom.From multi-award-winning Gunai author Kirli Saunders and Kate Greenaway Medal-winner Freya Blackwood comes Afloat. Against a backdrop of a changed environment, an Elder leads a child along the waterways, sharing her People’s knowledge and gathering community along the way. This uplifting and inspiring picture book uses the practice of weaving as a powerful metaphor for the honoring and teaching of First Nations wisdom, and the coming together of all people to survive, thrive, and create a more hopeful future.
Afraid to Tell
by Heidi Harding Tom Harding Chloe HardingHe was our abusive father.We were just children.No one could know.Heidi was 18 when she read her little sister Chloe’s diary, and discovered that they shared a terrible secret: they had both been abused by their father. After years of fear and isolation, Heidi knew she had to go to the police. For a long time, Chloe resented Heidi for forcing her to disclose what had happened when she wasn’t ready, while their brother, Tom, couldn’t understand how he had so misjudged his father, and at first he didn’t believe their tale. The truth threatened to destroy them all. This is the very honest story of three siblings, and how a man they trusted threatened to tear their family apart.
African American Girls: Reframing Perceptions and Changing Experiences (Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development)
by Faye Z. BelgraveThe teenage years can be exciting for girls, as they develop into young women and anticipate their future. For some, however, this developmental stage may be tempered by increased risks for teen pregnancy, school failure, and some health problems. African American Girls: Reframing Perceptions and Changing Experiences explores not only the challenges and stressors confronting this unique population, but also the strengths and resiliencies used to meet them. Examining prevailing trends while avoiding simplistic generalizations, the book is both descriptive (e.g., explaining similarities and differences with girls of other ethnicities and African-American boys in critical areas) and useful (e.g., providing concrete guidelines for professionals working to support prosocial development and prevent risky behaviors). This unique volume: addresses salient issues of self and identity, examines crucial domains, such as relationships, achievements and expectations, and issues that have a major impact on health and well-being, offers practical recommendations and resources for working with African-American girls during the period when life experiences and decisions are most likely to affect adult outcomes, discusses the lives of girls from diverse families, communities, and circumstances, explores the influences of family, peers, community, and cultural traditions, features sample activities for promoting positive development and includes quotations reflecting the perspectives of the girls in their own words. African American Girls is an essential resource for a wide range of professionals, including clinical, child, and school psychologists, counselors, therapists, and social workers. Whether one's specialty is prevention, intervention, education, or research, this book is a must-have volume.
African American Relationships, Marriages, and Families
by Patricia DixonAfrican American Relationships, Marriages, and Families is a historically and culturally centered text designed for relationship, marriage and family educators and therapists who work with African American singles and couples. Complete with numerous exercises, the book helps singles and couples increase their self-awareness, partner awareness and respect, and appreciation for difference. It also helps foster effective communication and conflict resolution skills, showing readers how to develop and maintain healthy relationships, marriages, and families. No ground is left uncovered in Dixon's thoughtful and considered analysis.
African American Relationships, Marriages, and Families: An Introduction
by Patricia DixonAfrican American Relationships, Marriages, and Families, Second Edition is a historically and culturally centered research-based text designed for use in undergraduate, graduate, and community-based courses on African American relationships, marriages, and families. Complete with numerous exercises, this volume can be used by current and future helping professionals to guide singles and couples by increasing single and partner-awareness, and respect and appreciation for difference. In addition, singles and couples learn skills for effective communication and conflict resolution and ultimately how to develop and maintain healthy relationships, marriages, and families. This second edition includes updates and revisions to current chapters and also features two new chapters: one on parenting and one on same-gender loving/LGBTQ.
African Americans and Homeschooling: Motivations, Opportunities and Challenges (Routledge Research in Education #125)
by Ama Mazama Garvey MusumunuDespite greater access to formal education, both disadvantaged and middle-class black students continue to struggle academically, causing a growing number of black parents to turn to homeschooling. This book is an in-depth exploration of the motivations behind black parents’ decision to educate their children at home and the strategies they’ve developed to overcome potential obstacles. Citing current issues such as culture, religion and safety, the book challenges the commonly expressed view that black parents and their children have divested from formal education by embracing homeschooling as a constructive strategy to provide black children with a valuable educational experience.
The African Book of Names: 5,000+ Common and Uncommon Names from the African Continent
by Dr. Askhari Johnson HodariFrom an author who adopted an African name as an adult comes the most inclusive book of African names. Obama, Iman, Kanye, Laila—authentic African names are appearing more often in nurseries, classrooms, and boardrooms. The African Book of Names offers readers more than 5,000 common and uncommon names organized by theme from 37 countries and at least 70 different ethnolinguistic groups. Destined to become a classic keepsake, The African Book of Names shares in-depth insight about the spiritual, social, and political importance of names from Angola to Zimbabwe. As the most far-reaching book on the subject, this timely and informative resource guide vibrates with the culture of Africa and encourages Blacks across the globe to affirm their African origins by selecting African names. In addition to thousands of names from north, south, east, central and west Africa, the book shares: A checklist of dos and don'ts to consider when choosing a name—from sound and rhythm to origin and meaning A guide to conducting your own African-centered naming ceremony A 200-year naming calendar
Africaville: A Novel
by Jeffrey Colvin2020 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominee-Debut FictionA ferociously talented writer makes his stunning debut with this richly woven tapestry, set in a small Nova Scotia town settled by former slaves, that depicts several generations of one family bound together and torn apart by blood, faith, time, and fate.Vogue : Best Books to Read This WinterStructured as a triptych, Africaville chronicles the lives of three generations of the Sebolt family—Kath Ella, her son Omar/Etienne, and her grandson Warner—whose lives unfold against the tumultuous events of the twentieth century from the Great Depression of the 1930s, through the social protests of the 1960s to the economic upheavals in the 1980s.A century earlier, Kath Ella’s ancestors established a new home in Nova Scotia. Like her ancestors, Kath Ella’s life is shaped by hardship—she struggles to conceive and to provide for her family during the long, bitter Canadian winters. She must also contend with the locals’ lingering suspicions about the dark-skinned “outsiders” who live in their midst.Kath Ella’s fierce love for her son, Omar, cannot help her overcome the racial prejudices that linger in this remote, tight-knit place. As he grows up, the rebellious Omar refutes the past and decides to break from the family, threatening to upend all that Kath Ella and her people have tried to build. Over the decades, each successive generation drifts further from Africaville, yet they take a piece of this indelible place with them as they make their way to Montreal, Vermont, and beyond, to the deep South of America. As it explores notions of identity, passing, cross-racial relationships, the importance of place, and the meaning of home, Africaville tells the larger story of the black experience in parts of Canada and the United States. Vibrant and lyrical, filled with colorful details, and told in a powerful, haunting voice, this extraordinary novel—as atmospheric and steeped in history as The Known World, Barracoon, The Underground Railroad, and The Twelve Tribes of Hattie—is a landmark work from a sure-to-be major literary talent.
After
by Francis ChalifourNominated for the Governor General's Literary Awards 2005, (Children's Literature, Text)Fifteen-year-old Francis's father has committed suicide and nothing will be the same again. Suicide is ugly, unglamorous, and it is never a solution. Its aftermath is dreadful.At first, Francis feels a terrible guilt. Could he have been a better son? What if he hadn't left his home in Montreal to go on a brief holiday in New York the weekend it happened? Soon the guilt turns to anger and then to a sadness so profound that he thinks he can't bear it.After is the map of a year following the suicide of a family member. In the course of months, with the love of his mother, with counseling, and with the balm of time, Francis takes his first steps toward coming to terms with his father's - and his family's - tragedy. After is intensely personal, but it will resonate with anyone who has faced the loss of a loved one.This brilliant autobiographical first novel is an acute analysis of the grieving process. Although it is steeped in Francis's sadness, it is ultimately a story of hope.From the Trade Paperback edition.
After
by Kristin Waterfield DuisbergNina Baldwin's perfect life unravels after she is diagnosed with breast cancer. As she struggles to remain a good wife and mother, her husband retreats into harrowing memories of his childhood in a family of Nazi sympathizers, and her awkward, extraordinary daughter sinks further into pre-teen misery. Isolated and afraid, Nina seeks escape in places she never imagined she would.
After Alice: A Novel (Nunatak First Fiction Series #37)
by Karen Hofmann"After retiring from the heady world of academia, Sidonie von Täler has returned to the small Okanagan Valley town she escaped in her youth for the lights of the big city. The family orchard has since gone to seed, and even decades later Sidonie still finds herself living in the shadow of her deceased older sister Alice. As she gets down to work sifting through the detritus of her family’s legacy, Sidonie is haunted by memories of trauma and triumph in equal measure, and must find a way to reconcile her past and present while reconnecting with the family members she has left. Karen Hofmann’s debut novel blends a poetic sensibility with issues of land stewardship, social stratification and colonialism, painting the geological and historical landscape of the Okanagan in vivid and varied colours."
After Anna
by Lisa ScottolineTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SENSATIONInternationally bestselling author Lisa Scottoline returns with this gripping, twisting thriller that will keep fans of Jenny Blackhurst's THE FOSTER CHILD and Shari Lapena's THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR guessing until the very end.Everyone deserves a second chance at happiness. Dr Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, is finally content after marrying the wonderful Maggie. And they're both thrilled when Maggie gets an unexpected chance to be a mother to Anna, the daughter she once thought she'd lost forever. But when seventeen-year-old Anna arrives everything changes - and the darkest turn of events will shatter their lives in ways no one could have imagined. What if your perfect family becomes your worst nightmare? Praise for Lisa Scottoline: "A deliciously distracting thriller...Scottoline illuminat[es] the landing strip of revelations and truths in a deliciously slow and intense way." The Washington Post on After Anna "Scottoline knows how to keep readers in her grip." The New York Times Book Review "A virtuoso of suspense, fast action, and intricate plot." The Washington Post "Scottoline is a powerhouse." David Baldacci "Scottoline writes riveting thrillers that keep me up all night, with plots that twist and turn." Harlan Coben "Lisa Scottoline is one of the very best writers at work today" Michael Connelly
After Annie: A Novel
by Anna Quindlen&‘Candid and complex – and ultimately quite hopeful&’ Claire Lombardo&‘Beautiful and deeply moving&’ J. Courtney Sullivan&‘A story of abiding hope&’ Mary Beth Keane When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to struggle without the woman who centred their lives. Bill Brown finds himself overwhelmed, and Annie&’s best friend Annemarie is lost to old bad habits without Annie&’s support. It is Annie&’s daughter, Ali, forced to try to care for her younger brothers and even her father, who manages to maintain some semblance of their former lives for them all, and who confronts the complicated truths of adulthood. Yet over the course of the next year, while Annie looms large in their memories, all three are able to grow, to change, even to become stronger and more sure of themselves. The enduring power Annie gave to those who loved her is the power to love, and to go on without her. Written in Quindlen&’s emotionally resonant voice, and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is a story that ends with hope, a beautiful novel about how adversity can change us in profound ways. Praise for Anna Quindlen &‘Leaves the reader feeling grateful, wide awake, lucky to be alive&’ Michael Chabon &‘Simply impossible to forget&’ Alice Hoffman &‘Qualities and shades of love are this writer's strong suit, and she has the unusual talent for writing about them with so much truth and heart&’ Elizabeth Jane Howard &‘Breathtaking... Quindlen writes superbly about families, grief and betrayal. I was completely mesmerised&’ Lisa Jewell &‘Engaging, immaculately constructed storytelling&’ Guardian &‘One of our most astute chroniclers of modern life&’ New York Times Book Review &‘Brave and beautiful&’ The Times &‘Her storytelling is exemplary&’ Sunday Telegraph &‘With relentless and dazzling brilliance, Quindlen grapples with the lancing pain and the swirls of disorientation experienced by anyone who has loved and lost&’ Daily Mail &‘A wise, closely observed, achingly eloquent book&’ Huffington Post &‘Overwhelmingly moving&’ New York Times
After Annie: A Novel
by Anna QuindlenNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • &“Part of Quindlen&’s gift is that you don&’t just read about these characters, you inhabit them. . . . Luminous with life, hope and the power of love.&”—People (A Book of the Week Pick) &“[A] quietly revelatory and gently gleaming gem of a book.&”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors&’ Choice) Anna Quindlen&’s trademark wisdom on family, friendship, and the ties that bind us are at the center of this novel about the power of love to transcend loss and triumph over adversity, by the author of Still Life with Bread Crumbs and One True Thing.When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her children, and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the lynchpin of all their lives. Bill is overwhelmed without his beloved wife, and Annemarie wrestles with the bad habits her best friend had helped her overcome. And Ali, the eldest of Annie&’s children, has to grow up overnight, to care for her younger brothers and even her father and to puzzle out for herself many of the mysteries of adult life.Over the course of the next year what saves them all is Annie, ever-present in their minds, loving but not sentimental, caring but nobody&’s fool, a voice in their heads that is funny and sharp and remarkably clear. The power she has given to those who loved her is the power to go on without her. The lesson they learn is that no one beloved is ever truly gone.Written in Quindlen&’s emotionally resonant voice and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is about hope, and about the unexpected power of adversity to change us in profound and indelible ways.
After Cleo, Came Jonah
by Helen BrownJonah entered Helen Brown's life not long after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had begun recovery from a mastectomy. His arrival coincided with the finalisation of her previous book, Cleo, as well as preparations for the wedding of her son and struggles with her daughter's determination to embark on a spiritual journey. Jonah, as it happened, was just as headstrong as Helen's daughter. So while Helen attempted to deal with her own mortality and help arrange a wedding, her daughter took off to war-torn Sri Lanka and Jonah fled down the street.In Cats and Daughters, Helen Brown writes with honesty and humour about family life, its serious setbacks and life-changing events. She also learns that sometimes the best thing a strong mother and cat slave can do is step back, have faith in those she loves and be grateful nothing's perfect. As Helen writes in her dedication, this book is 'to cats and daughters who don't always come when called'.
After Elias
by Eddy Boudel TanA modern queer tragedy about a pilot's last words, an interrupted celebration, and the fear of losing everything. “Utterly engrossing. Coen is a hero for our era, darkly struggling amid the aftershocks of loss, but doing so with dignity, humanity, and passion.” — Timothy Taylor, author of The Rule of Stephens When the airplane piloted by Elias Santos crashes one week before their wedding day, Coen Caraway loses the man he loves and the illusion of happiness he has worked so hard to create. The only thing Elias leaves behind is a recording of his final words, and even Coen is baffled by the cryptic message. Numb with grief, he takes refuge on the Mexican island that was meant to host their wedding. But as fragments of the past come to the surface in the aftermath of the tragedy, Coen is forced to question everything he thought he knew about Elias and their life together. Beneath his flawed memory lies the truth about Elias — and himself. From the damp concrete of Vancouver to the spoiled shores of Mexico, After Elias weaves the past with the present to tell a story of doubt, regret, and the fear of losing everything.