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NYPD Green
by Luke WatersIn this gritty, sometimes hilarious, but always brutally honest memoir, Irish immigrant and retired NYPD homicide detective Luke Waters shares the darker and harder side of the police force that "will make you sit up, stay up, and keep reading" (Edward Conlon, author of Blue Blood).Growing up in the rough outskirts of northern Dublin at a time when joining the guards, the army, or the civil service was the height of most parents' ambitions for their children, Luke Waters knew he was destined for a career in some sort of law enforcement. Dreaming of becoming a police officer, Waters immigrated to the United States in search of better employment opportunities and joined the NYPD. Despite a successful career with one of the most formidable and revered police forces in the world, Waters's reality as a cop in New York was a far cry from his fantasy of serving and protecting his community. Over the course of a career spanning more than twenty years--from rookie to lead investigator, during which time he saw New York transform from the crack epidemic of the '90s to the low crime stats of today--Waters discovered that both sides of the law were entrenched in crooked culture. In NYPD Green Waters offers a gripping and fascinating account filled with details from real criminal cases involving murder, theft, gang violence, and more, and takes you into the thick of the danger and scandal of life as a New York cop--both on and off the beat. Balanced with wit and humor, Waters's account paints a vivid picture of the colorful characters on the force and on the streets and provides an unflinching--often critical--look at the corruption and negligence in the justice system put in place to protect us, showing the hidden side of police work where many officers are motivated not purely by the desire to serve the community, but rather by the "green" earned in overtime, expenses, and allowances. A multifaceted and engaging narrative about the immigrant experience in America, Waters's story is also one of personal growth, success, and disillusionment--a rollicking journey through the day-to-day in the New York Police Department.
The Only Pirate at the Party
by Lindsey Stirling Brooke S. PasseyDancing electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling shares her unconventional journey in an inspiring New York Times bestselling memoir filled with the energy, persistence, and humor that have helped her successfully pursue a passion outside the box.A classically trained musician gone rogue, Lindsey Stirling is the epitome of independent, millennial-defined success: after being voted off the set of America’s Got Talent, she went on to amass more than ten million social media fans, record two full-length albums, release multiple hits with billions of YouTube views, and to tour sold-out venues across the world. Lindsey is not afraid to be herself. In fact, it’s her confidence and individuality that have propelled her into the spotlight. But the road hasn’t been easy. After being rejected by talent scouts, music reps, and eventually on national television, Lindsey forged her own path, step by step. Detailing every trial and triumph she has experienced until now, Lindsey shares stories of her humble yet charmed childhood, humorous adolescence, life as a struggling musician, personal struggles with anorexia, and finally, success as a world-class entertainer. Lindsey’s magnetizing story—at once remarkable and universal—is a testimony that there is no singular recipe for success, and despite what people may say, sometimes it’s okay to be The Only Pirate at the Party.
The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon (TED Books)
by Andrés RuzoIn this exciting adventure mixed with amazing scientific study, a young, exuberant explorer and geoscientist journeys deep into the Amazon--where rivers boil and legends come to life.<P><P> When Andrés Ruzo was just a small boy in Peru, his grandfather told him the story of a mysterious legend: There is a river, deep in the Amazon, which boils as if a fire burns below it. Twelve years later, Ruzo--now a geoscientist--hears his aunt mention that she herself had visited this strange river. <P> Determined to discover if the boiling river is real, Ruzo sets out on a journey deep into the Amazon. What he finds astounds him: In this long, wide, and winding river, the waters run so hot that locals brew tea in them; small animals that fall in are instantly cooked. As he studies the river, Ruzo faces challenges more complex than he had ever imaged. <P> The Boiling River follows this young explorer as he navigates a tangle of competing interests--local shamans, illegal cattle farmers and loggers, and oil companies. This true account reads like a modern-day adventure, complete with extraordinary characters, captivating plot twists, and jaw-dropping details--including stunning photographs and a never-before-published account about this incredible natural wonder. Ultimately, though, The Boiling River is about a man trying to understand the moral obligation that comes with scientific discovery --to protect a sacred site from misuse, neglect, and even from his own discovery.
Despertar en el cielo (Waking Up in Heaven Spanish Edition): Un viaje al cielo cargado de esperanza
by Crystal Mcvea Alex TresniowskiNow available in Spanish. An inspirational memoir of near-death experience, rebirth, divine mercy, and faith from first-time author Crystal Leigh McVea.On December 10, 2009, McVea, a thirty-two-year-old mother of four, went to the hospital for a routine procedure. While undergoing treatment, her face suddenly turned a dark shade of blue, then black. Her mother screamed for help, and a nurse tried to revive her...to no avail. Today, Crystal does not remember what happened in that hospital room during the nine minutes she was unconscious and unable to breathe on her own. She has no memory of the panic and the rushing nurses and the loud cries of "Code Blue." She only remembers drifting off...and waking up in heaven. This unexpected meeting of a self-described sinner and skeptic with her God changed everything. Raised Christian, she had left her faith behind after childhood abuse and the subsequent struggles and suffering of her troubled teens and early adulthood. She longed to believe but felt abandoned, broken, and undeserving. A moving autobiographical testament to the power of divine love and forgiveness, Waking Up in Heaven shares the message of hope, healing, and compassion McVea brought back from her brush with God. This brave, honest account of years lost to shame and guilt will inspire those who've stumbled along their own spiritual journey, with the uplifting reminder that no one is beyond the reach of grace and redemption, and that, in the words of the author, "God is real. Heaven is real. And God's love for us is the realest thing of all."
Ross MacDonald: A Biography (Library Of America Ross Macdonald Edition Ser. #2)
by Tom NolanWhen he died in 1983, Ross Macdonald was the best-known and most highly regarded crime-fiction writer in America. Long considered the rightful successor to the mantles of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald and his Lew Archer-novels were hailed by The New York Times as "the finest series of detective novels ever written by an American."Now, in the first full-length biography of this extraordinary and influential writer, a much fuller picture emerges of a man to whom hiding things came as second nature. While it was no secret that Ross Macdonald was the pseudonym of Kenneth Millar -- a Santa Barbara man married to another good mystery writer, Margaret Millar -- his official biography was spare. Drawing on unrestricted access to the Kenneth and Margaret Millar Archives, on more than forty years of correspondence, and on hundreds of interviews with those who knew Millar well, author Tom Nolan has done a masterful job of filling in the blanks between the psychologically complex novels and the author's life -- both secret and overt.Ross Macdonald came to crime-writing honestly. Born in northern California to Canadian parents, Kenneth Millar grew up in Ontario virtually fatherless, poor, and with a mother whose mental stability was very much in question. From the age of twelve, young Millar was fighting, stealing, and breaking social and moral laws; by his own admission, he barely escaped being a criminal. Years later, Millar would come to see himself in his tales' wrongdoers. "I don't have to be violent," he said, "My books are."How this troubled young man came to be one of the most brilliant graduate students in the history of the University of Michigan and how this writer, who excelled in a genre all too often looked down upon by literary critics, came to have a lifelong friendship with Eudora Welty are all examined in the pages of Tom Nolan's meticulous biography. We come to a sympathetic understanding of the Millars' long, and sometimes rancorous, marriage and of their life in Santa Barbara, California, with their only daughter, Linda, whose legal and emotional traumas lie at the very heart of the story. But we also follow the trajectory of a literary career that began in the pages of Manhunt and ended with the great respect of such fellow writers as Marshall McLuhan, Hugh Kenner, Nelson Algren, and Reynolds Price, and the longtime distinguished publisher Alfred A. Knopf.As Ross Macdonald: A Biography makes abundantly clear, Ross Macdonald's greatest character -- above and beyond his famous Lew Archer -- was none other than his creator, Kenneth Millar.
Whitney and Bobbi Kristina: The Deadly Price Of Fame
by Ian HalperinShocking new revelations emerge about superstar Whitney Houston and her only daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, in #1 New York Times bestselling author Ian Halperin’s account of their tumultuous lives.<P><P> On January 31, 2015, Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of musical megastars Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta home. Harrowing rumors and accusations ensued, particularly around Bobbi Kristina’s longtime boyfriend, Nick Gordon, who has been a part of the family since Whitney took him in as a teenager.<P> But #1 New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist Ian Halperin takes the story much, much further—back to the early days of Whitney’s career, exploring the devastating, self-destructive secrets that plagued the singer and led Whitney—and now her daughter—down a dark and dangerous road.<P> Drawing on evidence from trusted Houston family members, friends, and other inside sources, Halperin paints a portrait of Bobbi Kristina’s downward spiral following her mother’s death, including drug abuse and abusive relationships. How did Bobbi Kristina end up facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub, almost exactly three years after her mother’s mysterious death? What was her relationship with Nick Gordon really like? How did a childhood in the spotlight as the daughter of controversial pop royalty lead to her troubling fate? Halperin offers readers a fascinating and candid behind-the-scenes look at the glamorous world, personal demons, and never-before-told life of Bobbi Kristina Brown.
Attending: Medicine, Mindfulness, and Humanity
by Dr Ronald EpsteinThe first book for the general public about mindfulness and medical practice, a groundbreaking, intimate exploration of how doctors think and what matters most—safe, effective, patient-centered, compassionate care—from the foremost expert in the field.As a third-year Harvard Medical School student doing a clinical rotation in surgery, Ronald Epstein watched an error unfold: an experienced surgeon failed to notice his patient’s kidney turning an ominous shade of blue. In that same rotation, Epstein was awestruck by another surgeon’s ability to avert an impending disaster, slowing down from autopilot to intentionality. The difference between these two doctors left a lasting impression on Epstein and set the stage for his life’s work—to identify the qualities and habits that distinguish masterful doctors from those who are merely competent. The secret, he learned, was mindfulness. In Attending, his first book, Dr. Epstein builds on his world-renowned, innovative programs in mindful practice and uses gripping and deeply human clinical stories to give patients a language to describe what they value most in health care and to outline a road map for doctors and other health care professionals to refocus their approach to medicine. Drawing on his clinical experiences and current research, and exploring four foundations of mindfulness—Attention, Curiosity, Beginner’s Mind, and Presence—Dr. Epstein introduces a revolutionary concept: by looking inward, health care practitioners can grow their capacity to provide high-quality care and the resilience to be there when their patients need them. The commodification of health care has shifted doctors’ focus away from the healing of patients to the bottom line. Clinician burnout is at an all-time high. Attending is the antidote. With compassion and intelligence, Epstein offers a crucial, timely book that shows us how we can restore humanity to medicine, guides us toward a better overall quality of care, and reminds us of what matters most.
The Players Ball: A Genius, a Con Man, and the Secret History of the Internet's Rise
by David Kushner“An engrossing microcosm of the internet's Wild West years” (Kirkus Reviews), award-winning journalist David Kushner tells the incredible battle between the founder of Match.com and the con man who swindled him out of the website Sex.com, resulting in an all-out war for control for what still powers the internet today: love and sex.In 1994, visionary entrepreneur Gary Kremen used a $2,500 loan to create the first online dating service, Match.com. Only 5 percent of Americans were using the internet at the time, and even fewer were looking online for love. He quickly bought the Sex.com domain too, betting the combination of love and sex would help propel the internet into the mainstream. Imagine Kremen’s surprise when he learned that someone named Stephen Michael Cohen had stolen the rights to Sex.com and was already making millions that Kremen would never see. Thus follows the wild true story of Kremen’s and Cohen’s decade-long battle for control. In The Players Ball, author and journalist David Kushner provides a front seat to these must-read Wild West years online, when innovators and outlaws battled for power and money. This cat-and-mouse game between a genius and a con man changed the way people connect forever, and is key to understanding the rise and future of the online world. “Kushner delivers a fast-paced, raunchy tale of sex, drugs, and dial-up.” —Publishers Weekly
Strays: A Lost Cat, a Homeless Man, and Their Journey Across America
by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson Britt CollinsFor fans of A Street Cat Named Bob and Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, Strays is a compelling true story of a man who rescues a stray, injured cat and how they save each other.Homeless, alcoholic, and depressed, Michael King lives in a UPS loading bay on the wrong side of the tracks in Portland, Oregon. One rainy night, he stumbles upon a hurt, starving, scruffy cat and takes her in. Nursing her back to health, he names her Tabor and she becomes a bit of a celebrity in southeast Portland. When winter comes, they travel from Oregon to the beaches of California to the high plains of Montana, surviving blizzards and bears, angry steers and rainstorms. Along the way, people are drawn to the spirited, beautiful cat and moved to help Michael, who cuts a striking figure with Tabor riding high on his backpack or walking on a leash. Tabor comforts Michael when he’s down, giving Michael someone to love and care for, and inspiring him to get sober and to come to terms with his past family traumas and grief over the death of his life partner. As they make their way across the West Coast, the pair become inseparable, healing the scars of each other’s troubled pasts. But when Michael takes Tabor to a veterinarian in Montana, he discovers that Tabor has an identification chip and an owner in Portland who has never given up hope of finding his beloved cat, Michael makes the difficult choice to return to Portland and reunite Tabor with her owner. Now Michael must create a new purpose in his life after Tabor. The authentic tale of an adventurous and charismatic cat and her compassionate human admirers, Strays proves the healing power of love and the profound bond between humans and animals.
Nobu: A Memoir
by Nobu Matsuhisa&“In this outstanding memoir, chef and restaurateur Matsuhisa...shares lessons in humility, gratitude, and empathy that will stick with readers long after they&’ve finished the final chapter.&” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)A fascinating and unique memoir by the acclaimed celebrity chef and international restaurateur, Nobu, as he divulges both his dramatic life story and reflects on the philosophy and passion that has made him one of the world&’s most widely respected Japanese fusion culinary artists.Nobu needs no introduction. One of the world&’s most widely acclaimed restaurateurs, his influence on food and hospitality can be found at the highest levels of haute-cuisine to the food trucks you frequent during the work week—this is the Nobu that the public knows. But now, we are finally introduced to the private Nobu: the man who failed three times before starting the restaurant that would grow into an empire; the man who credits the love and support of his wife and children as the only thing keeping him from committing suicide when his first restaurant burned down; and the man who values the busboy who makes sure each glass is crystal clear as highly as the chef who slices the fish for Omakase perfectly. What makes Nobu special, and what made him famous, is the spirit of what exists on these pages. He has the traditional Japanese perspective that there is great pride to be found in every element of doing a job well—no matter how humble that job is. Furthermore, he shows us repeatedly that success is as much about perseverance in the face of adversity as it is about innate talent. Not just for serious foodies, this inspiring memoir is perfect for fans of Marie Kondo&’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Danny Meyer&’s Setting the Table. Nobu&’s writing does what he does best—it marries the philosophies of East and West to create something entirely new and remarkable.
Sky Lantern: The Story of a Father's Love for His Children and the Healing Power of the Smallest Act of Kindness
by Matt MikalatosMatt Mikalatos offers a poignant and compassionate look at a father's relationship with his children, the healing power of a small act of kindness, and the certainty that even death can't stop love in a deeply moving memoir inspired by a sky lantern with a scribbled note and the journey to find the child who wrote it.Love you, Daddy. Miss you so much. Steph. Steph scribbled those words on a sky lantern before sending it off to her father in heaven who had passed away from cancer. Halfway across the country, Steph's lantern landed in Matt Mikalatos's yard. As a father of three daughters, Matt could not let Steph's note go unanswered, so he posted an open letter to her on his blog. Matt never could have expected the viral response to his letter that led him on a journey to find Steph--and to bring healing to thousands of others in desperate need of the loving words of a father. Filled with paternal wisdom and reflections on the relationship between a father and their child, Sky Lantern shows how the miraculous events that followed Matt finding the sky lantern in his yard--and the widespread and lasting impact his letter had--prove that the bond between a parent and their child is everlasting.
Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life with a Very Large Dog
by Lauren Fern WattThe playful, epic adventure of a 160-pound English Mastiff and the twentysomething girl who grew up alongside her—Marley & Me for a whole new generation.Lauren Watt took her 160-pound English Mastiff to college—so of course after graduation, Gizelle followed Lauren to her first, tiny apartment in New York. Because Gizelle wasn’t just a dog; she was a roommate, sister, confidante, dining companion, and everything in between. Together, Gizelle and Lauren went through boyfriends, first jobs, a mother’s struggle with addiction, and the ups and downs of becoming an adult in the big city. But when Gizelle got sick and Lauren realized her best friend might not be such a constant after all, she designed an epic bucket list to make the absolute most of the time they had left. Bursting with charm, this unique, coming-of-age story of a girl making her way through life is a testament to the special way pets inspire us to live better, love better, and appreciate the simple pleasures. Gizelle’s Bucket List is the humorous, poignant lesson our pets teach us: to embrace adventure, love unconditionally, and grow into the people we want to be.
Wear and Tear: The Threads of My Life
by Tracy TynanA candid, entertaining memoir told through clothes.Tracy Peacock Tynan grew up in London in the 1950's and 60s, privy to her parents' glamorous parties and famous friends--Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, and Orson Welles. Cecil Beaton and Katharine Hepburn were her godparents. Tracy was named after Katherine Hepburn's character, Tracy Lord, in the classic film, The Philadelphia Story. These stylish showbiz people were role models for Tracy, who became a clotheshorse at a young age. Tracy's father, Kenneth Tynan, was a powerful theater critic and writer for the Evening Standard, The Observer, and The New Yorker. Her mother was Elaine Dundy, a successful novelist and biographer, whose works have recently been revived by The New York Review of Books. Both of Tracy's parents, particularly her father, were known as much for what they wore as what they wrote. In the Tynans' social circles, style was essential, and Tracy had firm ideas about her own clothing for as long as she can remember. Shopping was an art passed down through the family; though shopping trips with her mother were so traumatic that Tracy started shopping on her own when she was fourteen. When Tracy started writing about her life she found that clothing was the focus of many of her stories. She recalls her father's dandy attire and her mother's Pucci dresses, as well as her parents' rancorous marriage and divorce, her father's prodigious talents and celebrity lifestyle, and her mother's lifelong struggle with addiction. She tackles issues big and small using clothes as an entrée--relationships, marriage, children, stepchildren, blended families, her parent's decline and deaths, and her work as a costume designer are all recounted with humor, with insight, and with the special joy that can only come from finding the perfect outfit.
Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America
by Mel White&“Compelling…eloquent and compassionate…We learn as much about growing up in the Christian right as we do about gay life in Mel White&’s heartfelt and revealing memoir.&” —San Francisco ExaminerUntil Christmas Eve 1991, Mel White was regarded by the leaders of the religious right as one of their most talented and productive supporters. He penned the speeches of Oliver North. He was a ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, worked with Jim Bakker, flew in Pat Robertson&’s private jet, walked sandy beaches with Billy Graham. What these men didn&’t know was that Mel White—evangelical minister, committed Christian, family man—was gay. &“An engrossing journey to unite sexuality with faith&” (Dallas Morning News), Stranger at the Gate details Mel White&’s twenty-five years of being counseled, exorcised, electric-shocked, prayed for, and nearly driven to suicide because his church said homosexuality was wrong. But his salvation—to be openly gay and Christian—is more than a unique coming-out story. It is a chilling exposé that goes right into the secret meetings and hidden agendas of the religious right. Told by an eyewitness and sure to anger those Mel White once knew best, Stranger at the Gate is a warning about where the politics of hate may lead America…an important book by a brave man whose words can make us both richer in spirit and much wiser too.
Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome: One Woman's Desperate, Funny, and Healing Journey to Explore 30 Religions by Her 30th Birthday
by Reba RileyWritten with humor and personality, this debut memoir recounts a woman’s spiritual quest of experiencing thirty religions before her thirtieth birthday. Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome is for questioners, doubters, misfits, and seekers of all faiths, and tackles the universal struggle to heal what life has broken.On her twenty-ninth birthday, while guests were arriving downstairs, Reba Riley was supposedly upstairs getting dressed. In actuality, she was slumped on the floor sobbing about everything from the meaning of life to the pile of dirty laundry on the floor.Life without God was crashing in on her. And she was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. She uttered a desperate prayer, and then the idea came to her—thirty by thirty. And thus she embarked on a year-long quest to experience thirty religions by her thirtieth birthday. During her spiritual sojourn, Riley:-Was interrogated about her sex life by Amish grandmothers-Disco danced in a Buddhist temple-Fasted for thirty days without food—or wine-Washed her lady parts in a mosque bathroom-Was audited by Scientologists-Learned to meditate with an urban monk-Snuck into a Yom Kippur service with a fake grandpa in tow-And finally discovered she didn’t have to choose a religion to choose GodIn a debut memoir that is funny and earnest, Riley invites questioners, doubters, misfits, and curious believers to participate in the universal search to heal what life has broken. Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome takes you by the hand and reminds you that sometimes you first have to be lost in order to be found.
Worth Dying For: A Navy Seal's Call to a Nation
by Ellis Henican Rorke DenverIn a fast-paced and action-packed narrative, Navy SEAL commander Rorke Denver tackles the questions that have emerged about America's past decade at war--from what makes a hero to why we fight and what it does to us.Heroes are not always the guys who jump on grenades. Sometimes, they are the snipers who decide to hold their fire, the wounded operators who find fresh ways to contribute, or the wives who keep the families together back home. Even a SEAL commander--especially a SEAL commander--knows that. But what's a hero, really? What do we have a right to expect from our heroes? How should we hold them accountable? Amid all the loose talk of heroes, these questions are seldom asked. As a SEAL commander, Rorke Denver is uniquely qualified to answer questions about what makes a hero or a leader, why men kill, how best to serve your country, how battlefield experiences can elevate us, and most importantly, why we fight and what it does for and to us. In Worth Dying For, Denver tackles many of these issues by sharing his personal experiences from the forefront of war today. Denver applies some of his SEAL-sense to nine big-picture, news-driven questions of war and peace, in a way that appeals to all sides of the public conversation. By broadening the issues, sharing his insights, and achieving what civilian political leaders have been utterly unable to, Denver eloquently shares answers to America's most burning questions about war, heroism, and what it all means for America's future.
Rebel Mother: My Childhood Chasing the Revolution
by Peter Andreas“[A] luminous memoir” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Those who enjoyed Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle will find much to admire here.” —Booklist (starred review) The intimate true story of a boy on the run with his mother, as she abducts him to South America in search of the revolution.Carol Andreas was a traditional 1950s housewife from a small Mennonite town in central Kansas who became a radical feminist and Marxist revolutionary. From the late sixties to the early eighties, she went through multiple husbands and countless lovers while living in three states and five countries. She took her youngest son, Peter, with her wherever she went, even kidnapping him and running off to South America after his straitlaced father won a long and bitter custody fight. They were chasing the revolution together, though the more they chased it the more distant it became. They battled the bad “isms” (sexism, imperialism, capitalism, fascism, consumerism), and fought for the good “isms” (feminism, socialism, communism, egalitarianism). They were constantly running, moving, hiding. Between the ages of five and eleven, Peter attended more than a dozen schools and lived in more than a dozen homes, moving from the comfortably bland suburbs of Detroit to a hippie commune in Berkeley to a socialist collective farm in pre-military coup Chile to highland villages and coastal shantytowns in Peru. When they secretly returned to America they settled down clandestinely in Denver, where his mother changed her name to hide from his father. This is an extraordinary account of a deep mother-son bond and the joy and toll of growing up with a radical mother in a radical age. Andreas is an insightful and candid narrator whose unforgettable memoir gives new meaning to the old saying, “the personal is political.”
L.A.WOMAN
by Eve BabitzEve Babitz is a writer like no other--she "is to prose what Chet Baker is to jazz" (Vanity Fair)--and she has influenced a generation of writers and readers with her sophisticated, witty, and delightful work. L.A. Woman is quintessential Babitz, the story of Sophie, a twenty-something blonde Jim Morrison groupie gliding through a golden existence in L.A. and Lola, a German immigrant who settles in Hollywood in the twenties to drive Pierce Arrows recklessly down Sunset Boulevard and who knows that Maybelline mascara cakes and Rudolph Valentino are the essence of life. Sophie and Lola, like the many other women who move in and out of this electric saga know that while L.A. is constantly changing it is essentially eternal; through their eyes we see the mixture of high culture and low, the promises of youth and the fulfillment of nostalgia, the pink sunsets and the palm trees that are L.A. And through this fantastic tale, Babitz shares what it is to be a woman in what she convinces us is the capital of civilization.
Note Found in a Bottle: My Life As A Drinker
by Susan CheeverBorn into a world ruled and defined by the cocktail hour, in which the solution to any problem could be found in a dry martini or another glass of wine, Susan Cheever led a life both charmed and damned. She and her father, the celebrated writer John Cheever, were deeply affected and troubled by alcohol. Addressing for the first time the profound effects that alcohol had on her life, in shaping of her relationships with men and in influencing her as a writer, Susan Cheever delivers an elegant memoir of clear-eyed candor and unsettling immediacy. She tells of her childhood obsession with the niceties of cocktails and all that they implied -- sociability, sophistication, status; of college days spent drinking beer and cheap wine; of her three failed marriages, in which alcohol was the inescapable component, of a way of life that brought her perilously close to the edge. At once devastating and inspiring, Note Found in a Bottle offers a startlingly intimate portrait of the alcoholic's life -- and of the corageous journey to recovery.
Home Before Dark: A Biographical Memoir of John Cheever by His Daughter
by Susan CheeverIn Home Before Dark, Susan Cheever, daughter of the famously talented writer John Cheever, uses previously unpublished letters, journals, and her own precious memories to create a candid and insightful tribute to her father. While producing some of the most beloved and celebrated American literature of this century, John Cheever wrestled with personal demons that deeply affected his family life as well as his career. In this poignant memoir of a man driven by boundless genius and ambition, Susan Cheever writes with heartwrenching honesty of family life with the father, the writer, and the remarkable man she loved.
Treetops: A Memoir About Raising Wonderful Children in an Imperfect World
by Susan CheeverIn this compelling companion volume to her acclaimed memoir Home Before Dark, Susan Cheever once again gives readers a revealing look into her famous family, whose secrets and eccentricities parallel their genius and successes. Set against the backdrop of Treetops, the New Hampshire family retreat where the Cheevers still summer, and going back several generations, this powerful remembrance focuses on Susan Cheever's mother's family, and includes portraits of her great-grandfather, Thomas Watson, who invented the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell, and her grandfather Milton Winternitz, a brilliant doctor who built Yale Medical School. And of course there is her beloved and talented father John Cheever, the accomplished author who became one of the most well-known writers of the century, often using his family as material. Perhaps most riveting about Susan Cheever's second biographical masterpiece is its exploration of the lives of the Cheever women. At once a unique family portrait and the tale of every family, Treetops draws us effortlessly into a fascinating yet endearingly familiar world.
Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free
by Linda Kay KleinIn Pure, Linda Kay Klein uses a potent combination of journalism, cultural commentary, and memoir to take us &“inside religious purity culture as only one who grew up in it can&” (Gloria Steinem) and reveals the devastating effects evangelical Christianity&’s views on female sexuality has had on a generation of young women.In the 1990s, a &“purity industry&” emerged out of the white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual &“stumbling blocks&” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl&’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This message traumatized many girls—resulting in anxiety, fear, and experiences that mimicked the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—and trapped them in a cycle of shame.This is the sex education Linda Kay Klein grew up with.Fearing being marked a Jezebel, Klein broke up with her high school boyfriend because she thought God told her to and took pregnancy tests despite being a virgin, terrified that any sexual activity would be punished with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. When the youth pastor of her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a twelve-year-old girl, Klein began to question purity-based sexual ethics. She contacted young women she knew, asking if they were coping with the same shame-induced issues she was. These intimate conversations developed into a twelve-year quest that took her across the country and into the lives of women raised in similar religious communities—a journey that facilitated her own healing and led her to churches that are seeking a new way to reconcile sexuality and spirituality.Pure is &“a revelation... Part memoir and part journalism, Pure is a horrendous, granular, relentless, emotionally true account" (The Cut) of society&’s larger subjugation of women and the role the purity industry played in maintaining it. Offering a prevailing message of resounding hope and encouragement, &“Pure emboldens us to escape toxic misogyny and experience a fresh breath of freedom&” (Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and founder of Together Rising).
American Babe: A White Girl Problems Book
by Babe WalkerAuthor of the New York Times bestseller White Girl Problems and Psychos, Babe Walker, faces her most daunting challenge yet--suburbia--in the third caustically witty White Girl Problems book.Babe Walker thought she had done it all. After all, she's survived the highly exclusive social hierarchies of Bel Air, traipsed around Europe in true white-girl fashion, and left her mark on several of the best rehab facilities in the United States. But now Babe is about to enter a terrifying new world: Middle America. After a freak accident that was definitely not Babe's fault, her estranged mother offers her the perfect escape from LA: an invite to her grandfather's eightieth birthday party in Maryland, of all places. Babe's journey throws her headlong into elementary school classrooms full of small, unfashionable people and pizza buffet restaurants that will haunt her nightmares and eventually back to Los Angeles, thank goodness. Tossed together with her cousins--basic preteen Cara and mature and preternaturally stylish Knox--Babe learns that connecting with someone on an intimate, familial level might be the most rewarding experience there is... Besides being thin, of course. Hysterical, unapologetic, and as unfiltered as ever, Babe Walker proves again to be the "urban socialite you love to hate" (Time), and she can only hope the population is ready for American Babe.
Chasing Heaven
by Alex Tresniowski Crystal McveaFrom the author of the New York Times bestseller, Waking Up in Heaven, comes an extraordinary story about Crystal McVea's personal transformation after visiting heaven and how readers can experience heaven themselves--and live a more meaningful life.On December 10, 2009, Crystal McVea was being treated in a hospital for pancreatitis. Her heart stopped pumping for nine minutes before doctors managed to revive her. In those nine minutes, she went to heaven, stood with God, and was forever changed. Ever since Crystal's incredible experience, her life has been profoundly different. She has become a brand new person in every conceivable way--heart, mind, soul, and spirit. By dying, Crystal learned how to live. Crystal realized that heaven is real and our true home, but we are still meant to have meaningful lives full of passion and purpose right here on earth. She believes we have to chase heaven while we are still alive and allow God to turn our lukewarm love into a firestorm of faith. Chasing Heaven is the story of how God called to Crystal, what He told her, and how she found a way to get closer to Him again here on earth. Crystal assures us that we don't have to die and go to heaven in order to ignite our faith. We also don't have to abandon the lives we have in order to experience God and heaven. Chasing Heaven is about following the path to the Lord, and discovering your spiritual destiny. The journey that followed Crystal's time in heaven has been difficult, complicated, and surprising--full of twists and turns, setbacks and triumphs, drama and comedy, and everything that makes life so messy and beautiful.
He Killed Them All: Robert Durst and My Quest for Justice
by Jeanine PirroFormer prosecutor Jeanine Pirro--the "true hero" (New York Post) of the hit HBO documentary series The Jinx--offers the transfixing true story of her tireless fifteen-year investigation into accused murderer Robert Durst for the disappearance of his wife Kathleen Durst.Former district attorney Jeanine Pirro was cast as the bad guy fifteen years ago when she reopened the cold case of Kathleen Durst, a young and beautiful fourth-year medical student who disappeared without a trace in 1982, never to be seen again. Kathie Durst's husband was millionaire real estate heir Robert Durst, son of one of the wealthiest families in New York City--but though her friends and family suspected him of the worst, he escaped police investigation. Pirro, now the host of Justice with Judge Jeanine on Fox News, always believed in Durst's guilt, and in this shocking book, she makes her case beyond a shadow of a doubt, revealing stunning, previously unknown secrets about the crimes he is accused of committing. For years, Pirro has crusaded for justice for the victims, and her impassioned perspective in the captivating HBO documentary series The Jinx made her one of its breakout stars. Featuring Pirro's unique insider's perspective on the crimes, as well as her exclusive interviews with many of the major players featured in the The Jinx, this comprehensive book is the definitive story of Robert Durst and his gruesome crimes--the one you didn't see on television.