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Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life
by Jason RobertsAn epic, extraordinary account of scientific rivalry and obsession in the quest to survey all of life on Earth—a competition whose consequences still reverberate today—from the bestselling author of A Sense of the World&“[A] vibrant scientific saga . . . at once important, outrageous, enlightening, entertaining, enduring, and still evolving.&”—Dava Sobel, author of LongitudeIn the eighteenth century, two men—exact contemporaries and polar opposites—dedicated their lives to the same daunting task: identifying and describing all life on Earth. Carl Linnaeus, a pious Swedish doctor with a huckster&’s flair, believed that life belonged in tidy, static categories. Georges-Louis de Buffon, an aristocratic polymath and keeper of France&’s royal garden, viewed life as a dynamic swirl of complexities. Each began his task believing it to be difficult but not impossible: How could the planet possibly hold more than a few thousand species—or as many could fit on Noah&’s Ark?Both fell far short of their goal, but in the process they articulated starkly divergent views on nature, the future of the Earth, and humanity itself. Linnaeus gave the world such concepts as mammal, primate, and Homo sapiens, but he also denied that species change and he promulgated racist pseudoscience. Buffon formulated early prototypes of evolution and genetics, warned of global climate change, and argued passionately against prejudice. The clash of their conflicting worldviews continued well after their deaths, as their successors contended for dominance in the emerging science that came to be called biology.In Every Living Thing, Jason Roberts weaves a sweeping, unforgettable narrative spell, exploring the intertwined lives and legacies of Linnaeus and Buffon—as well as the groundbreaking, often fatal adventures of their acolytes—to trace an arc of insight and discovery that extends across three centuries into the present day.
Embracing Alienation: Why We Shouldnt Try to Find Ourselves
by Todd McgowanThe left views alienation as something to be resisted or overcome, but could it actually form the basis of our emancipation?In Embracing Alienation, Todd McGowan offers a completely different take on alienation, claiming that the effort to overcome it is not a radical response to the current state of things but a failure to see the constitutive power of alienation for all of us. Instead of trying to overcome alienation and accede to an unalienated existence, it argues, we should instead redeem alienation as an existential and political program.Engaging with Shakespeare&’s great tragedies, contemporary films such as Don&’t Worry Darling, and even what occurs on a public bus, as well as thinkers such as Descartes, Hegel, and Marx, McGowan provides a concrete elaboration of how alienation frees people from their situation. Relying on the tradition of dialectical thought and psychoanalytic theory, Embracing Alienation reveals a new way of conceiving how we measure progress — or even if progress should be the aim at all.
Two O'Clock on a Tuesday at Trevi Fountain: A Search for an Unconventional Life Abroad
by Helene Sula"An inspiring yet relatable read for anyone ready to stop settling." —Nina Ruggiero, Travel + Leisure In this inspiring travel memoir—the antidote to the &“just quit your job and ditch all your belongings to backpack the world&” mentality—a young woman explores how she took calculated risks to follow her dreams: traveling and living abroad without sacrificing stability and comfort.Like many young professionals, Helene settled into a steady 9-5, watching the clock tick by and dreaming of seeing the world one day. But after a climbing accident leaves her bedbound for months, she finds a new voice connecting with others online and starts a blog to write about her true passion: travel. When her blog takes off and a sponsored trip overseas opens her eyes, she wonders: could she lead a stable life while traveling the world?From skinny dipping in the icy Baltic and hiking Germany&’s storied Black Forest, to wrestling with visa applications and apartment hunting in medieval Heidelberg, Helene shares the realities—both the magical and the mundane—that come with chasing bold dreams and learning that home is where you make it. For those who fear change, the secret lies in taking calculated risks.Uplifting yet candid, this travel memoir will inspire others to take chances and transform their own lives. But you don&’t have to uproot your life to find meaning—just have the heart to take a leap.
Prescription for Pain: How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the "Pill Mill Killer"
by PHILIP EILAn obsessive true crime investigation of a bizarre and unlikely perpetrator, who&’s serving the opioid epidemic&’s longest term for illegal prescriptions — four life sentencesWritten in the tradition of I'll Be Gone in the Dark and True Crime Addict, combining Dopesick's heart rending portrayal of the epidemic's victims with Empire of Pain's examination of its perpetratorsThis haunting and propulsive debut follows a journalist&’s years-long investigation into his father's old classmate: former high school valedictorian Paul Volkman, who once seemed destined for greatness after earning his MD and his PhD from the prestigious University of Chicago, but is now serving four consecutive life sentences at a federal prison in Arizona.Volkman was the central figure in a massive &“pill mill&” scheme in southern Ohio. His pain clinics accepted only cash, employed armed guards, and dispensed a torrent of opioid painkillers and other controlled substances. For nearly three years, Volkman remained in business despite raids by law enforcement and complaints from patients&’ family members. Prosecutors would ultimately link him to the overdose deaths of 13 patients, though investigators explored his ties to at least 20 other deaths.This groundbreaking book is based on 12 years of correspondence and interviews with Volkman. Eil also traveled to 19 states, interviewed more than 150 people, and filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration that led to the release of nearly 20,000 pages of trial evidence.The American opioid epidemic is, like this book, a true crime story. Through this one doctor&’s story, an era of unfathomable tragedy is brought down to a tangible, and devastating, human scale.
The Right To Learn: Resisting the Right-Wing Attack on Academic Freedom
by Jennifer RuthFrom leaders on the front lines of the battle for academic freedom in higher education, an empowering collection on fighting back against anti-CRT policies, book banning, and moreSpanning over 40 years of contested history through to today, The Right to Learn speaks out fearlessly against the far right&’s decades-long war against intellectual freedom. This essential anthology outlines and contextualizes the culture wars&’ demonization of critical race theory, Ron DeSantis&’s &“Don&’t Say Gay&” law, and other hot-button issues.With an introduction that places the current crisis within the broader context of the ongoing attacks on American democracy, The Right to Learn features the testimony and analysis of activists, scholars, and attorneys with first-hand experience in the struggle against well-funded conservative groups&’ assaults on academic freedom. An impassioned, inspired resource for those fighting on the ground for the right to learn, this anthology is structured in three parts designed to equip educators with the necessary tools to understand the battle—and to fight back.—PART 1 explores educational gag laws, featuring, among others, PEN America staff members Jonathan Friedman, Jeremy C. Young, and James Tager.—PART 2 offers perspectives on key issues from those on the front lines: activists, educators, and attorneys like Dennis Parker, director of the National Center for Law and Economic Justice.—PART 3 investigates the implications of undermining academic freedom, with insight from experts such as Sharon D. Wright Austin, one of the professors barred by the University of Florida from testifying against a restrictive voting rights law and a plaintiff in the main legal case against Ron DeSantis&’s &“Stop WOKE Act.&”As they confront today&’s attack on higher education, The Right to Learn&’s expert contributors reveal that what&’s at stake is the pursuit of the real-world and contemporary knowledge a democratic polity requires.
Curiosities: A Novel
by Anne Fleming"Curiosities is pure delight. Anne Fleming draws us in so that we feel we are living the characters&’ lives, whether braving the North Atlantic on a sailing ship, or stealing away for a forbidden tryst in the English countryside. And she does it all with a light touch that has the reader dancing through peril and pleasure." —Ann-Marie MacDonald"Curiosities arrives like a little sun from another period to warm the reader with the joy and pleasure of knowledge, even as it illuminates the terrors and confusion that arise from ignorance. Wonders and disasters tumble over fractured lives and loves, but Fleming&’s conjuring of the past alive in our present is so deft and sure it might be witchcraft. I loved this book." —Marina EndicottThis sparkling, genre-bending novel opens with amateur historian Anne, who has a passion for research into the murkier corners of England in the 1600s. In an archive, Anne has stumbled across an obscure memoir, one that hints at an intricate tapestry of secret lives and loves. The full story eventually weaves together five manuscripts, each a different thread in the same strange tale: The Plague descends upon a village, and two children, Joan and Thomasina, are the only survivors. They bond with each other and with "Old Nut," a woman who lives in the forest nearby. But when relatives return, Old Nut is accused of witchcraft and condemned to death. Joan is hired as a maid to well-educated Lady Margaret Long—and, being lively and curious, soon becomes a beloved companion. Thomasina is sent on a perilous voyage to Virginia, where she adopts boys' clothing and navigates life as a male. Years later, Tom and Joan find each other and fall in love—but are discovered, naked, by a clergyman. Horrified, he believes there can only be one explanation for Tom's "unmanned" state: Joan is a witch and, like Old Nut years ago, must be tried for sorcery. It falls upon Anne, reading between faded pages and centuries, to uncover the fate of the lovers—and add her own contemporary line of "truth" to this tale from a time when there were no labels for who Tom and Joan might be.
Dog vs. Strawberry
by Nelly BuchetA dog and a strawberry find themselves nose to stem in this hilarious picture book that's perfect for dog lovers. An epic battle ensues—who will come out on top?Welcome to the Greatest Race of All Time! Give it up for our reigning champion, the one-and-only DOG! And let&’s have a hand for her opponent: the formidable STRAW-BER-RYYYY! When Dog is handed a strawberry from the fruit bowl, she sizes it up, dances around it, and decides she is going to race the Strawberry--and win. She dashes left, then right, then--oh!-- over the couch in an attempt to outrun her opponent. Strawberry doesn't move, but that doesn't stop Dog from continuing the race. Eventually, it's neck-and-neck... until mom walks in to see what the fuss is about, and SPLAT!Kids everywhere will recognize the rivalry at play here, and will laugh-out-loud at the bright, expressive illustrations and ridiculous scenarios from the award-winning creators of Cat Dog Dog.
The Twentysomething Treatment: A Revolutionary Remedy for an Uncertain Age
by Meg JayThe author of The Defining Decade explains why the twenties are the most challenging time of life and reveals essential skills for handling the uncertainties surrounding work, love, friendship, mental health, and more during that decade and beyond.There is a young adult mental health crisis in America. So many twentysomethings are struggling—especially with anxiety, depression, and substance use—yet, as a culture, we are not sure what to think or do about it. Perhaps, it is said, young adults are snowflakes who melt when life turns up the heat. Or maybe, some argue, they&’re triggered for no reason at all. Yet, even as we trivialize twentysomething struggles, we are quick to pathologize them and to hand out diagnoses and medications. Medication is sometimes, but not always, the best medicine. For twenty-five years, Meg Jay has worked as a clinical psychologist who specializes in twentysomethings, and here she argues that most don&’t have disorders that must be treated: they have problems that can be solved. In these pages, she offers a revolutionary remedy that upends the medicalization of twentysomething life and advocates instead for skills over pills. In The Twentysomething Treatment, Jay teaches us: -How to think less about &“what if&” and more about &“what is.&” -How to feel uncertain without coming undone. -How to work—at work—toward competence and calm. -How to be social when social media functions as an evolutionary trap. -How to befriend someone and why this is more crucial for survival than ever. -How to love someone even though they may break your heart. -How to have sex when porn is easier and more available. -How to move, literally, toward happiness and health. -How to cook your way into confidence and connection. -How to change a bad habit you may not know you have. -How to decide when so much about life is undecided. -How to choose purpose at work and in love. The Twentysomething Treatment is a book that offers help and hope to millions of young adults—and to the friends, parents, partners, teachers, and mentors who care about them—just when they need it the most. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to find out how to improve our mental health by improving how we handle the uncertainties of life.
From Punk to Monk: A Memoir
by Ray CappoThe heartfelt memoir of Ray Raghunath Cappo, a legendary hardcore punk musician-turned-monk—and pioneer of the straight edge movement—told with warmth, candor, and humor.Ray Cappo was a hardcore punk singer and pioneer of the straight-edge movement living on the Lower East Side of New York City in the &’80s, where his band Youth of Today played to packed clubs and touched thousands of people across the globe. But despite the accolades from fans, the popularity of his records, and the positivity he&’d brought to the punk music scene, none of this success gave Ray joy. He felt stagnant, and he yearned for something more. This, along with his father&’s untimely death, led him to abruptly quit the band and buy a one-way ticket to India in pursuit of the answers to life&’s great mysteries. Living as a monk in the sacred city of Vrindavan and traveling across the country on a series of train trips, Ray embraced the rich, spiritual culture he discovered there. As his unusual adventure unfolded, he encountered extraordinary characters, witnessed deep acts of devotion, and experienced profound moments of divine connection, leading to a radical transformation that was ego-crushing and blissful all at once. Inspired to write music again, Ray returned to the US, where he and other monks founded Shelter, a band dedicated to spreading a message of faith, hope, and love. Told with warmth, candor, and humor, this heartfelt memoir chronicles Ray&’s emotional and spiritual journey from punk to monk and beyond.
The Wives: A Memoir
by Simone Gorrindo&“A haunting, beautifully written celebration of found sisterhood.&” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) &“A fearless, engaging, and important memoir.&” —Library Journal (starred review) &“[A] gorgeously rendered peek behind the curtain of military life.&” —Booklist (starred review) A captivating memoir that tells the story of one woman&’s experience of joining a community of army wives after leaving her New York City job—a profoundly intimate look at marriage, friendship, and the power of human connection.When her new husband joins an elite Army unit, Simone Gorrindo is uprooted from New York City and dropped into Columbus, Georgia. With her husband frequently deployed, Simone is left to find her place in this new world, alone—until she meets the wives. Gorrindo gives us an intimate look into the inner lives of a remarkable group of women and a tender, unflinching portrait of a marriage. A love story, an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, and a bracing tour of the intractable divisions that plague our country today, The Wives offers a rare and powerful gift: a hopeful stitch in the fabric of a torn America.
Taxocracy: What You Don't Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life
by Scott HodgeTaxocracy: What You Don&’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life won&’t help you lower your tax bill, but it will help you understand how politicians use taxes to influence our lives, how taxes harm the economy, and why we need a simpler tax system.Did you ever wonder why the costs of health care, housing, and college tuition keep going up? Or how your neighbor could afford that fancy electric car? Or why there are so many hard seltzers on the market? Your first guess might not be &“taxes,&” but they play a big role. We live in a world ruled by taxes—a taxocracy. History is full of misguided tax policies that led to &“see-through&” buildings, tax-free attics, three-wheeled cars, women in children&’s clothing, and baked chips to go along with our hard seltzer. Written by former Tax Foundation CEO Scott Hodge, Taxocracy: What You Don&’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life uses amusing lessons from past tax policies gone wrong to explore how the US tax code caused serious consequences, affecting how we get our health insurance, the price of a college education, what car we buy, where we bank, and, in some cases, even when we die. Taxocracy outlines economic principles for designing a tax code that doesn&’t rule our daily lives—a tax code that promotes economic growth, free-enterprise, and takes the politics out of tax policy.
Awaken Your Potential: 10 Ways to Unlock Greatness
by Chad L. ReyesIn Awaken Your Potential, leadership coach Chad Reyes becomes a type of virtual mentor to help people fulfill their maximum potential, to become leaders, and then to turn around and help others fulfill their own potential.Today&’s institutions are facing a serious, global crisis that threatens to destroy how we work, live, serve, and play. No, it&’s not a health or financial crisis; it&’s a leadership crisis. Organizations around the world are lacking effective, competent leaders who know how to make a significant personal investment in both their organization and the people within it. More importantly, this generation of leaders isn&’t awakening the untapped potential within their teams. That is a problem—perhaps the problem—that leads us into dull, dreary workdays and wholly ineffective, unsatisfying work. It&’s time to change that. In Awaken Your Potential: 10 Ways to Unlock Greatness, entrepreneur, speaker, and leadership coach Chad L. Reyes will guide you in how to Make your purpose bigger than your problem. Give more than you take from others. Separate what you do from who you are. Get a valuable return on your failures. Fulfill your maximum potential—and unlock the full potential of others. Genuine, authentic leadership that unlocks others&’ potential is desperately needed in every aspect of society—from our governments to our businesses, educational institutions, civic organizations, youth groups, faith communities, and households. The world needs quality leaders. Leaders aren&’t born; they&’re equipped!
Turning Sorrow Into Joy: A Journey of Faith and Perseverance
by Kent ChristmasRejected. Broke. Unsuccessful. These are not words one associate with a pastor whose church has more than 3,000 members and whose services and podcast are viewed online by more than 200,000 people in nearly 100 nations each week. But Pastor Kent Christmas has lived these words. Jobless, near penniless, and nearly killed, on more than one occasion . . . yet ever laboring to become all that God would have him to be. This was Kent&’s story. But God . . . God uses broken people with broken hearts and lives to bring healing and salvation to a broken world. In Turning Sorrow Into Joy, you will learn how God took Kent from floundering small-town preacher to world-renowned pastor, from brokenness to healing, from adversity to blessing, and from despair to victory. For Kent, God truly did restore the years that the locust had eaten (Joel 2:25). Are you struggling to fulfill what you believe to be God&’s purpose for your life but can&’t seem to gain any traction? Is your story one of heartache, betrayal, rejection, and struggle, and you fear that your past will be your future? Kent Christmas has been there, yet he triumphed against all odds. And so can you. Kent&’s story didn&’t end where it began. Read it and be encouraged. God has a plan for you. He will fulfill it in His time.
Code Like a Pro in Rust
by Brenden MatthewsGet ready to code like a pro in Rust with insider techniques used by Rust veterans!Code Like a Pro in Rust dives deep into memory management, asynchronous programming, and the core Rust skills that make you a Rust pro! Plus, you&’ll find essential productivity techniques for Rust testing, tooling, and project management. You&’ll soon be writing high-quality code that needs way less maintenance overhead. In Code Like A Pro in Rust, you will learn: Essential Rust tooling Core Rust data structures Memory management Testing in Rust Asynchronous programming for Rust Optimized Rust Rust project management Code Like A Pro in Rust is a fast-track guide to building and delivering professional quality software in Rust. It skips the fluff and gets right to the heart of this powerful modern language. You&’ll learn how to sidestep common Rust pitfalls and navigate quirks you might never have seen before—even if you&’ve been programming for many years! Plus, discover timeless strategies for navigating the evolving Rust ecosystem and ensure your skills can easily adapt to future changes. About the technology Rust is famous for its safety, performance, and security, but it takes pro skills to make this powerful language shine. This book gets you up to speed fast, so you&’ll feel confident with low-level systems, web applications, asynchronous programming, concurrency, optimizations, and much more. About the book Code Like a Pro in Rust will make you a more productive Rust programmer. This example-rich book builds on your existing know-how by introducing Rust-specific design patterns, coding shortcuts, and veteran skills like asynchronous programming and integrating Rust with other languages. You&’ll also meet amazing Rust tools for testing, code analysis, and application lifecycle management. It&’s all the good stuff in one place! What's inside Core Rust data structures Memory management Creating effective APIs Rust tooling, testing, and more About the reader Assumes you know Rust basics. About the author Brenden Matthews is a software engineer, entrepreneur, and a prolific open source contributor who has been using Rust since the early days of the language. Table of Contents 1 Feelin&’ Rusty PART 1 2 Project management with Cargo 3 Rust tooling PART 2 4 Data structures 5 Working with memory PART 3 6 Unit testing 7 Integration testing PART 4 8 Async Rust 9 Building an HTTP REST API service 10 Building an HTTP REST API CLI PART 5 11 Optimizations
The Sea Hides a Seahorse
by Sara T. BehrmanIn lyrical prose with beautifully rendered illustrations, this gorgeous picture book introduces young readers to the amazing world of seahorses."This saltwater standout will have librarians, parents, and mini marine biologists hooked." —School Library Journal, starred review Hidden in the ocean of colorful fish, octopus, kelp, sea sponges, and other sea life is a most unique creature: the seahorse. Featuring different species of seahorses and seadragons across the world, The Sea Hides a Seahorse is a subtle seek-and-find story that journeys underwater to provide a glimpse into the secrets of seahorses as they swim, hide, hunt, court, mate, and more. Included at the back is more information about seahorses and how to support their protection and conservation.
The Big Book of 1980s Serial Killers: A Collection of The Most Infamous Killers of the 80s, Including Jeffrey Dahmer, the Golden State Killer, the BTK Killer, Richard Ramirez, and More
by Michelle KaminskyTake a deep dive into the rise and fall of some of the most notorious serial killers of the &‘80s, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Joseph James DeAngelo, Dennis Lynn Rader, and the Night Stalker.Neon leg warmers, big hair, rock band T-shirts, and mix tapes — 1980s&’ nostalgia at its finest. But just below that saccharine facade lurked a seedy underbelly of inconceivable human monsters like no decade before had ever seen. The Golden Age of the Serial Killer brought a sharp increase in violent crime, panic, and terror, which in turn sparked a chaotic race between serial murderers and law enforcement officers tasked with both stopping the killings and delivering justice to victims and their loved ones. The Big Book of 1980s Serial Killers is for the true crime fanatic who wants to investigate these cases and discover the ins and outs of how crimes like these are solved. Drawing from meticulous research, contemporary journalistic accounts, and trial transcripts, this book traces the various ways in which law enforcement cracked some of the most challenging serial killer cases in history. Serial killers included: Doug Clark and Carol Bundy (Sunset Strip Killers) Jeffrey Dahmer Joseph James DeAngelo (The Golden State Killer) Larry Eyler (The Interstate Killer) Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. (The Grim Sleeper) Samuel Little Gary Leon Ridgway (The Green River Killer) Dennis Rader (The BTK Killer) Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker) Tommy Lynn Sells Arthur Shawcross (The Genesee River Killer) Aileen Wournos Are you ready to hunt the worst serial killers of the 1980s?
París Guía Visual (Travel Guide)
by DK Eyewitness¡Bienvenidos a París! La guía más actualizada de ParísParís es una ciudad única: rebosante de historia, edificios majestuosos, preciosas placitas, importantes museos y con maravillosos secretos por descubrir.Observa impresionantes vistas desde la Torre Eiffel, contempla obras de arte de primer orden en el Museo del Louvre, admira las vidrieras de la Sainte Chapelle, pasea por los Campos Elíseos y disfruta de la gastronomía francesa en un bistrot. La Guía Visual de París cuenta con exclusivas ilustraciones, planos en 3D, itinerarios, explicaciones detalladas de los principales monumentos y recomendaciones de restaurantes, hoteles y lugares de ocio.La Guía Visual de París ofrece información práctica sobre transportes, horarios y visitas.Welcome to Europe’s most magical destination ParisWhether you want to view the ever-changing street art on Rue Dénoyezor, venture to opulent Versailles or learn to cook from the masters at La Cuisine, this travel guide makes sure you experience all that Paris has to offer.A treasure trove of things to see and do, the French capital is packed full of world-famous palaces, museums and galleries. But Parisians know that there is more to life than glitz and glamor. Simpler pleasures, such as stalls overflowing with fresh produce, quirky old bookshops and centuries-old cafés, are offered in abundance.Our updated guide brings Paris to life, transporting you there like no other travel guide does with expert-led insights, trusted travel advice, detailed breakdowns of all the must-see sights, photographs on practically every page, and our hand-drawn illustrations which place you inside the city's iconic buildings and neighborhoods.
Everything You Need to Know About Snakes: And Other Scaly Reptiles (Everything You Need to Know)
by John WoodwardDiscover the amazing world of reptiles in this book all about snakes for kids.Embark on a fun, fact-filled dive into the world of snakes with Everything You Need to Know About Snakes. Children will love to learn all the basics of reptile anatomy in this beautiful and informative book on our serpent friends.Packed with vibrant pictures and lots of fascinating facts, kids can enjoy learning all about a snake’s habitat and behavior. See how they survive in forests, deserts, and oceans, and how these clever creatures have adapted to live in seemingly inhospitable habitats. Alongside, in between, and on top of all that, this riveting snake book also provides ideas for things to make, games to play, quizzes, and amazing facts to share with friends!Inside the pages of this reptile book for children, you’ll find:- Facts on habitat and anatomy, as well as oddities such as why snakes have scales and why chameleons change color.- Close-ups, quizzes, and games with an exciting take on the amazing world of our cold-blooded friends.- A look at these creatures from all angles – information on habitat and breeding habits, as well as information on pythons, komodo dragons, sea turtles, and many more.Children aged 7+ can learn all about snakes from the very first page of this book, which combines little-known information with engaging text and an exciting design. Each page contains everything kids need to know, and everything they WANT to find out about snakes!Complete the seriesThis delightful snake book is part of the Everything You Need to Know series of educational books for children and also includes Everything You Need to Know About Snakes and Everything You Need to Know About Dinosaurs!
Somehow: Thoughts on Love
by Anne Lamott“Love is our only hope,” Anne Lamott writes in this perceptive new book. “It is not always the easiest choice, but it is always the right one, the noble path, the way home to safety, no matter how bleak the future looks.” <P><P> In Somehow: Thoughts on Love, Lamott explores the transformative power that love has in our lives: how it surprises us, forces us to confront uncomfortable truths, reminds us of our humanity, and guides us forward. “Love just won’t be pinned down,” she says. “It is in our very atmosphere” and lies at the heart of who we are. We are, Lamott says, creatures of love. <P><P> In each chapter of Somehow, Lamott refracts all the colors of the spectrum. She explores the unexpected love for a partner later in life. The bruised (and bruising) love for a child who disappoints, even frightens. The sustaining love among a group of sinners, for a community in transition, in the wider world. The lessons she underscores are that love enlightens as it educates, comforts as it energizes, sustains as it surprises. <P><P> Somehow is Anne Lamott’s twentieth book, and in it she draws from her own life and experience to delineate the intimate and elemental ways that love buttresses us in the face of despair as it galvanizes us to believe that tomorrow will be better than today. Full of the compassion and humanity that have made Lamott beloved by millions of readers, Somehow is classic Anne Lamott: funny, warm, and wise.
Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness
by Edited by Renée Fleming"This book inspires us all to immerse ourselves in the vast potential of music and other creative arts to heal our wounds, sharpen our minds, enliven our bodies, and restore our broken connections.&” —Bessel van der Kolk, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Body Keeps the ScoreWorld-renowned soprano and arts/health advocate Renée Fleming curates a collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators, and healthcare providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experienceChapters include: Ann Patchett, &“How to Fall in Love with Opera&” Yo-Yo Ma, &“Nature, Culture, and Healing&”Aniruddh D. Patel, &“Musicality, Evolution, and Animal Responses to Music&”Richard Powers, &“The Parting Glass"Daniel J. Levitin, &“What Does It Mean to be Musical?&” Anna Deavere Smith, &“Healing Arts&” Rosanne Cash, &“Rabbit Hole&” Rhiannon Giddens, &“How Music Shows Us What It Means to Be Human&”Robert Zatorre, &“Musical Enjoyment and the Reward Circuits of the Brain&”Concetta Tomaino, &“Music and Memory&”A compelling and growing body of research has shown music and arts therapies to be effective tools for addressing a widening array of conditions, from providing pain relief andalleviating anxiety and depression to regaining speech after stroke or traumatic brain injury, and improving mobility for people with disorders that include Parkinson&’s disease and MS.In Music and Mind Renée Fleming draws upon her own experience as an advocate to showcase the breadth of this booming field, inviting leading experts to share their discoveries. In addition to describing therapeutic benefits, the book explores evolution, brain function, childhood development, and technology as applied to arts and health.Much of this area of study is relatively new, made possible by recent advances in brain imaging, and supported by theNational Institutes of Health, major hospitals, and universities. This work is sparking an explosion of public interest in the arts and health sector.Fleming has presented on this material in over fifty cities across North America, Europe, and Asia, collaborating with leading researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners. With essays from notable musicians, writers, and artists, as well as leading neuroscientists, Music and Mind is a groundbreaking book, the perfect introduction and overview of this exciting new field.
The Book That Broke the World (The Library Trilogy #2)
by Mark LawrenceTwo people living in a world connected by an immense and mysterious library must fight for those they love in the second book in a new trilogy from the international bestselling author of The Book That Wouldn&’t Burn. The Library spans worlds and times. It touches and joins distant places. It is memory and future. And amid its vastness Evar Eventari both found, and lost, Livira Page.Evar has been forced to flee the library, driven before an implacable foe. Livira, trapped in a ghost world, has to recover the book she wrote—one which is the only true threat to the library&’s existence—if she's to return to her life.While Evar's journey leads him outside into a world he's never seen, Livira's path will taker her deep inside her own writing, where she must wrestle with her stories in order to reclaim the volume in which they were written. The secret war that defines the library has chosen its champions and set them on the board. The time has come when they must fight for what they believe, or lose everything.
An Enchanting Case of Spirits
by Melissa HoltzWhen a fortieth birthday celebration leads to a ghostly visitor, four friends find themselves navigating surprising mysteries and spiritual hijinks, in this clever debut from Melissa Holtz.Alyssa Mann isn&’t adventurous, not since her husband died and she found herself the single mom of a teenage daughter. But there&’s no way to avoid celebrating the big 4-0, so when her best friends drag her out for drinks and a tarot reading, she throws caution to the wind and decides to see what the spirits have to say. It&’s all fun and games, until she wakes up the next morning with a wicked hangover—and a ghost perched on the edge of her bed.Sheer panic sends her running to get help from Nick West, the (very attractive) detective who lives next door. When he finds no one inside, Alyssa has to accept that she really did see a ghost. As the dearly departed keep appearing, Alyssa and her friends do their best to learn how to control her newfound power. Trading insults with ghosts, tracking down family heirlooms, and getting closer to the skeptical but helpful Nick is more fun than Alyssa imagined. But when looking into one ghost&’s past reveals unexpected—and unwelcome—facts about Alyssa&’s late husband&’s death, she discovers she just may be in over her head.
A Field Guide to the Apocalypse: A Mostly Serious Guide to Surviving Our Wild Times
by Athena AktipisA common sense field guide to understanding, surviving, and thriving in our time of complex chaos and crises. Is this finally it? The end times?Because from COVID-19 to climate catastrophe to the looming AI revolution—not to mention the ever-growing background hum of rage, fear, and anxiety—it&’s starting to feel like the party we call civilization is just about over. The good news? It&’s always felt that way. Drawing on evolutionary psychology, history, brain science, game theory, and more, cooperation theorist (and, coincidentally, zombie expert) Athena Aktipis reassuringly explains how we, as a species, are hardwired to survive big existential crises. And how we can do so again by leveraging our innate abilities to communicate and cooperate. Pack a ukulele in your prep kit. Practice your risk-management skills. Enlist your crew into a survival team. And embrace the apocalypse. You might just enjoy it. Plus, it will help us build a better and more resilient future for all humankind.
The Wartime Book Club
by Kate ThompsonInspired by true events, The Wartime Book Club is an unforgettable story of everyday bravery and resistance, full of romance, drama, and camaraderie and a tribute to the joy of reading and the power of books in our darkest hour. The Isle of Jersey was once a warm and neighborly community, but in 1943, German soldiers patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule. Nazis have ordered Grace La Mottée, the island's only librarian, to destroy books that threaten the new regime. Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, she wants to fight back. So she forms the Wartime Book Club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading. But as the occupation drags on, the women's quiet acts of bravery become more perilous – and more important – than ever before. And when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance . . . Based on astonishing real events, The Wartime Book Club is a love letter to the power of books in the darkest of times – as well as a moving page-turner that brings to life the remarkable, untold story of an island at war.
You're Not the Problem: The Impact of Narcissism and Emotional Abuse and How to Heal
by Helen Villiers Katie McKennaTwo popular psychotherapists explore narcissism in family of origin, unpacking the fallout from being raised by narcissistic parents, and offering strategies for how to heal. Many emotionally abusive behaviors from parent to child have become socially acceptable because of the way we repeat things our parents said and did, things passed down from generation to generation that persist today. You're Not the Problem enables us to recognize these behaviors and realize the profound impact they have had, and still have, and to see the patterns they form in our relationships with parents, partners and friends. It also shows us how to heal on a personal level but also on a societal level. The legacy and the damage caused by narcissistic and emotional abuse will carry on, perpetuated by trauma and repeating cycles, unless we learn to recognize and understand it, unless we as individuals and as a society learn how to challenge it and stop its vicious cycle of destruction—which is what this book sets out to do. This book will explain and illustrate: How to recognize emotional abuse in family relationships: its language and behaviors The immediate and long term impact of these behaviors Strategies for healing How to avoid repeating these behaviors Using client narratives and sample scripts, Villiers and McKenna offer a compassionate, sympathetic approach to looking at our familial patterns—and how we can break free from these toxic relationships and reclaim our lives.