- Table View
- List View
Igniting Excellence in Faculty Development at International Schools: Beyond Borders
by Peggy Pelonis Thimios ZaharopoulosThis edited book offers diverse perspectives on the professional development of faculty, primarily at K-12 international schools. Contributions consider the many and complex facets of professional development – from administrative factors, assessment and accreditation issues to student needs through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens which acknowledges the differences in their backgrounds and cultures. The first part of the book examines the literature on professional development and presents a quantitative and qualitative study of international school leaders' views. The second part comprises examples of faculty professional development as testified by scholars who have implemented them in real life. The third part deals with important issues, concepts and applications regarding current faculty professional development such as accreditation, mental health, higher education and cultural identity. The book will appeal to researchers, education faculty and graduate education students.
Psycho-legal Concepts for Parenting in Child Custody and Child Protection Vol. 2: Ethical and Legal Issues for Mental Health Clinicians Working with Court-Involved Families
by Don TustinThis book provides an overview of changes in legislation in Australia concerning both family law and child protection law. The topic is important as the Australian Government has identified that the rate of mental disorder in some cohorts of children is high and rising. These cohorts of children live in families where they are vulnerable because they are exposed to risk factors that can be changed by a coordinated effort from parents, therapists, and lawyers. The aim of the book is to identify psycho-legal concepts that need to be understood by professionals who work in the fields of child custody and child protection, and to bring these concepts together to improve coordination between the two fields of practice. The purpose of the book is to be a practice manual for professionals from the disciplines of law, social work, and psychologists who work in specialized legal roles dealing with families where children are vulnerable to developing mental health difficulties. Volume 2 of the book provides a perspective from a mental health clinician about concepts and principles that arise in Australian family-oriented courts, and that need to be shared between disciplines. This book proposes that some concepts be identified as psycho-legal as the concepts need to be shared between disciplines who work with court-involved families. The book also proposes that psycho-legal concepts be shared between the jurisdictions of child custody and child protection. In this book, proposals are made to improve collaboration between disciplines and to maximize the best interests of children.
Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist)
by Min Jin LeeOne of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century In this New York Times bestseller, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan–the inspiration for the television series on Apple TV+. In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger. When she discovers she is pregnant–and that her lover is married–she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations. Profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. *Includes reading group guide*NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 * A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 * JULY PICK FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB NOW READ THIS * FINALIST FOR THE 2018DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE* WINNER OF THE MEDICI BOOK CLUB PRIZE Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself
by Crystal HefnerFrom a former Playboy Playmate, an unflinching look at the objectification and misogyny of the Playboy mansion, a woman&’s stolen young adulthood, and her journey to self-acceptance–plus a rare look inside Hugh Hefner&’s final days. Crystal Harris&’ life changed forever when she was just twenty-one and attended a party at the notorious Playboy mansion. Picked out of the crowd by Hugh Hefner, Crystal Harris became one of his infamous &“girlfriends,&” attending glamorous Hollywood parties and traveling the world. But being Hef&’s number one girlfriend came at the cost of Crystal&’s identity outside her role in the Playboy universe, and she grew increasingly restless to understand who she truly was away from what she saw as Playboy&’s toxic culture. Hef controlled his girlfriends with strict rules regarding everything from their hair and makeup to their curfews, forcing them to compete with one another as part of a highly hierarchal system. Only Say Good Things provides a fascinating look behind the scenes at a powerful cultural icon and brand, and an empowering perspective on hard-won lessons about who we allow to determine our value.AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A JANUARY 2024 APPLE BOOKS STAFF PICK AND AUDIBLE EDITORS SELECT NAMED A BEST BOOK TO READ THIS JANUARY BY THE GLOSS
The Glorious Guinness Girls
by Emily Hourican'Fans of Downton Abbey will adore this' Sunday Times'The perfect glorious escape ... the intimacy of a family drama, set against the most opulent of backdrops' Sunday IndependentThe Glorious Guinness Girls are the toast of London and Dublin society. Darlings of the press, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh lead charmed existences that are the envy of many.But Fliss knows better. Sent to live with them as a child, she grows up as part of the family and only she knows of the complex lives beneath the glamorous surface.Then, at a party one summer's evening, something happens which sends shockwaves through the entire household. In the aftermath, as the Guinness sisters move on, Fliss is forced to examine her place in their world and decide if where she finds herself is where she truly belongs.Set amid the turmoil of the Irish Civil War and the brittle glamour of 1920s London, The Glorious Guinness Girls is inspired by one of the most fascinating family dynasties in the world - an unforgettable novel of reckless youth, family loyalty and destiny.If you loved Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes' Belgravia or Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, you will adore The Glorious Guinness Girls.
The Summer We Were Friends: a sparkling summer read about friendship, secrets and new beginnings in a small seaside town
by Fiona O'Brien'The perfect holiday read' Irish ExaminerSummer has arrived in Derrybeggs and the biggest event of the year, the annual film festival, is less than a month away. But as the days pass, it becomes clear that nothing will go as planned...Dot came to the seaside town for a fresh start and so far her B&B is proving popular. But fitting in isn't quite as easy. Dot thought joining the troubled festival committee would help, but she's really starting to wonder if moving to Derrybeggs was a mistake.Marine biologist Merry spends her days working at her parents' café and trying not to think about the happiness she could have had. Everyone whispers about the tragic accident that destroyed her dream life in Florida. But Merry is the only one who knows the truth.When an intriguing American visitor arrives at the café with no memory of who he is or why he's in Derrybeggs, Dot and Merry set aside their own problems and rally the community to help him find his way home. As the search gets underway and the countdown to the festival begins in earnest, everyone is about to discover what it really means to belong.
The Keepsake Quilters: A heart-warming story of mothers and daughters
by Felicity Hayes-McCoy'A page-turner ... I adored it' Joanna Lumley'An absolute joy to read!' Carmel Harrington'A heart-warming tale of love, loss and hope' Roisin Meaney'A fascinating generational saga ... beautifully written' Patricia ScanlanOne family. Three generations. And the threads that bind them together ...Ambitious TV producer Penny has always been a planner. She knows exactly what her future looks like - until anunexpected pregnancy forces her to rethink everything, especially her relationship with the baby's father.Penny's mum Val raised her alone and always taught her daughter to be independent. So why is Penny pushing Val away now, when she needs her more than ever?To help heal this rift, Marguerite, Val's recently widowed mother, joins Val in sewing together a keepsake quilt for the baby. But as the quilt takes shape, memories surface, and all three women begin to discover more about each other than they ever could have imagined. As the arrival of their new family member approaches, will they finally realise that maybe they've been looking for happiness in all the wrong places?'Warm, funny and full of heart' Claudia Carroll'A beautifully crafted story, I loved it' Mary Kennedy
Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Co-dependency
by Terri ColeAre you the person everyone comes to when they're in a jam?Do you regularly accommodate others' needs and preferences?Does it feel like chaos will ensue if you don't handle the travel plans, divvy up the check at group dinners, sort out your friend's latest crisis, and so on?If these questions resonate, the odds are good that you are one of the overgiving, overextending individuals struggling with what psychotherapist and boundary expert Terri Cole has termed high-functioning codependency (HFC).When you hear the word codependent, you might think of the traditional enabler framework involving a hapless victim and their selfless rescuer. Terri certainly did. But after years in her therapy practice, she realized that many of her clients were presenting codependent behaviors that fell outside of the classic model.The ironic truth with HFC is that the more capable you are the more codependency doesn't look like codependency.In Too Much, you'll discover how to identify your HFC blueprint (or why you relate to others the way you do), the source of the attraction between codependents and narcissists, and how to cultivate emotional resiliency, practice real self-care, and much more.Each chapter includes tips, self-assessments, and exercises to help you transform how you see yourself and the world, avoid relapses, and stay centered in your own experience so that you can relate to others in a healthier way."How you feel, what you think, what you want matters. In fact, those things need to matter to you the most," writes Terri. "By choosing the path of healing and recovery, you are coming home to yourself." Here is a book for making the shift "from too much to just right," so you can live a life that's full of authenticity, freedom, and joy.
The Perfect Sister: A compelling page-turner that you won't be able to put down
by Zoe MillerHer life seemed perfect. Until the day she disappeared without a trace . . .Once inseparable, years of resentment and jealousy have driven Alice and Holly apart. But, though they barely speak these days, Alice knows her sister is hiding something.When she hears that a discovery at a soon-to-be-demolished apartment building has led police to re-open an 'accidental death' case, Alice thinks nothing of it. She's distracted by a recent chance encounter and the possibility of romance when she had given up all hope. Until someone knocks at her door, with questions about Holly and her possible connection to this supposed 'accidental death'.Alice doesn't believe her sister is capable of involvement in anything so sinister. But when she tries to contact Holly, she can't be reached...Forced to dig through the past in order to uncover the truth, Alice starts to uncover years of Holly's secrets - and to doubt her innocence. As the evidence mounts up, Alice has a choice to make: does she want to help her sister clear her name, even if the price is her own future?
Women's Lives (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Sue Llewelyn Kate OsborneWhat are the patterns dominating women’s lives today? What are the issues which confront women in their relationships, their work, and their families? From adolescence and adult partnerships, through motherhood, to growing old Women’s Lives, originally published in 1990, explores themes which are central to women’s experience, focusing on areas such as growing up, women on their own, sexuality, bringing up children, and family relationships. Sue Llewelyn and Kate Osborne argue that a multi-faceted approach is needed to understand a woman’s life, taking in not only her personal psychology but also the social context in which she lives. The authors are both clinical psychologists with an interest in psychotherapy, and they draw on their own direct experience of working with women in distress, as well as on feminist writing, novels, and autobiographies to illustrate their arguments. Each chapter presents a detailed case history, highlighting an important aspect of women’s lives, and demonstrates the increased understanding to be gained from a combined approach using social psychology, feminist ideas, and psychodynamic insights.Designed for a wide readership, including psychologists, doctors, social workers, counsellors, and nurses, Women’s Lives will also be of great value to people on women’s studies courses and to those seeking a greater understanding of themselves or others.
Women and Sometimes Men (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Florida Scott-MaxwellOriginally published in 1957, in Women and Sometimes Men, the author accepts the findings of modern psychology that every man and woman is both masculine and feminine. Her book is about the relationship of these two, both in society and within the individual at the time. She believes that the relationship in either case could be better than it is; that the pressures of our times lead many women to live – or be lived by – their masculine sides. The balance is disturbed in the individual, in marriages, and in society. The pressures will not cease and a new harmony cannot be found without a self-understanding that is sometimes painful, and an understanding of the opposite sex which greatly depends upon self-knowledge.It is such an understanding which this book offered: insights and reflections based on a long experience of life and of the practice of analytical psychology. It is an expansion of a series of talks originally broadcast in the BBC Third Programme, and which only those who believe they are already the most fulfilled and fulfilling person, wife, husband, parent, could afford to ignore.This book is a re-issue originally published in 1957. The language used and views portrayed are a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.
Theories of Women's Studies (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Gloria Bowles Renate Duelli KleinWomen’s Studies investigates the world from women-centred perspectives which cross the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines. Thus every issue, every question is material for Women’s Studies. The worldwide development of Women’s Studies during the 1970s and 1980s presented a radical challenge to the male-centred bias which dominated knowledge-making at the time.Originally published in 1983, in this book feminist scholars discuss the assumptions and aims of Women’s Studies, its connections with the women’s movement, its research, its teaching and its emerging methodologies.The contributors come from a range of disciplines: the humanities, the social and natural sciences, and from international backgrounds, primarily the USA, and Britain, Germany and Switzerland. They are united in working to develop a trans-disciplinary approach to the generation and distribution of knowledge and it is these new questions and their implications that demonstrate the exciting potential of a feminist education in women’s international quest for social change.
Infertility: Women Speak Out About Their Experiences of Reproductive Medicine (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Renate D. KleinOriginally published in 1989, Infertility looks at how fertility treatments fail women. At the time there was disturbing evidence of medical malpractice and invasive technologies which violated women’s bodies and took a heavy toll on their lives.Here for the first time, women – from all over the world – tell their own stories about: the pain and stigma of infertility; never-ending cycles of drugs and hormone injections; the trauma of the ‘test-tube baby’ method (IVF); their unmet hopes when technology fails – yet again; the damage caused by experimental medicine and surgery; how they have been exploited as so-called ‘surrogate’ mothers.These shocking stories shattered the myths of benevolent doctors working in the interests of women.The women who speak out in this book offer support and suggest alternative strategies for other people with fertility problems. Their experiences show that we urgently need to resist the false promise of reproductive technologies if all women are not to become test-sites for medical experimentation and scientific ambition. Still often discussed today it is considered a classic in the field.
Test-Tube Women: What Future for Motherhood? (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Rita Arditti Renate Duelli Klein Shelley MindenOriginally published in 1984, when new reproductive technologies were just beginning to become part of the public discussion, this edition was published with a new preface in 1989. The Editors wanted to look carefully at how much real choice reproductive technologies offered to women. Genetic engineering, sperm banks, test tube fertilization, sex selection, surrogate mothering, experimentation in the so called ‘third world’, increased technological intervention in childbirth – were we taking pregnancy and the birth process out of the dark ages or into a terrifying ‘brave new world’?They ask who controls it? Who benefits? The technological machine grinds on, in headline-grabbing leaps or in quiet developments in research laboratories: but what are the implications for women worldwide? Still a huge industry today, this reissue can be read in its historical context.
Women of Ideas: And What Men Have Done to Them: From Aphra Behn to Adrienne Rich (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Dale SpenderOriginally published in 1982, with characteristic energy, humour and learning Dale Spender traces three hundred years of women’s ideas. She uncovers not only the ways and words of women, but the methods of men. While men control knowledge, she argues, they are in a position to take women’s ideas. If they like them, they use them; if they don’t, they lose them.Every fifty years women are required to reinvent the wheel, for every generation of women is initiated into a world in which women’s traditions have been denied and buried.Providing convincing evidence that women’s absence from the record as creative intellectual beings is not women’s fault, but men’s, Dale Spender claims at least 150 women from the past and suggests how such erasure can be avoided in the future. Given that men take what they want from women’s ideas, Dale Spender advocates that women withdraw their labour, that they go on a knowledge strike, for if women cannot control the knowledge they produce, at least they can ensure that it cannot be used as evidence against them.Exposing the inadequacies of much modern (male) scholarship, the author provides the readers with the opportunity to share in her own discoveries, excitement, and ‘mistakes’ in the process of researching and writing this book. The result is that Women of Ideas: And What Men Have Done to Them is an ambitious and provocative book which will be used as a reference for many years to come, and which is also, from beginning to end, a stimulating read.
Women, Social Science and Public Policy (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Jacqueline Goodnow Carole PatemanOriginally published in 1985, Women, Social Science and Public Policy looks at what difference the debate over the position of women had made to the way social scientists worked and thought, or to law and social policies at the time. Debate had been widespread during the 1960s and 1970s and this book takes stock. It avoids the standard statistics on the position of women and concentrates instead on the challenges contained in this long debate to the way research topics and method are selected – challenges in effect to the assumption of ‘business as usual’ with the addition of a few details on women.Sponsored by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, this book is deliberately multi-disciplinary. Chapters are written by leading scholars in anthropology, economics, history, law, politics, psychology, sociology and government. These authors share both a theoretical and practical knowledge of ideas and policies. They share also a concern with analysing basic assumptions and to set Australian research and debate in an international context.This thoughtful book will be of interest to all who wish to understand the theoretical and the policy issues underpinning much of the feminist debate, and the way in which it affects their own thinking about issues of social science, social policy and social structure.
Woman and Society (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Meyrick BoothFirst published in 1929 the foreword begins: “We live in an age of rapidly changing values. This must be my excuse for adding another to the long list of books dealing with the Education, Life and Work of Woman. Nearly all the more important works in this field were published before the war. Since those days everything has changed. The immense development of Psychology, in particular, has opened up new social perspectives; and looking down these we find that the whole problem of Woman in relation to Society takes on a new form.”Woman and Society was a systematic attempt to review the whole question afresh from the standpoint of “modern science”, psychology, biology and eugenics; a searching and impartial discussion of problems felt to be of vital significance at the time. Today it is a look back at how women were viewed in the early twentieth century.This book is a re-issue originally published in 1929. The language used and views portrayed are a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.
Gendered Jobs and Social Change (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Rosemary Crompton Kay SandersonOriginally published in 1990, Gendered Jobs and Social Change is a systematic exploration of the changing structure of women’s paid work in Britain since the Second World War and an invaluable and accessible text for undergraduate students, and teachers and researchers, in the areas of employment, gender, and class theory.Four substantial case-study chapters, drawing upon original research material, give in-depth accounts of developments across the whole range of women’s employment, from the ‘post-feminist’ finance professional to unskilled workers in the hotel and catering industry. This empirical work is set within a context of discussion relating to current theoretical debates of the time concerning gender, occupational segregation, and class and stratification theory and research; it is then complemented by a review of the structure of women’s employment in other western countries. Besides making an original contribution to research and theory, it also provides an invaluable summary and critique of developments at the time within a series of important sociological debates.
Controlling Women: The Normal and the Deviant (Routledge Library Editions: Women in Society)
by Bridget Hutter Gillian WilliamsOriginally published in 1981 Controlling Women critically examines the forms of moral regulation and social control that were exercised over women at the time, arguing that the study of ‘deviant’ women cannot be separated from the study of how all women are defined and controlled. Contributors consider motherhood, prostitutes, abortion, alcoholism, retirement, geriatric patients, Broadmoor patients and legal controls of sexuality in Britain.Social definitions of women and institutional arrangements are used to control women, often in such a way that women see them, not as control, but as part of everyday routines – part of the ‘natural’ order of things. The book identifies some of the ways in which women seek to resist or circumvent these forms of control.The book will still be of interest to all those concerned with the position of women in our society and, more specifically, to students and teachers of sociology, social policy and theories of deviant behaviour. Its focus on images of women and the exercise of control will be of particular interest to professionals concerned with the counselling of women, whether in social, therapeutic or medical fields.
Little Matches: A Memoir of Finding Light in the Dark
by Maryanne O'Hara“Gripping and true in all ways. This fine, affecting memoir will stay with me for a very long time.”—Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion“In this vividly written memoir novelist O’Hara shares a painful but ultimately beautiful account of her daughter Caitlin’s life with cystic fibrosis. . . . Her compelling story will resonate with anyone seeking a light in the darkest depths of grief.”—Library JournalIn the vein of The Year of Magical Thinking and Beautiful Boy, an emotionally raw and inspiring memoir that illuminates a mother’s grief over the loss of her adult child and considers the hope of soulful connections that transcend the boundary of life and death.When their only child was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) at the age of two, Maryanne O’Hara and her husband were told that Caitlin could live a long life or be dead in a matter of months. Thirty-one years later, Caitlin lost her battle with this devastating disease following an excruciating two-year wait on the transplant list and a last-minute race to locate a pair of healthy lungs. The sudden spiral of events left Maryanne in an existential crisis, searching to find an answer to the eternal question: Why we are here? During her final years, Caitlin had become a source of wisdom and comfort for her mother—the partner with whom she shared a deep spiritual quest to understand what it meant to have a soul. After Caitlin’s passing, Maryanne began to notice signs—poignant, persistent synchronicities that seemed to lean toward proof of Caitlin’s enduring presence.Weaving together a series of interconnected meditations with illuminating glimpses of life rendered via text messages, e-mails, and journal entries, Little Matches is a profound reflection on life and death, motherhood, the pain of chronic uncertainty, and finding inspiration in the unexpected sparks that light our way through the darkness.
The Big Thing: How to Complete Your Creative Project Even if You're a Lazy, Self-Doubting Procrastinator Like Me
by Phyllis KorkkiA New York Times business journalist explains why it’s important for people to pursue big creative projects, and identifies both the obstacles and the productive habits that emerge on the path to completion—including her own experience writing this book.Whether it’s the Great American Novel or a groundbreaking new app, many people want to create a Big Thing, but finding the motivation to get started, let alone complete the work, can be daunting. In The Big Thing, New York Times business writer and editor Phyllis Korkki combines real-life stories, science, and insights from her own experience to illuminate the factors that drive people to complete big creative projects—and the obstacles that threaten to derail success.In the course of creating her own Big Thing—this book—Korkki explores the individual and collaborative projects of others: from memoirs, art installations, and musical works to theater productions, small businesses, and charities. She identifies the main aspects of a Big Thing, including meaningful goals, focus and effort, the difficulties posed by the demands of everyday life, and the high risk of failure and disappointment. Korkki also breaks down components of the creative process and the characteristics that define it, and offers her thoughts on avoiding procrastination, staying motivated, scheduling a routine, and overcoming self-doubt and the restrictions of a day job. Filled with inspiring stories, practical advice, and a refreshing dose of honesty, The Big Thing doesn’t minimize the negative side of such pursuits—including the fact that big projects are hard to complete and raise difficult questions about one’s self-worth.Inspiring, wise, humorous, and good-natured, The Big Thing is a meditation on the importance of self-expression and purpose.
Kinch Riley and Indian Territory
by Matt BraunKINCH RILEYNewton, Kansas, 1871: One is a young drifter alone in a lawless land. The other is an aged gunfighter well-versed in the bawdy wonders of a wide-open boomtown. When these two lost souls come together one August night, and battle a band of Texas outlaws, the legend of Kinch Riley will be born….INDIAN TERRITORYWhen hired gun John Ryan heads into Indian Territory with a brawling crew of railroad workers, a battle of bloodshed and treachery ensues. But when he later meets the proud Cherokees—and the beautiful daughter of and embattled chief—Ryan sees for himself how his employer's steel rails are splitting the heart of a people's last home. Can his conscience keep him from pulling the trigger?
My Husband and My Wives: A Gay Man's Odyssey
by Charles Rowan BeyeMy Husband and My Wives: A Gay's Man's Odyssey is the memoir of a man looking back over eight tumultuous decades at the complications of discovering at puberty that he is attracted to other men. The ordeal of remaining true to what his libido tells him is right, in the midst of a disapproving and sometimes hostile society, is one side of his story. Another is the impulsive decision he made as a young adult to marry a woman who fascinated him. This led him into entirely unanticipated territory. He found himself suddenly a husband, a widower, a groom for a second time, and, finally, the father of four children and grandfather of six, though throughout it all, he never abandoned his erotic involvement with men. Perhaps most extraordinary is the story's happy conclusion: Charles Rowan Beye's wedding four years ago to the man who has been his companion for the last twenty years.The remarkable journey from pariah to patriarch is told with an eloquence, an honesty, and a sense of humor that are uniquely Beye's own. A personal history that is also a history of evolving social mores, this wonderfully original, challenging, life- and love-affirming account could only have been written by the unconventional man who lived through it all.
The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life
by Stephen RodrickOn November 28, 1979, squadron commander and Navy pilot Peter Rodrick died when his plane crashed in the Indian Ocean. He was just thirty-six and had been the commanding officer of his squadron for 127 days. Eight thousand miles away on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, he left behind a grief-stricken wife, two daughters, and a thirteenyear-old son who would grow up to be a writer—one who was drawn, perhaps inevitably, to write about his father, his family, and the devastating consequences of military service.In The Magical Stranger, Stephen Rodrick explores the life and death of the man who indelibly shaped his life, even as he remained a mystery: brilliant but unknowable, sacred but absent—an apparition gone 200 days of the year for much of his young son's life—a born leader who gave his son little direction. Through adolescence and into adulthood, Rodrick struggled to grasp fully the reality of his father's death and its permanence. Peter's picture and memory haunted the family home, but his name was rarely mentioned.To better understand his father and his own experience growing up without him, Rodrick turned to today's members of his father's former squadron, spending nearly two years with VAQ-135, the "World-Famous Black Ravens." His travels take him around the world, from Okinawa and Hawaii to Bahrain and the Persian Gulf—but always back to Whidbey Island, the setting of his family's own story. As he learns more about his father, he also uncovers the layers of these sailors' lives: their brides and girlfriends, friendships, dreams, disappointments—and the consequences of their choices on those they leave behind.A penetrating, thoughtful blend of memoir and reportage, The Magical Stranger is a moving reflection on the meaning of service and the power of a father's legacy.
If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet: A Play
by Nick PayneFifteen-year-old Anna is bullied by her classmates for being overweight. Her mother, Fiona, decides to transfer her to the school where she teaches, but that only makes things worse. Anna's father, George, is no help—he's too obsessed with saving the world. Just as Anna gets suspended for head-butting one of her tormenters, her uncle Terry arrives for an unannounced visit. A heartbroken, filthy-mouthed slacker, Terry reaches out to Anna in a way that no one ever has. Their unexpected friendship sends her parents' rocky marriage into a tailspin as the whole family wonders what—or who—really needs saving. Nick Payne's If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is a brilliantly sad, humorous, and empathetic play about a family stuck somewhere between knowing what the problem is and doing something about it.