Dean Koontz’s first ever nonfiction book, the deeply moving story of his life with his good dog Trixie Dean Koontz is known for exploring the dark side of human nature in his fiction. But his softer, playful side comes out when he talks about his beloved dog, Trixie, a golden retriever. Trixie had a special place in Dean's heart. And now, in this, his first non-fiction book, Dean opens his heart to his readers to give us memories of Trixie, of the glorious dog who changed him and changed his life. There's everything in this memoir: adventure, mischief, emotion, and sadness too. Dean will talk with joy about the many gifts Trixie gave him – and the lessons she taught – and he'll talk with sadness at losing his beloved pet. The loss of a dog is a heartbreak that's been experienced by a great many people, and Dean's delving into that loss is a powerful part of this book, and a cathartic experience for those of us who have loved and lost an animal companion. Trixie had a big little life and lives for ever in Dean’s heart … and in these pages.

Fernando Torres is one of the hottest properties in world football. From local Madrid idol to Kop hero and European Championship winner, he talks here for the first time about the unique challenges faced in his two years in England, with candid snapshots of his life on and off the field. At the age of 25, Spain’s Fernando Torres has already established himself as one of the Liverpool greats and a proud wearer of the fabled No 9 shirt. His first book provides a captivating illustrated story of his career to date, alongside candid snapshots of his early life in Madrid, as a child football prodigy and lifelong fan of local club Atletico. Nicknamed ‘El Nino’ (The Kid), Torres opens up about life on the streets besides Atletico’s Vicente Calderon stadium, signing for the club at the age of 15 and appointed club captain by 19, becoming, as one local journalist put it, ‘one part folk hero, one part native son, one part messiah.’ When Liverpool broke their club transfer record to bring Torres to Anfield in July 2007, it proved the turning point in his career. Competing in the goldfish bowl of the English Premier League, settling into the NorthWest and playing alongside Liverpool heroes like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, in the company of Spanish team-mates Pepe Reina, Xavi Alonso and Albert Rieira, and performing in front of the Kop who quickly adopted him as one of their own – Torres describes what it means to him to play on one of the greatest stages in world football, and compares and contrasts life in Spain with his new career in England. Away from the football, Torres talks about life out of the spotlight with his childhood sweetheart Ollala, his family and friends, and what inspires and motivates him.

Sunday Times bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson’s first heartbreaking memoir The Boy No One Loved now combined in a single volume with her shocking title Crying for Help about a troubled 12-year-old girl. The Boy No One Loved is the true story of Justin who was taken into care at the age of 5 after deliberately burning down his family home. Six years on, after 20 failed placements, Justin arrives at Casey’s home. A childhood of hurt and rejection has made him aggressive, but this is only the tip of a chilling iceberg. In Crying for Help, Casey takes in Sophia, a girl with a pain-filled past and disturbing behaviour. Casey must get through to her, but Sophia’s violence is threatening the safety of the whole family. Can Casey really handle this lost and damaged young girl?

When 18-year-old Mary Hazard touched down in post-war Putney to begin her nurse’s training, she could never have known that it was the beginning of a colourful career that would still be going 60 years later – one of the longest ever serving NHS nurses. For Mary, raised in a strict convent in rural south Ireland, working in her first London hospital was a shocking and life-changing experience. Against a backdrop of ongoing rationing and poverty, she saw for the first time the horrors of disease, the heart-breaking outcomes of failed abortions – and faced the genuine shock of seeing a man naked for the first time! 60 Years a Nurse follows the dramas and emotions as Mary found her feet during those early years. From the firm friends she made under the ever-watchful gaze of Matron and the sisters, to the eclectic mix of Londoners she strove to care for; the Teddy Boys she danced with and the freedom of living away from home; and her own burgeoning love story, as extraordinary as it was romantic – these are the funny and heartwarming moments that helped Mary to follow her dream.

Speaking Volumes Christian Book of the Year 2016 Mary’s Meals is born from acts of love. If you put all those many acts of sacrifice together it creates a beautiful thing. Mary’s Meals tells the inspirational and compelling story of how a cripplingly shy fish farmer from Argyll, Scotland, became the international CEO of a global charity that now feeds over 800,000 children a day. In 1992, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow was enjoying a pint with his brother when he got an idea that would change his life – and radically change the lives of others. After watching a news bulletin about war-torn Bosnia, the two brothers agreed to take a week’s hiatus from work to help. What neither of them expected is that what began as a one-time road trip in a beaten-up Landrover rapidly grew to become Magnus’s life’s work – leading him to leave his job, sell his house and direct all his efforts to feeding thousands of the world’s poorest children. Magnus retells how a series of miraculous circumstances and an overwhelming display of love from those around him led to the creation of Mary’s Meals; an organisation that now holds the key to eradicating child hunger altogether. This humble, heart-warming yet powerful story has never been more relevant in our society of plenty and privilege. It will open your eyes to the extraordinary impact that one person can make.

SPECIAL PRICE FOR A LIMITED TIME One woman's journal of single life on the margins. A brilliant collection of Lynne Truss’ journalism – recording the life of a metropolitan refugee from coupledom. The alternative ‘Bridget Jones’. For seven long years, starting in ‘The Listener’ in 1988 and continuing in ‘The Times’ and ‘Woman's Journal’, Lynne Truss has been trying to make her cat laugh. It has been an uphill task, which is why she deserves this book, a recognition of outstanding courage in the face of futility. Along the way, 'Margins', 'Single of Life' and 'One Woman's Journal' have collected a band of devoted fans, yet still the cat remains unimpressed. Never have so many jokes about Kitbits been found in such concentration as in ‘Making the Cat Laugh’. But under the headings such as 'The Single Woman Considers Going Out but Doesn't Fancy the Hassle' and 'The Single Woman Stays at Home and Goes Quietly Mad', we discover a writer not only obsessed with cats, but prone to over-reacting generally - to news stories, shopping, passive smoking, Christmas, coupledom, boyfriends, snails, sheds, Andre Agassi, cooking instructions, requests of 'How's the novel going?' and personal remarks of any kind.

From one of America’s greatest and most iconic writers: an honest and courageous portrait of age and motherhood. Several days before Christmas 2003, Joan Didion’s only daughter, Quintana, fell seriously ill. In 2010, Didion marked the sixth anniversary of her daughter’s death. ‘Blue Nights’ is a shatteringly honest examination of Joan Didion’s life as a mother, a woman and a writer. Recently widowed, and becoming increasingly frail, ‘Blue Nights’ is Didion’s attempt to understand our deepest fears, our inadequate adjustments to ageing and to put a name to what we refuse to see and as a consequence fail to face up to, ‘this refusal even to engage in such contemplation, this failure to confront the certainties of ageing, illness and death. This fear.’ This fear is tied to what we cherish most and fight to conserve, protect, and refuse to let go, for, ‘when we are talking about mortality we are talking about our children.’ To face death is to let go of memory, to be bereft once more, ‘I know what it is I am now experiencing. I know what the frailty is, I know what the fear is.’ The fear is not for what is lost. The fear is for what is still to be lost. You may see nothing still to be lost. Yet there is no day in her life on which I do not see her. A profound, poetic and powerful book about motherhood and the fierce way in which we continue to exalt and nurture our children, even if they only live on in memory. ‘Blue Nights’ is an intensely personal, and yet, strangely universal account of how we love. It is both groundbreaking and a culmination of a stunning career.

From bestselling author Bill Bryson comes this compelling short biography of William Shakespeare, our greatest dramatist and poet. Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson makes sense of the man behind the masterpieces. As he leads us through the crowded streets of Elizabethan England, he brings to life the places and characters that inspired Shakespeare’s work. Along the way he delights in the inventiveness of Shakespeare’s language, which has given us so many of the indispensable words and phrases we use today, and celebrates the Bard’s legacy to our literature, culture and history. Drawing together information from a vast array of sources, this is a masterful account of the life and works of William Shakespeare, one of the most famous and most enigmatic people ever to have lived – not to mention a classic piece of Bill Bryson.

The incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, now a major motion picture directed by Angelina Jolie. THE INTERNATIONAL NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER In 1943 a bomber crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Against all odds, one young lieutenant survives. Louise Zamperini had already transformed himself from child delinquent to prodigious athlete, running in the Berlin Olympics. Now he must embark on one of the Second World War’s most extraordinary odysseys. Zamperini faces thousands of miles of open ocean on a failing raft. Beyond like only greater trials, in Japan’s prisoner-of-war camps. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini’s destiny, whether triumph or tragedy, depends on the strength of his will … Now a major motion picture, directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Jack O’ Connell.

Stuart does not like the manu*. He's after a bestseller, "like what Tom Clancy writes". "But you are not an assassin trying to frazzle the president with anthrax bombs," I point out. You are an ex-homeless, ex-junkie psychopath, I do not add.' This is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer ('a middle-class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, Alexander'), and Stuart Shorter, a homeless, knife-wielding thief. Told backwards -- Stuart's idea -- it starts with a deeply troubled thirty-two-year-old and ends with a 'happy-go-lucky little boy' of twelve. This brilliant biography, winner of the Guardian First Book Award, presents a humbling portrait of homeless life, and is as extraordinary and unexpected as the man it describes.

The 15:17 to Paris is the amazing true story of friendship and bravery, and of near tragedy averted by three heroic young men who found the unity and strength inside themselves when they – and 500 other innocent travellers – needed it most. On 21st August 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was about to begin, but Khazzani wasn’t expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision, to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone, depended on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith. Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organisations.

George is the story of two extraordinary lives – the private man and the public legend. Georgios Panayiotou was just eighteen when he decided to adopt the stage name of George Michael. Sometimes his two worlds would collide with shattering consequences. Bestselling biographer Sean Smith has gone back to the neighbourhoods of North London to trace the astonishing journey of a sensitive but determined boy who grew up to be one of the biggest British pop stars of all time. Along the way, he talks to those close to George, revealing the real man – funny, articulate, intelligent and generous spirited – who hid behind the powerful image he created. He reveals the complex relationship with his high-achieving Greek-Cypriot father; the unconditional love of his mother; his teenage relationships with girls; and his first tragic love affair with another man. George’s career began falteringly with a schoolboy band, exploded with Wham! before he became a solo phenomenon. But at the height of his fame, the world seemed to turn against him. Smith describes his despair at losing the two people who mattered most, how he sought consolation in drugs, his notorious ‘coming out’ and how he ended up in jail. His health failed him and he died heartbreakingly alone on Christmas Day, 2016. Affectionate yet honest and moving, George is both a celebration of George Michael’s music and a lasting tribute to a decent and much-loved man.

A TOP 10 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 SPORTS BOOK AWARDS LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 The incredible true story of four ordinary working mums from Yorkshire who took on an extraordinary challenge and broke a world record along the way. Janette, Frances, Helen and Niki, though all from Yorkshire, were four very different women, all juggling full time jobs alongside being mothers to each of their 2 children. They could never be described as athletes, but they were determined to be busy and the local Saturday morning rowing club was the perfect place to go to have a laugh and a gossip, get the blood pumping in the open air, and feel invigorated. Brought together by their love of rowing, they quickly became firm friends, and it wasn’t long before they cooked up a crazy idea over a few glasses of wine: together, they were going to do something that fewer people than had gone into space or climbed Everest had succeeded in doing. They were going to cross 3,000 miles of treacherous ocean in the toughest row in the world, The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Yes, they had children and husbands that they would be leaving behind for two months, yes they had businesses to run, mortgages to pay, responsibilities. And there was that little thing of them all being in their 40s and 50s. But two years of planning, preparation, fundraising, training and difficult conversations later, and they found themselves standing on the edge of the San Sebastian harbour in the Canary Islands, petrified, exhilarated and ready to head up the race of their lives. This is the story of how four friends together had the audacity to go on a wild, terrifying and beautiful adventure, not to escape life, but for life not to escape them.

‘Now when I hear birdsong, I feel an entry to that understory. When I am feeling too squeezed on the ground, exhausted by everything in my care, I look for a little sky. There are always birds flying back and forth, city birds flitting around our human edges, singing their songs.’ One winter, Kyo Maclear became unmoored. Her father had recently fallen ill and she suddenly found herself lost for words. As a writer, she could no longer bring herself to create; her work wasn’t providing the comfort and meaning that it had before. But then Kyo met a musician who loved birds. The musician felt he could not always cope with the pressures and disappointments of being an artist in a big city. When he watched birds and began to photograph them, his worries dissipated. Intrigued, Kyo found herself following the musician for a year, accompanying him on his birdwatching expeditions; the sounds of birds in the city reminded them both to look outwards at the world. Intricate and delicate as birdsong, Birds Art Life Death asks how our passions shape and nurture us, and how we might gain perspective, overcome our anxieties and begin to cherish the urban wild spaces where so many of us live.

Celebrate America Box Set

Ever Wonder Why The Same Patterns Happen To You Over And Over Again? We all have imprints, both negative and positive. An imprint is a belief that shapes our thoughts and actions, a belief we often hold unconsciously. Liliane Desjardins, a certified clinical addiction specialist, co-founder of Pavillon Gilles Desjardins, and co-creator of the Desjardins Unified Model of Treatment of Addictions, sets forth in The Imprint Journey an exploration of imprints, how they govern our lives, and how we can reprogram our minds to function in new and fulfilling ways. The Imprint Journey is equivalent to reading two powerful books in one. Liliane spends the first section telling her own story--a childhood in war-torn Croatia, the death of her mother, being an immigrant first to France and later French Canada--and the addictions and dysfunctions that marred her life until a suicide attempt resulted in a near-death experience. Her own personal recovery led her on a mission to help others find their own freedom from self-imposed and self-limiting imprints. The second half of this powerful book provides an anatomy of our imprints, revealing how to transform them so we are free to be our authentic selves. Liliane includes eight powerful personal stories of people who have overcome their imprints--including religious, sexual, and cultural limitations--as well as an overview of how understanding and rewriting our imprints can shape the human race's future as we all experience individual "Oneness." Readers will find themselves turning to The Imprint Journey again and again as a guide to relieve fears and to discover powerful truths about themselves that will transform them into their authentic selves. Acclaim For Desjardins' The Imprint Journey "Liliane writes from the depth of her own experience, with passion and power and a keen understanding of the human psyche. Her insights lift the reader above their own past patterns, providing insight both comforting and striking. The book inspires hope that no matter what we've been through, fundamental change is possible." --Marianne Williamson, author, A Return To Love "The Imprint Journey will touch your very soul and make way for profound transformation. From personal story to practical steps, Liliane walks with her readers on the path of awakening. Your life will be changed." --Carolyn Craft, Psychotherapist, Unity Minister, host of "Waking Up With Carolyn Craft" on Sirius Satellite Radio Learn more at www.LilianeDesjardins.com From Life Scripts Press www.RewritingLifeScripts.com FAM501000 Family & Relationships : Dysfunctional Families SEL003000 Self-Help : Adult Children of Alcoholics PSY017000 Psychology : Interpersonal Relations

Irene Watson's pretentious life could go no further until she faced her past. Her moving and inspiring memoir begins at the end, in a recovery center, where she has gone to understand a childhood fraught with abuse, guilt, and uncertainty.Two distinct parts of the book look at abusive child rearing and the process of recovery years later. This story shows change, growth, and forgiveness are possible. It gives hope and freedom to those accepting the past and re-writing life scripts that have been passed down for generations. It's never too late to change your life, never too late to heal.Praise for The Sitting Swing"Watson's memoir recounts her fearful, highly sheltered years as she uncovers the childhood wounds leading to her personality crisis. This is an earnest memoir, well structured." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"The Sitting Swing is the poignant story of the author's successful journey to transcend the patterns sculpted by her parents and childhood experiences. I loved it!" --NANCY OELKLAUS, PHD, LIFE COACH AND AUTHOR OF JOURNEY FROM HEAD TO HEART: LIVING AND WORKING AUTHENTICALLY"As a teacher of transformational principles for self-discovery and the treatment of addictions, reading The Sitting Swing inspired me to a richer new voice, infusing my lectures with a deeper level of meaning. Irene's personal story of transformation will add to the experience, strength, and hope we share with our clients and to anyone who is on a path of personal transformation. " --MARY LYNN SZYMANDERA, LCAS, CEFIP, OUTPATIENT MANAGER, PAVILLON INTERNATIONAL, AND EQUINE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SAWHORSE HILLAuthor info at www.irenewatson.comBook #6 in the Spiritual Dimensions Series from Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com

"The Duchess of York wished to have the portraits of the most beautiful women at Court," Anthony Hamilton wrote in the Memoirs of Count Grammont. "Lely painted them, and employed all his art in the execution. He could not have had more alluring sitters. Every portrait is a masterpiece." The original set of "Beauties" painted by Lely were, as we find from James II's catalogue, eleven in number, their names being Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland (ne'e Villiers); Frances, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox (ne'e Stuart); Mrs. Jane Myddleton (ne'e Needham); Elizabeth, Countess of Northumberland (ne'e Wriothesley); Elizabeth, Countess of Falmouth (ne'e Bagot); Elizabeth, Lady Denham (ne'e Brooke); Frances, Lady Whitmore (ne'e Brooke); Henrietta, Countess of Rochester (ne'e Boyle); Elizabeth, Countess de Grammont (ne'e Hamilton); and Madame d'Orleans. It will be seen that in this list of "Beauties" Anne Hyde, Duchess of York, does not figure; but since she was responsible for the collection, it would be peculiarly ungracious to omit her from a volume that treats of it. Also, she deserves inclusion for her supreme courage in selecting the sitters--for what must the ladies who were not chosen have said and thought of her? Nor in the series are Nell Gwyn, Louise de Ke'roualle, and the Duchess Mazarin; but no account of the social life of the Court of Charles II can possibly omit mention of them, and therefore something has been said about each of these ladies. The new Revised Edition restores Melville's masterpiece of the intricate relationships and day-by-day account of court life in the reign of Charles II of England. This edition also adds a new glossary, bibliography, and extended footnotes for the lay history reader. Also included are first-ever translations of French language poems, letters, and epitaphs completed by Coby Fletcher. More information at www.VictorianHeritage.com

Ride in the back of the ambulance with Sherry Jones Mayo Share the innermost feelings of emergency services workers as they encounter trauma, tragedy, redemption, and even a little humor. Sherry Jones Mayo has been an Emergency Medical Technician, Emergerncy Room Nurse, and an on-scene critical incident debriefer for Hurricane Katrina. Most people who have observed or experienced physical, mental or emotional crisis have single perspectives. This book allows readers to stand on both sides of the gurney; it details a progression from innocence to enlightened caregiver to burnout, glimpsing into each stage personally and professionally.Emergency Service Professionals Praise Confessions of a Trauma Junkie "A must read for those who choose to subject themselves to life at its best and at its worst. Sherry offers insight in the Emergency Response business that most people cannot imagine." --Maj Gen Richard L. Bowling, former Commanding General, USAF Auxiliary (CAP) "Sherry Mayo shares experiences and unique personal insights of first responders. Told with poetry, sensitivity and a touch of humor at times, all are real, providing views into realities EMTs, Nurses, and other first responders encounter. Recommended reading for anyone working with trauma, crises, critical incidents in any profession." -- George W. Doherty, MS, LPC, President Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Institute "Sherry has captured the essence of working with people who have witnessed trauma. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it helped me to understand differently the work of our Emergency Services Personnel. I consider this a 'MUST READ' for all of us who wish to be helpful to those who work in these professions." --Dennis Potter, LMSW, CAAC, FAAETS, ICISF Instructor "Confessions of a Trauma Junkie is an honest, powerful, and moving account of the emotional realities of helping others! Sherry Mayo gives us a privileged look into the healing professions she knows firsthand. The importance of peer support is beautifully illustrated. This book will deepen the readers respect for those who serve." --Victor Welzant, PsyD, Director of Education and Training The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc Learn more at www.SherryJonesMayo.com From the Reflections of America Series Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com

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