Download or read book Climbing the Broken Stairs a Memoir written by Frieda Annette Adkins and published by Frieda Adkins. This book was released on 2014-04 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Frieda and her five brothers (each of whom had different fathers) grew up within the inner cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvanian. Thier wayward mother had an admitted "drinking problem," and spent most of her days in liquor bars. This neglect often left the five siblings to fend for themselves amongst often harsh and unforgiving elements of their city's urban streets. At age seven, as Frieda walked home one late-Spring afternoon, she felt the presence of God, forewarning her of difficult trails ahead. This presence encouraged the child to persevere, despite pending obstacles. Soon, Frieda's faith was tested, as the world around her turned into a series of relentless nightmares ... most of which occurred within the families. A disturbling, though ultimately inspiring, true life account of a young girl's struggle to maintain faith, overcome abuse, sexual assault and the host of demons these crimes introduced. Faith that a better life is possible, if she could escape her dysfunctional environment, was all she had.
Download or read book Climbing the Broken Stairs a memoir Hardcover written by Frieda A. Adkins and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Lovers Muggers Thieves A Boston Memoir written by Jonathan Alan Tudan and published by Lovers, Muggers & Thieves. This book was released on 2008-09-08 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1969, an eighteen-year-old college freshman is offered a free ride into Boston's Combat Zone, the most bizarre neighborhood the city has ever known, to manage a flophouse renting rooms by the week to the purveyors of the neighborhood sex trade. Within a very short time he discovers the ride is anything but free. The seedy marquees of Boston's notorious adult entertainment district, along with its strip clubs, triple-X peep shows and adult bookstores have passed into history. Dancers, musicians, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes that once dominated these streets return to the scene to join a boy surrounded by a man's world.
Download or read book The Spiral Staircase written by Karen Armstrong and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2010-06-04 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The moving story of her own search for God by the highly-acclaimed author of the bestselling A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism; and Islam: A Short History. In 1969, after seven years as a Roman Catholic nun -- hoping, but ultimately failing, to find God -- Armstrong left her convent. She knew almost nothing of the changed world she was entering, and she was tormented by panic attacks and inexplicable seizures. Her struggle against despair was fueled by a string of discouragements -- failed spirituality, doctorate and jobs, fruitless dealings with psychiatrists -- but finally, in 1976, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and given proper treatment. She then began the writing career that would become her true calling, and as she focused on the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, her own true inner story began to emerge. She would come to experience brief moments of transcendence through her work -- the profound fulfillment that she had not found in the long hours of prayer as a young nun. Powerfully engaging, often heart-breaking, but lit with bursts of humour, The Spiral Staircase is an extraordinary history of self.
Download or read book Climbing the Stairs written by Padma Venkatraman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-02-04 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II and the last days of British occupation in India, fifteen-year-old Vidya dreams of attending college. But when her forward-thinking father is beaten senseless by the British police, she is forced to live with her grandfather’s large traditional family, where the women live apart from the men and are meant to be married off as soon as possible. Vidya’s only refuge becomes her grandfather’s upstairs library, which is forbidden to women. There she meets Raman, a young man also living in the house who relishes her intellectual curiosity. But when Vidya’s brother makes a choice the family cannot condone, and when Raman seems to want more than friendship, Vidkya must question all she has believed in. Padma Venkatraman’s debut novel poignantly shows a girl struggling to find her place in a mixedup world. Climbing the Stairs is a powerful story about love and loss set against a fascinating historical backdrop. Read Padma Venkatraman's posts on the Penguin Blog.
Download or read book Summary of Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney A Memoir and a Warnig written by TIME SUMMARY and published by XinXii. This book was released on 2023-12-19 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oath and Honor is a gripping first-hand account of the January 6th, 2021 insurrection in Congress, detailing the actions of Donald Trump and his supporters, who breached their oath to the Constitution. Liz Cheney, a House Republican leader, witnessed the attack and led the Congressional Select Committee investigation, highlighting the risks and consequences of the insurrection.
Download or read book Simple Dreams written by Linda Ronstadt and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-02 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes discography (page 203-225) and index.
Download or read book Touch the Top of the World written by Erik Weihenmayer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002-03-26 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The incredible bestselling book from the author of No Barriers and The Adversity Advantage Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life. In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for that distant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done). From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous. "An inspiration to other blind people and plenty of us folks who can see just fine."—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Into Thin Air
Download or read book Climbing the Mango Trees written by Madhur Jaffrey and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-12-18 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The enchanting autobiography of the seven-time James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and acclaimed actress who taught America how to cook Indian food. “Wistful, funny and tremendously satisfying.... Jaffrey's taste memories sparkle with enthusiasm, and her talent for conveying them makes the book relentlessly appetizing." —The New York Times Book Review Whether climbing the mango trees in her grandparents' orchard in Delhi or picnicking in the Himalayan foothills on meatballs stuffed with raisins and mint, tucked into freshly baked spiced pooris, Madhur Jaffrey’s life has been marked by food, and today these childhood pleasures evoke for her the tastes and textures of growing up. Following Jaffrey from India to Britain, this memoir is both an enormously appealing account of an unusual childhood and a testament to the power of food to prompt memory, vividly bringing to life a lost time and place. Also included here are recipes for more than thirty delicious dishes from Jaffrey’s childhood.
Download or read book Let My People Go Surfing written by Yvon Chouinard and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-09-05 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yvon Chouinard-legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.-shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth. From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike. A newly revised edition of Let My People Go Surfing is available now. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Download or read book The Beautiful Ones written by Prince and published by One World. This book was released on 2019-10-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time, in his own words—featuring never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death NAMED ONE OF THE BEST MUSIC BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE GUARDIAN • NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD Prince was a musical genius, one of the most beloved, accomplished, and acclaimed musicians of our time. He was a startlingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of “Uptown” to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of “Paisley Park.” But his most ambitious creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, one of the greatest pop stars of any era. The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince—a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The book is told in four parts. The first is the memoir Prince was writing before his tragic death, pages that bring us into his childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us through Prince’s early years as a musician, before his first album was released, via an evocative scrapbook of writing and photos. The third section shows us Prince’s evolution through candid images that go up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the book’s fourth section: his original handwritten treatment for Purple Rain—the final stage in Prince’s self-creation, where he retells the autobiography of the first three parts as a heroic journey. The book is framed by editor Dan Piepenbring’s riveting and moving introduction about his profound collaboration with Prince in his final months—a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique he’d so carefully cultivated—and annotations that provide context to the book’s images. This work is not just a tribute to an icon, but an original and energizing literary work in its own right, full of Prince’s ideas and vision, his voice and image—his undying gift to the world.
Download or read book Sanctuary written by Emily Rapp Black and published by Random House. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[An] often beautiful jewel of a book . . . Black’s power as a writer means she can take us with her to places that normally our minds would refuse to go.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) From the New York Times bestselling author of The Still Point of the Turning World comes an incisive memoir about how she came to question and redefine the concept of resilience after the trauma of her first child’s death. “Congratulations on the resurrection of your life,” a colleague wrote to Emily Rapp Black when she announced the birth of her second child. The line made Rapp Black pause. Her first child, a boy named Ronan, had died from Tay-Sachs disease before he turned three years old, an experience she wrote about in her second book, The Still Point of the Turning World. Since that time, her life had changed utterly: She left the marriage that fractured under the terrible weight of her son’s illness, got remarried to a man who she fell in love with while her son was dying, had a flourishing career, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. But she rejected the idea that she was leaving her old life behind—that she had, in the manner of the mythical phoenix, risen from the ashes and been reborn into a new story, when she still carried so much of her old story with her. More to the point, she wanted to carry it with her. Everyone she met told her she was resilient, strong, courageous in ways they didn’t think they could be. But what did those words mean, really? This book is an attempt to unpack the various notions of resilience that we carry as a culture. Drawing on contemporary psychology, neurology, etymology, literature, art, and self-help, Emily Rapp Black shows how we need a more complex understanding of this concept when applied to stories of loss and healing and overcoming the odds, knowing that we may be asked to rebuild and reimagine our lives at any moment, and often when we least expect it. Interwoven with lyrical, unforgettable personal vignettes from her life as a mother, wife, daughter, friend, and teacher, Rapp Black creates a stunning tapestry that is full of wisdom and insight.
Download or read book Townie written by Andre Dubus and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2012-02-06 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I've never read a better or more serious meditation on violence, its sources, consequences, and, especially, its terrifying pleasures, than "Townie." It's a brutal and, yes, thrilling memoir that sheds real light on the creative process of two of our best writers, Andre Dubus III and his famous, much revered father. You'll never read the work of either man in quite the same way afterward. You may not view the world in quite the same way either.--Richard Russo, author of "Empire Falls."
Download or read book Off Easy Street A Memoir written by Jean Knight Green and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011-10-14 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Mama admitted she was not the nest-building type." With these words author Jean Knight Green starts readers on an engaging journey through backwoods and dusty hamlets of the early 1900's Pacific Northwest. Told from the viewpoint of her high-spirited childhood self, she recounts her Mama's audacious bargain with Papa, bold Englishman and gold speculator, that began the family's saga. Here pledge: to support the family for three years by teaching in remote outposts (Spokane, where did they lived, did not allow married teachers) so Papa could have time to put the family "on Easy Street" as he always promised. While Papa chased gold, strong-willed Mama fearlessly carved out an unusual, adventurous life for her daughters while opening minds of all ages in a chilly one-room schoolhouse. Off Easy Street: A Memoir recounts an inspiring tale of family and relationships, exploits and adventures. "Papa promised Mama mink and pearls, but all she ever wanted was a new corset." Chasing dreams, managing reality: in today's lives only the details have changed. Concluding with Erma Bombeck-style tales from her later years, the author, a born storyteller, rounds out the engaging account of a life filled with remarkable memories and good humor. Green died in 2001. Her daughter Jennifer Ralston Blair edited and compiled her mother's works to introduce others to her mother's delightful tales.
Download or read book Paris A Love Story written by Kati Marton and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-03-12 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marton first spent time in Paris during college in 1968, when France was in revolt; as a young student she was inspired by researching the history of her survivalist family who had escaped from communist Hungary to France. Ten years later, Paris was the setting for her big career break as ABC bureau chief, as well as where she found passionate love with Peter Jennings, the man to whom she was married for 15 years and had two children. It was again in Paris, years later, where she found enduring love with her husband, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. And it was to Paris where Kati returned in order to rebuild her spirit in the wake of Richard's death. Kati Marton's newest memoir is a candid exploration of many kinds of love, as well as a love letter to the city of Paris itself.
Download or read book Welcome to My Breakdown written by Benilde Little and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her “eminently readable memoir about turning darkness back into light” (People), the nationally bestselling author of Good Hair candidly shares her journey from having it all to plunging into a deep depression after her beloved mother’s death—and finally climbing back out. Benilde Little’s life appeared perfect. A bestselling novelist with two beautiful children, a handsome husband, a gorgeous home, and good friends, she had every reason to feel on top of the world. She was mindful of the sacrifices that enabled her to prosper and never took the good life for granted. But when illness and aging overtook her parents, and other challenges suddenly loomed, she went into a tailspin of clinical depression. Little chronicles her descent into a cavern so dark and impenetrable that she didn’t know if she’d ever recover. But, as she learns, the only road out of depression is through it. She reflects back on her protected upbringing in Newark, New Jersey; celebrates her remarkable mother; and tracks her youth from an early relationship with the Nation of Islam, to the city life of a young professional, to the domesticity of the suburbs. After finding herself sandwiched between the twin demands of elder care and childcare, she explores how, with therapy and introspection, she regained her voice and mapped a way out of her depression. Writing in the courageous tradition of great female storytellers such as Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, and Pearl Cleage, Little doesn’t hold back as she shares insights, inspiration, and intimate details of her life with her trademark candor and fearlessness. Powerful, relatable, and ultimately redemptive, Welcome to My Breakdown is a remarkable memoir about the strength within us all to rise from despair and to feel hope and joy again.
Download or read book THE BROKEN TREE written by Anita Venes and published by Troubador Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As she was growing up, Anita Venes forgot many things about her origins – who she was, where everybody else was, why she had a strange name which people kept changing. She worked hard to forget about the past, avoiding questions about her parents and other family members who had all disappeared. This was often the case for an abandoned child growing up in the care system in the 1940s. It was best to focus on the future when you might have some control over events. Fostering experiences can be good - for Anita they were not. This is her story, a story of survival and inspiring courage to overcome the traumas of her abusive childhood. She chose to work with severely disabled children and that developed into her passion for over 40 years, eventually achieving the rewarding role of headteacher of a new school. The memorable stories of those years feature in The Broken Tree, and Anita also goes into detail about her search for her long-lost family members and the impact each made upon her life. This includes the journey of finding her brother, an internationally famous clown and mime artist, known as Potts. His story is still to be told. Tragic at times, her tale is ultimately uplifting and inspirational for all those who struggle in life to overcome the hand they’ve been dealt.
