Download or read book My Name Is Joy written by Sheila Joy and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Up until her 40's, Sheila's life was like that of any other suburban wife and mother. Married for twenty years to the same man, she found great success balancing a career in advertising with raising two beautiful children. She also lived up to her own very high standards as a quintessential homemaker, gourmet cook, world traveler, public speaker, cyclist, marathoner, and a trainer for other athletes. Those around Sheila were amazed by her ability to juggle her seemingly perfect life. In this book, Ms. Joy candidly reveals that behind her mask of perfection was a life filled with turbulence and pain. Always working hard to cover up her insecurities and feelings of not being good enough, she never allowed herself to get close to anyone. As the adult child of an alcoholic, Sheila openly and honestly reveals her need to control the people and situations around her. It took a painful divorce, a disastrous second marriage, the threat of bankruptcy and the most tragic experience of all - her teenage son's horrific motorcycle accident and traumatic brain injury - to finally make Sheila realize that the only person she could change was herself. At last, Sheila has removed her mask. This book will motivate you with her strength, honesty, and integrity. By openly sharing her own experiences, Sheila proves that it is never too late to change. Most importantly, however, her words reveal the key to finding true and lasting joy.

Download or read book Professor Baseball written by Edwin Amenta and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-09-15 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It happens every summer: packs of beer-bellied men with gloves and aluminum bats, putting their middle-aged bodies to the test on the softball diamond. For some, this yearly ritual is driven by a simple desire to enjoy a good ballgame; for others, it’s a way to forge friendships—and rivalries. But for one short, wild-haired, bespectacled professor, playing softball in New York’s Central Park means a whole lot more. It's one last chance to heal the nagging wounds of Little League trauma before the rust of decline and the relentless responsibilities of fatherhood set in. Professor Baseball is the coming-of-middle-age story of New York University professor and Little League benchwarmer Edwin Amenta. As rookie manager of the Performing Arts Softball League’s doormat Sharkeys, he reverses softball’s usual brawn-over-brains formula. He coaxes his skeptical teammates to follow his sabermetric and sociological approach, based equally on Bill James and Max Weber, which in the heady days of early success he dubs “Eddy Ball.” But Amenta soon learns that his teammates’ attachments to favorite positions and time-honored (if ineffective) strategies are hard to break—especially when the team begins losing. And though he rejects the baseball-as-life metaphor, life keeps intruding on his softball season. Amenta here comes to grips with the humiliation of assisted reproduction, suffers mysterious ailments, and finds himself lingering at the sponsor’s bar, while his partner, a beautiful but baseball-challenged professor, second-guesses his book in the making. Can he turn his team—and his life—around? Packed with colorful personalities, dramatic games, and the bustle of New York life, Professor Baseball will charm anyone who has ever root, root, rooted for the underdog.

Download or read book The Ultimate Arena written by Dan E. Ireland and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-01-16 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This novel is a cautionary tale of life and death in the G. W. Bush era. Its a true story of a brave young man who believed in putting his life on the line to defend his country. He saw himself as a defender. He was, after all, an all-pro defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals. He gave up a multimillion-dollar career and a beautiful new wife to deal with Osama bin Laden after the attacks of 9/11. Because I didnt ask for or receive permission from his family to write this book, it should be considered historical fiction, but anyone who has seen the outstanding documentary The Tillman Story by Amir Bar-Lev will know who it is about. Its a tragic story of an American gladiator sacrificed by his own government. It is a story that should never be forgotten.

Download or read book Just a Guy written by William L Horton and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-05-30 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My dad, Lew Horton, always had a place to do woodworking. After he retired from Penneys he rented places in Lincoln, Illinois to store his stuff and work on projects. I helped him to move his shop twice-- a hard, dirty job. On one move an older fellow helped, probably because he had a pickup and Dad was using part of an old chicken shed on the guys property for his new work space. I didnt know the man, and when I asked Dad about him Dad explained, Hes just a guy, meaning, I suppose, that he was no one special and that Dad did not know him well. That phrase stuck in my mind for years, for some reason. Most of us are just guys, unworthy and unknown and forgotten in, at most, a generation. We are the common folk. But all of us guys really have some memories stored away that we dredge up for pleasure, contemplation, regret, analysis, and entertainment, and often they pop into my head as part of an unrelated chain of memories caused by something unknown. Some are triggered by events, others just come. I thought it would be nice to share them with someone else whether or not they wanted to know them. Perhaps this memoir will give some future historian or descendant a feel for how it was to be just a guy during my years on earth.

Download or read book No More Lies written by Wendy Justine and published by WJG Publishing. This book was released on 2024-08-30 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They’re fearless, fierce, lethal. Meet the men of Onyx Black Ops who risk it all. Meet the kick ass women who rock their world. Book 4 of this spicy, romantic, suspense series. Being married to a military man isn't easy, but what happens when the truth comes out? Diane Williams had carefully planned her life. Become a lawyer. Make partner at a prestigious firm and help the people who needed it the most. Marrying Steve and getting pregnant might have delayed her plan, but finally she was here at the swanky law firm, living the dream. Except it was more like a nightmare. In a life where her husband is a hero and their friends and family seemed to be living their best lives, hers is falling apart. Steve loves the family he’s made with Diane. She’s an amazing wife, mother and now, a lawyer. Her dream seems fulfilled. Except she isn’t happy and as much as he tries, she won’t talk to him. When a routine custody case with a Russian businessman collides with an Onyx Black Op, the Williams family are threatened. The tension between Diane and Steve reaches a breaking point and they are forced to face up to what is happening between them. As the threat escalates, a potential terrorist attack in their hometown is imminent, and Diane’s life is in danger. Steve is suddenly in a race against time to find his wife. The clock is ticking. On the op. On his marriage. On Diane’s life. Can he prove to her he can be the husband she deserves before he loses her forever?

Download or read book The Big Bam written by Leigh Montville and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2006-05-02 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National Bestseller He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. Babe Ruth was more than baseball’s original superstar. For eighty-five years, he has remained the sport’s reigning titan. He has been named Athlete of the Century . . . more than once. But who was this large, loud, enigmatic man? Why is so little known about his childhood, his private life, and his inner thoughts? In The Big Bam, Leigh Montville, whose recent New York Times bestselling biography of Ted Williams garnered glowing reviews and offered an exceptionally intimate look at Williams’s life, brings his trademark touch to this groundbreaking, revelatory portrait of the Babe. From the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Ted Williams comes the thoroughly original, definitively ambitious, and exhilaratingly colorful biography of the largest legend ever to loom in baseball—and in the history of organized sports. Based on newly discovered documents and interviews—including pages from Ruth’s personal scrapbooks —The Big Bam traces Ruth’s life from his bleak childhood in Baltimore to his brash entrance into professional baseball, from Boston to New York and into the record books as the world’s most explosive slugger and cultural luminary.

Download or read book State written by and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Between Gay and Straight written by Lisa M. Tillmann-Healy and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 2001-04-26 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It started as a class project—a young, married, small-town white woman interviewing a gay acquaintance and his circle of friends. From this developed a three-year exploration of the complexities of carrying on gay-straight friendships. This reflexive, thoughtful, and compellingly written study moves from gay bars to softball leagues to visits with families and friends, both gay and straight. During its course, the author develops a growing understanding of the differences between the two communities, the difficulties of developing bonds across groups, and the inherent rewards of seeking (and being) the Other in contemporary society. She explores sexuality, marriage, lifestyles, and the meanings of friendship, culminating in a boisterous dissertation defense attended by her new community of friends. As a study of a gay community, a narrative of personal development and change, and an exploration of the use of friendship in conducting research that transforms both participants and researcher, Tillmann-Healy's work will be compelling reading for scholars, students, and the broader community.

Download or read book Coming Up Short written by Laurie Morrison and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2022-06-21 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A heartfelt novel about a softball-loving girl coming to terms with her parents’ humanity after a scandal sends shock waves through her town Bea’s parents think she can accomplish absolutely anything—and she’s determined to prove them right. But at the end of seventh grade, on the same day she makes a gutsy play to send her softball team to the league championships and Xander, the boy she likes, makes it clear that he likes her too, a scandal shakes up her world. Bea’s dad made a big mistake, taking money that belonged to a client. He’s now suspended from practicing law, and another lawyer spread the news online. To make matters worse, that other lawyer is Xander’s dad. Bea doesn’t want to be angry with her dad, especially since he feels terrible and is trying to make things right. But she can't face the looks of pity from all her friends, and then she starts missing throws in softball because she’s stuck in her own head. The thing she was best at seems to be slipping out of her fingers along with her formerly happy family. She's not sure what's going to be harder—learning to throw again, or forgiving her dad. How can she be the best version of herself when everything she loves is falling apart?

Download or read book A Christian from Egypt Life Story of a Neurosurgeon Pursuing the Dreams for Quintuple Certifications written by Rhamsis F. Ghaly and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2015-01-23 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A CHRISTIAN FROM EGYPT LIFE STORY RAMSIS F. GHALY, MD, FACS This is my life story as a Coptic Christian, born and raised in Egypt in an environment of limited opportunities and scarce resources, especially for Christian minorities. Seeking the promise opportunity, I came to the United States nearly 30 years ago as a young man. As I flew westward on the plane, it did not occur to me that I would become a prominent neurosurgeon with a practice in one of the great cities of America. Nor did I anticipate that I would ever be in a position to fight for save lives and fight for patients lives, protecting them from the specter of financial greed permeates the health care industry. This book chronicles my journey in America from my early struggles to get past closed doors to my current practice serving the mission set before me with uncompromising zeal and devotion. Eventually I became a prominent American neurosurgeon among the only 4000 active nationwide and the only one nationally and internationally to achieve five board certifications in five acknowledged medical disciplines. My story takes the reader through my first hand experiences through the eight health care systems, and Chicagos history of neuroscience over the last three decades, providing an in-depth view of the medical practices in the surrounding suburban communities. My book also includes the lessons that I have learned, my personal views and patient testimonials. What I have faced and seen since my plane landed in this country in 1984 is almost inexpressible. It is my sincere wish that others may find hope and inspiration from my story, as well as an understanding of the challenges that the healthcare industry faces today along with my own passion for excellence in neuroscience as I confront them. I owe my success to God, to my cherished parents, my teachers, my mentors and most importantly, my beloved patients.

Download or read book Kings of the Diamond written by Robert T. Diamond and published by Robert Diamond. This book was released on 2008 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kings of the Diamond is based on historical events in Winnipeg in 1950, drawing on the city¿s great sporting heritage. The main storyline follows the 1950 season of the Northern Hotel team of the Twentieth Century Community Softball League, the powerhouse team that went on to play in the Western Canada Softball Championship that year under the direction of the story¿s chief protagonist ¿ author Robert Diamond¿s father, Lazar Diamond. That legacy is brought to life in this story of the Diamond family and the Northern Hotel and of many of the players and principals of the Twentieth Century Community Softball League. The entire narrative builds inexorably towards the final championship game, when 8,000 people crammed the Aberdeen School Grounds to watch it. Kings of the Diamond is the story of one of the most colourful chapters in the sporting and cultural history of Winnipeg, and of the legendary characters who were the main players on this stage. It is also a story of family and friendships that survive tests of emotional strength, love, and commitment, and of how they find final vindication. From Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz¿ foreword: ¿Winnipeg had its share of larger than life characters in those days. [The author] aptly and authentically describes them all in this tale of Winnipeg sports and other games ... Ex-pat Robert Diamond pays homage to his hometown, offering fascinating insights into how Winnipeg earned its moniker, the Chicago of the North, and to a very special era in softball history.¿

Download or read book Choices The Ulysses Long Story A Long Time Coming written by Chris Warner and published by Wagon Publishing. This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Long Time Coming...The Ulysses Long Story By Ulysses Long with Chris Warner One fleeting moment can derail a life. A youthful mistake that netted him $6.50 ultimately bore a 130-year prison sentence. In 1968, Ulysses Long was 25. An honorably discharged Air Force veteran of three years, he was a free spirit on the streets of New Orleans, hanging out on corners, chasing girls and good times. He was young and extremely naïve. An emotional roller coaster ride, the Ulysses Long Story follows Ulysses from the bustling New Orleans riverfront docks to the perilous prison conditions of Angola State Penitentiary, and finally to Baton Rouge--the viper pit of Louisiana politics. Ulysses maintained a sense of right throughout his time among the brutal social circles of the Angola State Penitentiary. He persevered to freedom through the twisted, bureaucratic manipulations of a racist judicial system during a time when Louisiana was reluctant to make the United States Constitution work for blacks. Ulysses survived his tortuous twenty-year odyssey through uncanny personal strength. Anger at the incredible odds against him would have been understandable. And yet, anger did not fuel his crusade for freedom, nor does bitterness taint his story. Hope is the main character. In time, Long finds faith and friendship in an unlikely knight, LSU Basketball Coach Dale Brown, that leads to his eventual pardon by Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. The subject of a forthcoming George Soros Open Society Institute documentary titled, New Orleans Justice (N.O. Justice), the Ulysses Long Story is a fascinating tale of corruption, greed, fear and faith. This is not a scared straight story. It s an honest lesson in personal responsibility, a lasting testament of human faith, and an indelible tribute to the ultimate power of hope.

Download or read book Out of Ireland written by Babe Toner and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04-27 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Out of Ireland traces a young boys struggle,going back to his birth in the ninteen thirties.He gives you a candid glimpse of his family life and the horrors they suffered as a result of their drinking father. This abuse was somewhat covered up by the Irish mother who was enticed to America by her older brother Jerem, who had to leave Ireland because of a shooting he was involved in of an Irish leader in the town of Beal nam Blath, Co. Cork, Ireland. The author's mother was born on a farm of an upper middle class family and their 100 plus acre farm with a dairy, just outside Renanirree at Belvue Co. Cork, Ireland. Her brother Jerem was having a hard time with his father Timothy O'Riordan he was known around the villages as "Timsey Jer Liam". Jerem eventually left for America. He encouraged his two sisters to follow him. Jerem was running away, but the sisters wanted to start a new life. With roots in Ireland, Babe, being rambunctious, almost from the start, shares his pastime of golf, ball hawking, and caddying, who's caddying antics will have you howling with laughter. Growing up in Wilmington, Delaware was where he perfected his hell raising skills. Read how these extrordinary times forged the value and training that will prove to be valuable to him some day.

Download or read book La Famiglia Bianco written by Apollo Dante and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011-01-06 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is the story of Joey Bianco, a bastard child brought into this world February 1943 by Sarifino Fucelli an eighteen year old unmarried Sicilian girl. Rose and Joe Fucelli her parents are proud Sicilians suffering the stigma, embarrassment, and humiliation their daughter visited on their family. Sarifino had the misfortune of bearing Joseph Joey Boy Carluchi son. Joey Boy is a married man with children he is also the brutal under boss of his father in-laws powerful Mafia Family. Sarifino is suffering severe abdominal pain after giving birth; Rose found her the following morning in a pool of blood dead. The neighborhood gossip accused Joey Boy of being the father he vehemently denied it. Absent love, compassion, or concern for the well being of his offspring he decided to remove the evidence. He sent his son to an orphanage in Washington DC thinking that will stop the gossip and calm his wife down. This story chronicles the anthology of Joey Bianco. Due to his indomitable spirit and tenacity he managed to overcome a Catholic orphanage and a snake pit the State calls an orphanage. Surviving brutal inhumane totatalarian treatment received in countless foster homes, told every day of his life he is not wanted, worthless, stupid, and will never amount to anything. He ran away at an early age embracing the street, his only options survive or die. He chose his destiny with a single minded purpose relentlessly perusing that destiny allowing nothing to stand in his way making no apologies for the path he chose. Apollo Dante"

Download or read book Paper or Plastic written by Vivi Barnes and published by Entangled: Teen. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to SmartMart, where crime pays minimum wage... Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn't know what's worse—disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth time...or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers. Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk customers, and learning exactly what a "Code B" really is (ew). And for added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute—and adorably geeky—Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the best thing that ever happened to her?

Download or read book Consider Lily written by Anne Dayton and published by Crown. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A tale of love, trials, and faith set against a wonderfully drawn portrait of San Francisco, Consider Lily is chick lit with a heart. Lily Traywick thinks she must have been adopted. It’s easier than believing she’s actually related to Jane and Roland Traywick, her power-couple parents who own Traywick’s of San Francisco, the most chichi department store on the West Coast. While her parents party with Muccia in Milan and Gabbana in Paris, Lily hangs out at home in ratty jeans and an old T-shirt. She loves softball, guys, and Jesus, and she’s eager to make her own way in the world. Feeling that her life is on hold, she turns to her best friend Reagan Axness. Reagan, a fashionista who has it all, offers just the solution: a major life makeover. Lily is soon dressing in the latest must-have fashions and pursuing a writing career. She’s even dating the “perfect” guy. But does he love her for who she really is? And will he be able to resist the tempting seductress who has her eye on him? As Lily’s old friends question her new way of life, and public scandal, family drama, and technological disasters add to her confusion, Lily is forced to consider whether her quest to have it all will cause her to lose everything that matters. Hot off their debut success, Emily Ever After, “good-girl” chick-lit trailblazers Dayton and Vanderbilt return with a witty, refreshingly real story of a young woman’s adventures in the high-powered world of San Francisco high fashion.

Download or read book The Minds Behind PlayStation Games written by Patrick Hickey, Jr. and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2022-09-29 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring interviews with the creators of 43 popular video games--including Spyro the Dragon, Syphon Filter, NFL GameDay 98 and Final Fantasy VII--this book gives a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most influential (and sometimes forgotten) titles of the original PlayStation era. Interviewees recall the painstaking development, challenges of working with mega publishers and uncertainties of public reception, and discuss the creative processes that produced some of gaming's all-time classics.