Download or read book Walking Backward written by Catherine Austen and published by Orca Book Publishers. This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Josh's mother dies in a phobia-induced car crash, she leaves two questions for her grieving family: how did a snake get into her car and how do you mourn with no faith to guide you? Twelve-year-old Josh is left alone to find the answers. His father is building a time machine. His four-year-old brother's closest friend is a plastic Power Ranger. His psychiatrist offers nothing more than a blank journal and platitudes. Isolated by grief in a home where every day is pajama day, Josh makes death his research project. He tests the mourning practices of religions he doesn't believe in. He tries to mend his little brother's shattered heart. He observes, records and waits—for his life to feel normal, for his mother's death to make sense, for his father to come out of the basement. His observations, recorded in a series of journal entries, are funny, smart, insightful—and heartbreaking. His conclusions about the nature of love, loss, grief and the space-time continuum are nothing less than life-changing.
Download or read book My Last Step Backward written by Tasha Schuh and published by Inspiring Voices. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After showcasing her talent as the lead in her high schools production of Grease, Tasha Schuh began to dream of a career in theater. No one knew that the stage itself would steal her dreamand almost her lifeduring a rehearsal for the next big show. Just days before her opening night performance in The Wizard of Oz, sixteen-year-old Tasha took one step backward and fell sixteen feet through a trap door. On that day, Nov. 11, 1997, she landed on the concrete floor of the historic Sheldon Theater, breaking her neck, crushing her spinal cord, and fracturing her skull. She would never walk again. For the next three days, Tasha prepared for a surgery that would at best leave her a C-5 quadriplegic. Post-op complications turned Tashas struggle and ultimate triumph into an unbelievable journey. From loss and grief to self-discovery and achievement, Tashas faith, resilience, and honesty have allowed her to leave the old Tasha behind while she confronts the new Tashas life from a state of the art wheelchair. Discover Tashas remarkable spirit in My Last Step Backward, a poignant memoir that seeks to inspire you to welcome adversity and face your own trap door of opportunity.
Download or read book The Backward Season written by Lauren Myracle and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From beloved and bestselling author Lauren Myracle comes the emotional conclusion to the Wishing Day trilogy, perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo and Ingrid Law. Now that her sisters Natasha and Darya have had their turn, Ava Blok finally gets her Wishing Day. But after seeing the unintended consequences of the wishes her sisters made, she’s not sure what to wish for. The only thing she’s certain of is that it’s her job to set things right. Hopeful that she can put her broken family back together, and eager to prove her pessimistic older sisters wrong, Ava realizes that fixing the future means changing the past. Will the journey her wishes take her on end up costing her everything?
Download or read book Fancy Nancy It s Backward Day written by Jane O'Connor and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laugh along as Nancy and her friends do everything backward in this Fancy Nancy I Can Read story from New York Times bestselling team Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser! Why is everything topsy-turvy today? It's Backward Day at Fancy Nancy's school! Everyone is dressed for the occasion. When Ms. Glass can't think of any more backward ideas for the class, Nancy comes up with the perfect way to celebrate the day. Fancy Nancy: It’s Backward Day! is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it's perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. The back matter features a list of the rich vocabulary words that are used throughout the story along with their definition.
Download or read book When the Mississippi Ran Backwards written by Jay Feldman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-11-01 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Jay Feldmen comes an enlightening work about how the most powerful earthquakes in the history of America united the Indians in one last desperate rebellion, reversed the Mississippi River, revealed a seamy murder in the Jefferson family, and altered the course of the War of 1812. On December 15, 1811, two of Thomas Jefferson's nephews murdered a slave in cold blood and put his body parts into a roaring fire. The evidence would have been destroyed but for a rare act of God—or, as some believed, of the Indian chief Tecumseh. That same day, the Mississippi River's first steamboat, piloted by Nicholas Roosevelt, powered itself toward New Orleans on its maiden voyage. The sky grew hazy and red, and jolts of electricity flashed in the air. A prophecy by Tecumseh was about to be fulfilled. He had warned reluctant warrior-tribes that he would stamp his feet and bring down their houses. Sure enough, between December 16, 1811, and late April 1812, a catastrophic series of earthquakes shook the Mississippi River Valley. Of the more than 2,000 tremors that rumbled across the land during this time, three would have measured nearly or greater than 8.0 on the not-yet-devised Richter Scale. Centered in what is now the bootheel region of Missouri, the New Madrid earthquakes were felt as far away as Canada; New York; New Orleans; Washington, DC; and the western part of the Missouri River. A million and a half square miles were affected as the earth's surface remained in a state of constant motion for nearly four months. Towns were destroyed, an eighteen-mile-long by five-mile-wide lake was created, and even the Mississippi River temporarily ran backwards. The quakes uncovered Jefferson's nephews' cruelty and changed the course of the War of 1812 as well as the future of the new republic. In When the Mississippi Ran Backwards, Jay Feldman expertly weaves together the story of the slave murder, the steamboat, Tecumseh, and the war, and brings a forgotten period back to vivid life. Tecumseh's widely believed prophecy, seemingly fulfilled, hastened an unprecedented alliance among southern and northern tribes, who joined the British in a disastrous fight against the U.S. government. By the end of the war, the continental United States was secure against Britain, France, and Spain; the Indians had lost many lives and much land; and Jefferson's nephews were exposed as murderers. The steamboat, which survived the earthquake, was sunk. When the Mississippi Ran Backwards sheds light on this now-obscure yet pivotal period between the Revolutionary and Civil wars, uncovering the era's dramatic geophysical, political, and military upheavals. Feldman paints a vivid picture of how these powerful earthquakes made an impact on every aspect of frontier life—and why similar catastrophic quakes are guaranteed to recur. When the Mississippi Ran Backwards is popular history at its best.
Download or read book Paying It Backward written by Tony March and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than forty years, Tony March generously donated most of his fortune and countless hours to help those in need, but no one ever knew—until now. To the public, he was the founder of one of the most successful minority-owned businesses in the country, a champion for minority business owners, and a respected community leader entrusted to manage $1 billion in state funds. Privately, however, Tony indulged his true passion: getting his hands dirty serving the homeless community. In shocking detail, Paying It Backward presents Tony’s incredible journey from poverty, abuse, racism, and depression in a Daytona Beach ghetto to the highest level of business success and a life filled with purpose. More importantly, Tony shows how anyone—no matter who they are or where they come from—can improve their lives, conquer any hardship, and develop a heart for serving others. When you reach the top of the mountain, Tony says, you can either sit at the peak or reach back down and help others climb. In Paying It Backward, Tony reflects on his struggles on the way up—and the joy he found by reaching back down.
Download or read book The Effect of Living Backwards written by Heidi Julavits and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-09-07 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following her acclaimed debut, The Mineral Palace, Heidi Julavits presents a quirky, compelling novel about two sisters, a bizarre event, and the elusive nature of truth—a New York Times Notable Book. Does Alice really hate her sister, or is that love? Was she really enrolled in grad school, or was that an elaborate hoax? Is this really a hijacking, or is it merely the effect of living backwards? “Heidi Julavits—no stranger to edgy, dark topics—takes liberties with conventional notions of hijacking and hostages, weaving humor in a zingy and brainy spectrum...If you can take successive shots of wit with gulps of moral inquisition, then this fine book is for you.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Download or read book Fast Track to Aging Backwards written by Miranda Esmonde-White and published by Random House Canada. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on her groundbreaking anti-aging movement principles, bestselling fitness expert Miranda Esmonde-White walks you through 6 ways to rejuvenate your body and mind, paired with 30 days of stretching-and-strengthening workouts that effectively reverse the aging process. Miranda Esmonde-White has already given us the Bible on movement as a way to reverse aging with her New York Times and Globe and Mail bestseller Aging Backwards. But getting started on something that will change your life is always the hardest part! The Fast Track to Aging Backwards is Miranda's master class on how to begin her healing, revitalizing and scientifically endorsed programme of stretching and strengthening--and how to make it stick. First she outlines, step by step, 6 ways to change your attitude to aging and reverse its effects, from describing helpful small changes to your daily routine that will help you form new habits; to how to find the balance between moving like the Tin Man and flopping like the Scarecrow; to showing that for maximum painfree living, our bodies need a gentle approach to exercising that is all about respecting the way our bodies are designed to move. As Miranda says, "Relaxation is the new strengthening." Exclusively for this book, she has also created 4 workouts designed to carry you every step of the way through the first month of her programme, targeting every part of your body. Laid out with clear instructions, black-and-white photos and insider's tips on how to make every movement count, these workouts will give you the edge you need to quickly achieve your best results. The Fast Track to Aging Backwards is a countdown to a healthier and more youthful you.
Download or read book It s Backward Day written by Jane O'Connor and published by . This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone is dressed for the occasion. When Ms. Glass can't think of any more backward ideas for the class, Nancy comes up with the perfect way to celebrate the day.
Download or read book Late in the Day written by Tessa Hadley and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “With each new book by Tessa Hadley, I grow more convinced that she’s one of the greatest stylists alive.”—Ron Charles, Washington Post New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice |A Parnassus First Editions Club Pick | Powell’s Indispensable Book Club Pick | A Washington Post Notable Book | A Slate Best Book of the Year | A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year | A Bookpage Best Book of the Year The lives of two close-knit couples are irrevocably changed by an untimely death in the latest from Tessa Hadley, the acclaimed novelist and short story master who “recruits admirers with each book” (Hilary Mantel). Alexandr and Christine and Zachary and Lydia have been friends since they first met in their twenties. Thirty years later, Alex and Christine are spending a leisurely summer’s evening at home when they receive a call from a distraught Lydia: she is at the hospital. Zach is dead. In the wake of this profound loss, the three friends find themselves unmoored; all agree that Zach, with his generous, grounded spirit, was the irreplaceable one they couldn’t afford to lose. Inconsolable, Lydia moves in with Alex and Christine. But instead of loss bringing them closer, the three of them find over the following months that it warps their relationships, as old entanglements and grievances rise from the past, and love and sorrow give way to anger and bitterness. Late in the Day explores the complex webs at the center of our most intimate relationships, to expose how, beneath the seemingly dependable arrangements we make for our lives, lie infinite alternate configurations. Ingeniously moving between past and present and through the intricacies of her characters’ thoughts and interactions, Tessa Hadley once again “crystallizes the atmosphere of ordinary life in prose somehow miraculous and natural” (Washington Post).
Download or read book The Backward Day written by Ruth Krauss and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2024-08-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagine your whole day lived backward, from beginning to end. When you got up, you’d put on your jacket, then your shirt and pants, and over those your underwear, because after all, backward is backward, and on a backward day backward is the way everything has to be. You’d walk downstairs backward and sit on your chair backward with your back to the table, and when your parents greeted you in the morning you’d say, of course, “Good night.” But how long can a backward day go on? Just long enough for a smart kid to reverse the spell he’s cast on the whole household and return everything to normal. The Backward Day, a delightfully stylish picture book by the Caldecott Prize–winning team of Marc Simont and Ruth Krauss, brings to life a humorous and engaging reversal of ordinary reality that will enchant young children, as well parents.
Download or read book Understanding by Design written by Grant P. Wiggins and published by ASCD. This book was released on 2005 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.
Download or read book Evening Is the Whole Day written by Preeta Samarasan and published by HMH. This book was released on 2009-05-12 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “psychologically acute and boldly plotted” tale of a wealthy, dysfunctional family in Malaysia (Booklist, starred review). Set in Malaysia, this internationally acclaimed debut novel offers an unflinching look at relationships between parents and children, brothers and sisters, the wealthy and poor, a country and its citizens—all through the eyes of the prosperous Rajasekharan family. When Chellam, the family’s rubber-plantation-bred servant girl, is dismissed for unnamed crimes, her banishment is the latest in a series of losses that have shaken six-year-old Aasha’s life. A few weeks before, Aasha’s grandmother Paati passed away under mysterious circumstances and her older sister, Uma, departed for Columbia University—leaving Aasha to cope with her mostly absent father, bitter mother, and imperturbable older brother. Moving backward and forward in time, Evening Is the Whole Day explores the closely guarded secrets that haunt the Rajasekharans: What was Chellam’s unforgivable crime? Why was Uma so intent on leaving? What did Aasha see? And, underscoring all of these mysteries: What ultimately became of her father’s once-grand dreams for his family and his country? “A delicious first novel . . . [Samarasan’s] ambitious, spiraling plot, her richly embroidered prose, her sense of place, and her psychological acuity are stunning.” —The New York Times Book Review “A surpassingly wise and beautiful debut novel about the tragic consequences of the inability to love.” —Booklist, starred review “The language bursts with energy.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Backward Ran Sentences written by Thomas Vinciguerra and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-10-18 with total page 689 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Maybe he doesn't like anything, but he can do everything," New Yorker editor Harold Ross once said of the magazine's brilliantly sardonic theater critic, Wolcott Gibbs. And, for over thirty years at the magazine, Gibbs did do just about everything. He turned out fiction and nonfiction, profiles and parodies, filled columns in "Talk of the Town" and "Notes and Comment," covered books, movies, nightlife and, of course, the theater. A friend of the Algonquin Round Table, Gibbs was renowned for his wit. (Perhaps his most enduring line is from a profile of Henry Luce, parodying Time magazine's house style: "Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind.") While, in his day, Gibbs was equal in stature to E.B. White and James Thurber, today, he is little read. In Backward Ran Sentences, journalist Tom Vinciguerra introduces Gibbs and gathers a generous sampling of his finest work across an impressive range of genres, bringing a brilliant, multitalented writer of incomparable wit to a new age of readers.
Download or read book Living Life Backward written by David Gibson and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if it is death that teaches us how to truly live? Keeping the end in mind shapes how we live our lives in the here and now. Living life backward means taking the one thing in our future that is certain—death—and letting that inform our journey before we get there. Looking to the book of Ecclesiastes for wisdom, Living Life Backward was written to shake up our expectations and priorities for what it means to live "the good life." Considering the reality of death helps us pay attention to our limitations as human beings and receive life as a wondrous gift from God—freeing us to live wisely, generously, and faithfully for God's glory and the good of his world.
Download or read book These Precious Days written by Ann Patchett and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-11-23 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly “Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
Download or read book Any Day Now written by Robyn Carr and published by MIRA. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Bestselling Author of the hit Netflix series, Virgin River! For Sierra Jones, Sullivan's Crossing is meant to be a brief stopover. She's put her troubled past behind her but the path forward isn't yet clear. A visit with her big brother Cal and his new bride, Maggie, seems to be the best option to help her get back on her feet. Not wanting to burden or depend on anyone, Sierra is surprised to find the Crossing offers so much more than a place to rest her head. Cal and Maggie welcome her into their busy lives and she quickly finds herself bonding with Sully, the quirky campground owner who is the father figure she's always wanted. But when her past catches up with her, it's a special man and an adorable puppy who give her the strength to face the truth and fight for a brighter future. In Sullivan's Crossing Sierra learns to cherish the family you are given and the family you choose. Don't miss Robyn Carr's next uplifting novel, The Friendship Club, where four women come together at a tumultuous time in their lives, forging an unbreakable bond that will leave them all forever changed—available January 2024! Sullivan Crossing Series: What We Find Any Day Now The Family Gathering The Best of Us The Country Guesthouse
