Download or read book Riding Shotgun Through a Hurricane written by Kuowalski and published by . This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About the book: "Riding Shotgun Through a Hurricane: A Memoir of Addiction and Radical Recovery" chronicles Matthew Kowalski's journey from gifted child to homeless meth addict. Raised in a chaotic environment of generational abuse, he ran away at age 15 and spent the next 27 years lost in coast-to-coast madness fueled by drugs, alcohol, sex and mental illness. How does a smart, charismatic kid go from Freshman Class President to starving, shivering runaway; from British boarding school to San Francisco squats; from musical prodigy to homeless junkie? Just when his odds of survival were at their lowest - long after some assumed he was already dead - Kowalski made the radical decision at age 42 to get clean and sober for the first time in his life. "A wild ride of a read! 'Riding Shotgun' is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, at times outrageously joyous adventure, yet honest to the bone. From the heart of Kansas, Matt Kowalski rides shotgun on the road to Morocco and back, only to land on the streets of San Francisco in his own global journey of destruction. Left barely standing at the door of hopelessness, Matt leads us to the other side, where few make it, and discovers a life of redemption, resurrection, hope and service to his own tribe. A must-read for anyone living in or finding their own path toward recovery, however that looks, including those of us privileged enough to walk with them on their own way home to Self." -Jean A. Rhea, LMFT, Clinical Director, St. Vincent de Paul, San Francisco "'Riding Shotgun Through a Hurricane' is a gripping story of hopelessness and hope, of utter defeat and miraculous victory. This graphic memoir of a talented young man's descent into drug-fueled madness, and his determination to survive and recover, is compelling, heart-rending, and haunting. Matt Kowalski's journey through a living hell of abuse and addiction will inspire anyone who has ever dreamed of a better life to believe that recovery and healing is possible." -C.J. Hayden, business coach, activist, and author of "50 Ways Coaches Can Change the World" "More than a personal history, this is a history of San Francisco, told from the streets. When I met Matt, he was battered beyond recognition and ready for recovery. His determination and basic decency allow for a perspective that is truly awe-inspiring." -Tamara Tucker, MFT (Matt's intrepid first therapist) "Matt Kowalski's story is a true 'rags to riches' of the spirit ... Matt is one who 'walks the talk' as an inspiration and role model." -David Kroziere, Developer of One Rincon Hill and Co-Creator of the Heart of SoMa, building bridges for San Francisco's homeless "Matthew Kowalski's story is raw, gripping and awe-inspiring, and his incredible courage and perseverance are admirable. I practically held my breath while reading this gripping story... Matt has done more in his one life than most do in a fraction of their lives. It was an honor to read Matt's story of transformation from childhood abuse, drug abuse and homelessness to a life rich with meaning, purpose, creativity and loving presence." -Mena K. Zaminsky, MFT, Trauma and Addiction Specialist

Download or read book Riding Shotgun written by Nate Bennett and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-11 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role of Chief Operating Officer is clearly important. In fact, it's arguable that the number two position is the toughest job in a company. COOs play a critical part in executing the strategies developed by top management. And, in many cases, they are being groomed—or test-driven—as the firm's CEO-elect. Riding Shotgun provides unique insight into this little-understood role. The authors develop a framework that illustrates who the COO is, why a company should create this position, and what the challenges associated with this job entail. Drawing heavily on first-person accounts from top executives, the authors offer a set of strategies to inform individuals who aspire to serve as COO. With a new preface and conclusion, and even more interviews from some of the most established and important companies in today's economy, this book is a one-of-a-kind resource for the C-suite and the boardroom.

Download or read book Ridin Shotgun written by Marli Brown and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ridin Shotgun chronicles one womans journey as her family spent eight years living in an RV. As they traveled throughout the United States ministering to congregations of many denominations, Marli learned about Gods faithfulness, redemption, and companionship. Her unique perspective from the road highlights spiritual insights she gained as they traveled through forty-five states and numerous cultures. With honesty, she recounts situations when God challenged her to believe more, trust greater, and give beyond what she thought she could. Her casual writing style is wrought with heartfelt candor and humor as she recalls some of the most poignant moments she encountered while riding in the passenger seat, looking out the window. Marlis perspective is unique, personal, and authentic. Her readers cant help but be encouraged and challenged on their own faith journey.

Download or read book Hurricanes written by Rick Ross and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* “A gripping journey.”—People The highly anticipated memoir from hip-hop icon Rick Ross chronicles his coming of age amid Miami’s crack epidemic, his star-studded controversies and his unstoppable rise to fame. Rick Ross is an indomitable presence in the music industry, but few people know his full story. Now, for the first time, Ross offers a vivid, dramatic and unexpectedly candid account of his early childhood, his tumultuous adolescence and his dramatic ascendancy in the world of hip-hop. Born William Leonard Roberts II, Ross grew up “across the bridge,” in a Miami at odds with the glitzy beaches, nightclubs and yachts of South Beach. In the aftermath of the 1980 race riots and the Mariel boatlift, Ross came of age at the height of the city’s crack epidemic, when home invasions and execution-style killings were commonplace. Still, in the midst of the chaos and danger that surrounded him, Ross flourished, first as a standout high school football player and then as a dope boy in Carol City’s notorious Matchbox housing projects. All the while he honed his musical talent, overcoming setback after setback until a song called “Hustlin’” changed his life forever. From the making of “Hustlin’” to his first major label deal with Def Jam, to the controversy surrounding his past as a correctional officer and the numerous health scares, arrests and feuds he had to transcend along the way, Hurricanes is a revealing portrait of one of the biggest stars in the rap game, and an intimate look at the birth of an artist.

Download or read book Voices written by Robert Yehling and published by Open Books Press. This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Music. Love won, lost, regained. Festivals. Tours. Legends. Welcome to Voices. Legendary rock and roll singer/songwriter Tom Timoreaux, who like many began during San Francisco’s epochal Summer of Love, emerges from a long retirement with his band, The Fever. When his backup singer cannot tour, he brings on his estranged daughter, Christine. As they sing together and heal their relationship, The Fever tours to national acclaim—and Christine becomes a star. Meanwhile, in Italy, Tom’s long-lost “love child,” Annalisa, views a Fever concert streamcast and must decide whether to reach out to a man she thought dead. Voices is a father-daughter-daughter relationship journey set against a half-century of rock and roll, where love and healing are always possible and music speaks louder than words. Advance Praise for Voices “Voices captures the echoes of an historic time beautifully through characters who lived it—and then embedded its greatest stories and lifestyle elements through their music and lives.” —San Francisco Chronicle “A story that reminds me of a great time, and also captures being a songwriter and the power our songs possess.” —Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship; Member, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Download or read book Into the Storm written by Helen DePrima and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2015-12-01 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can she finally stop running? Horse trainer Shelby Doucette never bothers to unpack her bags. With no roots, no ties and no fixed address but her granddad's old sedan, she's avoided emotional connections, and eluded her past, for fourteen years. Get in, do the job, get out. That's always been her way. Until she meets Jake. Widower Jake Cameron is unlike any man she's ever known, but that doesn't mean he can be trusted. He has a way of sneaking through her defenses, a way of making her want to stay for good. But being with Jake would mean finally facing her past. And heading directly into the storm…

Download or read book The Reality of Everything written by Rebecca Yarros and published by Entangled: Amara. This book was released on 2020-08-24 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two years after the man she loved was killed in Afghanistan, Morgan Bartley is trying to put the pieces of her life back together. Renovating her dilapidated beach house in the Outer Banks might be just the distraction she needs to manage her debilitating anxiety attacks and begin to heal. That is, if she can ignore the ridiculously handsome guy next door... Jackson Montgomery’s life revolves around his five-year-old daughter and his job as a Coast Guard Search and Rescue pilot. But while his gorgeous new neighbor is clearly in distress, he’s pretty sure she’s no damsel. Morgan is stubborn with more defenses than the Hope Diamond, and the dog tags hanging from her rearview mirror give him a pretty good clue as to why. Morgan swore she’d never fall for another pilot, let alone a military man—and Jackson is heartbreak waiting to happen. But love never plays by the rules...especially when you try to play it safe. The Flight & Glory series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 Full Measures Book #2 Eyes Turned Skyward Book #3 Beyond What is Given Book #4 Hallowed Ground Book #5 The Reality of Everything

Download or read book English Idioms and Phrases Dictionary written by Daniel B. Smith and published by Daniel B. Smith. This book was released on 2023-07-03 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Idioms are expressions that cannot be understood from their individual words alone, and the English language is full of them—and so is this dictionary: 4,800+ English idioms and phrases with example sentences included for you so as to understand them all. This is the essential idioms dictionary if you want to talk like a native speaker—or just find out more about the colorful phrases you hear and say every day.

Download or read book The Futilitarians written by Anne Gisleson and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A memoir of friendship and literature chronicling a search for meaning and comfort in great books, and a beautiful path out of grief. Anne Gisleson had lost her twin sisters, had been forced to flee her home during Hurricane Katrina, and had witnessed cancer take her beloved father. Before she met her husband, Brad, he had suffered his own trauma, losing his partner and the mother of his son to cancer in her young thirties. "How do we keep moving forward," Anne asks, "amid all this loss and threat?" The answer: "We do it together." Anne and Brad, in the midst of forging their happiness, found that their friends had been suffering their own losses and crises as well: loved ones gone, rocky marriages, tricky child-rearing, jobs lost or gained, financial insecurities or unexpected windfalls. Together these resilient New Orleanians formed what they called the Existential Crisis Reading Group, which they jokingly dubbed "The Futilitarians." From Epicurus to Tolstoy, from Cheever to Amis to Lispector, each month they read and talked about identity, parenting, love, mortality, and life in post-Katrina New Orleans, In the year after her father's death, these living-room gatherings provided a sustenance Anne craved, fortifying her and helping her blaze a trail out of her well-worn grief. More than that, this fellowship allowed her finally to commune with her sisters on the page, and to tell the story of her family that had remained long untold. Written with wisdom, soul, and a playful sense of humor, The Futilitarians is a guide to living curiously and fully, and a testament to the way that even from the toughest soil of sorrow, beauty and wonder can bloom.

Download or read book Chasing Helicity Into the Wind written by Ginger Zee and published by Disney Electronic Content. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Helicity Dunlap flies for Texas to spend time with her best friend Mia she hopes to leave the tragedies of the devastating tornado and flash flood back in Michigan—at least for a little while. Her responsibilities at Mia's Aunt Suze's beachfront bed and breakfast are pretty simple and leave her lots of time to enjoy hunting for sea glass, sunbathing, and exploring a summer romance. But Helicity comes by her name honestly—Helicity means to spin—and her troubles from home follow her south. Her concerns about her older brother Andy intensify—even though he shows up to surprise her in Texas. And if there's one place in the world that has weather to rival Michigan's, it's Texas. She and her friends go out for a day sail and get caught up in a derecho—a line of intense, widespread, and fast-moving windstorms that once again turn her boat—and life—upside down. She'll have to face her fears and muster all her strength and knowledge to fight her way out of the nightmare.

Download or read book Fire and Fauna written by Joan E. Berish and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-27 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wildlife biologist and gopher tortoise expert Joan E. Berish has spent her life studying and appreciating animals. Fire and Fauna is a unique, educational, and often humorous memoir reflecting the life of a woman in the field of wildlife conservation and her associated escapades early in life and today. Berish recounts her eventful and sometimes absurd journey to become a wildlife researcher. Outrunning treetop flames, spending a night in jail with a threatened species, and surviving a stalled airplane engine while searching for a missing tortoise, Berish introduces readers to the adventures, triumphs, and heartbreaks of working with animals, both domestic and wild. From an early age, Berish knew she wanted to study and work with animals. Yet the world of wildlife research was an almost exclusively male field. With the matter-of-fact style of a scientist, she describes the sexism and sexual harassment that were—and to a degree still are—commonplace for women scholars in the field. Despite these challenges, Berish found her dream job as a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Through vivid tales of working with fellow scientists and local experts in the Florida backcountry, Berish enlightens readers on wildlife behavior, ecology, research ethics, and conservation. Fire and Fauna includes many fine examples of science writing and nature narrative. The author’s work with the gopher tortoise, in particular, rings with the assurance that only a lifetime of study can bring. Throughout this engaging and entertaining memoir, Berish’s narrative is infused with her commitment to and passion for the natural world—and the fascinating people and animals who inhabit it.

Download or read book The Elegant Out written by Elizabeth Bartasius and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “. . . a riveting tale of maturing womanhood and an insightful peek into the creative process.” —Kirkus Reviews “Reminiscent of Anne Lamott's works, The Elegant Out grapples with the glorious, messy intersection of real life and true art.” —Patricia Minger, author of Magic Flute “Really lovely . . . fun . . . impressionistic . . . poetic . . . evocative.” —Kate Maloney, PhD, CEO and executive producer of WeRiseUP The Movie After escaping an abusive relationship, Elizabeth finds herself struggling with immense feelings of inadequacy. Stuck in a small-town, eight to five job, she dreams of characters and plot lines—when she’s not thinking about babies. She wants another. Gabe, her love, does not. When her writing coach praises her talent and encourages her to write, Elizabeth dives in, resolved to pursue her dream of publishing once again and put her ideas about pregnancy on the back burner. But then everyone around her, from her cousin to the couple-that-never-would, starts announcing their own pregnancies, and her baby obsession comes rushing back—accompanied by a deep depression. Frustrated with Gabe’s refusal to give her another child—as well as his questioning of her motives—Elizabeth finds herself considering a separation. Writing, meanwhile, becomes a tool for beating herself up over her inability to find her voice. Ultimately, she must face an abusive past to answer a complex question: Is having babies the answer, or simply a distraction from her immense feelings of inadequacy and fear—an elegant out? If she fails to uncover her truth, Elizabeth fears she might remain strangled, her voice squelched forever.

Download or read book Hurricane Fever written by Tobias S. Buckell and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2014-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A storm is coming.... Introducing a pulse-pounding technothriller by the New York Times bestselling author of Arctic Rising Prudence "Roo" Jones never thought he'd have a family to look after—until suddenly he found himself taking care of his orphaned teenage nephew. Roo, a former Caribbean Intelligence operative, spends his downtime on his catamaran dodging the punishing hurricanes that are the new norm in the Caribbean. Roo enjoys the simple calm of his new life—until an unexpected package from a murdered fellow spy shows up. Suddenly Roo is thrown into the center of the biggest storm of all. Using his wits—and some of the more violent tricks of his former trade—Roo begins to unravel the mystery that got his friend killed. When a polished and cunning woman claiming to be murdered spy's sister appears, the two find themselves caught up in a global conspiracy with a weapon that could change the face of the world forever. In Hurricane Fever, New York Times bestselling author Tobias Buckell (Arctic Rising, Halo: The Cole Protocol) has crafted a kinetic technothriller perfect for fans of action-packed espionage within a smartly drawn geo-political landscape. Roo is an anti–James Bond for a new generation.

Download or read book My Paperback Book written by Kate C. Wright and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2015-05-21 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I am not your typical ""girlie girl"". I know more about sports than most men do (daughter of a sportscaster), I hate flowers, jewelry, shopping etc. If a guy wants to impress me, it better be field and/or court side tickets to an NFL or NBA game. I am 30 years old, still single, following a dream, wallowing in self pity; yet I manage to briefly mask my self-loathing with wine, random flings with B list celebrities, professional athletes, dating men that are full blown sociopaths, and basically being a well known socialite. Unlike most relationship/non-fiction books about random people's lives, I am the voice of every 30 something woman, who just hasn't quite figured it out yet. This is about finding love, losing love, finding yourself, losing yourself, eating Taco Bell until you feel like you are going to die, and remembering regret overrides fear. Everyone has a story, I just have the balls to tell mine. This is my life, raw and unedited.

Download or read book Verbal Imagery written by Wade The Wordsmith and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2018-11-22 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You’ve just found a lyric pulse. It’s a monumental discovery. A living, breathing, noted, literature specie able to work beyond the five natural senses of physical beings. A grammar entity with a transcendent dialect communicated in a fluent flow of sentences, phrases, verses, choruses and all manner of articulations accustomed to a alphabet able to breach its own circumference. The verbal imagery sets up, and looks at you, curious of to how far you can see into its eyes. How far can you go beyond the music? It stares, peering into the psychological galaxies (most commonly known as thoughts) wondering how tuned in to your consciousness you really are, and what borders might there be to prevent you from deciphering its scribing to the fullest detail? To what extent can you push the comprehension accelerator to get from point A to point Z to its point made? An analyzation is underway.

Download or read book Adventures of a Louisiana Birder written by Marybeth Lima and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2019-05-08 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This candid and humorous chronicle shows how one woman goes from casual observer to obsessive bird nerd as she traverses Louisiana’s avian paradise. In Adventures of a Louisiana Birder, readers follow Marybeth Lima across her adopted state in search of 300 species of birds. Bisected by the Mississippi flyway and home to 400 miles of coast, Louisiana has a variety of habitats, which serve as a beautiful backdrop to this remarkable journey. In birding circles, some devotees attempt what is known as a “big year,” a bird-sighting challenge to identify as many bird species as possible in a particular geographical area over the course of one year. Lima’s initial effort amounted to 11,626 miles in sixty-one road trips to log an impressive 280 species. But on a subsequent quest to exceed her record, she endures elusive birds, embarrassing misidentifications, and hungry insects in an effort to reach her goal. In the midst of these obstacles, Lima celebrates the camaraderie and friendly competition among fellow birders, from novices to a world-renown ornithologist. Requiring both mental focus and physical agility, birdwatching becomes an active sport through Lima’s narration. She vividly conveys the elation over a rare species seen or heard and the disappointment when one is narrowly missed. An appendix provides the location and date of every species she identifies. Lima’s personal experiences are interwoven with the excitement of tracking down one intriguing species after another. She faces a near-fatal burn accident to her spouse, end-of-life care for her mother-in-law, and Louisiana’s great flood of 2016. In the midst of these situations, her devotion to birding provides a much-needed outlet. “Somewhere in the roiling confluence of birds, locales, and human personalities,” writes Lima, “the center of my heart sings with utter abandon.” Adventures of a Louisiana Birder is the author’s call to a deeper passion for and awareness of Louisiana’s unique natural beauty and vulnerability.

Download or read book Gone with a Handsomer Man written by Michael Lee West and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-04-12 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hilarious, sexy, wise, and sassy, this debut novel features an unforgettable heroine who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her fianc. "Gone with a Handsomer Man" is fun, funny, and fabulous.--Janet Evanovich.