Download or read book The House at Sugar Beach written by Helene Cooper and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journalist Helene Cooper examines the violent past of her home country Liberia and the effects of its 1980 military coup in this deeply personal memoir and finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award. Helene Cooper is “Congo,” a descendant of two Liberian dynasties—traced back to the first ship of freemen that set sail from New York in 1820 to found Monrovia. Helene grew up at Sugar Beach, a twenty-two-room mansion by the sea. Her childhood was filled with servants, flashy cars, a villa in Spain, and a farmhouse up-country. It was also an African childhood, filled with knock foot games and hot pepper soup, heartmen and neegee. When Helene was eight, the Coopers took in a foster child—a common custom among the Liberian elite. Eunice, a Bassa girl, suddenly became known as “Mrs. Cooper’s daughter.” For years the Cooper daughters—Helene, her sister Marlene, and Eunice—blissfully enjoyed the trappings of wealth and advantage. But Liberia was like an unwatched pot of water left boiling on the stove. And on April 12, 1980, a group of soldiers staged a coup d'état, assassinating President William Tolbert and executing his cabinet. The Coopers and the entire Congo class were now the hunted, being imprisoned, shot, tortured, and raped. After a brutal daylight attack by a ragtag crew of soldiers, Helene, Marlene, and their mother fled Sugar Beach, and then Liberia, for America. They left Eunice behind. A world away, Helene tried to assimilate as an American teenager. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she found her passion in journalism, eventually becoming a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. She reported from every part of the globe—except Africa—as Liberia descended into war-torn, third-world hell. In 2003, a near-death experience in Iraq convinced Helene that Liberia—and Eunice—could wait no longer. At once a deeply personal memoir and an examination of a violent and stratified country, The House at Sugar Beach tells of tragedy, forgiveness, and transcendence with unflinching honesty and a survivor's gentle humor. And at its heart, it is a story of Helene Cooper’s long voyage home.
Download or read book Madame President written by Helene Cooper and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BEST BOOKS of 2017 SELECTION by * THE WASHINGTON POST * NEW YORK POST * The harrowing, but triumphant story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Liberian women’s movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first democratically elected female president in African history. When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the 2005 Liberian presidential election, she demolished a barrier few thought possible, obliterating centuries of patriarchal rule to become the first female elected head of state in Africa’s history. Madame President is the inspiring, often heartbreaking story of Sirleaf’s evolution from an ordinary Liberian mother of four boys to international banking executive, from a victim of domestic violence to a political icon, from a post-war president to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Helene Cooper deftly weaves Sirleaf’s personal story into the larger narrative of the coming of age of Liberian women. The highs and lows of Sirleaf’s life are filled with indelible images; from imprisonment in a jail cell for standing up to Liberia’s military government to addressing the United States Congress, from reeling under the onslaught of the Ebola pandemic to signing a deal with Hillary Clinton when she was still Secretary of State that enshrined American support for Liberia’s future. Sirleaf’s personality shines throughout this riveting biography. Ultimately, Madame President is the story of Liberia’s greatest daughter, and the universal lessons we can all learn from this “Oracle” of African women.
Download or read book The House On Sugar Plum Lane written by Judy Duarte and published by Kensington Books. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In her unforgettable Fairbrook novels, Judy Duarte has created a town that's as warm and as welcoming as home. In The House on Sugar Plum Lane, old friends and new characters mingle in a poignant story of second chances, new beginnings, faith, and family. The beautiful Victorian house that Amy Masterson decides to rent, fully furnished, is more than just a place to start over with her young daughter. When Amy learns that the three-story house on Sugar Plum Lane belonged to her great-grandmother, Eleanor Rucker, who Amy's mother had been searching for until her recent death, she hopes she can find a window into the past her mother never found. As Amy settles into Fairbrook, she's stunned to learn that Ellie Rucker still lives on Sugar Plum Lane, cared for by Amy's neighbor, Maria. But Ellie's mind is failing rapidly, her memories fading with each passing day. She shows no hint of recognition when her great-granddaughter introduces herself, and Amy is heartbroken at the chance they've both missed. But it's never too late to hope--or to trust in bonds of love that, though they cannot be seen, can never be broken. . . Praise For Mulberry Park "Tender and touching. . .this novel will stay with you long after you have read the last page." --Dorothy Garlock, New York Times bestselling author "Such a happy book. . .I didn't want it to end." --Drusilla Campbell, author of Blood Orange "An uplifting story about one little girl's unflinching faith and how she extends an open and loving hand to the broken people around her, bring them close to each other and back into God's gentle embrace." --Cathy Lamb, author of Henry's Sisters
Download or read book This Child Will Be Great written by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-04-07 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In January 2006, after the Republic of Liberia had been racked by fourteen years of brutal civil conflict, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—Africa's "Iron Lady"—was sworn in as president, an event that marked a tremendous turning point in the history of the West African nation. In this stirring memoir, Sirleaf shares the inside story of her rise to power, including her early childhood; her experiences with abuse, imprisonment, and exile; and her fight for democracy and social justice. This compelling tale of survival reveals Sirleaf's determination to succeed in multiple worlds: from her studies in the United States to her work as an international bank executive to her election campaigning in some of Liberia's most desperate and war-torn villages and neighborhoods. It is also the story of an outspoken political and social reformer who, despite danger, fought the oppression of dictators and championed change. By sharing her story, Sirleaf encourages women everywhere to pursue leadership roles at the highest levels of power, and gives us all hope that, with perseverance, we can change the world.
Download or read book Beach Trip written by Cathy Holton and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2010-06-22 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Break out the tissues, sunblock, and margarita mix as four friends reunite after twenty-three years for a beach party in [this] feast of Southern friendship. . . . [Cathy] Holton refreshes the action with winning humor.”—Publishers Weekly Mel, Sara, Annie, and Lola have traveled diverse paths since their years together at a small Southern liberal arts college during the early 1980s. Mel, a mystery writer living in New York, is grappling with the aftermath of two failed marriages and a stalled writing career. Sara, an Atlanta attorney, struggles with her own slowly unraveling marriage. Annie, a successful Nashville businesswoman married to her childhood sweetheart, can’t seem to leave behind the regrets of her youth. And sweet-tempered Lola whiles away her hours—and her husband’s money—on little pills that keep her happy. Now the friends, all in their forties, converge on Lola’s lavish North Carolina beach house in an attempt to relive the carefree days of their college years. But as the week wears on and each woman’s hidden story is gradually revealed, these four friends learn that they must inevitably confront their shared past, and a secret that threatens to change their bond, and their lives, forever. “A brilliant, bubbly, bracing novel . . . packed with hilarity and heartache.”—Wichita Falls Times Record News
Download or read book Ocean Beach written by Wendy Wax and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-06-26 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three women find a second chance—or is it a third—in this novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Best Beach Ever. When unlikely friends Madeline, Avery, and Nicole arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they’re hoping for a do-over. Literally. They’ve been hired to bring a historic house back to its former glory on a new television show called Do Over. If they can just get this show off the ground, Nikki could fix her finances, Avery could restart her career, and Maddie would have a shot at keeping her family together. The women quickly realize that having their work broadcast is one thing, but having their personal lives play out on TV is another. Soon they’re struggling to hold themselves, and the project, together. With a decades-old mystery—and hurricane season—looming, the women are forced to figure out just how they’ll weather life’s storms...
Download or read book The House at Sugar Beach written by Helene Cooper and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author traces her childhood in war-torn Liberia and her reunion with a foster sister who had been left behind when her family fled the region.
Download or read book Sugar in the Blood written by Andrea Stuart and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2013 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of an acclaimed biography of Josephine Bonaparte: a stunning history of the interdependence of sugar, slavery, and colonial settlement in the New World--from the 17th century to the present.
Download or read book Don t Believe It written by Charlie Donlea and published by Pinnacle Books. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the acclaimed author of Twenty Years Later comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game. Fans of Freida McFadden and Alice Feeney will be left breathless by this unforgettable thriller that builds to a shocking conclusion... The Girl of Sugar Beach is the most watched documentary in television history—a riveting, true-life mystery that unfolds over twelve weeks and centers on a fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation, or is she a victim of circumstance and poor police work? Grace has spent the last ten years in a St. Lucian prison, and reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan in a last, desperate attempt to prove her innocence. As Sidney begins researching, she uncovers startling evidence overlooked during the original investigation. Before the series even finishes filming, public outcry leads officials to reopen the case. Delving into Grace’s past, Sidney peels away layer after layer of deception. But as she edges closer to the real heart of the story, Sidney must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career . . . even her life. “You can’t blame Charlie Donlea if the ending of his novel makes your jaw drop. The title alone is fair warning that his characters are no more to be trusted than our initial impressions of them.” —The New York Times Book Review
Download or read book Kosher Chinese written by Michael Levy and published by Holt Paperbacks. This book was released on 2011-07-05 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An irreverent tale of an American Jew serving in the Peace Corps in rural China, which reveals the absurdities, joys, and pathos of a traditional society in flux In September of 2005, the Peace Corps sent Michael Levy to teach English in the heart of China's heartland. His hosts in the city of Guiyang found additional uses for him: resident expert on Judaism, romantic adviser, and provincial basketball star, to name a few. His account of overcoming vast cultural differences to befriend his students and fellow teachers is by turns poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. While reveling in the peculiarities of life in China's interior, the author also discovered that the "other billion" (people living far from the coastal cities covered by the American media) have a complex relationship with both their own traditions and the rapid changes of modernization. Lagging behind in China's economic boom, they experience the darker side of "capitalism with Chinese characteristics," daily facing the schizophrenia of conflicting ideologies. Kosher Chinese is an illuminating account of the lives of the residents of Guiyang, particularly the young people who will soon control the fate of the world.
Download or read book Beach House for Rent written by Mary Alice Monroe and published by Pocket Books. This book was released on 2019-04-30 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get swept away to the beautiful and breezy Isle of Palms with New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe’s return to her “exceptional and heartwarming” (Publishers Weekly) Beach House series, set in South Carolina’s lowcountry. Two women. One summer. One very special beach house. Cara Rutledge rents her quaint cottage on Isle of Palms to Heather Fordham for the entire summer. As beautiful as the Isle of Palms is, Heather’s anxiety keeps her indoors with her caged canaries as she paints birds for postage stamps. Eventually, however, the shore birds—and a man who rescues them—lure her outside. As the summer progresses and Heather begins to blossom, Cara’s life reels with sudden tragedy. She wants only to return home but Heather refuses to budge from her sanctuary. As everything around the ladies is coming apart, they discover they can only rely on each other. Now, the two women who don’t really know each other are forced to live together and support each other as they navigate the next chapter of their lives. Featuring Monroe’s signature “lyrical, emotional, and gripping” (RT Book Reviews), Beach House for Rent demonstrates the power and strength of female friendships.
Download or read book Tiny Beautiful Things written by Cheryl Strayed and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-07-10 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Soon to be a Hulu Original series • The internationally acclaimed author of Wild collects the best of The Rumpus's Dear Sugar advice columns plus never-before-published pieces. Rich with humor and insight—and absolute honesty—this "wise and compassionate" (New York Times Book Review) book is a balm for everything life throws our way. Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice.
Download or read book Best Beach Ever written by Wendy Wax and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-05-22 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite their hopes for smooth sailing, the ladies of Ten Beach Road confront choppy seas in this novel in the bestselling series. Forced to rent out or lose their beloved Bella Flora after the loss of their renovation-turned-reality-TV show Do Over, Maddie, Nikki, Avery, Kyra, and Bitsy move into cottages at the Sunshine Hotel and Beach Club believing the worst is over. Only to discover just how uncertain their futures really are. Maddie struggles with the challenges of dating a rock star whose career has come roaring back to life while Nikki faces the daunting realities of mothering twins at forty-seven. Avery buries herself in a tiny home build in an attempt to dodge commitment issues, and Kyra battles to protect her son from the Hollywood world she once dreamed of joining. And Bitsy is about to find out whether the rewards of seeking revenge will outweigh the risks. Luckily, when the going gets tough, the ladies of Ten Beach Road know that their friendship--tried and tested--can chase away the darkest clouds and let the sun shine in...
Download or read book Beach Houses written by Alastair Gordon and published by Princeton Architectural Press. This book was released on 2003-04 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For clients in the Hamptons, the Jersey shore, and in New England, Andrew Geller built dozens of houses, most of wood, and most on modest budgets. These spirited houses, many shown here for the first time through vintage photos and drawings, still delight today and will inspire anyone interested in beach house living. 85 photos, 25 in color.
Download or read book Grave Reservations written by Cherie Priest and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-07-19 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Meet Leda Foley; Devoted friend, struggling travel agent, sometime psychic. When Leda, proprietor of Foley's Flights of Fancy, books Seattle PD Grady Merritt on a flight back from Orlando, she does not expect it to change her life. When Grady watches the plane he was set to travel on catch fire while he remains safely in the airport, he seeks out Leda, and despite her rather scattershot premonitions, he enlists her help in investigating a cold case he just can't crack. But Leda has her own reasons for helping: her fiancé Tod was murdered under mysterious circumstances several years ago. Her psychic abilities weren't good then, but now she's been honing them at her favorite bar's open-mic nights, where she draws a crowd klairvoyant karaoke-singing whatever song comes to mind after holding other patrons' personal effects. With a rag-tag group of bar patrons and friends, Leda and Grady set out to catch a killer--and find that the two cases that haunt them may have more in common than they think"--
Download or read book On Ocean Boulevard written by Mary Alice Monroe and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-04-26 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's been sixteen years since Caretta 'Cara' Rutledge has returned home to the beautiful shores of Charleston, South Carolina. Over those years, she has weathered the tides of deaths and births, struggles and joys. And now, as Cara prepares for her second wedding, her life is about to change yet again. Meanwhile, the rest of the storied Rutledge family is also in flux. Cara's niece Linnea returns to Sullivan's Island to begin a new career and an unexpected relationship. Linnea's parents, having survived bankruptcy, pin their hopes and futures on the construction of a new home on Ocean Boulevard. But as excitement over the house and wedding builds, a devastating illness strikes the family and brings plans to a screeching halt. It is under these trying circumstances that the Rutledge family must come together yet again to discover the enduring strength in love, tradition, and legacy from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Like the sea turtles that come ashore annually on these windswept islands, three generations of the Rutledge family experience a season of return, rebirth, and growth.
Download or read book At Home in the World written by Daniel Pearl and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-06-24 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl became the focus of international concern when he was kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Pakistan while investigating a story. News of his brutal murder in February 2002 was universally denounced, a tragic loss of a good man and a compassionate journalist who was at home anywhere in the world. At Home in the World celebrates Pearl's life through 50 of his best stories. Edited by his longtime friend and colleague, Helene Cooper, At Home in the World gives testimony to Mr. Pearl's extraordinary skill as a writer and to his talent for friendship and collaboration. With datelines from the United States and abroad, the articles showcase a dogged reporter who never lost sight of the humanity behind the news. A foreword by his widow, Mariane Pearl, and a contribution by his father, Judea Pearl, celebrate his desire to change the world, his basic decency and fair-mindedness and his sense of fun and love of family. Mr. Pearl's eye for quirky stories -- many of which appeared in the Journal's iconic "middle column" -- and his skill in tracking leads, uncovering wrongdoing and making friends of strangers of all backgrounds and cultures are apparent throughout this carefully assembled collection. The selections range from child beauty pageants in the South to the making of the world's largest Persian rug to the Taliban's exploitation of a gemstone market in order to fund terrorism. Anecdotes from friends and colleagues in the introduction to each section provide background, context and a glimpse of his life at the Journal. At Home in the World keeps alive Daniel Pearl's spirit through his words and the work that was so important to him.
