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The Patron Saint of Used Cars and Second Chances by Mark Millhone
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Publisher: Rodale Books Pub Date: Jul 7 2009
ISBN-10: 1594868239
ISBN-13: 978-1594868238
MemoirCheck Availability
In the course of one nine-month period, filmmaker Mark Millhone's
youngest son nearly died from birth complications, his father was
diagnosed with prostate cancer, his mother had a heart attack and
passed away, a freak illness claimed the life of one of his friends,
and his career imploded. As a result of his membership in what he calls
the tragedy-of-the-monthclub, his marriage also began to fray. Millhone
responded to the chaos as many men might: Late one night, he logged on
to eBay and bid on a vintage BMW-his fantasy car, but not exactly what
the doctor ordered when it came to his family's finances. As if sharing
the news that he'd won the auction with his already-peeved wife weren't
bad enough, it turned out that he had to travel from New York to Texas
to collect the car. His estranged dad joined him, and together they
embarked upon a dysfunctional road trip-a comedy of errors that would
lend Millhone the perspective he needed to save his marriage and to
understand what was really important in his life: his family. Acerbic
and hilarious but with heart, this memoir will appeal to readers of
Chuck Klosterman, David Sedaris, and Nick Hornby, as well as readers of
Millhone's Guy Wisdom column in Men's Health . His male perspective on
a troubled marriage, raising children, coping with loss, and
rejuvenating a relationship with a parent will appeal equally to both
sexes.
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Ayurveda Made Simple: An Easy-To-Follow Guide to the Ancient Indian System of Health and Diet by Body Type by Sally Morningstar
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Publisher: Southwater Publishing Publication Date: October 2008
ISBN-10: 1844765792
ISBN-13: 978-1844765799 Health & Wellness Check Availability This accessible book explains how you can discover your body type and
how the elements express themselves within you. It then takes you
through the dietary requirements, massage techniques and appropriate
oils, herbs, colors, crystals, gems, exercise and tonics recommended to
maintain equilibrium for each body type.
Whether you are actively
looking for a complete holistic healing system or simply need to regain
a sense of balance and harmony, this invaluable guide is a key to using
and understanding the powerful system of Ayurvedic medicine.
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Prairie Tale: A Memoir by Melissa Gilbert
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Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment Publication Date: Jun 9 2009
ISBN-10: 1416599142
ISBN-13: 978-1416599142
Biography & Memoir Check Availability
To fans of the hugely successful television series Little House on the Prairie,
Melissa Gilbert grew up in a fantasy world with a larger-than-life
father, friends and family she could count on, and plenty of animals to
play with. Children across the country dreamed of the Ingalls' idyllic
life -- and so did Melissa.
She was a natural on camera, but
behind the scenes, life was more complicated. Adopted as a baby into a
legendary show business family, Melissa wrestled with questions about
her identity and struggled to maintain an image of perfection her
mother created and enforced. Only after years of substance abuse,
dysfunctional relationships, and made-for-television movies did she
begin to figure out who she really was.
With candor and humor,
the cherished actress traces her complicated journey from buck-toothed
Laura "Half-pint" Ingalls to Hollywood starlet, wife, and mother. She
partied with the Brat Pack, dated heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and bad
boys like Billy Idol, and began a self-destructive pattern of addiction
and codependence. Left in debt after her first marriage, and struggling
to create some sense of stability, she eventually realized that her
career on television had earned her popularity, admiration, and love
from everyone but herself.
Through hard work, tenacity, sobriety,
and the blessings of a solid marriage, Melissa has accepted her many
different identities and learned to laugh, cry, and forgive in new
ways. Women everywhere may have idolized her charming life on Little House on the Prairie, but Melissa's own unexpectedly honest, imperfect, and down-to-earth story is an inspiration.
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Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
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Publisher: Shambhala Publication Date: Sep 8 2009
ISBN-10: 1590306341
ISBN-13: 978-1590306345
Health & Wellness / Spirituality
In this book, Pema Chödrön shows us how to break free of destructive
patterns in our lives and experience a new sense of freedom and
happiness. Drawing on the Buddhist concept of shenpa, she helps us to
see how certain habits of mind tend to "hook" us and get us stuck in
states of anger, blame, self-hatred, and addiction. The good news is
that once we start to see these patterns, we can begin to change our
lives for the better.
The key is learning a new way of facing
the inevitable difficulties and insecurities of our daily lives: we
must learn how to stay present and open our hearts. "This path entails
uncovering three basic human qualities," explains Pema. "These
qualities have always been with us but perhaps have gotten buried and
almost forgotten. They are natural intelligence, natural warmth, and
natural openness. Everyone, everywhere, all over the globe, has these
qualities and can call on them to help themselves and others."
This
book gives us the insights and practices we can immediately put to use
in our lives to awaken these essential qualities. In her friendly and
encouraging style, Pema Chödrön helps us to take a bold leap toward a
new way of living-one that will bring about positive transformation for
ourselves and for our troubled world.
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The Greatest Show on Earth: the Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
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Publisher: Free Press Publication Date: Sep 22 2009
ISBN-10: 1416594787
ISBN-13: 978-1416594789
Science & Nature Check Availability In 1859 Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species,
shook society to its core. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his
theory of evolution would provoke. But he surely would have raised an
incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a
half later. Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable
scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to
question its veracity. The Greatest Show on Earth
is a stunning counterattack on advocates of "Intelligent Design,"
explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the weaknesses of
the creationist argument. Dawkins sifts through rich layers of
scientific evidence: from living examples of natural selection to clues
in the fossil record; from natural clocks that mark the vast epochs
wherein evolution ran its course to the intricacies of developing
embryos; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics. Combining these
elements and many more, he makes the case that "we find
ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and
flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct
consequence of evolution by non-random selection." The Greatest Show on Earth
comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of
evolution is menacing as never before. In American schools, and in
schools around the world, attempts are being made to undermine the
status of science in the classroom. Dawkins wields a devastating
argument, but his unjaded passion for the
natural world turns what might have been a negative argument into a
positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a vision of
life, in all its splendor.
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True Compass: a Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy
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Publisher: Twelve Publication Date: Sep 14 2009
ISBN-10: 0446539252
ISBN-13: 978-0446539258
Biography & MemoirCheck AvailabilityThe youngest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose
Fitzgerald Kennedy, he came of age among siblings from whom much was
expected. As a young man, he played a key role in the presidential
campaign of his brother John F. Kennedy, recounted here in loving
detail. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he began a
fascinating political education and became a legislator. In this
historic memoir, Ted Kennedy takes us inside his family, re-creating
life with his parents and brothers and explaining their profound impact
on him. For the first time, he describes his heartbreak and years of
struggle in the wake of their deaths. Through it all, he describes his
work in the Senate on the major issues of our time--civil rights,
Vietnam, Watergate, the quest for peace in Northern Ireland--and the
cause of his life: improved health care for all Americans, a fight
influenced by his own experiences in hospitals. His life has
been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love of family, and an
abiding faith. There have been controversies, too, and Kennedy
addresses them with unprecedented candor. At midlife, embattled and
uncertain if he would ever fall in love again, he met the woman who
changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Facing a tough reelection
campaign against an aggressive challenger named Mitt Romney, Kennedy
found a new voice and began one of the great third acts in American
politics, sponsoring major legislation, standing up for liberal
principles, and making the pivotal endorsement of Barack Obama for
president. Hundreds of books have been written about the
Kennedys. True Compass will endure as the definitive account from a
member of America's most heralded family, an inspiring legacy to
readers and to history, and a deeply moving story of a life like no
other.
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Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
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Publisher: Doubleday Publication Date: Sep 15 2009
ISBN-10: 0385522266
ISBN-13: 978-0385522267
Biography / War NarrativeCheck AvailabilityLike the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous
bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and
iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL
contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by
9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against
al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate
hillside in southeastern Afghanistan. Though obvious to most
of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman's own
platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to
keep this information from Tillman's wife, other family members, and
the American public for five weeks following his death. During this
time, President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman's name to promote his
administration's foreign policy. Long after Tillman's nationally
televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest
relatives that he had "probably" been killed by friendly fire while it
continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was
responsible. Krakauer chronicles Tillman's riveting,
tragic odyssey in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable
character and personality while closely examining the murky,
heartbreaking circumstances of his death. Infused with the power and
authenticity readers have come to expect from Krakauer's storytelling, Where Men Win Glory exposes shattering truths about men and war.
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Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search for His Disabled Son by Ian Brown
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Publisher: Random House Canada Publication Date: Sep 22 2009
ISBN-10: 0307357104
ISBN-13: 978-0307357106 Memoir
Check Availability
Walker Brown was born with a genetic mutation so rare that doctors call
it an orphan syndrome: perhaps 300 people around the world also live
with it. Walker turns twelve in 2008, but he weighs only 54 pounds, is
still in diapers, can't speak and needs to wear special cuffs on his
arms so that he can't continually hit himself. "Sometimes watching
him," Brown writes, "is like looking at the man in the moon - but you
know there is actually no man there. But if Walker is so insubstantial,
why does he feel so important? What is he trying to show me?"
In a book that owes its beginnings to Brown's original Globe and Mail
series, he sets out to answer that question, a journey that takes him
into deeply touching and troubling territory. "All I really want to
know is what goes on inside his off-shaped head," he writes, "But every
time I ask, he somehow persuades me to look into my own."
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The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President by Taylor Branch
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Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication Date: Sep 29 2009
ISBN-10: 1416543333
ISBN-13: 978-1416543336
Biography / Political History
A groundbreaking book about the modern presidency, The Clinton Tapes
invites readers into private dialogue with a gifted, tormented,
resilient President of the United States. Here is what President
Clinton thought and felt but could not say in public.
This book rests
upon a secret project, initiated by Clinton, to preserve for future
historians an unfiltered record of presidential experience. During his
eight years in office, between 1993 and 2001, Clinton answered
questions and told stories in the White House, usually late at night.
His friend Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch recorded
seventy-nine of these dialogues to compile a trove of raw information
about a presidency as it happened. Clinton drew upon the diary
transcripts for his memoir in 2004.
Branch recorded his own
detailed recollections immediately after each session, covering not
only the subjects discussed but also the look and feel of each evening
with the president. The text engages Clinton from many angles. Readers
hear candid stories, feel buffeting pressures, and weigh vivid
descriptions of the White House settings.
Branch's firsthand
narrative is confessional, unsparing, and personal. The author admits
straying at times from his primary role -- to collect raw material for
future historians -- because his discussions with Clinton were
unpredictable and intense.
These unprecedented White House dialogues will
become a staple of presidential scholarship. Branch's masterly account
opens a new window on a controversial era and Bill Clinton's eventual
place among our chief executives.
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Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain Worldby Harold Kushner
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Publisher: Knopf Publication Date: Oct 6 2009
ISBN-10: 0307266648
ISBN-13: 978-0307266644 Health & Wellness Check Availability
From the best-selling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, an illuminating book about fear-and what we can do to overcome it. An
inescapable component of our lives, fear comes in many guises: fear of
unemployment; fear of aging, illness, losing beauty; fear of a
terrorist attack or natural disaster. In uncertain times, coping with
these fears can be especially challenging, but in this indispensable,
hopeful book, Harold S. Kushner teaches us to confront, master, and
even embrace fear for a more fulfilling life. Drawing on the
teachings of religious and secular literature and on the true stories
of people who have faced their fears, Kushner helps us to see that fear
can present us with extraordinary opportunities-to connect with our
emotions, rethink our values, and change our lives, and the world, for
the better. For those who fear helplessness, he suggests empowerment:
through prayer, service, and education. For those who fear for
mankind's future, he insists on hope and pragmatic measures, such as
working to protect the environment. For those who fear death, he
proposes life-lived boldly and purposefully. In Conquering Fear, we are again inspired by Harold S. Kushner's wisdom, at once deeply spiritual and eminently practical.
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Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge by Valerie Bertinelli
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Publisher: Free Press Publication Date: Oct 6 2009
ISBN-10: 1439141630
ISBN-13: 978-1439141632
Memoir Check Availability
In Finding It,
Valerie comes face-to-face with hard questions of family, faith, and
beachwear, and realizes that she's hungering for another
transfor-mation -- to become better, not just thinner. Forget the
scale; the real change is happening inside, and Valerie realizes that
this is the part of dieting that no one ever talks about -- the reality
of keeping the pounds off. Dieting fixes one problem, she discovers,
but to maintain that weight loss, she has to work on everything else --
all the reasons she got fat in the first place. Warm and friendly,
honest and self-aware -- like a talk with your BFF -- Finding It
tells of the common worries and frustrations, the funny and fabulous
moments in Valerie's publicly private life. Humorous and humble, it is
also the emotional story of family and the deep bonds and patterns that
persist through generations: for as Valerie transitions to her latest
role of motherhood with an increasingly independent son, she connects
with her own mother in a profound new way. With the same winning wit and candor that touched several generations of fans in Losing It, Finding It
is an optimistic story for trying times. It's about believing in love
and happiness, having faith that both are possible, and finding out
that God does want you to enjoy life's desserts -- even when you're on
a diet.
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Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi
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Publisher: Atria Publication Date: Sep 29 2009
ISBN-10: 1439158584
ISBN-13: 978-1439158586
Biography / Memoir Check Availability
In a career spanning more than thirty years, Patrick Swayze has made a
name for himself on the stage, the screen, and television. Known for
his versatility, passion and fearlessness, he's become one of our most
beloved actors.But in February 2008, Patrick announced he had been
diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Always a fighter, he refused
to let the disease bring him to his knees, and his bravery has inspired
both his legion of fans and cancer patients everywhere. Yet this
memoir, written with wisdom and heart, recounts much more than his bout
with cancer. In vivid detail, Patrick describes his Texas upbringing,
his personal struggles, his rise to fame with North and South, his
commercial breakthroughs in Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and the soul mate who's stood by his side through it all: his wife, writer and director Lisa Niemi. A
behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood life and a remarkable love, this
memoir is both entertainment and inspiration. Patrick and Lisa's
marriage is a journey of two lives intertwined and lived as
one--throughout their years in Hollywood and at home on their working
ranch outside Los Angeles, and culminating in the hope and wisdom
they've imparted to all who know them. This book will open the door for
families, individuals, and husbands and wives to grow, bond and
discover entirely new levels of love and sharing, proving that life
shouldn't be lived as a series of endings, but rather as the beginning
of greater strength and love.
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