From the Foreword by Marian Wright Edelman

Africa’s Child is an unforgettable and searingly personal book. In the face of repeated obstacles and injustices, Nhambu continued to analyze the world around her with wit and a sharp sense of humor. Above all, as a very young child she decided one day that even if there was no other person in the world who loved and wanted her, she was going to love and care for herself—and that decision changed the course of her life.

Africa’s Child is the story of a mixed-race girl growing up in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania, East Africa. Raised in an orphanage with no knowledge of her origins or family, she endured abandonment, hardships, severe illnesses, and bullying. Her experiences as a child and teenager included physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, social stigma, and racial discrimination.

Yet Nhambu tells her inspiring story with warmth and humor. Her questioning mind probes the African tribal realities and multi-cultural complexities that impacted her life both at the orphanage and schools run by German nuns as well as at an African high school with American nuns. Nhambu not only survived her childhood but triumphed. Her faith and resilience, along with a belief in learning and her tenacious pursuit of an education, sustained her through many challenges. Dance, especially African tribal dance, became the way she healed and nourished her spirit. Through the love and commitment of an American teacher she met in Africa, Nhambu was able to pursue her dream of education and a new life for herself. The first book in her three-part memoir ends as she is leaving Africa for university studies in America on a full scholarship.

Maria Nhambu is the creator of Aerobics With Soul®, a fitness workout based on African dance.

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise is a groundbreaking book that reveals a powerful, science-based narrative on how to excel in any field. Written by K. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool, this book distills decades of research into a revolutionary learning strategy that challenges traditional views on acquiring new skills.

Ericsson, renowned for his studies on chess champions, violin virtuosos, star athletes, and memory experts, offers insights into how anyone can improve their performance in work, sports, music, or academic pursuits. His revolutionary methods provide a blueprint for achieving personal excellence and becoming a little bit better each day.

Whether you're looking to stand out professionally, enhance your athletic abilities, or support your child's academic goals, Peak offers the tools and strategies needed to achieve life-changing results.

Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, The Reason I Jump is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine.

Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one, at last, have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”)

With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.

Living the Life Unexpected is a heartfelt and insightful guide by Jody Day, aimed at helping women who find themselves without children, whether by choice or circumstance. At the age of forty-four, Jody realized her journey to motherhood had ended, leading her through waves of grief, despair, and isolation.

This book addresses the complex emotions surrounding involuntary childlessness and offers a powerful, practical 12-week guide to help women come to terms with their grief. Jody's journey led her to create the Gateway Women Network, a supportive community that has aided thousands of women globally.

With compassion and understanding, Jody shows how to move towards a creative, happy, meaningful, and fulfilling future without children. This extensively revised edition includes additional content and stories from women and men around the world, providing diverse perspectives on living a fulfilling life without children.

Reasons to Stay Alive is Matt Haig’s accessible and life-affirming memoir of his struggle with depression, and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live.

Like nearly one in five people, Matt Haig suffers from depression. This book is Matt’s inspiring account of how, minute by minute and day by day, he overcame the disease with the help of reading, writing, and the love of his parents and his girlfriend (and now-wife), Andrea. Eventually, he learned to appreciate life all the more for it.

Everyone’s lives are touched by mental illness: if we do not suffer from it ourselves, then we have a friend or loved one who does. Matt’s frankness about his experiences is both inspiring to those who feel daunted by depression and illuminating to those who are mystified by it.

Above all, his humor and encouragement never let us lose sight of hope. Speaking as his present self to his former self in the depths of depression, Matt is adamant that the oldest cliché is the truest—there is light at the end of the tunnel. He teaches us to celebrate the small joys and moments of peace that life brings, and reminds us that there are always reasons to stay alive.

For readers of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Anne Lamott, When Breath Becomes Air is a profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis who attempts to answer the question 'What makes a life worth living?'

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a naïve medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir. Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. "I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything," he wrote. "Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: 'I can't go on. I'll go on.'"

When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.

When Maisie Winters wakes up, she’s in the hospital. The last thing she remembers is running through the hills of her neighborhood one misty morning. Slowly, she puts the pieces together. Before she could make it home, a storm gathered. Lightning hit a power line and sparks rained down, the hot-burning electrical fire consuming her. Destroying her face. Where her nose, cheeks, and chin used to be, now there is…nothing.

Maisie’s lucky enough to qualify for a rare medical treatment: a face transplant. At least, everyone says she’s lucky. But with someone else’s features staring back at her in the mirror, Maisie looks—and feels—like a stranger. The doctors promised that the transplant was her chance to live a normal life again, but nothing feels normal anymore. Before, she knew who she was—a regular girl who ran track and got good grades, who loved her boyfriend and her best friend. Now, she can’t even recognize herself.

New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Sheinmel has created a gripping and gorgeously written tale of identity and love. This is a story of losing yourself and the long, hard fight to find your way back.

The island is nearly deserted, haunting, and beautiful. Across a slip of ocean lies South Carolina. But for the handful of families on Yamacraw Island, America is a world away. For years, the people here lived proudly from the sea, but now its waters are not safe.

Waste from industry threatens their very existence unless, somehow, they can learn a new way. But they will learn nothing without someone to teach them, and their school has no teacher—until one man gives a year of his life to the island and its people.

Pat Conroy's extraordinary drama is based on his own experience—the true story of a man who gave a year of his life to an island and the new life its people gave him.

Op 13 april 1927 voer Allene Tew met de Mauretania de haven van New York uit. Ze liet een leven achter zich waarin ze alles had bereikt waar ze als plattelandsmeisje van had gedroomd – aanzien, fortuin, moederschap, haar grote liefde. En ze was het ook bijna allemaal weer kwijtgeraakt.

‘De rijkste en verdrietigste weduwe van de stad’, zoals Allene door societyrubrieken werd genoemd, had die dag echter ook nog veel vóór zich, zoals een nieuw gezin en een toekomst als officiële prinses, als Russische gravin en als peetmoeder van de latere koningin Beatrix.

De Amerikaanse prinses is een reconstructie van een weids en fascinerend leven, dat zich afspeelt tegen het decor van Amerika en Europa, de victoriaanse en de moderne tijd, de industriële en Russische revolutie en de twee wereldoorlogen. Maar het is bovenal het persoonlijke verhaal van een uitzonderlijke vrouw die de moed had om, tot het bittere eind, haar eigen, onnavolgbare weg te gaan.

Mitch Albom creates a magical world through his love of music in this remarkable novel about the power of talent to change our lives.

This is the epic story of Frankie Presto—the greatest guitar player who ever lived—and the six lives he changed with his six magical blue strings. Frankie, born in a burning church, abandoned as an infant, and raised by a music teacher in a small Spanish town, until war rips his life apart.

At nine years old, he is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings. His amazing journey weaves him through the musical landscape of the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, with his stunning playing and singing talent affecting numerous stars including Duke Ellington, Hank Williams, and Elvis Presley.

He makes records. He is adored. But Frankie Presto’s gift is also his burden, as he realizes the power of the strings his teacher gave him, and how, through his music, he can actually affect people’s lives. At the height of his popularity, tortured by his biggest mistake, he vanishes. His legend grows. Only decades later, having finally healed his heart, does Frankie reappear—just before his spectacular death—to change one last life.

With the Spirit of Music as our guide, we glimpse into the lives that were changed by one man whose strings could touch the music—and the magic—in each of us.

Journey with this tiny star as it seeks its purpose in the Milky Way Galaxy and discovers that it is destined to participate in a wonderful Christmas event.

Beautiful and vivid illustrations compliment this spectacular and unique re-telling of the announcement of the birth of Baby Jesus.

First published in 1915, Jesus the Christ is the classic Latter-day Saint presentation of the life and ministry of the Savior. Elder Marion G. Romney said, "One who gets the understanding, the vision, and the spirit of the resurrected Lord through a careful study of the text Jesus the Christ by Elder James E. Talmage will find that he has greatly increased his moving faith in our glorified Redeemer." This special edition has been completely retypeset for added readability, and for the first time the chapter endnotes have been included with the footnotes for ready reference.

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. In Big Magic, Gilbert offers insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear.

Gilbert discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us.

Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Lene Fogelberg is dying—she is sure of it—but no doctor in Sweden, her home country, believes her. Love stories enfold her, with her husband, her two precious daughters, her enchanting surroundings, but the question she has carried in her heart since childhood—Will I die young?—is threatening all she holds dear, even her sanity.

When her young family moves to the US, an answer, a diagnosis, is finally found: she is in the last stages of a fatal congenital heart disease. But is it too late?

A young woman risks everything to save her own life in this unusual, riveting medical drama crafted with deep emotion and exquisite detail.

Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4,000 hours in space. During this time, he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft.

The secret to Col. Hadfield's success—and survival—is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst and enjoy every moment of it.

In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Col. Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible.

Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks, and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement—and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counterintuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.

You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video, or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Col. Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth—especially your own.

A memoir about three interconnected relationships and three special men in my life. The fact that you're reading this makes me happy. Maybe you've mistaken this for a how-to guide on giving a good happy ending in a sexual self-help book. Maybe you're reading because you have a genuine interest in another's journey. Either way, I'm good.

My journey almost destroyed me. Almost. Boy, have I come to like that word. What a pleasurable word almost can be. You may almost be ready to buy my book. You may almost be ready to begin an amazing new journey of your own. You may almost be over that rainbow Judy Garland sings about. What great potential almost can hold, if you can flip your way of thinking.

Just imagine controlled pessimism, doubt, and fear flipped into blind optimism, faith, and love.

WONDER tells the story of Auggie Pullman: an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, whose first year at school changed the lives and the perspectives of everyone around him.

AUGGIE & ME is a new side to the WONDER story: three new chapters from three different characters - bully Julian, oldest friend Christopher, and classmate Charlotte - giving an insight into how Auggie has touched their own lives.

Thought-provoking, surprising, infuriating, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, AUGGIE & ME is a must-read for the thousands of readers who loved WONDER.

Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.

It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in Rising Strong. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people—from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents—shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid to lean in to discomfort.

Walking into our stories of hurt can feel dangerous. But the process of regaining our footing in the midst of struggle is where our courage is tested and our values are forged. Our stories of struggle can be big ones, like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship, or smaller ones, like a conflict with a friend or colleague. Regardless of magnitude or circumstance, the rising strong process is the same: We reckon with our emotions and get curious about what we’re feeling; we rumble with our stories until we get to a place of truth; and we live this process, every day, until it becomes a practice and creates nothing short of a revolution in our lives.

Rising strong after a fall is how we cultivate wholeheartedness. It’s the process, Brown writes, that teaches us the most about who we are.

I am witnessing a phenomenon. It seems as though a growing group of women entrepreneurs all around the world have discovered the secret to success and happiness in both their lives and careers. It's almost as though there is a hidden, underground world of power-playing females who have all cracked a magical code: they think positively, support one another, and truly believe they can have it all—and you can, too.

There is something dynamic that happens when women genuinely show up for each other. When we lose the facades, when we cut the bullsh*t, and when we truly have each other's backs. When we stop pretending everything is perfect and show the messy, beautiful parts of ourselves and our work that all look awfully similar. When we talk about our fears, our missteps, and our breakdowns. And most importantly, when we share our celebrations, our breakthroughs, and dish on what works.

There is no reason to hoard information, connections, or insight. Wisdom is meant to be shared, so let's start sharing what we've learned to make each other better. Let's start building each other up. Let's live up to our potential and start ruling the world.

GIRL CODE is a roadmap for female entrepreneurs, professional women, "side hustlers" (those with a day job who are building a business on the side), and anyone in between who wants to become a better woman. This book will not teach you how to build a multimillion-dollar business. It won't teach you about systems or operational processes. But it will teach you how to build confidence in yourself, reconnect with your "why," eradicate jealousy, and ultimately learn the power of connection. Because at the end of the day, that's what life and business are all about.

Amid an inferno of explosives on a deadly minefield in the Korean War, a four-legged Marine proved to be a heroic force of nature. She moved headstrong up and down steep, smoky terrain that no man could traverse confidently. In a single day, this small Mongolian mare made fifty-one round-trips, carrying nearly five tons of explosives to various gun sites.

Sergeant Reckless was her name, and she was the horse renowned for carrying wounded soldiers on and off the battlefield and making solo trips across combat zones to deliver supplies.

Hutton has now written the first-ever full biography of Sergeant Reckless, who earned two Purple Hearts for her heroic efforts. Hutton has spoken with the Marines who fought alongside Reckless and tells the complete and captivating tale of how a would-be Korean racehorse became one of the greatest Marine wartime heroes.

Sgt. Reckless brings the legend back to life more than half a century later.

As a boy, he dreamed of being a spy undercover behind enemy lines. As a man, he found himself undercover for God. Brother Andrew was his name, and for decades, his life story, recounted in God's Smuggler, has awed and inspired millions.

This bestseller tells of the young Dutch factory worker's incredible efforts to transport Bibles across closed borders—and the miraculous ways in which God provided for him every step of the way.

Brother Andrew's story remains as inspiring today as it was decades ago, motivating a whole new generation to risk everything to follow God's call.

One of the most influential and well-loved books of Christianity, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis appears here in Penguin Classics in a new translation by Robert Jeffery, with an introduction by Max Von Habsburg, notes, a chronology and further reading.

The Imitation of Christ is a passionate celebration of God's love, mercy and holiness, which has stimulated religious devotion for over five hundred years. With great personal conviction and deep humanity, Thomas à Kempis demonstrates the individual's reliance on God and on the words of Christ, and the futility of a life without faith, as well as exploring the ideas such as humility, compassion, patience and tolerance.

Thomas spent some seventy years of his life in the reclusive environment of monasteries, yet in this astonishing work he demonstrates an encompassing understanding of human nature, while his writing speaks to readers of every age and every nation.

Most of us want to make a difference. We donate our time and money to charities and causes we deem worthy, choose careers we consider meaningful, and patronize businesses and buy products we believe make the world a better place. Unfortunately, we often base these decisions on assumptions and emotions rather than facts. As a result, even our best intentions often lead to ineffective—and sometimes downright harmful—outcomes.

How can we do better? While a researcher at Oxford, trying to figure out which career would allow him to have the greatest impact, William MacAskill confronted this problem head on. He discovered that much of the potential for change was being squandered by lack of information, bad data, and our own prejudice.

As an antidote, he and his colleagues developed effective altruism, a practical, data-driven approach that allows each of us to make a tremendous difference regardless of our resources. Effective altruists believe that it’s not enough to simply do good; we must do good better.

At the core of this philosophy are five key questions that help guide our altruistic decisions:

• How many people benefit, and by how much?
• Is this the most effective thing I can do?
• Is this area neglected?
• What would have happened otherwise?
• What are the chances of success, and how good would success be?

By applying these questions to real-life scenarios, MacAskill shows how many of our assumptions about doing good are misguided. For instance, he argues one can potentially save more lives by becoming a plastic surgeon rather than a heart surgeon; measuring overhead costs is an inaccurate gauge of a charity’s effectiveness; and, it generally doesn’t make sense for individuals to donate to disaster relief.

MacAskill urges us to think differently, set aside biases, and use evidence and careful reasoning rather than act on impulse. When we do this—when we apply the head and the heart to each of our altruistic endeavors—we find that each of us has the power to do an astonishing amount of good.

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

In this profound work, Coates pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, offering a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

First Things First is a guide to managing your time by learning how to balance your life. In this insightful book, Stephen R. Covey presents a principle-centered approach for prioritizing tasks, helping you make the changes and sacrifices needed to achieve happiness and maintain a sense of security.

This book will help you:

• Get more done in less time
• Develop and retain rich relationships
• Attain inner peace
• Create balance in your life
• Put first things first

Covey’s approach is not just about time management, but about knowing what is truly important in life. This book draws from a variety of sources to guide you toward determining just that.

The Hollisters, a bright, spirited, wholesome family, are compelled to move into the country. After many efforts to secure a home, Shirley, eldest of the Hollisters, contrives a way out by renting a magnificent old stone barn at a ridiculously low price, transforming it into a house.

The owner of the barn is not an ordinary landlord, as you will see, for he is a young man with fine ideals. He is not content with simply establishing Shirley and her family in the quaintly beautiful old place, but makes the world a much happier place to live in for all of them.

With four younger siblings to support as well as her invalid mother, since her father died unexpectedly the previous year, Shirley was really up against it. Her tiny secretary's salary could only afford rent for a house that was too small and located in an area with excessive heat, traffic, and pollution. To compound the problems, she had been served notice that the family must move in a few weeks.

This is why a large stone barn outside the city, in a spacious natural setting with cool, fresh air seemed so inviting. The barn's owner, Sidney, was also up against it in trying to get the barn not only in a habitable, but also in a truly homelike and comfortable state without appearing to be offering charity nor compelling an increase in rent.

Shirley completely refused charity of any kind, but was so completely conscientious and loyal in her work, at times jeopardizing her own safety and even risking her life, that abundant help came her way in many forms, leading eventually to property ownership that guaranteed lifetime security for her family.

Along the way she taught Sidney the meaning of inner wealth, which is what he really wanted rather than the haughty, condescending, shallow, superficial, undeserving hypocrisy of some of his rich acquaintances. His curiosity about how someone could really live in a barn came to be richly rewarded. Shirley found that her daring bravery in attempting actual life in a barn was also richly rewarded. As she and Sidney discovered what real wealth was, it wasn't only the barn that was enchanted.

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture, repatriation, and guide her family to freedom.

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal totalitarian regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom. As the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question, and realize that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty, and starvation she witnessed, surely her country could not be, as she had been told, “the best on the planet”?

Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family. She could not return, since rumors of her escape were spreading, and she and her family could incur the punishments of the government authorities – involving imprisonment, torture, and possible public execution.

Hyeonseo instead remained in China and rapidly learned Chinese in an effort to adapt and survive. Twelve years and two lifetimes later, she would return to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea, on one of the most arduous, costly, and dangerous journeys imaginable.

This is the unique story not only of Hyeonseo’s escape from the darkness into the light, but also of her coming of age, education, and the resolve she found to rebuild her life – not once, but twice – first in China, then in South Korea. Strong, brave, and eloquent, this memoir is a triumph of her remarkable spirit.

Werewolf, Monster Romance, Suspense, Inspiring, Edge of your seat

Day by day my resolve is weakening. These wounds won’t kill me, but hopelessness will. In this wretched darkness, I need someone to shed some light.

It has been three years, three excruciating years that it’s even a miracle I’m still alive. Who will share my pain? Who will heal my wounds? But the real question is… who will liberate me? Do I deserve to die in this rotten cell?

I am Comrade, the guardian. Please. Save me.

Zen in the Art of Writing by the celebrated author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles offers inspiration and insight on finding one’s muse and channeling it onto the page. Acclaimed writer of novels and short stories as well as screen- and stage plays, Ray Bradbury has established himself as one of the most legendary voices in science fiction and fantasy.

In Zen in the Art of Writing, he shares how his unbridled passion for creating worlds made him a master of the craft. Part memoir, part philosophical guide, the essays in this book teach the joy of writing. Rather than focusing on the mechanics of putting words together, Bradbury’s zen is found in the celebration of storytelling that drove him to write every day.

Bringing together eleven essays and a series of poems written with his own unique style and fervor, Zen in the Art of Writing is a must-read for all prospective writers and Bradbury fans. Follow the unique path of your instincts and enthusiasms to the place where your inner genius dwells.

We all know that growing up is hard to do, and sometimes the only thing that makes it better are the reassuring words of someone who has walked that bumpy road just a few steps ahead of you and somehow ended up as a fully-functioning adult. Carrie Hope Fletcher is that person.

Thanks to her phenomenally popular YouTube videos, Carrie has become an 'honorary big sister' to hundreds of thousands of young people who turn to her for advice, friendship and, most of all, the knowledge that things will get better.

Carrie has created a safe and positive space for young people to connect and share their hopes and concerns online, and now she shares her most personal thoughts and experiences in her first book, ALL I KNOW NOW. Part memoir, part advice guide, it includes Carrie's thoughts on some of the topics she's asked about most regularly: bullying, body image, relationships, and perhaps the scariest question of all: what does the future hold for me?

With warmth, wit and a sprinkling of hard-won wisdom, Carrie provides the essential tools for growing up gracefully... most of the time.

In this intimate memoir of life beyond the camera, Connor Franta shares the lessons he has learned on his journey from small-town boy to Internet sensation—so far.

Here, Connor offers a look at his Midwestern upbringing as one of four children in the home and one of five in the classroom; his struggles with identity, body image, and sexuality in his teen years; and his decision to finally pursue his creative and artistic passions in his early twenties, setting up his thrilling career as a YouTube personality, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and tastemaker.

Exploring his past with insight and humor, his present with humility, and his future with hope, Connor reveals his private struggles while providing heartfelt words of wisdom for young adults. His words will resonate with anyone coming of age in the digital era, but at the core is a timeless message for people of all ages: don’t be afraid to be yourself and to go after what you truly want.

This full-color collection includes photography and childhood clippings provided by Connor and is a must-have for anyone inspired by his journey.

In this beautiful and lucid guide, Dr. Amit Ray presents a holistic, integrated, lifestyle-oriented approach to meditation. With penetrating insights and wisdom, Ray reveals an integrated framework of meditation for living a happy and meaningful life. The book explains the bigger picture of meditation as well as step-by-step techniques of meditation.

By presenting the key meditation concepts clearly, Dr. Ray enables readers to walk into the higher levels of meditation. Written in clear and concise language, and beautifully illustrated, the book is enjoyable to read and easy to practice. As you practice these meditations, a long-lasting sense of well-being manifests in your life. You may notice a sense of joyfulness entering your life along with an ability to appreciate the many gifts that surround you.

This book will help both beginners and advanced practitioners of meditation.

The Opposite of Loneliness is an affecting and hope-filled posthumous collection of essays and stories from the talented young Yale graduate whose title essay captured the world’s attention in 2012. Tragically, just five days after graduating magna cum laude from Yale, Marina Keegan passed away in a car crash.

Her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, “The Opposite of Loneliness,” went viral, resonating deeply with many. Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation.

This assemblage of Marina’s essays and stories articulates the universal struggle we all face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world.

Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives.

Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable, or to dare greatly. Whether the arena is a new relationship, an important meeting, our creative process, or a difficult family conversation, we must find the courage to walk into vulnerability and engage with our whole hearts.

In Daring Greatly, Dr. Brown challenges everything we think we know about vulnerability. Based on twelve years of research, she argues that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement, and meaningful connection. This book will spark a new spirit of truth—and trust—in our organizations, families, schools, and communities.

In "David and Goliath," Malcolm Gladwell explores the complex and surprising ways the weak can defeat the strong, and the small can match up against the giant. He delves into how our goals, often culturally determined, can significantly influence our ultimate sense of success.

Drawing upon examples from the world of business, sports, culture, and cutting-edge psychology, this book is filled with an array of unforgettable characters from around the world. Gladwell examines the hidden dynamics that shape the balance of power between the small and the mighty, challenging conventional thinking about power and advantage.

From the conflicts in Northern Ireland to the tactics of civil rights leaders, and the problem of privilege, "David and Goliath" demonstrates how we often misunderstand the true meaning of advantage and disadvantage. It's a brilliant, illuminating book that overturns conventional thinking about power and advantage.

People commit suicide not because they are in grief, but because they were unable to solve the lateral equations of insanity.

The world has observed a number of acts of brutality in the form of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. Some of the major cases in recent past were of Elizabeth Pena, Rehtaeh Parsons, Oksana Makar, and Nirvaya, to name a few.

Some victims manage to survive, but not all. They live in grief for the rest of their lives, and if not, they QUIT.

This work is inspired by such cases where the victims have set examples by their life from grief to victory. They can inspire you if you or someone near you is in grief.

Powerful, inspirational, and hopeful tweets that encourage, motivate, and speak to your spirit. We all want to feel happy and hopeful every day. And we're fascinated by others who seem to be. How do they do it? How can we do it, too?

Maintaining a positive attitude can be challenging when we're often bombarded with negative thinking and alarming news headlines. Written for readers who are concerned about personal growth, The Hope Handbook focuses attention on YOU being in control of what you can control - your thoughts and your attitude. This book challenges you to take responsibility for your own happiness and change the way you allow negative thoughts to enter your mind.

Is there hope? Yes. It is possible to be completely fulfilled in life. Understand that hope begets hope. The more uplifting and encouraging words you inhale, the more positive you become. Personal growth is directly related to what we think about and the types of messages we receive into our spirit. Therefore, you are what you read.

This collection of insightful, empowering tweets is jammed with good advice, wise ideas, important reminders, and words of hope to carry you through your day, week, month, and the rest of your life. Here's what you'll find: perspective, inspiration, insight and focus points to help you commit to set new achievable objectives leading you to greater happiness and prosperity.

Here's wishing you lots of HOPE and much SUCCESS. Enjoy!

Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?

I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.

Meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one. They both happened anyway. Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life. Fighting for my career. Fighting the impending silence. Fighting for her.

Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her. I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.

Walking with the Wind is an eloquent, epic firsthand account of the civil rights movement by a man who lived it—an American hero whose courage, vision, and dedication helped change history. The son of an Alabama sharecropper, and now a sixth-term United States Congressman, John Lewis has led an extraordinary life, one that found him at the epicenter of the civil rights movement in the late '50s and '60s.

As Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis was present at all the major battlefields of the movement. Arrested more than forty times and severely beaten on several occasions, he was one of the youngest yet most courageous leaders. Written with charm, warmth, and honesty, Walking with the Wind offers rare insight into the movement and the personalities of all the civil rights leaders—what was happening behind the scenes, the infighting, struggles, and triumphs.

Lewis takes us from the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he led more than five hundred marchers on what became known as "Bloody Sunday." While there have been exceptional books on the movement, there has never been a front-line account by a man like John Lewis.

A new cover and fresh updates enrich Elizabeth George's bestselling A Woman After God's Own Heart® (over 735,000 copies sold). This very popular selection for personal and group study is filled with rich advice, spiritual wisdom, and practical applications. With passion and personality, Elizabeth George shares how a woman can follow God and seek His heart in every area of her life:

• Her husband
• Her children
• Her home
• Her walk with the Lord
• Her ministry

There is peace and purpose for the woman who prepares her heart and mind to embrace God's plan every day. This new look will complement the other bestselling Elizabeth George titles loved by millions of women.

The Little Engine That Could is the inspiring tale of a train filled with toys and gifts for little boys and girls, which breaks down before reaching the children. After asking several passing trains for help over the hill, a little blue train agrees to help the stranded toys.

Even though she is small, the blue train tries her best to bring the toys to the children on the other side of the hill. This timeless classic is cherished by readers for its message of determination and perseverance, captured in the iconic phrase, "I think I can, I think I can."

Pay It Forward is a wondrous and moving novel about Trevor McKinney, a twelve-year-old boy in a small California town who accepts a challenge from his teacher. This challenge offers a chance to earn extra credit by coming up with a plan to change the world for the better—and to put that plan into action.

The idea that Trevor comes up with is so simple and so naive that when others learn of it, they are dismissive. Even Trevor himself begins to doubt when his "pay it forward" plan seems to founder on a combination of bad luck and the worst of human nature.

In the end, Pay It Forward is the story of seemingly ordinary people made extraordinary by the simple faith of a child. It is a story of hope for today and for many tomorrows to come.

Rita Pam has been devoting her time of late to writing. This time, she's penned a prayer book and shared some of her powerful prayers with the world.

Some of these prayers have helped Rita discern and given her wisdom in very difficult situations as well as helped her to tell a true friend from a false friend. Some of these prayers have helped her find lost articles and earned GOD's favour.

It's no wonder Rita receives instant answers to her prayers. When said in a state of grace, these prayers are sure to bring you closer to JESUS and closer to peace and joy which is the LORD Himself.

Don't miss this book.

Just Perfect is a grippingly honest account of love and friendship, betrayal and trust, anorexia and the fight for a better tomorrow. Through her engaging and well-paced work, 18-year-old Hanne Arts provides a helping hand to young adults with mental illnesses worldwide.

When sixteen-year-old Christina Jacobs comes to school one day and discovers that life will never be the same again, she soon finds herself sinking away into the bottomless pit of a depression and eating disorder, haunted by her troubled thoughts and experiences and striving for acceptance. Fate was never easy on her, having given her an appearance far from desirable and a family situation far from the norm. But when she is forced to face it all on her own, forced to battle her inner demons, she knows she needs to give all she's got to fight her way back to the surface and get her life back on track.

The mind guides our footsteps as we progress along the pathway of life. Purity of mind leads inevitably to purity of life, to the precious love and understanding that should control our everyday acts and attitudes towards friends and foes. But where must one look for guidance? How does one achieve purity of mind that alone brings happiness and confidence?

The author offers his clear answers in this book As A Man Thinketh. His words have helped millions for more than a century--and they continue to point the true way to a better life for a troubled humanity. "Out of a clean heart comes a clean life and a clean body," James Allen writes. "Out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and a corrupt body." Too many mortals strive to improve only their worldly position--and too few seek spiritual betterment. Such is the problem James Allen faced in his own time. The ideas he found in his inner-most heart after great searching guided him as they will guide you.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is a powerful true story that showcases the potential for mercy to redeem us and serves as a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice. Written by one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time, Bryan Stevenson, this book is a testament to his dedication to fighting for justice and equality.

Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. This case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Just Mercy is not only an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age but also a moving window into the lives of those he has defended. It is an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.

Just Around The Bend: Más o Menos explores the intriguing concept that just beyond our current reach lies everything we've been eagerly anticipating—world peace, winning the lottery, and a blissful retirement. However, the energy and drive needed to enjoy these blessings, should they manifest, seem to have been left behind in our past.

The buzzword is 'Now', yet we often find ourselves on either side of it. Caught up in the rituals of daily life, we rarely pause to ponder profound questions like 'Know Thyself' and 'Who am I?' Perhaps we've missed something along the way or prefer to live with the mystery, content with superficial 'poster' philosophy.

If 'poster' philosophy leaves you feeling dissatisfied, then this book, covering a range of mind-stretching topics, might be just what you’re looking for.

The Yellow World is not just a memoir; it's a journey into a vibrant way of living. Albert Espinosa, diagnosed with cancer at thirteen, spent a decade in and out of hospitals. Through this experience, he discovered a world full of hope and resilience, which he calls 'the yellow world.'

In this rich and rewarding book, Espinosa shares his most touching, funny, and tragic memories with the hope that others, whether healthy or sick, can draw strength and vitality from them. He takes us into a place where fear loses its meaning, where strangers become allies, and where the lessons learned nourish you for life.

Espinosa's narrative is both uplifting and insightful, providing a simple philosophy that has the makings of a spiritual classic. The yellow world is a world within everyone's reach, a world the color of the sun, where life is seen through a lens of positivity and possibility.