By the time he was thirteen, he already had attended thirteen funerals.
Abandoned by his mother, and with his father, “Mangy” Menginie—president of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, Philadelphia chapter—in jail, Anthony “LT” Menginie is raised inside the Pagans and inducted into a life of sex, violence, drugs, and organized crime.
In Mangy’s absence, LT finds a father figure in the Saint, a club member who helps teach him the difference between the club members you respect…and those you fear. The author recounts the power struggles that occur when Mangy is released from jail and tries to resume his role as father and president. Soon all hell breaks loose when Mangy betrays the club by going over to the rival Hells Angels, helping to touch off the “Biker Wars” in Philadelphia. The chapter’s new president grooms LT to one day confront his father for his treachery. Faced with an impossible decision, LT has to decide where his loyalties lie.
Prodigal Father, Pagan Son is a voyeuristic glimpse into the shocking and hypnotic underworld of notorious “one-percenter” biker clubs, hit men, drug dealers, and the other individuals who operate under no other rules than the “club code.” But more than this, Menginie’s story is the gritty and powerful true tale of surviving amid personal trials and tragedies, and of one man’s determination to escape to a better life.
The Accidental Anarchist is the true story of Jacob Marateck, an Orthodox Jew who was sentenced to death 3 times in the early 1900s in Russia -- and lived to tell about it. He also happened to have been the author's grandfather.
The book is based on the diaries Marateck began keeping in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War, a time when anti-Semitism was the official government policy. This meant that the men under Marateck’s command in the Russian army often wanted to kill him at least as much as the enemy did. But it was seeing so many young lives squandered in a war that was declared merely to delay the inevitable revolution that led Marateck to join the underground movement that sought to overthrow Czar Nicholas II, actions that resulted in a 3rd death sentence.
Elie Wiesel called The Accidental Anarchist "...a profound testament to the faith and continued survival of the Jewish people." The book’s uniqueness lies not only in its eyewitness account of pivotal events in world history, but the fact that the book retains Marateck’s unique voice, which is filled with humor and optimism despite the circumstances, and helped him survive.
Painstakingly honest, this chilling memoir reveals how a teenager became immersed in the bizarre life of legendary porn star John Holmes. Starting with a childhood that molded her perfectly to fall for the seduction of “the king of porn,” this autobiography recounts the perilous road that Dawn Schiller traveled—from drugs and addiction to beatings, arrests, forced prostitution, and being sold to the drug underworld. After living through the horrific Wonderland murders of 1981, she entered protective custody, ran from the FBI, and turned in John Holmes to the police. This is the true story of a young girl’s harrowing escape from one of the most infamous public figures, her struggle to survive, and her recovery from unthinkable abuse.
Paul M. Kendel (SSG Ret.) deployed with his National Guard unit out of Georgia to Iraq in 2005 hoping to use his knowledge of that land to bridge the gap between American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. However, the realities of war crushed his idealism when his buddies began dying at the hands of the enemy six weeks after their arrival. Eventually, his ongoing concern for the Iraqi people alienated some of his comrades, and he felt the sting of growing conflict within himself.
Turning to the books on Buddhist teachings he had brought with him, he found solace in the written words, but he longed for more. On a whim, he emailed Shambhala International and requested assistance. An unexpected response and ongoing support from Buddhist teacher and meditation instructor Margot Neuman helped him to retain a sane and humble humanity in a situation that often plummeted into lethal insanity.
This book addresses the horrors of war from an extraordinary human perspective. SSG. Kendel did not lose his compassion in the face of grave risk, nor did he endanger fellow soldiers while he remained true to himself—rare feats in our violent world.
For the past twenty-five years, no one has been better at revealing secrets than Oprah Winfrey. On what is arguably the most influential show in television history, she has gotten her guests—often the biggest celebrities in the world—to bare their love lives, explore their painful pasts, admit their transgressions, reveal their pleasures, and explore their demons. In turn, Oprah has repeatedly allowed her audience to share in her own life story, opening up about the sexual abuse in her past and discussing her romantic relationships, her weight problems, her spiritual beliefs, her charitable donations, and her strongly held views on the state of the world.
In this memoir, Roland Mesnier, pastry chef to five presidents, recalls the stunning desserts he created for White House State Dinners, formal events, and family celebrations. A Sweet World of White House Desserts features full-color images of the one-of-a-kind creations and Chef Mesnier’s stories about the people and places that inspired them.
The famous gingerbread White House, a frequent State Dining Room holiday showcase, grew out of the simple models Mesnier crafted for the first family’s Christmas celebrations. Together with his blown-sugar confections and molded chocolate sculptures, they are a unique chapter in the history of dining in the President’s House.
Mesnier was born in rural, post-World War II France and was one of nine children. He began his career as a pastry apprentice at the age of 12 and made his way up, working at many of the world’s prestigious hotels. He came to the White House during the Carter administration and remained until his retirement in 2004.
Over 130 black and white photographs and text, highlight the years from 1951, to images of Monet’s garden taken in 2007. Joan has photographed Martin Luther King in 1962, and President Barack Obama during his campaign in 2007. Her images document the people who have worked for civil rights in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the 1960s, as well as many photographs showing women’s roles during the last half of the twentieth century.
At age 22, Joan photographed the birth of her first son. Initially the photographs were rejected nationwide by magazines as unfit to print, although the only medically graphic image was her baby with the umbilical cord still attached. The Des Moines Register’s Picture Magazine published the photographic series as subsequently LOOK magazine used the essay, and LIFE used one photograph. This series is in the autobiography, called one of the outstanding photographic essays of the 1950s.
Two of her photographs, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are in the book. They are of Nan Wood Graham, model for the painting American Gothic (1975) and one of the Junior League Christmas Party (1962). As a photographer for The Des Moines Register and The Iowan, Joan covered Iowa’s ethnic groups and farm life in four states for children’s educational books showing Iowa cornbelt farming, Wisconsin dairy farming, Texas cotton farming, and apple growers in Washington. Her sixty-plus-year career as a photographer gives insight into her three marriages and family background.
His plan was to stay in Iowa, maybe get a job counting ducks, or do a little farming. But events conspired to fling Carter Niemeyer westward and straight into the jaws of wolves. From his early years wrangling ornery federal trappers, eagles and grizzlies, to winning a skinning contest that paved the way for wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies, Carter Niemeyer reveals the wild and bumpy ride that turned a trapper - a killer - into a champion of wolves. Introduction by Nicholas Evans (The Horse Whisperer). A riveting, absorbing adventure. 374 pages/illustrated.
In 1974, as a 12-year-old growing up in Minneapolis, Polly Letofsky was inspired by a Minnesota man who had become the first man to walk around the world. Twenty-five years later, she left her home in Colorado, to begin her life-long dream to walk around the world. Letofsky s five-year adventure would take her across four continents, 22 countries and more than 14,000 miles. Touched by several family members and friends who had breast cancer, she also shared her passion for increasing awareness of the disease and raised more than $250,000 for various breast cancer programs throughout the world. Letofsky s long-awaited book, 3MPH: The Adventures of One Woman s Walk Around the World, is filled with humor, drama, adventure, and most of all, inspiration. With razor-sharp observation, she writes with complete honesty, taking her readers through the pain and glory of being a woman in search of all that the world had to offer. Throughout her global travels, strangers welcomed Letofsky into their homes, shared meals and embraced her and her mission. However, two years into her journey and while in her first Muslim country -- 9/11 slammed us all into a crossroads in world history. Overnight she found herself in the middle of a vastly changing world, suddenly no longer just a woman walking for women, but clearly an American woman, with a Jewish name, walking through Muslim countries, talking about breasts. Readers of Letofskys book praise her rich, anecdotal, storytelling style, full of comedic dialogue. With wit, a little bite, and a self effacing style, she takes her readers through the pain and glory of being a woman in search of all that the world had to offer. From the outpouring of generosity and support for Letofsky, to the earthquakes, riots and the unwanted advances by men that she endured in some countries, readers experience the world through her amazing journey.
The adventurous, humorous, sometimes wonderfully strange exploits of a youth during his family's adjustment to a new world, these compelling boyhood memories are of an almost Tom Swayer character, albeit with ironic Yiddish twists.
Fleeing from the Nazi invasion of France, the Engelhards, a proud and wealthy family, are forced to adjust to life as common refugees in Canada. Highlighted by a youth's adventures as his eyes open up to his new world, the eighteen compelling short stories combine both the urgency of the family's circumstances with the ironic side of trying to fit into a new culture.
With themes of humiliation, intimidation, and alienation, this powerful book illustrates how the Holocaust did not end in 1945, but continued to reverberate through successive decades, even until the present day.
In Saginaw, Michigan—a city plagued with gang violence—Officer Joaquin Guerrero sensed God’s call to work the dangerous night streets. Using Rookie as his mascot he created Precinct 131, a program for kids to “say no to gangs, guns, drugs, and violence,” in a city that ranks #1 in violent crime per capita. School kids across the area bonded with Rookie, an affable German shepherd, and collected Rookie dolls, puppies, and patches.
On 9/11 Officer Guerrero and Rookie responded to Ground Zero to help in the search efforts. The devastation took Joaquin to his knees. In the days that followed Joaquin and Rookie spent 12- and 14-hour days on ‘the pile’. Because of his unusual name, New York firefighters renamed Joaquin ‘Michigan’, which he added to his helmet. During downtime Rookie worked as a therapy dog to big burly ironworkers and firemen. After returning home Rookie developed an aggressive form of cancer and died. K9 handlers from all across Michigan attended his honorary memorial service.
Michigan & Rookie is a look at Rookie’s eight-year career, told through the POV of this K9 hero and his handler. This book was written in dedication to K9 handlers and their loyal partners all across America who often go unnoticed, yet continue to respond above and beyond the call in service to their communities...and their country.
"Don't let where you came from dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you become." These are the words of successful entrepreneur Robert Renteria who grew up as an infant sleeping in a dresser drawer. This poignant and often hard-hitting comic memoir traces Robert's life from a childhood of poverty and abuse in one of the poorest areas of East Los Angeles, to his proud emergence as a business owner and civic leader today. Along the way, Robert paints a vivid portrait of the numerous people who influenced his life and the forces that dragged him down—gangs, doing and dealing drugs, an alcohol and drug addicted father that abandoned the family, a sometimes abusive stepfather and climbing the broken ladder of corporate America.
This book continues on the journey of Jim Bovay, a young competitive gymnast who first sets his sights on Olympic gold and then when fate steps in, aims for the circus instead. This volume takes Jim on the road with his partner, GB the clown, and the reader experiences his misadventures on the road, and his ultimate arrival in Sarasota.
Jim Bovay has spent a lifetime learning and then working as a circus acrobat. He also owned his own show until he suffered a stroke at the age of forty four. It was during his recovery that he made the decision to write about his experiences. Growing up in the rough streets of St. John, Oregon, a district of Portland, he knew that he had to use his body as well as his mind in order to survive. Using gymnastics to build his physique, he aligned himself with a few key personalities in St Johns. Soon the Olympics were in his sights. When fate stepped in he then switched his goals and set his sights on a career as a circus acrobat. During his youth he also studied classical guitar as well as classical ballet; the ballet to enhance his gymnastics performance. He also earned a college degree.
Needless to say, he was and is a driven and determined man. He has continued all three of his pursuits. Now living in Florida he continues to practice his acrobatics, ballet and music while still finding time to write.
Kenny Knight is a multi-talented musician performing artist and writer who owns Knight Pro Music a music and multimedia production company.
His book, Unknown Rockstar, is his story told in a manner that on one side gives insight into Kenny himself but also gives insight into what it takes to be successful in the music industry.
Going for a walk should be fun. So should studying biology, after all, without it we wouldn't be alive to experience the rapture, sorrow and mystery of the universe. Biodesign Out For A Walk, is a story of how spirit-sensitive students reprogrammed a left-brained biology teacher and took him on a 24-year odyssey. Following the footsteps of John Muir, they slept on the top of Yosemite's famous Half Dome. They followed Loren Eiseley and John Wesley Powell to the bottom of Grand Canyon. Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck led them into forests and tide pools of California's beautiful Mendocino coast. Abraham Maslow challenged them to redefine science and religion. Ralph Emerson challenged them to write their own Bibles. They traced the origins of human spirituality back 100,000 years. The class was dedicated to studying biology by exercising the illimitable freedom of the human mind. Plato urged them to actively search for truth, beauty and goodness.
They studied the works of scientists, sages, poets and saints to add to their growing concept of Mother Nature. Many synchronicities were discovered that were either playful, mysterious or scary.
Socrates', "The unexamined life is not worth living," and Thoreau's, "I went to the woods to live deliberately," became mottos. Although each class lasted one academic year, the teacher was guided by students for 24 years and his adventure ended when a modern-day Moses mysteriously met him on top of Half Dome.
Most of us are familiar with the modern-day struggle for acceptance and equality in the non-heterosexual community. Even now, judgment, persecution, and rejection cause great pain and suffering. But imagine being a woman who is “wired differently”…and born in 1876. Hattie is the true story of that woman. You will read about her life from 1880 to 1890 among the Sioux Indians on a South Dakota reservation, and then you will read about that same girl, at the age of twenty-six, moving to Chicago. Once in Chicago, Hattie takes a step that many would find unthinkable even today: she abandons her former identity as an attractive woman, and embraces her heart’s desire, to become a man. You will experience Hattie’s relationship with her father, and what that means to her as she transforms into Alfred D. Fuller, operating a newspaper in a very small town in North Dakota from 1912 to 1946. And you will share in the wonder and the joy of Hattie’s marriage to another woman, Inez, in 1910. This uniquely fascinating story is enriched with family photographs, including a tintype of the family from 1880, and the wedding photo of Alfred Fuller and “his” wife, Inez.
Jim Stewart, a survivor of the Titanic 1970s, has written a wonderful memoir revealing how South of Market became hip SoMa in San Francisco. Leading a lusty life surfing the first wave of gay liberation up to HIV, he is an uninhibited writer spilling personal tales of sex, art, and friendship during that first decade of Gay Liberation after Stonewall. As carpenter, he designed and constructed the sexy interiors of Folsom Street leather bars as well as of Fey-Way Studio, the first gay art gallery in San Francisco, where as photographer he exhibited his work on the walls he built.
A pioneer settler in SoMa, he was fast friends with poet-singer Camille O’Grady, the leading lady of Folsom Street leather; with Oscar-Streaker Robert Opel who was murdered in his own Fey-Way gallery; with author Jack Fritscher and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe; with painter Chuck Arnett and porn mogul David Hurles; and with many other talents creating gay culture in San Francisco’s influential Drummer Salon. As early as 1977, Drummer magazine published Stewart’s leather photography. Folsom Street Blues continues his gift for words and images with manic, funny, and heartfelt profiles of real people who lived as if 1970s San Francisco were 1930s Berlin.
The events in Virginia Lee’s life were unique and she believed that many of the things that happened to her were caused by unexplained phenomena. When you read her memoir, you’ll see that she truly saw things differently than other people and you, too, will wonder if what happened to her was just coincidence or was something else. Virginia’s daughter is now telling the story of her mother’s life. The result is The Highest Peak, which has been taken from the memoir Virginia Lee began writing in 1965 and finished in 1969.
When fighter-pilot hero Wendel Nelson died in action during World War II, he left a legacy that would see his son follow him into the skies. The Contrail Chronicles tells the story of this remarkable father and son. As Hitler’s assault on Europe ramps up, Wendel tries to enter the Air Force, but is rejected for poor eyesight. The Canadians are less picky, and Wendel ends up flying some of the most dangerous missions of the war. His untimely death in a snowstorm accident feeds young Dick’s hunger to honor his father’s memory, and weeks before his 18th birthday, he enlists in the U.S. Navy. What follows is an extraordinary career as Dick navigates the waters of the U.S. Naval Academy, flight training, service in Vietnam and a transition to civilian life as a commercial pilot and litigation attorney. Frank, moving, and at times uproariously funny, this is the true-life story of the commitment, survival, hope and disappointment of a patriotic American family. More than an autobiography, The Contrail Chronicles is a guidebook to a rarely seen world of military honor and its larger-than-life personalities and pranks. Nelson leads readers through the origin of his own character, tempered with an endearingly sarcastic and rebellious sense of humor that will stick with you long after the book is closed.
David Koop had it all—a storied business career, beautiful son, and prospects as far as the eye could see. Then a surprise cancer diagnosis turned his life upside down. It was osteo sarcoma—a form of bone cancer—and it was growing on his spine. Doctors told him to get his affairs in order. More than three years later, Koop continues to beat the odds. Cancer: It’s a Good Thing I Got It! is his eye-opening account of a remarkable journey through hospitals, treatments, friendships and emotions as he struggles to maintain a positive attitude and will to live. In this frank and uncensored look at one man’s battle with cancer, Koop reflects on his life before and after the diagnosis. The surprising conclusion will leave you awed at the strength of the human spirit: far from a death sentence, the medical woes unleash a powerful self-assessment that leads Koop to a whole new sense of purpose—and the love he has sought all his life. Full of humor and occasional grief, this memoir of a life still in progress will move you to make changes for the better. You’ll come away inspired to live your life to the fullest and embrace the gift of personal relationships. And you’ll find hope for meeting the unexpected challenges that can strike when you least expect.
Problems in the field persist. Yet—with appropriate use of new psychiatric drugs plus improved psychotherapeutic techniques—in our lifetime we’ve seen more than 800,000 patients freed from the warehouses of state mental hospitals.
This new volume is a compelling chronicle of how we have advanced from abysmal attempts to deal with the mentally ill to the prospect of hope, relief, and even cure.
The family was changed by a boy-a stubborn, relentless, infuriating-but ingenious and creative boy. He was the first in a family of six children, with parents who initially balked at his fantasies. Yet almost everything that captured the world's attention-double-decker bicycles, international hang gliding records, the drama of "flying" a motorcycle, a British championship won by landing on one foot-all these were part of young Bob Wills's singular vision. Prevailing against all the people who called him impractical, a dreamer, Bobby became a legend in the fledgling sport of hang gliding. Sports Illustrated wrote of him, "Like Paul Elvstrom, the great Danish sailor, he seems now to own a special part of the wind that not even he can see and no one else can find." In the end, Bobby not only profoundly changed his family and the pilots who flocked to emulate him,he did what he'd intended all along. He lived a life that had never been lived before.
Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998) is the foremost representative of the “Perennialist” or “Traditionalist” school of comparative religious thought. Michael Fitzgerald’s book is the most comprehensive biographical study of Schuon to date—one which shows how Schuon expressed his message not only in his majestic metaphysical works but in poetry, in painting, and in the disciplines of daily life. Appropriate and concise quotations from Schuon’s articles, books, memoirs, and correspondence are combined with a wealth of reliable information from people who knew Schuon well. Readers are thus given valuable tools to help clarify and deepen their understanding of Frithjof Schuon’s life and works. With more than a dozen color illustrations and over 40 sepia photographs, this biography should become a standard reference work for all future studies of Schuon.
In "Penny Loafers & Bobby Pins," the four Sanvidge sisters, whose birthdates span the Baby Boomer period, present a lively chronicle of growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in a small midwestern town. Each sister writes about the facets of her childhood she remembers best, and their lighthearted stories are illustrated with period photos. Sprinkled with mentions of pedal pushers, home permanents, and "two-tone" cars; early TV shows and the first rock and roll; hula hoops, Tiny Tears, and Mr. Potato Head (played with a real potato); and memories of their grandparents who lived nearby, "Penny Loafers & Bobby Pins" also features "how-tos" for re-creating the fads, foods, crafts, and games the Sanvidge sisters recall in their stories.
Shanise Craft was born and raised among the harsh realities of an environment dominated by alcohol, drug use, welfare, and single motherhood. But none of that stopped her from dreaming a seemingly impossible dream. She was determined to succeed, rise above her environment, and break dark curses that gripped her family for years. Though she was focused and driven, her journey did not go quite as planned. After two destructive relationships, Shanise found herself raising four children alone. Never giving up on herself or her children, she knew she had to move in a new direction. Shanise thought she had it all but was quick to learn how easy material items could be gone in a blink of an eye. Without warning her life began to fall apart. General manager of a successful luxury car dealership....gone! She lost her home and even her church home...both gone! But God wasn't finished with her and his plans were yet to be revealed. Plans so overwhelming they tested her faith. Through each round of loss, Shanise realized more each time how God wanted the best for her. It was time to do away with old things, before new blessings would flow in abundance. Shanise Craft continued to dream with her eyes wide open, her faith remaining a driving force behind an inspirational story. God redirected her course while in the midst of her ever-changing world... transforming the impossible into the possible.
This essay by Helen Keller expresses her deep gratitude to Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish seer, who had a profound influence on her spiritual life. In it she talks about the importance of love and truth in a world filled with materialism and selfishness, and the joy that comes from true understanding.
Her great advice on how she would help the world is to have people read Swedenborg's writings and thereby overcome the many problems of the human condition. She states, "It would be such a joy to me if I might be the instrument of bringing Swedenborg to a world that is spiritually deaf and blind." Her words are interwoven with photographs of her life and quotes from Swedenborg on spiritual topics. This book will be a treasure for readers who already know and respect Helen Keller and an inspiration for those who do not.
Stumbling Into Infinity is the intimate and sometimes startling account of Michael Fischman’s spiritual journey and the encounter that changed his life forever.
His story opens on a flight to India, as he reflects on the unusual chain of events that led him from a challenging childhood to his unexpected role as friend and helper to a renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader.
Michael Fischman’s fascinating and personal memoir takes us into the compassionate and mysterious world of an enlightened seer. It is a compelling narrative that blends remarkable experiences with an inner struggle and search for meaning.
Raised in a working-class white family by his biological mother and an adoptive father, Michael Fosberg, age thirty, upon hearing the news of their divorce, decides to search for the long-lost biological father he's never known. Armed solely with a name and a city, he tracks him down and discovers his father's true identity. This life-changing event leads to a remarkable journey of family and self-discovery. In a provocative and gripping tale of identity, race, and family history, Fosberg probes his past, his family's reaction, and our country's difficulty in understanding and discussing identity, race, and heritage.
The author started his early life as an avowed atheist yet while suffering a disease which a doctor termed fatal, a spirit appeared and told him he would not die. His great-grandmother, a Seer, predicted his life, but he refused to believe her-until it started happening. Doors opened as if by magic. Work in a unique film studio in England, living in a desert tent in Egypt, an act in a local variety show got him into professional broadcasting, journalism and news photography. He became an international correspondent meeting kings and killers. One gunman saved his life-twice. He was arrested in Baghdad for photographing kings eating and in Cyprus he scooped a major Press award for a newspicture. Strange Cosmic energies called kinks stopped him from being in a major British train crash and sailing on a troopship that sank. A spirit voice warned him of an air attack and again saved him from walking through a Lebanese minefield. The voice warned him as bullets smashed through his hotel room.
When the mother of three little girls commits suicide, their father wants more than anything to keep his family together. He remarries in haste and tells his daughters his new wife is their mother. The youngest, Laura, believes her mother must have gone through a kind of magical transformation.
Reversible Skirt is written from Laura’s perspective as a child sifting through remnants of her mother’s existence and struggling to fit into a community where her family’s strict rules are not the norm. When Laura’s father dies, her stepmother grows increasingly abusive, which propels Laura and her sisters into a lasting alliance.
Their father’s wish that they stay together comes true, although not in the way he’d imagined.
Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. Women's Studies. DRAWING THE LINE is the story of personal adventure and redemption, tracing a life lived continually on the edge between chaos and harmony, tragedy and joy. Beyond her recounting of extraordinary places and events, Susan Gardner gives us a perceptive, generational voice. She recalls pivotal decades of societal change and touches on basic themes of human experience that are universal and timeless. Spanning six decades and various countries of East Asia, Europe and Mexico, it tells of a precocious child driven to excel and to escape a turbulent, combative home life. We experience the struggles and accomplishments of a uniquely gifted woman as she overcomes official strictures and domestic discord to become an accomplished artist. Ultimately, we see her break free of old patterns and constraints to live the joyous complexity of personal fulfillment and the promise of a new beginning.
As a young girl living on the small South Korean island of Koje Do, Choon-Ok Jade Harmon faced a dismal situation. She was the youngest of seven siblings in a large, destitute family that could not afford food, medical care, or coal for the frigid winters. They expected her to follow in the footsteps of a traditional Korean woman, but Harmon wrote her own destiny. Because of her will to survive and succeed, Harmon is now the highest-ranking woman in the Korean martial art system of Kuk Sool Won, with a Ninth-Degree Black Belt. Harmon discovered her path to economic independence and self-fulfillment while watching a martial arts class in the South Korean city of Pusan and decided to dedicate her life to training and teaching Kuk Sool Won, despite the opposition from her family and other martial arts masters.
From the streets of Los Angeles, as a teenage runaway waitressing at The House of Pies, to the catwalks of Paris, France working as a model/muse to Chanel, YSL, and Christian LaCroix, Lorelei Shellist has led a life full of gritty and glamorous extremes.
Her story at the surface may seem all glitz and glam, but it's beauty runs deep. It 's every woman's quest for strength, hope, happiness, understanding and inner-peace.
Rebellious, headstrong, independent and on her own at 15 - Lorelei dreamed of being a model. She made that happen through determination and serendipity; a chance meeting with a '70s Southern California Rock Star opened the A-list Hollywood doors to a wondrous world, as well as a full-blown romance.
Pounding the pavement in L.A. and New York taught her the hard knocks of being a working class model. Fortitude and sheer will jetted her off to Europe where she met the doomed love her life; fiancé Steve Clark of Def Leppard.
Theirs was a relationship mired in dizzying highs and bottomless lows, as she watched Steve drink and drug himself to death, and caught herself in the wake of his spiraling cycle of addiction and depression, unable to help.
Ultimately fleeing and finding the strength to save herself, Lorelei shares her candid, blatant truth of how she survived the greatest loss in her life, the aftermath and the determination to not only survive, but to heal her-self, and help to heal others.
Runway Runaway is highlighted by never-before-seen photos of the music and fashion industries, hand written journal entries, agenda pages, and backstage passes illustrating the story of neglected child turned teenage runaway who follows her dreams to become an international model, eventually finding herself in the process.
There is an ever growing library of memoirs and biographies of professional football players. What is far more infrequent is a candid memoir penned by the wife of a professional football player. "Football Wife: Coming of Age with the NFL as Mrs. Karl Kassulke" is an exceptional example of just such an autobiography.
"Football Wife" is a story that incorporates drug abuse, alcoholism, marital infidelity, the impact of the cult of personality. It is also a personal history of a series of medical problems that began when Adams suffered a head injury in a traffic accident in 1985; spinal problems and a paralyzed leg in 2002; an undiagnosed severe illness in Russia in 2007 only to be followed by a diagnosis of cancer later that same year; reconstructive foot surgery in 2010; and the necessity of a pacemaker installed in 2011.
In "Football Wife" the reader is informed of the good times and the bad times, it is an remarkable account of struggle, failure, and ultimate redemption. A gripping read from beginning to end, "Football Wife" is deftly written, keenly insightful, occasionally inspiring, the singular life of a singular woman, and especially recommended reading for anyone struggling with familial issues complicated by medical traumas, and impacted by celebrity, success, and the siren call of hubris.
In this shimmering jewel of a memoir, "The Long Hello ~ The Other Side of Alzheimer's", author Cathie Borrie traverses rich terrain as she unearths the hidden and often painful treasures of a life well lived: the shadows and joys of childhood, the relationships that leave us both illuminated and bereft, the love, longing and loss that surge to the fore when a parent is ailing. Memory, and the losing of it, serves as a powerful guide, and Borrie follows her mother's eccentric and poetic lead into the past, transformed by the unexpected brilliance of the elder woman's shifting dementia mind. A paean of redemptive beauty, "The Long Hello" cherishes the bond between mothers and daughters, and creates a startling change in society's perception of those journeying through Alzheimer's.
Families don't just happen-they are made. And this is nowhere more evident than in adoptive families. Adoption can be a joyous, frustrating, uplifting, disheartening, frightening and exhilirating experience. Here, one adoptive mother tells the story of how she and her husband-and friends-formed their beautiful family. Everything In Its Own Time speaks to those who long for children but do not have them, for whatever reason, and reminds us all that, no matter how we strive, everything happens in its own time.
A book of poetic beauty and compassionate understandings, “Out of the Woods” is a powerful story reflecting the inner turmoil of those struggling with chronic Lyme disease. Reaching across the precipice of isolation and fear, and illuminating a pathway of hope, “Out of the Woods” opens the portal to the wellspring of personal healing power residing within us all, guiding us to the gifts of Spirit.
Written by Classical Homeopath and Intuitive Healer, Katina I. Makris, from the vantage point of a patient, she shares invaluable knowledge on Lyme disease, lab tests, treatment options and full recovery at the mind-body level.
The Unfaithful Widow is a collection of candid essays on finding joy again after the loss of a mate. With warmth and laughter no subject is taboo. From dealing with the funeral home (Can I show you our upgraded cremation package? I looked at Miss Death, was I booking a vacation?) to dating again (He ran in the door, looked at me and said "I've left something in my car". He never returned). Sprinkle in a bevy of rescue dogs (Finally a good nights sleep with someone new in my bed.) and those questions you hate to ask (Condoms anyone?). The Unfaithful Widow will steal a piece of your heart, tickle your ribs and make you feel good to be alive.
You can achieve your life's dream, if you commit your life to Jesus Christ, are reborn in the Holy Spirit, and focus all of your energy on your goal. In Soul Explosion, Dr. Rick Scarnati shares how he accomplished the impossible by giving his life to Jesus and being 'supercharged' by the Holy Spirit. Through his time in reform school, the military, and a rigorous medical school program, Rick learned the value of hard work and perseverance. You too can know the satisfaction and peace that comes from trusting and believing in God by applying Rick Scarnati's vast experiences in your own life. Join the ranks of those living in joyous worship and feel the overwhelming enlightenment of your own Soul Explosion.
Imagine if the most severe physical pain and sorrow in your life were inflicted by the people you trusted most. In the spring of 2007, Belo Cipriani was beaten and robbed of his sight at the hands of his childhood friends. Blind: A Memoir chronicles the two years immediately following the assault. At the age of twenty-six, Belo found himself learning to walk, cook, and date in the dark. Armed with visual memory and his newly developed senses, Belo shows readers what the blind see. He narrates the recondite world of the blind, where microwaves, watches, and computers talk, and where guide dogs guard as well as lead.
For One More Day is a true story of transformation. It is about Sarah’s life-long journey surviving child abuse, sexual abuse, and domestic violence that eventually led her to alcoholism. She sank into a very dark abyss where she lost everything and barely escaped with her life. Sarah had survived horrible abuse as a child and as an adult in her marriages and relationships. She even survived a .40 blood alcohol level in an attempt to end her life in her later years due to depression. After she had lost everything Sarah went down on her knees and cried out, “Dear God, for how long shall I suffer?” She heard the reply in her heart and mind, “If you had known and believed that I loved you at all, you would have never suffered.” Then, Sarah began her emotionally painful journey to transform her lifetime of abusive relationships, and her deadly addiction by surrendering to the true source of all life, God. With His strength and her new-found faith in God, Sarah began her successful recovery and started on the path to finding her true-self on July 7th 2005. The names have been changed to protect privacy of others.
“ZASU PITTS IS THE FEMALE CHARLIE CHAPLIN.” ~Dir. Dean Goodman
“What a wonderful treasure of information and anecdotes about one of the most beloved actresses in films. I loved her unique comedy, and had the privilege of seeing her perform live. Many thanks to Gayle Haffner for her untiring love and work!” ~ Ann B. Davis, Actress
“An astonishing collection of material - a feast for ZaSu fans! Haffner shows us the real-life ZaSu Pitts -- a fascinating story!” ~ Mike Brotherton, Founder of the ZaSu Pitts Film Festival, Parsons, Kansas
“Haffner imparts the breath of life to a favorite and almost forgotten legend, bringing us ZaSu’s full career and the personal life she deftly kept private and away from the press. ZaSu’s humanity will touch all who renew their acquaintance with this great star.” ~ Edd Bayes, Co-founder of the Gale Storm Appreciation Society
“Gayle Haffner gives a fascinating look at the life and career of one of cinema’s great, versatile actresses -- the actress who could steal scenes with a flutter of her hands will steal your heart with her story. This authorized biography is well written and painstakingly researched to give the reader the inside story of one of our national treasures.” ~ Ron Baker, Co-founder of the Gale Storm Appreciation Society
