A Million Tiny Things chronicles the escapades of a wannabe "green mom" trying to keep her sense of humor while hanging on to a lifeline, or at least a laundry line, of hope. In this age of anxious parenting and frantic Save the Earth messages, Kenna Lee answers the question, "How do we stay out of denial without getting depressed?" With a willful optimism, Lee travels the long distance from eco-overwhelm to self-forgiveness via a growing belief that large numbers of small pro-environment actions can add up to a better world.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Inspirational and essential' Bret Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho 'Poignant and tragic' The Spectator 'Easily the most remarkable non-fiction book about drugs and drug taking since Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' Observer James Frey wakes up on a plane, with no memory of the preceding two weeks. His face is cut and his body is covered with bruises. He has no wallet and no idea of his destination. He has abused alcohol and every drug he can lay his hands on for a decade - and he is aged only twenty-three. What happens next is one of the most powerful and extreme stories ever told. His family takes him to a rehabilitation centre. And James Frey starts his perilous journey back to the world of the drug and alcohol-free living. His lack of self-pity is unflinching and searing. A Million Little Pieces is a dazzling account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed. It is also the introduction of a bold and talented literary voice.
In this collection of longer essays nested within brief, lyrical meditations, each piece focuses on some micro aspect of everyday life as a means of exploring complex macro systems¿families, dinner parties, vineyards, deserts, nations. For example, Walker¿s own experience as the mother of a micropreemie (a baby born weighing less than one pound, twelve ounces, or before twenty-six weeks gestation), ¿the smallest thing in the world,¿ spurs an exploration of, among other things, the economics of health care, the causes of premature births, and the ethics of extreme interventions. Where the Tiny Things Are is a book of ideas and an exploration of science. It is of the world and of the heart ¿ both intensely personal and expansively empathetic.TABLE OF CONTENTS // Microscopium, Micromeat, Microbarriers, Microsurgery, Microencephaly, Microlecithal, Micropreemies, Microbortions, Microkeratome, Microbladder, Microclimates Lower Sonoran, Micromeria, Microbursts, Micro Prairie Dogs & Micro Turkey Vultures, Micro Snow Leopard, Microorganisms, Micromanagement, Micronize, Microhabitat, Neutrinos, Microwine, Microwind, Microgalaxy, Microwindmills, Microhematocrit, Microsoccer, Microtrain, Microblogs, Microfire, Microtopography, Micromeasures, Microgas, Microisland, Microspikes, Distracted Parents of the Micromanagement Era, Microhaboobs, Microbivalves, Biofuels Will Take You Home, Microbags, Microbiotics, Microapocalpyse
A Wonder Woman and bride-to-be finds herself worse for wear at the end of a hen night; a funeral director's love of Manchester United proves unhelpful when talking to the bereaved; two overly-vigilant mothers wrestle with their paranoia in the queue for Santa's Grotto; a widow recounts her disastrous return to the world of dating and a father realises that his son is growing away from him as he helps him tie his football boots.In these snippets of overheard conversations from across the length and breadth of the country, Craig Taylor captures the state we're in with humour and pathos and perfect timing. Laugh-out-loud funny, and sometimes heartbreakingly moving, these tiny plays in which every one of us could have a starring role are little windows into other people's lives that reveal the triumphs, disasters, prejudices, horrors and joys of twenty-first-century life.Hugely entertaining and utterly addictive, this is book that can be dipped into or feasted upon in one sitting. It will change the way you listen to the world around you, and train journeys will never be the same again.
Is my ordinary, everyday life actually significant? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner? It’s been said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” The pressure of that can be staggering as we spend our days looking for that big thing that promises to take our breath away. Meanwhile, we lose sight of the small significance of fully living with every breath we take. Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and writer at The Big Mama Blog tackles these questions head on in her fourth book, Church of the Small Things. Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one. The million little pieces that make a life aren’t necessarily glamorous or far-reaching. But God uses some of the smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness—and sometimes they look a whole lot like packing lunch. Through humorous stories told in her signature style, full of Frito pie, best friends, the love of her Me-Ma and Pa-Pa, the unexpected grace that comes when we quit trying to measure up, and a little of the best TV has to offer, Melanie helps women embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every moment.
War is raging. Numbers are dwindling. It's a dangerous world for an underdog. The Underdogs of Spitfire’s Rise are falling apart. In the series’ penultimate novel, the remnants of Britain’s last army are called into battle again – this time to avert the violent deaths of tens of thousands of prisoners. The neurodiverse skills and defiant bravery of the Underdogs are pitched against the might of military science and the terrifying Acceleration project. Meanwhile, Oliver Roth has been offered a promotion that would make him the second most powerful person in Britain. But it’s conditional on the success of his next mission: the discovery and annihilation of Spitfire’s Rise. The Underdogs fight for the safety of countless prisoners, clueless that their home is being hunted. As each side launches their respective attacks, it’s only a matter of time until one triumphs decisively over the other.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This book feels so hopeful because it’s direct, it’s really honest, and it’s so actionable.” —Brene Brown From New York Times–bestselling authors Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, a simple yet powerful plan to transform your relationship in seven days What makes love last? Why does one couple stay together forever, while another falls apart? And most importantly, is there a scientific formula for love? Drs. John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman are the world’s leading relationship scientists. For the past forty years, they have been studying love. They’ve gathered data on over three thousand couples, looking at everything from their body language to the way they converse to their stress hormone levels. Their goal: to identify the building blocks of love. The Love Prescription distills their life’s work into a bite-size, seven-day action plan with easy, immediately actionable steps. There will be no grand gestures and no big, hard conversations. There’s nothing to buy or do to prepare. Anyone can do this, from any starting point. The seven-day prescription will lead you through these exercises: Day 1: Make Contact Day 2: Ask a Big Question Day 3: Say Thank You Day 4: Give a Real Compliment Day 5: Ask for What You Need Day 6: Reach Out and Touch Day 7: Declare a Date Night There is a formula for a good relationship, and this book will show you how a few small changes can fundamentally transform your relationship for the better.
From the creator of the iconic "Cathy" comic strip comes her first collection of funny, wise, poignant, and incredibly honest essays about being a woman in what she lovingly calls "the panini generation." As the creator of "Cathy," Cathy Guisewite found her way into the hearts of readers more than forty years ago, and has been there ever since. Her hilarious and deeply relatable look at the challenges of womanhood in a changing world became a cultural touchstone for women everywhere. Now Guisewite returns with her signature wit and warmth in this debut essay collection about another time of big transition, when everything starts changing and disappearing without permission: aging parents, aging children, aging self stuck in the middle. With her uniquely wry and funny admissions and insights, Guisewite unearths the humor and horror of everything from the mundane (trying to introduce her parents to TiVo and facing four decades' worth of unorganized photos) to the profound (finding a purpose post-retirement, helping parents downsize their lives, and declaring freedrom from all those things that hold us back). No longer confined to the limits of four comic panels, Guisewite holds out her hand in prose form and becomes a reassuring companion for those on the threshold of "what happens next." Heartfelt and humane and always cathartic, Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault is ideal reading for mothers, daughters, and anyone who is caught somewhere in between.
When the great environmental writer Edward Abbey died in 1989, four of his friends buried him secretly in a hidden desert spot that no one would ever find. The final resting place of the Thoreau of the American West remains unknown and has become part of American folklore. In this book a young writer who went looking for Abbey’s grave combines an account of his quest with a creative biography of Abbey. Sean Prentiss takes readers across the country as he gathers clues from his research, travel, and interviews with some of Abbey’s closest friends—including Jack Loeffler, Ken “Seldom Seen” Sleight, David Petersen, and Doug Peacock. Along the way, Prentiss examines his own sense of rootlessness as he attempts to unravel Abbey’s complicated legacy, raising larger questions about the meaning of place and home.
Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize "A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, transcends time." —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers Small Things Like These is award-winning author Claire Keegan's landmark new novel, a tale of one man's courage and a remarkable portrait of love and family It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. An international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.
