Twelve-year-old Wren tackles issues ranging from peer pressure to bullying, while she and her mother struggle to build a new life after the death of her father.
Do you think of alcoholism as a mental illness or a choice? My name is Vanessa and I am an alcoholic. Has judgement already kicked in and you're starting to form an opinion of me from that one statement? If so, don't worry, I can assure you you're not the only one!This is my story about how alcoholism affected my life and the truth about how I was treated during my deepest moments of despair. Most people seem to think once you admit you have a problem, that's the hardest part done. In my experience, this was just the beginning of complete chaos. I struggled to get help and ended up completely desperate and fighting for my life. I have written this very personal account because in my case there was a huge lack of understanding on this subject and it seemed people around me were full of judgement. I felt I needed to write about the dark thoughts I had, and the crazy things I did during active addiction, so that others can know they are not alone with the insane head that alcoholism brings. I felt so alone until I reached out and realised other people had similar thoughts and behaviours as me, caused by the illness that is alcoholism. This is an honest account of what happened to me and the way I was treated by medical staff and alcohol centres when trying to get help.This is not just a happily-ever-after story, although the end result is recovery. It's a truthful account of the decade I lost through drinking, the ridiculous situations I got myself into, and the judgement I received from all and how it still affects my life now, years into sobriety.
How birds produce the brilliant and striking coloration of their feathers and other body parts is the focus of this volume. Hill and McGraw have assembled the world's leading experts in perception, measurement, and control of bird coloration to contribute to this book, which synthesizes more than 1,500 technical papers in this field.
Selected by Forbes.com as one of the 12 best books about birds and birding in 2016 This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known - and best loved - parts of the natural world. This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds. The Handbook of Bird Biology is the companion volume to the Cornell Lab's renowned distance learning course, www.birds.cornell.edu/courses/home/homestudy/.
The New York Times–bestselling author of H is for Hawk explores the human relationship to the natural world in this “dazzling” essay collection (Wall Street Journal). In Vesper Flights, Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep. Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, Helen invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing the massive migration of songbirds from the top of the Empire State Building, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles in Suffolk’s poplar forests. She writes with heart-tugging clarity about wild boar, swifts, mushroom hunting, migraines, the strangeness of birds’ nests, and the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife.
Longlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize 'I can't remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will' Chris Packham 'Fabulously direct and truthful, filled with energy but devoid of self-pity . . . I was impressed and enchanted. Highly recommended' Stephen Fry 'Succeeds – triumphantly – in articulating with great honesty what it is like to suffer with a mental illness, and in providing strategies for coping' Mail on Sunday When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is. The positive change in Joe's wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street. In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.
Throw your preconceptions about light-painting out the window and prepare for a creative journey that will revolutionize your photography. Light painting is a classic photography technique that involves selectively illuminating sections of a dark subject by moving a light source (like a flashlight) over the subject during the course of a seconds- or minutes-long exposure. This results in uniquely nuanced depictions with a high level of technical artistry. As Eric Curry shows, however, today’s hardware and software allow you to produce light-painting images that are anything but traditional! In this book, you’ll learn, step by step, how to plan and execute incredible, nuanced images using simple gear, a whole lot of imagination, and today’s powerful postproduction software. With these techniques, your imagination is the only limit to what you can create!