There are so many things that we do not have control over, things that we would not ever choose: cancer, loosing a spouse, tragic accidents. But we can choose how we will handle these things. Joy is a choice that anyone can make but not everyone knows how. Facing cancer, becoming a widow, loosing the future as the author saw it made her recognize that she had to choose a way to deal with the present.
In January of 2000, at the age of fifty-two, author B.J. Derton underwent a fairly simple surgery to remove fibroids. She came out six hours later without fibroids but with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer stage 3c. A very rare typeaggressive, high grade, with no protocol for treatmentDertons doctors gave her from six months to five years with no forecast on a quality of life during that time. In I Cried Until I Laughed, Derton shares her journey, finding humor in the thing that frightened her the most. Upon being released from the hospital, she mapped a wellness plan and tracked her medical tests, blood draws, CT scans, x-rays, and surgeries. Derton became her own health advocate and gave herself the right to have hope. Hope to track, control, and fight with everything she could. After a twenty-two-month journey, she was pronounced NED on September 11, 2001. She kept her catheter in for two and half years for a just-in-case moment, and then for a Christmas present to herself, she had it removed in the surgeons office. That day she knew she had made it. With a sense of humor, I Cried Until I Laughed narrates how Derton accepted her positive attitude, her plan, and the self-control to not let cancer define her.
I Laughed Until I Cried chronicles my terrific and tumultuous journey from my southern birth through adulthood. Nearby Memphis, TN was the home of baby broker Georgia Tann and her illegal orphanage. Georgia, “The Mother of Adoption in the United States” (and what a Mother she was!) stole and sold over 5000 children between the 1920’s and the 1950’s. She became wealthy. Her wealth and power inspired ongoing “copycat” crimes. My inspired father decided to cash me in for a quick buck. He always could give a convincing rendition of how he “never signed any adoption papers.” My birth mother never gave up on the idea of reuniting her family. Both parents faded in and out of my life leaving behind mixed feelings, a multitude of unanswered questions, and no idea how to cope with growing up in what felt like prison with Mommie Dearest as the warden.
Do you believe that joy is a choice? Dawn Barton does. She's an upbeat Southerner with good hair and a successful business background, but she's had more heartache than most of us can imagine. Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is a collection of honest and sometimes raw stories. Dawn throws an arm around readers as she brings them along on her journey through the loss of a child, divorce, cancer, rape, the death of her only sibling, her husband's substance abuse, and finding her way back to Jesus in the middle of it all. Dawn shares her personal story to show readers how to find happiness and purpose even in the darkest of days. By laughing through the ugly cry, you will discover how to: Shut down negative feelings causing you to feel inadequate Identify the pros despite how challenging the cons may seem Embrace joy wherever you can find it Learn how to be honest with yourself and process grief in a healthy way Dawn writes, "If more women were open about just how difficult our lives feel and how hard we are on ourselves, I think we'd learn to relax a little and give ourselves the grace God gives us every day." Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is great for: Women of any age seeking comfort, encouragement, and inspiration Book clubs and girls' nights--Dawn poses thoughtful group questions to support meaningful conversations about growth and joy
A tragicomic story of bad dates, bad news, bad performances, and one girl's determination to find the funny in high school from the author of Denton Little's Deathdate. Winnie Friedman has been waiting for the world to catch on to what she already knows: she's hilarious. It might be a long wait, though. After bombing a stand-up set at her own bat mitzvah, Winnie has kept her jokes to herself. Well, to herself and her dad, a former comedian and her inspiration. Then, on the second day of tenth grade, the funniest guy in school actually laughs at a comment she makes in the lunch line and asks her to join the improv troupe. Maybe he's even . . . flirting? Just when Winnie's ready to say yes to comedy again, her father reveals that he's been diagnosed with ALS. That is . . . not funny. Her dad's still making jokes, though, which feels like a good thing. And Winnie's prepared to be his straight man if that's what he wants. But is it what he needs? Caught up in a spiral of epically bad dates, bad news, and bad performances, Winnie's struggling to see the humor in it all. But finding a way to laugh is exactly what will see her through. **A Junior Library Guild Selection**
No one thought anything about the limp that Don Strahorn began to walk with in the Spring of 2006. But as the months passed and the limp got worse, it became clear something was going on. At the beginning of 2007, the Strahorn family got news that would change them forever; Don had ALS-a disease with no cure. We Laughed 'til We Cried is the story of the seven years following Don's diagnosis, told by his wife, Lynda Strahorn. This isn't your regular diagnosis story, however. This memoir-esque account of what may have been a family's darkest times is full of as much laughter as it is tears. It serves as a testament to the way we all have choices to make when we get devastating news. The Strahorn family, although heartbroken, shows us how to make the most out of the hand we're dealt. Not only is this an inspirational book for anyone facing similar circumstances, it is also a call for a cure and a handbook for all those who will hear the same words Don Stahorn did in early 2007; "you have ALS." Author Lynda Strahorn offers insights into the many processes of dealing with ALS, from the slow progression of the disease and what each new stage entails for an ALS patient, to the emotional impact the disease has on the entire family. Lynda also offers some advice that she learned from her own experiences dealing with the disease, and she explains the way faith carried her family through the most difficult time they ever faced. Mostly, Lynda teaches readers how to laugh when they want to cry, to know when it is time to cry, and how to trust in Jesus through it all.
How did Christ imagine church and faith? Did he imagine the Sunday-Christian or the wholly immersed believer? In this book, Bob Hostetler tells readers to QUIT GOING TO CHURCH, and renew their walk of faith. What drives people to enter the doors of churches every Sunday? It could be habit, living up to expectations, a sense of duty, or even guilt. People seem to be living "churchanity" rather than Christianity. This thought provoking and "pull-off-the-gloves" book is based on the premise that much of how we think and act, a great percentage of what we do these days as church-going people, bears only a slight resemblance to the way of Jesus and "the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). With titles like "Quit Going to Church" and "Quit Sharing Your Faith," each chapter issues an eyebrow-raising challenge, showing how many of us have misunderstood even distorted the Good News of Jesus and replaced Christianity with something else.
This bestselling "lyrical, moving book: part essay, part memoir, part surprising cultural study" is an examination of why we cry, how we cry, and what it means to cry from a woman on the cusp of motherhood confronting her own depression (The New York Times Book Review). Heather Christle has just lost a dear friend to suicide and now must reckon with her own depression and the birth of her first child. As she faces her grief and impending parenthood, she decides to research the act of crying: what it is and why people do it, even if they rarely talk about it. Along the way, she discovers an artist who designed a frozen–tear–shooting gun and a moth that feeds on the tears of other animals. She researches tear–collecting devices (lachrymatories) and explores the role white women’s tears play in racist violence. Honest, intelligent, rapturous, and surprising, Christle’s investigations look through a mosaic of science, history, and her own lived experience to find new ways of understanding life, loss, and mental illness. The Crying Book is a deeply personal tribute to the fascinating strangeness of tears and the unexpected resilience of joy.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Thank you for the perfect blend of nostalgia-drenched humor, wit, and heartbreak, Nora.” — Mandy Moore comedy = tragedy + time/rosé Twenty-seven-year-old Nora McInerny Purmort bounced from boyfriend to dopey “boyfriend” until she met Aaron—a charismatic art director and comic-book nerd who once made Nora laugh so hard she pulled a muscle. When Aaron was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer, they refused to let it limit their love. They got engaged on Aaron’s hospital bed and had a baby boy while he was on chemo. In the period that followed, Nora and Aaron packed fifty years of marriage into the three they got, spending their time on what really matters: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, each other, and Beyoncé. A few months later, Aaron died in Nora’s arms. The obituary they wrote during Aaron’s hospice care revealing his true identity as Spider-Man touched the nation. With It’s Okay to Laugh, Nora puts a young, fresh twist on the subjects of mortality and resilience. What does it actually mean to live your “one wild and precious life” to the fullest? How can a joyful marriage contain more sickness than health? How do you keep going when life kicks you in the junk? In this deeply felt and deeply funny memoir, Nora gives her readers a true gift—permission to struggle, permission to laugh, permission to tell the truth and know that everything will be okay. It’s Okay to Laugh is a love letter to life, in all its messy glory; it reads like a conversation with a close friend, and leaves a trail of glitter in its wake. This book is for people who have been through some shit. This is for people who aren’t sure if they’re saying or doing the right thing (you’re not, but nobody is). This is for people who had their life turned upside down and just learned to live that way. For people who have laughed at a funeral or cried in a grocery store. This is for everyone who wondered what exactly they’re supposed to be doing with their one wild and precious life. I don’t actually have the answer, but if you find out, will you text me?
An irreverent and captivating memoir about the unexpected joys and glaring indignities of pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood—from the beloved creator of the popular mommy blog, Dooce.com. Heather Armstrong gave up a lot of things when she and her husband decided to have a baby: beer, small boobs, free time—and antidepressants. The eighteen months that followed were filled with anxiety, constipation, nacho cheese Doritos, and an unconditional love that threatened to make her heart explode. Still, as baby Leta grew and her husband returned to work, Heather faced lonely days, sleepless nights, and endless screaming that sometimes made her wish she'd never become a mother. Just as she was poised to throw another gallon of milk at her husband's head, she committed herself for a short stay in a mental hospital—the best decision she ever made for her family. Here, with biting wit and unrelenting honesty, Heather shares her battle with postpartum depression and all the other minor details of pregnancy and motherhood that no one cares to mention. Like how boring it can be to care for someone whose primary means of communication is through her bowels. And how long it can possibly take to reconvene the procedure that got you into this whole parenthood mess in the first place. And how you sometimes think you can't possibly go five more minutes without breathing in that utterly irresistible and totally redeemable fresh baby smell. It Sucked and Then I Cried is a brave cautionary tale about crossing over that invisible line to the other side (the parenting side), where everything changes and it only gets worse. But most of all, it's a celebration of a love so big it can break your heart into a million pieces.
