It Sucked and Then I Cried
It Sucked and Then I Cried

Author: Heather B. Armstrong

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-03-24

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1416959149

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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.

It Sucked and Then I Cried
It Sucked and Then I Cried

Author: Heather B. Armstrong

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-03-24

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1416959149

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.

Dear Daughter
Dear Daughter

Author: Heather B. Armstrong

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2012-04-03

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1451661428

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From the author of It Sucked and Then I Cried, creator of Dooce.com, and “Queen of the Mommy Bloggers” (The New York Times)—a collection of disarmingly honest, irreverent, and heartwarming letters that Heather wrote to her daughter, Leta, every month for the first seven years of her life. A mother’s love is unconditional: There are quiet snuggles, off-key sing-alongs, un-controllable belly laughs, and daily miracles that only a parent can understand. Heather Armstrong first wrote to her daughter when Leta was just eight weeks old. For the next five years, Heather wrote a letter every month, capturing the ups and downs of motherhood and chronicling the milestones and surprises of their lives together. These are letters that we wish we had written for our own children: disarmingly honest, self-deprecating, heartwarming, and irreverently funny. From the first time Leta holds a rattle; to her first steps; to her first curse word; to her excitement over becoming a big sister, Dear Daughter is a heartfelt and hilarious ode to the wonders of parenthood that will have mothers everywhere nodding, laughing, and wiping away tears. *** Dear Leta, You have changed so much since that first morning you spent with us, a morning that altered my life so drastically that sometimes it still feels like I’m catching my breath. I imagine that I won’t ever stop feeling this way, won’t ever stop having a portion of my brain dedicated to the thought of where you are and what you’re doing, won’t ever be able to escape the constant, nagging hope that you are happy and fulfilled. My pulse is forever close to the surface because of you, because of my responsibility toward you, and I can’t thank you enough for the dimension that this has added to what it means to be alive. Love, Mama

The Valedictorian of Being Dead
The Valedictorian of Being Dead

Author: Heather B. Armstrong

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2019-04-23

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1501197061

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From New York Times bestselling author and blogger Heather B. Armstrong comes an honest and irreverent memoir—reminiscent of the New York Times bestseller Brain on Fire—about her experience as the third person ever to participate in an experimental treatment for depression involving ten rounds of a chemically induced coma approximating brain death. For years, Heather B. Armstrong has alluded to her struggle with depression on her website, dooce. It’s scattered throughout her archive, where it weaves its way through posts about pop culture, music, and motherhood. In 2016, Heather found herself in the depths of a depression she just couldn’t shake, an episode darker and longer than anything she had previously experienced. She had never felt so discouraged by the thought of waking up in the morning, and it threatened to destroy her life. For the sake of herself and her family, Heather decided to risk it all by participating in an experimental clinical trial. Now, for the first time, Heather recalls the torturous eighteen months of suicidal depression she endured and the month-long experimental study in which doctors used propofol anesthesia to quiet all brain activity for a full fifteen minutes before bringing her back from a flatline. Ten times. The experience wasn’t easy. Not for Heather or her family. But a switch was flipped, and Heather hasn’t experienced a single moment of suicidal depression since. “Breathtakingly honest” (Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author), self-deprecating, and scientifically fascinating, The Valedictorian of Being Dead brings to light a groundbreaking new treatment for depression. The Valedictorian of Being Dead was previously published with the subtitle “The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live.”

House of Leaves
House of Leaves

Author: Mark Z. Danielewski

Publisher: Pantheon

Published: 2000-03-07

Total Pages: 738

ISBN-13: 0375420525

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“A novelistic mosaic that simultaneously reads like a thriller and like a strange, dreamlike excursion into the subconscious.” —The New York Times Years ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command. Starting with an odd assortment of marginalized youth -- musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies -- the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely arranged pages but also discovered a way back into the lives of their estranged children. Now this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and second and third appendices. The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.

Saving Grace: Cry Me a River
Saving Grace: Cry Me a River

Author: Nancy Holder

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2009-10-27

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 034551596X

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A dazzling novel based on the hit television series Saving Grace In the shadow of past misfortune, Oklahoma police detective Grace Hanadarko lives life hard and fast. After Grace’s drinking and driving leads to tragedy, an uncharacteristic angel named Earl answers her prayers and hopes to guide her back on the right path. But saving Grace is about to become a hell of a ride. Ever defiant and rebellious, Grace does have a soft side, especially for kids. The body of a teenage boy dredged out of the Oklahoma River appears to be a suicide. But Grace soon discovers that the boy, Zack Lacey, may have been murdered, the victim of a brutal hate crime. As Grace digs with her typical driven style, she uncovers shocking secrets in young Zack’s life, forcing her to wrestle with questions of faith, hope, and justice. She’ ll deliver justice for the boy. As for faith–well, she’s working on it.

If I Stay
If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2009-04-02

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1101046341

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The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from Gayle Forman, author of Where She Went, Just One Day, and Just One Year. Soon to be a major motion picture, starring Chloe Moretz! In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family. Now a major motion picture starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

A Little Life
A Little Life

Author: Hanya Yanagihara

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2016-01-26

Total Pages: 833

ISBN-13: 0804172706

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning “portrait of the enduring grace of friendship” (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE A Little Life follows four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition—as they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. Look for Hanya Yanagihara’s latest bestselling novel, To Paradise.

Navigating the Land of If
Navigating the Land of If

Author: Melissa Ford

Publisher: Seal Press

Published: 2009-05-05

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0786744820

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Author of the extremely successful blog Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters, Melissa Ford presents readers with a guide for navigating the complex world of infertility. The Land of If got its name not only because "IF” is the abbreviation for "infertility” in the online world, but also because there are so many "ifs” inherent in being here. No stranger to the Land of If herself, Ford shares her hard-earned knowledge and insights, helping couples struggling with infertility understand the lingo, learn the details doctors tend to leave out, and keep their emotional sanity despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Navigating the Land of If gives the nitty-gritty on injections, rejections, biting your tongue during happy parent-to-be conversations, and trying not to cry over baby shower invitations. With chapters that include how-to’s for same-sex couples, and present adoption or remaining child-free as plausible alternatives, Ford tells you exactly what you need to know, from one infertile to another.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened
Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Author: Jenny Lawson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2012-04-17

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1101573082

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The #1 New York Times bestselling (mostly true) memoir from the hilarious author of Furiously Happy. “Gaspingly funny and wonderfully inappropriate.”—O, The Oprah Magazine When Jenny Lawson was little, all she ever wanted was to fit in. That dream was cut short by her fantastically unbalanced father and a morbidly eccentric childhood. It did, however, open up an opportunity for Lawson to find the humor in the strange shame-spiral that is her life, and we are all the better for it. In the irreverent Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson’s long-suffering husband and sweet daughter help her uncover the surprising discovery that the most terribly human moments—the ones we want to pretend never happened—are the very same moments that make us the people we are today. For every intellectual misfit who thought they were the only ones to think the things that Lawson dares to say out loud, this is a poignant and hysterical look at the dark, disturbing, yet wonderful moments of our lives. Readers Guide Inside