In this brilliantly told short story collection, critically acclaimed author David Updike skillfully portrays the multi-faceted nature of love and of the heart. From a father's painful realization his son has discovered the dark heart of racism still beats, to a quiet love affair that needs an audience to bloom; from the bumbling of a professor who unwittingly falls for one of his students to the wistful memories of a bittersweet affair tinged in regret, Updike portrays the intricacies of loving someone with candor. Full of sparkling wonder and poignant melancholy alike, Old Girlfriends is a clear-eyed vision of the world we live in. Drifting from the unrequited to the secretive, the familial to the first poetic moments, this soulful collection leaves no avenue of expression untouched.
This illustrated book of advice on love, dating, and friendship—written by and for queer women and people of marginalized genders—is the new go-to queer relationship handbook. Fix yourself a cup of non-caffeinated herbal tea and prepare to laugh, cry, reminisce, and feel your feelings as you read through these quintessentially queer dating dilemmas. In The Ex-Girlfriend of My Ex-Girlfriend Is My Girlfriend, advice columnist Maddy Court (a.k.a. Xena Worrier Princess) answers anonymous queries from lesbian, bisexual, and queer women and people of marginalized genders. Illustrated by comics artist Kelsey Wroten and based on Court's viral zine of the same name, this book features never-before-published letters and responses about first loves, heartbreak, coming out, and queer friendship—all answered with the warmth and honesty of the gay big sister you wish you had. • BY QUEERS, FOR QUEERS: This book was written by and for queer women and people of marginalized genders. The questions reflect real experiences that aren't often represented in the media, and the answers offer an important reminder that loving ourselves takes patience, effort, and the support of our friends and communities. • EXCITING DEBUT AUTHOR: In 2018, Maddy Court made the leap from creating niche lesbian memes on Instagram to writing and distributing a series of zines. Never preachy or dismissive, Court offers advice that is sympathetic and straightforward—it's equal parts refreshing vulnerability and remarkable wisdom. • GORGEOUS ILLUSTRATION: Kelsey Wroten's art brings the letters to life, immersing the reader in all the joys and disappointments of the contributors who wrote in from all over the world. In addition to the traditional illustrations, each chapter features a paneled mini-comic that speaks to the different themes. • AMAZING GUEST EXPERTS: Because one queer cannot possible hold all the answers, The Ex-Girlfriend of My Ex-Girlfriend Is My Girlfriend also includes advice from an incredible roster of guest experts. Author and comedian Samantha Irby; musicians JD Samson and Ellen Kempner; and writers and activists Tyler Ford, Kalyn Heffernan, Lola Pellegrino, and Mey Rude all tackle questions on long-distance breakups, jealousy, love triangles, making friends, and more. Perfect for: • Lesbian, bisexual, and queer women and people of marginalized genders with questions about dating, friendship, and life • Fans of the Ex-Girlfriend zine series and followers of @Xenaworrierprincess • Fans of Kelsey Wroten's graphic novels and art
Research and common sense indicate that engaged couples will eventually have stronger, more successful marriages if they get good premarital counseling. Many churches now require such counseling, yet many Christian couples still enter marriage without that preparation. Countdown for Couples will fill that void. It will help couples learn about each other, and themselves individually, as well as their relational skills and compatibility as a couple.
Daddy Boy is that rare thing--a lyrical novel that rocks with laughter and features a cast of truly compelling characters. Robin D. tells us the story of growning up between her warring, eccentric parents. Daddy was once hardscrabble poor, a wildcatter in the Texas Panhandle. Now he's oil-baron rich and living it up in Hollywood, where he met Robin D.'s mother, a Virginia aristocrat turned cover girl and movie starlet who met Daddy at the peak of her career. Their inevitable divorce sets the stage for Robin's tale, written by Carey Cameron with an exquisite delicacy and deep insight. In Daddy Boy, human foibles are gilded by the California sun, Texas oil, and the glare of 1960s Hollywood.
If you’re living a perfect, charmed life . . . well, then this book isn’t for you. But if, like the rest of us, you are at times broken, confused, lonely, or scared—if you’re struggling with problems that you think “good Christians” don’t have—then welcome, girlfriend, and pull up a chair! This quirky, friendly, and gut-honest devotional comes straight from the heart of Ellen Miller (CEO, marketing executive, mom, and unapologetic “glorious mess”). Despite the serious struggles she’s faced, Ellen today lives a life of profound joy, and The One Year Book of Inspiration for Girlfriends contains 365 days’ worth of the principles and philosophies that have gotten her there. There’s no subject she’s afraid to tackle! Her quick, daily doses of encouragement will make you laugh, give you something to look forward to, help you to stay (somewhat!) sane . . . and remind you that you’re never alone.
Those were the days' is the third book in the `Travels with Susie' series. Like the first two, this book is a collection of essays, some of which first saw the light of day as the author's newspaper columns. The topics will appeal to almost everyone; containing a bit of fact, a little geography, some enjoyable history and of course, travel stories with a brand of quirky humor not found anywhere else. The topics will appeal to almost everyone beginning with a bit of nostalgia. We'll go back in time for a couple of tales, then learn how to cope with a 60 year old teenage love interest and finally, more of what living with Susie is really like. In the travel tales, we will ride along with Susie and the author as they spend a winter in Texas working on a National Wildlife Refuge, devote a wonderful summer to a National Historic Site in Washington State's San Juan Islands and enjoy with them their experiences in many of the other favorite places the author and his wife have visited. For those of you approaching retirement, there is a section that the author dubbed `Getting old; not for Sissies.' Here are stories with light hearted looks at the aging process that will strike a chord of familiarity and stories that guarantee both laughter and tears. Learn right along with the author what needs to be done when debilitating illness strikes. We all find ourselves in this sometimes frustrating but mostly enjoyable reality that we call life. For lovers of literary humor, `Those were the days' will reinforce the belief that there's never ending humor to be found in almost every situation we find ourselves in. All you have to do is hang in there. Thanks again for stopping by.
Pelikan is one of the rarities of modern fiction: rousing and well written, a book with humor that never insults intelligence even as it outrages propriety. The journey begins when thirty-three-year-old Charlie Curtis travels to New Orleans on a deathbed assignment from his father to find the father's half-brother -- James Joseph Pelikan, who rules the French Quarter from midnight until dawn in places where tourists seldom venture. Charlie is barely off the train when he witnesses the murder of one of Pelikan's cronies by a woman whose only adornment is a fishhook through her lower lip. There ensues a drama, a caper, a quest. Although unschooled, James Joseph Pelikan delivers outrageous riffs on such topics as the Mississippi River's being America's alimentary canal...and what that makes New Orleans. A pimp who arranges sex parties, he also serves as a paladin for nuns; he hustles and scams but will also bathe and feed the most wretched of the homeless; cruel and manipulative (he manages to break Charlie's heart and his finger), Pelikan is so obsessed by redemption that he'll use a toothbrush to clean sidewalks outside St. Louis Cathedral. That Charlie would eventually join this seducer in a hurricane-whipped burglary has more to do with loyalty than larceny. In Pelikan, David Lozell Martin, acclaimed thriller writer and author of a literary classic, The Crying Heart Tattoo, has created something reminiscent of A Confederacy of Dunces with the kind of oddball characters and sense of place found in Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard. Martin combines his skills as a writer of dark suspense (Lie to Me; Tap, Tap) and literary novels (The Beginning of Sorrows) to make Pelikan a carnival ride to enlightenment.
Dr. Beauregard pulled his chair up a little closer to me, looked me in the eye, and said, "Sam, I’m afraid your health is pretty good. . . . You could stand to lose a little weight, but without some bad news, I can’t scare you into taking better care of yourself. . . . You’ve got to find some meaning in your life that will motivate you to take better care of your body—something that gets under your skin, something that grabs your imagination, something other than a diet. And only you can figure that out." So begins "big-boned" Sam McLeod’s search for the meaning of life. Luckily, a mysterious envelope arrives in the mail to distract him. It’s an invitation to a neighborhood reunion where Sam grew up near Nashville, Tennessee. Sam’s wise wife, Annie, insists that her reluctant husband get in the car and make the cross-country trip. "Here’s a map and your itinerary. . . . But you keep your hands off that old girlfriend, you hear me?" As Sam drives, he tries to work out the meaning of life, just like the doctor ordered. Instead, memories of childhood fill his head. Who would be at the reunion? Weiner? He remembers how Weiner got his name and his lasting fear of buzzards. Would he find a descendant of Big ’Un, the snake as fat as a family-size can of Franco-American spaghetti? And what about Lexi? She wasn’t his girlfriend, no matter what Annie says, but he remembers the summer night they played hide-and-seek. . . . And with these recollections come the smell of his mother’s meatloaf, the taste of spicy pimento cheese, the tang of cold pickled shrimp, and the tart sweetness of strawberry pie, the foods of his Southern childhood. Does Sam find the meaning of life? Yes, he does, even though he lacks "the emotional intelligence God gave a stinkbug," as Annie so delicately put it. So come along with Sam as he follows his deep-fried roots to a simpler time and place, where mothers nourished their children with much more than ham biscuits, deviled eggs, and tuna noodle casserole with potato chips on top. A warm, laugh-out-loud funny memoir for anyone who has ever: • Collected lightning bugs in a quart-size Ball jar • Been in a watermelon fight • Fallen asleep to the sound of grown-ups talking on the porch • Been told you’re eating a bite, whether you like it or not • Grown up Southern
The stories are laced with all the experiences and knowledge I have acquired in my some 70 years. No one character in my stories is based on any friend or acquaintance. No other characters were from my life. The only connection with my life is that I tried to blend in some of my world travels in the background of a few stories and use my experience as an architect and a world traveler. I have always loved humor, sometimes satire, other times, slap-stick, even dark humor. Some readers may be puzzled at the endings but I think the reader should use his imagination. I don't believe in 'spelling' it out for the reader. My main attempt in writing is to give the reader not only enjoyment but at times, a good laugh. My more serious stories are meant to give thought to the relationship of people in all walks of life. If there is a main idea in my writing, it is to paint a picture with words.
