In spite of remarkable differences, Eric and Tommy are as close as brothers. Eric, a Nordic Adonis, is graced by a seemingly endless supply of good fortune. Tommy is a lame black boy, cursed with health problems, yet he remains optimistic and strong.After tragedy rips their makeshift family apart, the lives of these boys diverge astonishingly: Eric, the golden youth, is given everything but trusts nothing; Tommy, motherless and impoverished, has nothing, but feels lucky every day of his life. In a riveting story of modern-day resilience and redemption, the two confront separate challenges, and when circumstances reunite them years later, they draw on their extraordinary natures to confront a common enemy and, ultimately, save their lives.
When Lewis Puller tripped a booby-trapped howitzer round in Vietnam, triggering a explosion that would cost him his legs, his career as a soldier ended--and the battle to reclaim his life began. "An extraordinary story of survival. And of love."--Mary Jordan, "The Washington Post."
I ALWAYS WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FOR OTHERS. But did I? I attempted to hold higher moral grounds, about everything - helping those in need, not judging others based on class, caste, religion, beliefs or values - were just some of them. Lofty ideals only and no action to speak of. With so many issues, small or big, social or moral, which one do I really believe in enough to champion? What has made a difference for me, and would make an impact for others? I juggled with these questions often, but remained a latte sipping intellectual 'discussing' the issues affecting our world. It was getting quite apparent that I just complained about those problems and, each time, added more empty words and skepticism. One day, when I was in the world bashing mood for every problem in our society, my husband pointed out that I probably don't even know what I stand for. He asked me to check if there was anything I truly believed in enough to do something about. I paused, and it didn't take me long to figure it out. I was born in India, and belong to the generation that had seen the shift from the joint to nuclear family structure, as people moved from their rural base to urban centers for jobs. Girls in joint rural families were not encouraged to go outside of the confines of their family compounds, but things changed when they started moving to cities with their husbands. Those women not only began to get an education, but also ensured their next generation had even better opportunities. Quite expectedly, nothing short of revolution took place and continues to strengthen India. Most well-to-do, middle-class (and upwards) Indian households have housekeepers. They are, more often than not, young children from poor, uneducated families who serve in the homes where children's education is a top priority. These housekeepers, just like the women in rural set up, seldom have the opportunity for education and not much has changed for them. So, I started writing my thoughts and observations which took the shape of a book that I called, 'The Fortunate Child'. The premise is that every child that gets the opportunity for education is a fortunate one. In this work of fiction, I have attempted to use a simple storyline to explore how people find courage to do what they champion. Its main characters believe that education has the power to address a majority of issues in the world today. Writing this book has given me the opportunity to progress from believing in this cause, and doing something about it. A baby step for sure, but a right one I hope. The Fortunate Child is a story of a girl who found the inspiration and courage to champion education for all. She dreams of educating others, but gets distracted by superficial social norms and her own selfish limitations until facing a tragedy that calls her to act. This book explores her journey of treading the complex world of prejudice, unfairness, inspiration, and justice."
“The Fortunate Ones feels like a fresh and remarkably sure-footed take on The Great Gatsby, examining the complex costs of attempting to transcend or exchange your given class for a more gilded one. Tarkington’s understanding of the human heart and mind is deep, wise, and uncommonly empathetic. As a novelist, he is the real deal. I can’t wait to see this story reach a wide audience, and to see what he does next.” —Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife When Charlie Boykin was young, he thought his life with his single mother on the working-class side of Nashville was perfectly fine. But when his mother arranges for him to be admitted as a scholarship student to an elite private school, he is suddenly introduced to what the world can feel like to someone cushioned by money. That world, he discovers, is an almost irresistible place where one can bend—and break—rules and still end up untarnished. As he gets drawn into a friendship with a charismatic upperclassman, Archer Creigh, and an affluent family that treats him like an adopted son, Charlie quickly adapts to life in the upper echelons of Nashville society. Under their charming and alcohol-soaked spell, how can he not relax and enjoy it all—the lack of anxiety over money, the easy summers spent poolside at perfectly appointed mansions, the lavish parties, the freedom to make mistakes knowing that everything can be glossed over or fixed? But over time, Charlie is increasingly pulled into covering for Archer’s constant deceits and his casual bigotry. At what point will the attraction of wealth and prestige wear off enough for Charlie to take a stand—and will he? The Fortunate Ones is an immersive, elegantly written story that conveys both the seductiveness of this world and the corruption of the people who see their ascent to the top as their birthright.
Fortunate Families addresses the experience of Catholic parents who love their gay sons and lesbian daughters. The book had its genesis in a descriptive survey of over 200 such parents. It integrates results from the survey, church documents and stories so readers can access what they need most. Some readers will search for accurate information about Catholic teaching, others may connect with the lived experience of other Catholic parents. Still others will find examples of ministerial advocacy and support within the Catholic Church. Fortunate Families has all this and more. Conventional wisdom emphasizes the stories of parents who react to the news that their child is gay in verbally or physically abusive ways. These stories are told so often they take on an aura of normalcy. But there are other stories - of parents who struggle against the pressures of society and church to find and believe in the goodness of their gay child. It is critically important for parents to hear the stories of others who walked the same road before them-who have come through the experience closer to their gay or lesbian child, and who are willing to work to make the church more welcoming. Equally important is the opportunity for pastoral ministers to hear the voices of these parents and understand the need for outreach and pastoral care for gay and lesbian Catholics and their families. Fortunate Families will help prepare pastoral ministers help families come out of their isolation, work through their confusion and pain, and celebrate how fortunate they actually are.
Go on a wonderfully wild adventure with Ned in this Classic Board Book edition of Fortunately from celebrated dancer, choreographer, and beloved author and illustrator Remy Charlip. Fortunately, Ned was invited to a surprise party. Unfortunately, the party was a thousand miles away. Fortunately, a friend loaned Ned an airplane. Unfortunately, the motor exploded. What else could go wrong as Ned tries to get the party? Now available as a charming Classic Board Book, little ones will cheer as Ned’s luck turns from good to bad to good again. Featuring Remy Charlip’s bold, imaginative illustrations and spirited text, readers are in for a wonderfully wild adventure!
The long-awaited memoir from John Fogerty, the legendary singer-songwriter and creative force behind Creedence Clearwater Revival. Creedence Clearwater Revival is one of the most important and beloved bands in the history of rock, and John Fogerty wrote, sang, and produced their instantly recognizable classics: "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Born on the Bayou," and more. Now he reveals how he brought CCR to number one in the world, eclipsing even the Beatles in 1969. By the next year, though, Creedence was falling apart; their amazing, enduring success exploded and faded in just a few short years. Fortunate Son takes readers from Fogerty's Northern California roots, through Creedence's success and the retreat from music and public life, to his hard-won revival as a solo artist who finally found love.
Ry Archer and Bowe Keller are as different as night and day. That doesn't mean they don't share similar struggles. At the moment, both are realizing the reality of getting closer and closer to reaching their dreams and aspirations is very much not living up to all the hype. The childhood cohorts always seem to connect when one of them needs help figuring out any of life's major puzzles, like figuring out why getting what you always thought you wanted isn't all it's cracked up to be. They might constantly rub each other the wrong way (except for when they rubbed each other really-really right), but there is no denying they've always made one hell of a great team. For Ry, he thought he had the perfect girl, the one who was going to run headfirst into a meticulously and methodically planned future. He was going to marry young and have the same kind of legendary, life-long romance his parents did... or so he believed. His girl was going to stand by his side as he chased his dream of being a professional football player all the way to the NFL. He was wrong. Now, Ry's gotta figure out the difference between a bruised heart and a broken one, and the only person who can teach him the difference is Bowe. Bowe always felt like she had to run before she learned to walk to keep up with her father's musical legacy. He's her hero, and she wants nothing more than to make him proud. Bowe's about to figure out that maybe she wasn't meant to be in a rock and roll band and that it is entirely possible she let her father's dream and road to success cloud her own idea of what making music should be. Bowe needs to find her own way to fame, and there's a good chance she wouldn't be brave enough or bold enough to start over if Ry Archer hadn't pushed his way back into her life when she least expected it. Some days they're enemies. Some days they're lovers. For a while, they were strangers. But now, it feels more like they might've always been soulmates. At the end of the day, both will realize that letting go of an old dream and creating a new one is much easier to do with the right person by your side.
Rosie’s sins were never difficult to recall; they lined themselves up like baby ducks in her mind’s eye. Her confession to Father Hart one day in 1974 went like this: “I didn’t finish all my chores. I stole the Halloween candy my mom hid in the pantry. And I let my Daddy touch my private places.” Though it begins as an all-too-common story of childhood sexual abuse, Fortunate Daughter gradually becomes a rare story of how one person heals from that early trauma. In this intimate first-person narrative, Rosie McMahan offers the reader a portrait of misery, abuse, and hurt, followed by the difficult and painful task of healing—a journey that, in the end, reveals the complicated and nuanced venture of true reconciliation and the freedom that comes along with it.
Like The Group, Mary McCarthy's classic tale about coming of age in New York, Joanna Smith Rakoff 's richly drawn and immensely satisfying first novel details the lives of a group of Oberlin graduates whose ambitions and friendships threaten to unravel as they chase their dreams, shed their youth, and build their lives in Brooklyn during the late 1990s and the turn of the twenty-first century. There's Lil, a would-be scholar whose marriage to an egotistical writer initially brings the group back together (and ultimately drives it apart); Beth, who struggles to let go of her old beau Dave, a onetime piano prodigy trapped by his own insecurity; Emily, an actor perpetually on the verge of success -- and starvation -- who grapples with her jealousy of Tal, whose acting career has taken off. At the center of their orbit is wry, charismatic Sadie Peregrine, who coolly observes her friends' mistakes but can't quite manage to avoid making her own. As they begin their careers, marry, and have children, they must navigate the shifting dynamics of their friendships and of the world around them. Set against the backdrop of the vast economic and political changes of the era -- from the decadent age of dot-com millionaires to the sobering post-September 2001 landscape -- Smith Rakoff's deeply affecting characters and incisive social commentary are reminiscent of the great Victorian novels. This brilliant and ambitious debut captures a generation and heralds the arrival of a bold and important new writer.
