"Written like a bedtime story and illustrated with gentle humour, this book leads the reader to discover what 'family' really means without mystifying the fact of adoption. More, it reaffirms the right of every child to be loved and to have a home."--Page 4 of cover
Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Sonas, the finest kingdom out of all the kingdoms in the land, everyone was so very happy since King Kindely and his wife Queen Caroline were so very, very good. But one day King Kindely lost his wife and very young daughter, Princess Priscilla. Upon returning to the Kingdom of Sonas, the King's finest ship carrying the Queen and the Princess was swallowed up by the biggest fish anyone had ever seen on the Salty Sea. The King was very sad and for years cried and cried. Soon, the Salty Sea began to rise and with it many, many islands that were as big as mountains too. Also, the fish were found no more. On the land the driest drought anyone had ever experience was taking the only fresh water left leaving the people worrying that one day it would all be gone and they would perish. But one day the King cried his last tear and came to his senses. He believed if the fish could be found the Queen and Princess could be rescued from its belly and the Kingdom of Sonas would once again be the happiest kingdom in all the lands. He sent out a plea asking all to help. And the story begins when the plea reaches the hands of a son of a simple farmer. The son reads the plea and decides to help The Lonely King.
In today's world, it is more acceptable to be depressed than to be lonely-yet loneliness appears to be the inevitable byproduct of our frenetic contemporary lifestyle. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, one out of four Americans talked to no one about something of importance to them during the last six months. Another remarkable fact emerged from the 2000 U.S. Census: more people are living alone today than at any point in the country's history—fully 25 percent of households consist of one person only. In this crucial look at one of America's few remaining taboo subjects—loneliness—Drs. Jacqueline Olds and Richard S. Schwartz set out to understand the cultural imperatives, psychological dynamics, and physical mechanisms underlying social isolation. In The Lonely American, cutting-edge research on the physiological and cognitive effects of social exclusion and emerging work in the neurobiology of attachment uncover startling, sobering ripple effects of loneliness in areas as varied as physical health, children's emotional problems, substance abuse, and even global warming. Surprising new studies tell a grim truth about social isolation: being disconnected diminishes happiness, health, and longevity; increases aggression; and correlates with increasing rates of violent crime. Loneliness doesn't apply simply to single people, either—today's busy parents "cocoon" themselves by devoting most of their non-work hours to children, leaving little time for friends, and other forms of social contact, and unhealthily relying on the marriage to fulfill all social needs. As a core population of socially isolated individuals and families continues to balloon in size, it is more important than ever to understand the effects of a culture that idealizes busyness and self-reliance. It's time to bring loneliness—a very real and little-discussed social epidemic with frightening consequences-out into the open, and find a way to navigate the tension between freedom and connection in our lives.
A glamorous, haunted life unfolds in the mesmerizing biography of the woman behind a classic children's book In 1957, a children's book called The Lonely Doll was published. With its pink-and-white-checked cover and photographs featuring a wide-eyed doll, it captured the imaginations of young girls and made the author, Dare Wright, a household name. Close to forty years after its publication, the book was out of print but not forgotten. When the cover image inexplicably came to journalist Jean Nathan one afternoon, she went in search of the book-and ultimately its author. Nathan found Dare Wright living out her last days in a decrepit public hospital in Queens, New York. Over the next five years, Nathan pieced together a glamorous life. Blond, beautiful Wright had begun her career as an actress and model and then turned to fashion photography before stumbling upon her role as bestselling author. But there was a dark side to the story: a brother lost in childhood, ill-fated marriage plans, a complicated, controlling mother. Edith Stevenson Wright, herself a successful portrait painter, played such a dominant role in her daughter's life that Dare was never able to find her way into the adult world. Only through her work could she speak for herself: in her books she created the happy family she'd always yearned for, while her self-portraits betrayed an unresolved tension between sexuality and innocence, a desire to belong and painful isolation. Illustrated with stunning photographs, The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll tells the unforgettable story of a woman who, imprisoned by her childhood, sought to set herself free through art.
When a wonderful new book arrives at the library, at first it is loved by all, checked out constantly, and rarely spends a night on the library shelf. But over time it grows old and worn, and the children lose interest in its story. The book is sent to the library's basement where the other faded books live. How it eventually finds an honored place on a little girl's bookshelf—and in her heart—makes for an unforgettable story sure to enchant anyone who has ever cherished a book. Kate Bernheimer and Chris Sheban have teamed up to create a picture book that promises to be loved every bit as much as the lonely book itself.
Feeling lonely in a well-guarded, oversized castle where he eats sumptuous meals he cannot finish alone, rides on a horse that throws him and sleeps poorly at night, a tiny king marries a big princess and becomes the father of several children who fill his castle with right-sized happiness. By the award-winning creator of Ton and Tools.
The Leper King is a story of authentic history and imaginative fantasy interwoven with faith and love, war and magic set amidst the turbulent times of the Crusades. Upon the premature death of his father, BALDWIN IV, stricken with leprosy from a young age, ascends to the throne of Jherusalem at the age of thirteen. Immediately, enemies threaten his reign as war looms with the great leader of Islam, SALEHDIN. Guided by his trusted friend and Chancellor, Archbishop WILLIAM of Tyre, the young leper sets out to prove himself worthy of the crown, despite the political intrigues of his own High Court. Among those at Court with whom he must contend are his recently returned mother, AGNES de Courtenay, a grasping woman of immoral character, and his sister, SIBYLLA, who comes to Court after spending most of her life shut away from the world in a convent to marry a Western lord against her will. Being a minor, Baldwin must submit to the Regency of his much older cousin, RAYMOND III of Tripoli; but the young king chaffs beneath the Regents authority, longing to put it behind him so he can pursue his own course of action against the enemy. While Raymond continually argues for peace with the Muslims, Baldwin and the new lord of Kerak, REYNALD de Chtillon, hope to bring the Sarrazins to war before the sultans power grows too strong to push back. Unbeknownst to the king and the lords of Outremer, an old and secret cabal of heretic conspirators known only as the Order of Sion led by one, AMALRIC de Lusignan, that seeks to gain control of the kingdom. Their purpose is to proclaim a new form of Christianity with Jherusalem as its ecclesiastical seat of power in opposition to Rome and to crown a sacred king of their own making. That sacred king is none other than Amalrics brother, GUION de Lusignan, whom they claim is a blood descendant of Jhsu Christ. In this conspiracy, two influential men of the kingdom aid them: HERACLIUS, Archbishop of Caesarea and OTHON de Saint-Amant, Master of the famed warrior-monks, the Knights Templar. Saint-Amant, however, is a deeply conflicted man who begins to question how Sion, and the secretive master he reluctantly follows, is manipulating him and his Order. With Agnes diseased son crowned king, it isnt long before Lusignan draws her into the intrigues of the conspiracy as well with the belief she can protect her son. Seeking divine guidance in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the aftermath of battle, Baldwin meets, by chance, an elderly woman who thanks him for a simple act of his kindness. He is astonished, though, when she casts aside her cloak and disguise, revealing to him that she is MARY MAGDALEN, a beautiful and immortal woman of Faerie who vows to guide and befriend him. Only later does she tell him that his leprosy is not the result of disease, but of a magic spell cast by an unseen enemy; a spell that not only devours the kings life, but also becomes the enemys own undoing. So begins a tale of history and fantasy, in which a young king must determine whether his faith or fate will guide him in the defense of his fragile kingdom. Visit the Authors Website at www.scottrezer.com to learn more about the novel and to read the prologue.
Originally published in 1962, The Lonely Life is legendary silver screen actress Bette Davis's lively and riveting account of her life, loves, and marriages--now in ebook for the first time, and updated with an afterword she wrote just before her death. As Davis says in the opening lines of her classic memoir: "I have always been driven by some distant music--a battle hymn, no doubt--for I have been at war from the beginning. I rode into the field with sword gleaming and standard flying. I was going to conquer the world." A bold, unapologetic book by a unique and formidable woman, The Lonely Life details the first fifty-plus years of Davis's life--her Yankee childhood, her rise to stardom in Hollywood, the birth of her beloved children, and the uncompromising choices she made along the way to succeed. The book was updated with new material in the 1980s, bringing the story up to the end of Davis's life--all the heartbreak, all the drama, and all the love she experienced at every stage of her extraordinary life. The Lonely Life proves conclusively that the legendary image of Bette Davis is not a fable but a marvelous reality.
A killer is on the loose, and only one girl has the power to find him. But in this genre-bending YA thriller, she must first manage to avoid becoming a target herself. For Adele, the dead aren’t really dead. She can see them and even talk to them. But she’s spent years denying her gift. When she encounters her ex-best friend Tori in the woods and then realizes that Tori is actually dead in a shallow grave—that gift turns into a curse. Without an alibi, Adele becomes the prime suspect in Tori’s murder. She must work with Tori’s ghost to find the real killer. But what if the killer finds Adele first? In The Lonely Dead, master mystery writer April Henry adds a chilling paranormal twist to this incredibly suspenseful young adult novel. Christy Ottaviano Books